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Buying Agent for  Alibaba, 1688 and Direct Factories

A buying agent for China stands between you and the supplier: you send a product link or a spec, and we negotiate in Chinese, verify who the seller actually is, pay the factory in RMB from our own Chinese accounts, receive and check the goods at our own warehouse in Guangzhou, then consolidate and ship them to the United States. You deal with one contractor under one contract instead of a dozen sellers you cannot verify from Ohio.

The service covers one-off orders and ongoing B2B supply from Alibaba, 1688.com, direct factories and wholesale markets. We work from a base of 1,400+ vetted suppliers, so finding a real manufacturer for a given product usually takes days rather than weeks. Below: what the tariffs cover, what the platform badges really mean, and how the process runs.

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and related services

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Financing for product purchases from China by OptMaster: financing from 30 days, flexible terms, logistics integration. Double your working capital.

How much does it cost? Pricing
transparent, no hidden fees

01

Purchase by invoice

3% min $30

you already have a proforma invoice from the supplier — we pay it from a Chinese account, receive the goods at the warehouse, check the quantity and ship on

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Most popular 02

Purchase from a link

5% min $50

you send a link to a product on Alibaba, 1688 or Taobao — we talk to the seller in Chinese, check who they really are and negotiate the price

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03

Full service

10% min $200

end to end: sourcing the supplier, negotiation, inspection of the batch with a photo and video report, and replacement of defective units

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There is no hard minimum order, but on the full-service tariff the $200 minimum commission means orders below roughly $1,000 lose most of the benefit. Inspection and warehouse handling are included in the 10% tariff; the 3% and 5% tariffs include a quantity check and photos. Freight, duties and packaging materials are quoted separately.

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How the full-service
tariff runs

We find a supplier for the product you need, or check the one you already picked.

We negotiate in Chinese: reputation, real production capacity, price and volume discounts.

We confirm stock, price, weight and volume before any money moves.

We issue the invoice and process your payment.

We pay the supplier from a Chinese account and arrange transport to our warehouse.

We receive the goods at our Guangzhou warehouse.

We verify 100% of the quantity and inspect 10% of the batch for defects.

We send you a detailed photo and video report.

We arrange replacement of defective units with the supplier where needed.

We pack and consolidate the goods for the route.

We ship to the USA and handle the customs entry.

What Alibaba badges actually mean

Most disputes we are asked to clean up start the same way: a US buyer read a badge on a listing as a guarantee it was never meant to be. Here is what the platform signals do and do not tell you.

What a badge does tell you

  • Gold Supplier — the seller pays for a premium membership, and the company legally exists
  • Verified Supplier — a third party inspected the premises and confirmed the company operates
  • Trade Assurance — the platform holds the payment and can arbitrate, if you order and pay inside Alibaba
  • Trading years and response rate — real behavioural data worth reading

What it does not tell you

  • whether the seller is a factory or a trading company reselling someone else’s production
  • whether the goods match the sample you were shown
  • whether the price is the one a Chinese-speaking buyer would be quoted
  • anything at all once payment moves off-platform, which is where most bank-transfer requests lead

This is the gap the service closes. We check the business licence and the registered scope of activity, confirm whether production is really in-house, and pay from our own Chinese accounts — so the money moves between two Chinese companies, which is the arrangement suppliers treat most seriously. If you want the check without the purchase, that is our separate supplier sourcing and verification service.

Why the same product costs you more

Buying direct from the United States is possible. It just tends to cost more than it looks on the listing, for reasons that have nothing to do with the product.

The listing price is not the trade price
We negotiate in Chinese at volume terms, and quote you the price we actually agreed, not the shop-window figure.
The “factory” is a trading company
We check the business licence and production scope, and tell you when a margin is being added for nothing.
The best suppliers accept RMB only
We pay from our own Chinese accounts, which also removes the international transfer fees and the FX spread.
Defects surface after the goods have crossed the Pacific
Goods pass through our Guangzhou warehouse first, so a defect is found while the supplier is still one city away.
Five suppliers means five shipments
Orders wait for each other at our warehouse and go out as one consignment, with one freight charge and one customs entry.

Timings you can plan around

The two questions every buyer asks are when the money leaves and when the goods do. These are the figures we hold ourselves to.

Purchase after your paymentwithin 24 hours
Dispatch — goods in stockimmediately after purchase
Dispatch — made to order15–30 days of production depends on the factory and the batch
Ocean freight to the USA30–35 days air freight: 15–20 days

FAQ

How does buying through an agent work?+

You send a product link, a photo or a specification. We find or verify the supplier, negotiate the price in Chinese, pay in RMB from our own Chinese accounts, receive the goods at our Guangzhou warehouse, check them and ship them to the United States. You sign one contract with us instead of dealing with each seller separately.

Is there a minimum order?+

There is no hard minimum. In practice, the $200 minimum commission on the full-service tariff means orders below about $1,000 lose most of their benefit — on a $500 order the commission eats roughly half of what you saved. Smaller orders make more sense on the 3% or 5% tariffs.

How fast do you buy after I pay?+

We place the purchase within 24 hours of receiving your payment. If the goods are in stock the supplier ships immediately; if they are made to order, production usually takes 15–30 days depending on the factory and the batch size.

Can you buy from 1688, which does not accept foreign cards?+

Yes — that is one of the main reasons to use an agent. 1688 is a domestic Chinese marketplace: prices are lower than on Alibaba, but sellers expect a Chinese account, a Chinese phone number and communication in Chinese. We pay from our own accounts and receive the goods at our warehouse, so the platform never has to deal with a foreign buyer at all.

What happens if the goods arrive defective?+

They are checked before they leave China, which is the point of routing them through our warehouse. We verify 100% of the quantity and inspect 10% of the batch, send you a photo and video report, and take replacements up with the supplier while the goods are still in the same country. On the full-service tariff this is included.

Do you handle shipping and customs as well?+

Yes. Purchase and freight are separate services, and most clients take both: we consolidate the goods at our warehouse and ship them to the USA by ocean or air, with the customs entry handled on DDP terms. See freight forwarding from China to the USA for rates and transit times.

Our
Services

Freight Forwarder from ChinaSupplier Sourcing in ChinaProduct Inspection in ChinaWarehouse Services in China
We work with orders from $2,000

Get a consultation and a turnkey quote for your supply

Tell us the product and volume/budget — we will find a manufacturer and price purchasing, inspection and delivery from China. One quote = the full cost picture, no hidden fees.

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