What a visit day includes
Identity first
Before anyone books a car, we recommend a registry check on the company you are visiting — a separate one-day service at US$95 — so the company in the meeting room is the company that will be on the contract and the invoice.
The day arranged
The visit confirmed with the supplier in Chinese, the right people asked for — production, quality, and the person who can actually agree a price — and the itinerary set if you are seeing more than one plant.
Interpreting, floor and table
Every conversation in both directions, technical terms included. Nothing softened and nothing left out — including the remark the sales manager makes to the engineer that was not meant for you.
Negotiation on your brief
Price, MOQ, lead time, payment terms, tooling ownership, sample and inspection terms — pressed in the order you set, with the local context on what is normal and what is not. You decide; we make sure you are deciding on what was actually said.
Photographs and video
The line, the machines, the test bench, the warehouse, the certificates on the wall — recorded with the supplier’s consent, so the people who were not there can see it.
A written record, within two working days
What we saw, what was quoted, what was agreed, what is still open, and what we would check next — sent within two working days of the visit, before the follow-up with the factory goes cold.
Two ways to run it
| You are | What we do |
|---|---|
| Flying in | We meet you, travel with you, interpret the visits and the dinners, and keep the record. Multi-factory itineraries across one cluster are the usual shape — three plants in a day is realistic in Zhejiang. |
| Staying home | We go with your written brief and your questions, video-call you from the floor at the points that matter, negotiate to the limits you set, and send the record within two working days. Anything outside the brief waits for you. |
How we charge
| Item | Basis |
|---|---|
| Day on site, interpreted | From US$600 per day, quoted as a fixed number of days before you book. Days are prepaid on the estimate; unused days are refunded, and extra days are worked only after you approve them. |
| Travel and accommodation | At cost, with receipts. Within Zhejiang it is usually a car; further afield, agreed in advance. |
| Registry check on the supplier | Recommended before any visit and booked separately — US$95 per company, usually one working day. |
| Remote video audit or written due diligence | Separate services, often combined with a visit — remote video audit from US$550, due diligence report from US$220. |
| Commission from the factory | None, ever. If one is offered, we tell you in writing before you decide anything. |
Before you go: three things to settle
- What you will and will not accept. Target price, MOQ ceiling, lead time, payment terms — written down before the visit, so the negotiation has edges. Our answer on structuring payment terms to keep leverage is the usual starting point.
- Who owns the tooling and the samples. The most expensive thing left unsaid at a first meeting — see how samples and tooling work.
- Whether it is a factory at all. A trading company will happily host you at somebody else’s plant. A registry check answers this before anyone books a car — factory or trading company.
We work for you, in the room and after it. Our fee comes from you alone. We do not take a commission from the factory, we do not sign anything on your behalf, and we do not hold your money. When a “great price” is a red flag, we say so — before you shake on it.
Common questions
- Can you negotiate for me?
- We interpret, and we support the negotiation to your written brief — price, MOQ, lead time, payment terms, tooling, samples — and we tell you, in the room, when something does not add up. The decisions and the signature stay yours. We hold no authority to commit you to anything unless you give us a specific written power of attorney for a defined act, and we would rather you kept it that way.
- Do I need to be there?
- No. Either you fly in and we accompany you, or we go alone with your written brief and video-call you from the floor at the moments that matter. Most first visits happen without the buyer in the country, and the written record you receive afterwards is the same either way.
- Which parts of China do you cover?
- All of mainland China. We are based in Wenzhou, so the Zhejiang clusters — Yueqing, Ruian, Yongjia, Yiwu, Ningbo — are a drive, and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong are a flight or a high-speed train. Travel outside Zhejiang is agreed in advance and charged at cost.
- How far ahead should I book?
- A week is comfortable for Zhejiang and two weeks for anywhere further, mainly so the factory has time to put the right people in the room. Around Chinese New Year and the Canton Fair, book earlier.
- Is this a factory audit?
- No. A visit records what we saw and what was said; an audit works through a checklist against a standard. If you need the structured version, the remote video audit does that from US$550, and an accredited inspection body does the certified version — we can brief one. The two are often combined: the visit in the morning, the audit in the afternoon.
- What will you not do on a visit?
- We accompany, interpret, record and support the negotiation on your written brief. We do not contract or sign on your behalf, take title to goods, hold funds, or take any payment from a supplier. Visits are conducted openly and with the supplier’s consent — we do not record covertly. Whether a contract term is valid or wise is a question for your lawyer; we report what was said and what was agreed. Interpreting, accompaniment and business consulting are within our registered business scope.
