Shortlist built, every meeting walked.
A New York buyer flew in to find the right factories. We built the shortlist, walked every meeting and interpreted the negotiations.
- Multi-day
- Negotiations interpreted
David Paratore, New York · 2019
Selina Chen 陈丽明 EN ⇄ 中文 · China interpreter · Trade & sourcing Source in China for the factory floor.for vetted suppliers.for price negotiation.for quality inspection.for textiles & hardware.
I locate and vet suppliers before you commit: a factory, not a middleman; the real price, not the foreigner price. You get a shortlist worth your time, not a directory dump.
★★★★★ 4.8/5 · 95 client reviews · clients from every continent
Factory floornot the middlemanYiwuwholesale market cityGuangdongmanufacturing beltFujianshoes, stone & textilesSampleschecked before you payFOBreal factory quotes
How sourcing really works
A China sourcing agent on the factory floor.
Most suppliers you find online are trading companies: a website, a showroom and a markup on someone else's factory. I go to the floor. I sit with the people who actually make the thing, across Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and the Yiwu market belt, and I read whether the line can hold your quality and your volume before you wire a deposit.
The number a factory gives a foreign buyer over email is rarely the number it gives in Mandarin, in person, when it knows you walked three competitors that morning. That gap is where the fee pays for itself. You get a shortlist worth your time, the real price instead of the foreigner price, and a person on the ground who will tell you when a deal is not worth doing. Sourcing is as much about the suppliers I rule out as the ones I bring you.
How it works
From first message to done.
01
Brief
You send the product, target price and volume. I confirm scope and a fixed written quote in 12 hours.
02
Shortlist
I screen suppliers, factory vs. trading company, real capacity, export history, and return a vetted shortlist, not the first forty listings.
03
Verify
Factory visit on the ground: line, materials and finish checked against your spec, with photos and notes you can act on.
04
Negotiate
Price, MOQ and lead time settled in Mandarin, in the back office, with the terms written down, then I follow up on orders, quality and shipping after you fly home.
Product sourcing rates, published, all-in USD
Published rates, answered first.
Every rate includes city travel and a written summary of each day. No hourly creep. No surprise “translation fees.”
Sourcing project
Supplier vetting and a sourced shortlist
from $250
- A factory, not a middleman
- The real price, not the foreigner price
- A shortlist worth your time
Most bookedBook an inspection
Factory inspection
On-site visit and audit before you commit
from $200/ visit
- Eyes on the line
- Capacity and quality checked
- Photos and a written report
Samples & forwarding
Buy, check and forward samples
from $80/ order
- Ordered in my name
- Checked before it ships
- Consolidated and forwarded
30% deposit confirms; balance after the work.
What's included
What's in the rate, all-in.
Exactly what you get before you ask. No hourly creep, no surprise fees.
- A supplier shortlist from real factories, not directory listings
- Factory background checks: registration, capacity, export history
- On-site factory visits with photos and a written report
- Price negotiation in Mandarin, at the real Chinese price
- Sample ordering, inspection and consolidated forwarding
- A written summary of every supplier, quote and next step
Recent work
What the work actually looks like.
Real deals, deal type, where, and what the client walked away with.
A vetted interpreter on the audit floor.
An established buyer's yearly factory check and supplier review, where the one weak point was the language barrier on the floor.
- Yearly audit
- On the floor
Holly Enver · 2019
Replacement lined up the same day.
A day of supplier visits nearly fell through when the first interpreter dropped out. A replacement was lined up the same day.
- Same-day cover
- Schedule held
Saurabh Omana · 2019
On the ground inside half an hour.
A buyer standing up operations around Xiamen, from hiring fairs and finding workers to lining up sub-contractors and support staff.
- Half-hour start
- Staffing + hiring
Steffen Waite, Canada · 2016
FAQ
Product sourcing, your questions.
Can you buy and forward samples?
Yes, Taobao, 1688 and Pinduoduo have no English checkout and won't ship overseas. I buy, consolidate and forward from $80 per order.
Do you charge a commission on the order?
No. You pay my day or project rate, not a percentage, so my incentive is your best price, not a bigger invoice.
What happens after I leave China?
The work doesn't stop at the airport. I follow up on orders, re-check quality on repeat runs, handle payment and shipping arrangements, and hold suppliers to what was agreed.
What does product sourcing cost?
The full breakdown is below: sourcing projects from $250, factory inspection visits from $200, and sample buying and forwarding from $80 an order. A 30% deposit confirms and the balance is due after the work, with travel on the ground already in the rate.
How do you tell a real factory from a trading company?
Export records, the business licence and its scope, the questions a trader can't answer about their own line, and, where it matters, a visit to the floor itself. Half the listings on the big directories are middlemen reselling another factory's goods at a markup. Filtering them out before you commit is the whole point of the service.
How long does a sourcing project take?
A vetted shortlist usually takes a few days to a week or two, depending on how specific the product is and how many candidates clear vetting. Factory visits are scheduled around your travel. I'll give you a realistic timeline in the written quote rather than a number that sounds good and then slips.
Keep reading
Where to next.
Next step
Your job, costed in writing. In twelve hours.
Tell me what you need for product sourcing. You'll get a fixed written quote, no obligation, no deposit to ask.
superinterpreter · selina@mychinainterpreter.com · Xiamen, China · UTC+8
