Starter
$149
One supplier, checked in full.
- Business licence, scope and status
- Factory-or-trader test
- Certificate check
- Risk rating
Is your China “factory” really a factory?Check before you pay the deposit.
I verify Chinese suppliers in Chinese, using 1688, Alibaba and public company records, for Amazon, Etsy and Shopify sellers and small importers. You get a desk verification report where every claim is labelled by the evidence behind it.
- Desk verification
- No guarantees
- I never handle your payment
- Packages from $149
Supplier A · Headwear · HenanSample, anonymised
VerifiedActive company, registered capital RMB 4M, founded 2002
VerifiedRegistered scope covers caps and headscarves, with processing
Supplier-claimedOwn factory with 272 machines
UnknownStates 80 workers. The 2025 company record shows 12
Preliminary risk: Low to mediumOpen item: headcount
What goes wrong when you buy from China without checking
Most problems show in the paperwork, in Chinese, before any money moves.
The factory is a trading company
The listing says factory. The licence says trading.
The certificate does not hold up
A scan is easy to fake. The number may not exist.
The licence does not cover the product
A real company may not be registered for what you order.
How a check works
Send your brief
Product, quantity, market and the suppliers you have in mind.
I confirm the scope
Which suppliers, which package, and what a desk review covers.
Desk verification
Licences, owners, records and documents, read in Chinese.
You get the report
Labelled claims, a risk rating and next steps.
What I check for each supplier
Six areas read from Chinese-language records. Use the Chinese terms when you ask your supplier for documents.
- 营业执照
Business licence
Status, capital, founding date and operating term.
- 经营范围
Registered scope
Does it cover your product, and include processing?
- 股东 · 高管
Owners and management
Who owns and runs the company.
- 诉讼 · 处罚 · 欠税
Litigation, penalties, tax notices
Court cases, penalties and overdue tax notices.
- 证书 · 商标 · 专利
Certificates, trademarks, patents
Do they exist, match the supplier and stay valid?
- 工厂 · 贸易商
Factory or trader
Several signals cross-checked, never one alone.
A real check, anonymised
An excerpt from a report I wrote on a headwear supplier. Each line carries one evidence label. Name, registration number, address and owners are withheld.
- VerifiedConfirmed by an official or third-party source
- Supplier-claimedStated by the supplier, not independently confirmed
- UnknownCould not be confirmed, and not assumed to be fine
| Check | Finding | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Active limited liability company, capital RMB 4M, founded 2002, operating term long-term, 13 annual reports filed. | Verified |
| Registered scope | Includes caps, headscarves, headbands, prayer rugs and prayer scarves, with processing and sales. | Verified |
| Trademark and patent | Trademark registered 2018, valid to 2028. Granted 2022 invention patent for a rapier loom. Numbers not yet checked at the national IP office. | Supplier-claimed |
| Headcount | The supplier states 80 workers. The 2025 company record shows 12 employees. Ask for payroll or social-insurance proof. | Unknown |
| Tax arrears notices | One notice, November 2022, RMB 222.17 of enterprise income tax. Settlement status not shown. Small and dated. | Verified |
Preliminary risk rating: low to medium. One gap to close before a deposit is paid: the headcount difference. The full report lists next steps.
Open the full sample (PDF, 2 pages)See packagesFactory or trading company? How I read it
I cross-check licence, store and products, and a person reviews the evidence. Five real suppliers, side by side.
| Supplier | What the record shows | My reading |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | Limited company, 2002, capital RMB 4M. One textile family, processing, import and export. Industrial zone. | Likely factory |
| Supplier P | Limited company, 2025. About 50 unrelated retail and wholesale items, including import and export. | Likely trader |
| Supplier Q | New entity, March 2026. Short scope: garment manufacturing, embroidery, finishing. Factory-building unit. | Too new to confirm |
| Supplier R | Sole proprietor, 2024. About 50 unrelated items. No import or export wording. | Small trader |
| Supplier S | Sole proprietor, 2011. Hats, clothing and daily goods, wholesale and retail only. | Small trader |
The three groups of signals I read
Business licence and records
- Business scope: short and about one line of goods, with production words, or dozens of unrelated items
- Legal form: limited company or sole proprietor
- Registered address and registered capital
- Patents held by the same company
Store and product pages
- Range: a few related process families, or many unrelated ones
- MOQ, customisation and specification detail on the pages
- Real workshop photos and export experience
Individual products
- Image reverse search: own photos or shared ones
- Price against the usual market band
- Stock pattern across sizes and colours
Names, codes and addresses removed. Readings are inferences, not guarantees. A trader is not automatically a bad supplier; the point is to know who you are buying from.
Three packages
Choose by how many suppliers you want checked. Orders and payment run through Upwork.
Standard
$499
Three suppliers, compared side by side.
- Comparison table
- An evidence card for each supplier
- Risk rating for each supplier
Advanced
$799
Five suppliers, plus the numbers you need to decide.
- Everything in Standard
- HS code draft
- Landed-cost estimate
- Paperwork checklist
HS code drafts and landed-cost figures are estimates for planning. They are not customs or tax advice. Delivery time for each package is shown on the Upwork listing. I never ask for payment outside Upwork.
Not included: a factory visit or audit, a pre-shipment inspection, a guarantee of quality or delivery, and handling your payment to the supplier. Best for standard products with a clear spec.
Who does the checking
Duan Botao
Hangzhou, China
I am Duan Botao. I am based in Hangzhou, with about 20 years at Alibaba in supply chain management.
I read Chinese company records and 1688 listings directly, and I run my own cross-border business, so I know what a buyer needs to see before sending a deposit.
Questions buyers ask
What is desk verification?
I check documents, public records and platform data from my desk. I do not visit the factory. A site visit or pre-shipment inspection is a separate service.
Do you guarantee a supplier?
No. A report shows what could be confirmed and what could not. It does not promise quality or delivery.
How do I pay for the service?
Orders and payment run through Upwork. You pay when you order, and Upwork’s payment protection for Project Catalog orders applies. I do not take payment outside Upwork, and I will never ask you for a bank transfer or a payment link.
How do you tell a factory from a trading company?
I read three groups of signals: the business licence and records, the store and product pages, and individual products. I cross-check them and a person reviews the evidence. The result is one of three readings: likely factory, likely factory-backed trader, or likely trading company. It is always an inference, never a guarantee.
Is a trading company a bad supplier?
No. Many traders are reliable and some are the better choice for small orders. The risk is paying a trader’s price while believing you are buying from the maker. I tell you which one you are dealing with so you can negotiate and plan lead times accordingly.
Do you handle payment to the supplier?
No. I never handle your payment to the factory. You pay the supplier directly or through platform escrow.
How long does it take, and what do I send?
Delivery time is shown on the Upwork listing for each package. Send the supplier’s store link or company name, the product, your target market and any certificates you need. The brief builder below helps you prepare it.
More questions (7)
What does a small registered capital or a sole proprietor mean?
A sole proprietor, usually a shop or trading-firm name, is a small business with limited ability to absorb losses. A small registered capital is common for traders, but many small workshops also register small amounts. I treat both as supporting signals and never decide on one alone.
Do you contact suppliers?
By default I use public information only. If you agree in writing, I may ask the supplier’s platform customer service about stock or MOQ, and the report notes when, where and what they answered.
Can you verify certificates and patents?
Where an issuing database exists, I check the certificate or patent number against it. A certificate image alone is marked Supplier-claimed. If there is no public database, I say “cannot verify” instead of assuming it is genuine.
Can I trust the stock and reviews on a 1688 store?
Those pages are written by the supplier, so I look for patterns instead. Examples: every size and colour showing the same round stock number, the same photo on many stores, or a price well above the market band for the same item.
What if the supplier’s claims and the records disagree?
I report both and mark the point Unknown. For example, a store may state 80 staff while the annual report shows 12 insured. The report explains what to ask the supplier to close the gap.
Do you recommend suppliers?
I report what can be confirmed and what cannot. I also run a cross-border business. If a supplier sells a category I trade in, I disclose it, and I do not recommend suppliers I buy from myself.
Which products suit this service?
Standard products with a clear spec work best. If your product needs regulated approvals, tell me before you order so I can say what a desk review can and cannot cover.
Prepare your brief
Fill in what you know. The text on the right is what to paste into your Upwork order. It takes a minute and saves a round of questions.
Example values are shown. Replace each field with your own.