Hiring a Sourcing Agent in China: What to Pay and What to Check
A good agent saves you trips, mistakes and money. A bad one quietly takes a cut from both sides. How agents charge, where the conflicts of interest hide, and the checks to run before you sign.
In this piece 4 sections
Once you are buying regularly from more than one factory, someone has to be on the ground: chasing samples, visiting lines, checking cartons and translating what the factory means rather than what it says. For a small importer that someone is usually a sourcing agent, either an individual or a small agency. Done well, it is the cheapest member of your team you will ever hire. Done badly, it puts a middleman you cannot see between you and every supplier you use.
How agents charge
| Model | How it works | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | A percentage of order value | Rewards bigger orders, not better ones |
| Monthly retainer | A fixed fee for an agreed scope | Define the scope, or it will shrink |
| Day rate | Paid per visit, audit or inspection | Good for one-off work, costly at volume |
| Free to you | Paid by the factory | You are not the client |
There is no single right model. A commission makes sense when you are placing a few large orders and want the agent motivated to see them through. A retainer suits a steady flow of smaller orders and ongoing supplier management. What matters is that you know exactly how the agent is paid, and by whom.
Where the conflicts of interest hide
The classic problem is the double commission: the agent charges you a fee and also takes a percentage from the factory, which simply adds it to your unit price. You end up paying twice, and the agent has a reason to steer you towards whichever factory pays them best rather than whichever makes your product best.
An agent who will not name the factory
If an agent refuses to tell you which factory makes your goods, or insists that all payments go through their own account, assume there is a margin you cannot see. Some agents do consolidate payments for good reasons, but they should be able to show you the factory's invoice.
The checks to run before you sign
Treat an agent like any other supplier. If they operate as a company, look up its business licence and check that the registered name matches the bank account you will pay. Ask for two or three references from importers in a similar category and actually call them. Then give the agent a small, paid trial: source samples for one product from three factories, with a short written report on each. How they handle that tells you more than any interview.
Be clear in writing about what the agent does and does not do. Factory search, negotiation, sample handling, production follow-up and pre-shipment inspection are separate jobs, and an agent who is good at finding factories is not automatically good at inspecting them. Many importers keep inspections with an independent firm for exactly that reason.
The question is never whether your agent makes money. It is whether you know how.
Protect your designs and your suppliers
A Western-style NDA is of limited use in China. What importers usually use instead is an NNN agreement (non-disclosure, non-use, non-circumvention), drafted under Chinese law, in Chinese, and enforceable in a Chinese court. Have one signed with the agent, and ideally with each factory too. It will not stop every problem, but it gives you a real remedy if your design or your supplier list walks out of the door.
