How to verify a furniture supplier in China — before any money moves

1. Read the business licence — properly

Every legitimate Chinese company has a unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码), printed on their business licence and usually on their quotation header. Ask for it. Then look it up on a public registry such as Qichacha or Tianyancha. Three things matter more than everything else on the page:

• Business scope — it must include manufacturing or the specific furniture category, not just "trading". A trading company is not automatically bad, but you should know which one you are talking to, because the factory audit questions are different.
• Registered capital and establishment date — a company registered six months ago with minimal capital is a higher-risk counterparty for a 30% deposit than one operating since 2015.
• Legal representative — note the name. If it changes during your order, ask why.

2. Ask the questions a factory can answer instantly

Real manufacturers answer production questions in minutes because the answers are their daily life. Send this list and watch the reply speed and specificity:

• Which panel bending machines, welding robots or cutting lines do you run, and how many?
• What is your current monthly output for this product family?
• Which export markets did you ship to in the last 12 months — and to which ports?
• Can you send a 30-second video of the specific production line, today?

Vague answers, stock photos, or a sudden switch from "we" to "they" are signals worth weighing.

3. Do a video walkthrough before the deposit

A ten-minute live video call walking through the workshop tells you more than fifty emails. Ask them to walk from the raw material area to the packing line without cutting the camera. You are checking that the workshop matches the product photos, that machines are actually running, and that finished goods exist in the claimed volume.

4. Buy the sample — and treat it as data

A sample order is the cheapest insurance in the trade. Beyond the product itself, score the process: How long did the sample take? Did the packaging survive international courier? Was the invoice accurate? A factory that is sloppy on a paid sample will be sloppier on a container.

5. Use a third-party inspection — every time

Even good factories ship defects; the difference is whether anyone catches them before loading. An independent pre-shipment inspection against your approved sample costs a fraction of one container's value and protects your balance payment. If you do not have an inspection partner on the ground, this is precisely what our agent services cover — factory audit, in-line and pre-shipment QC, and loading supervision under a written agreement.

6. Pay against milestones, not against promises

Standard terms are 30% deposit and 70% against the copy of the bill of lading — and the balance should only move after the pre-shipment inspection passes. Never pay the full balance to release goods you have not seen.

One partner alternative: if verification, sampling, inspection and consolidation sound like a second job, that is literally ours. Browse the live catalogue or tell us what your market needs — pricing comes from the factory floor in Foshan and Lecong, with inspection and loading handled before the container closes.