Sourcing from Asia — every question, answered

Not always — for small volumes of standard, off-the-shelf products, a trading company or a simple Alibaba order can be enough. You need a sourcing agent when quality matters, when products are customised, or when a failed batch would cost more than the agent's commission: an agent negotiates in the factory's language, verifies the factory before you pay, and inspects every shipment before it leaves.

Verify before you pay: check the business licence on the official registry, confirm the export record matches the product category, and never pay into a personal bank account. A sourcing agent runs this verification for you — and 100% pre-shipment inspection with photo evidence means you never pay the balance for goods you haven't seen.

Alibaba is a directory, not a partner: listings are self-declared and 'verified' badges check paperwork, not product quality. Use Alibaba for cheap, standard, low-risk items. Use a sourcing agent for customised products, private-label runs, or anything where a failed batch would hurt more than the commission.

Most consumer and light-industrial categories — from textiles, bags and homeware to electronics accessories, hardware and packaging. Tell us the product and we'll confirm fit within one working day.

Typical production lead time is 15–45 days depending on the product and order size, plus 4–6 weeks sea freight from China to the UK. Sampling adds 1–3 weeks. You get a full written timeline before any deposit is paid.

The market range is 3–10% of order value or a fixed project fee. Ace Global Trade charges a one-off engagement fee from £499 — credited in full against your first order — plus commission of 8%, 6% or 5% stepping down with order value, which lands around 3.5–5.5% all-in on a typical first order. Full numbers on our pricing page.

EXW (Ex Works) covers the goods at the factory door only; FOB (Free On Board) adds inland transport and loading onto the vessel at the Chinese port. Always compare quotes on the same basis — FOB is the standard commission base because it reflects the true value of the goods.

With us, no: third-party costs (samples, courier, freight, duty) are passed through at cost with receipts, and our commission is invoiced separately from the goods. Be wary of agents whose fee looks 'free' — industry surveys estimate 15–20% of order value is commonly recovered through hidden factory-side markups baked into the unit price.

It depends on volume and season: full-container and LCL (less-than-container) sea freight are quoted per shipment, and air freight costs several times more but takes days instead of weeks. We quote freight at cost with the forwarder's receipt attached — you see what we see.

AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) 2.5 is the industry-standard sampling level for consumer goods inspections: it defines how many defects in a random sample make the whole batch fail. We inspect every order to AQL 2.5 with photo evidence before the goods leave the factory.

The batch does not ship, and you don't pay the balance. We agree corrective actions with the factory — rework, re-production or replacement — and re-inspect before release. Quality responsibility is written into the contract, not promised verbally.

Business licence and registry checks, export-record match against the product category, production-capacity review, and an on-site audit for higher-value projects covering facility, equipment, workforce and compliance. Verification happens before any deposit is paid — the most expensive factory problem is the one discovered after paying.

Inspection is a visual and functional check against your specification, not laboratory testing. Where UK market access requires certification (UKCA/CE for relevant product categories), we coordinate testing with accredited labs and pass the cost through with receipts. We flag compliance requirements for your product before production starts.

Standard practice is a 30% deposit to start production and the 70% balance before shipment. With us, you pay our UK company account in GBP and we settle suppliers in local currency — you never wire money to China yourself, and every settlement is reconciled on your statement.

You pay them as the importer of record: rates depend on the product's HS code — many consumer goods land between 0% and 12% duty, plus 20% UK VAT on the customs value. We prepare the commercial documentation so your customs broker can clear the goods efficiently.

We track production weekly and flag delays before they hit your timeline, with the factory's recovery plan in writing. Delay terms and force-majeure rules are defined in the supplier contract we manage for you — you are never the one chasing a factory across time zones.

Yes — after your first completed order. Until then you see exact costs line by line with our commission shown separately, so every number is verifiable before you commit. Once we're working together you get the supplier's legal name, video or accompanied factory visits are arranged on request, and direct factory contact is available on the Premium tier. A standard mutual non-circumvention agreement protects your designs as much as our introductions.

Yes — and more: we use NNN agreements (non-use, non-disclosure, non-circumvention), which protect your designs from being shown to other clients or copied, not merely kept secret. Your product information is never used for another client's order.

Yes — we coordinate labelling, packaging and prep to FBA requirements and ship direct to Amazon fulfilment centres or your 3PL. Weekly production reports keep your restock calendar honest.

Submit the enquiry form on our home page (two minutes) or message us on WhatsApp. You'll get a reply within one working day, a fixed-price engagement quote, and — if you proceed — a written scope of work before anything is commissioned.