home decor, kitchen and household goods / Buying guide
How we check a supplier before you pay
Use a written specification and a retained sample to make seller claims testable before payment. For fragile homeware, the packed carton deserves its own review.
The checks below are a buyer checklist. Agree which checks and tests will actually be performed, by whom and at what cost, for each order.
In this guide
Before the order
- Trading history — years active, transaction volume and repeat-purchase rate.
- Factory or trading company — asked directly, then cross-checked against whether they can answer material and process questions about their own product.
- Specification in writing — material, firing temperature for ceramics, dimensions, weight, finish and quantity per carton.
- Export packing specified in writing, separately from the goods, with inner protection and carton strength suited to the route.
After arrival, before shipping
Agree an inspection scope before ordering: sampled units can be photographed for colour, finish and condition against the approved sample. For fragile lines, consider a packed-carton test.
Agree how nonconforming goods will be handled while they are still in China; return rights depend on the seller's terms.
What we will not do
- Ship food-contact goods into a market that requires testing without the test report for that market.
- Buy goods copying a recognisable designer product or carrying a brand mark.
- Declare a value other than the transaction value on export paperwork.
- Accept domestic packing on fragile goods travelling by sea.
Questions & answers
Common questions
- Do you drop test?
- Ask for a packed-carton test when fragile goods or a new packing design warrant it. Confirm the method, cost and acceptance criteria before ordering.
- What if colours differ between batches?
- Glaze and dye lots vary genuinely — that is a material fact, not a defect. Agree an acceptable range against a physical sample up front, and keep the sample.
Your next step
Have a link you want checked?
Send a 1688 or Taobao product link and you get back the specification in English, the supplier check, and the landed cost to your country before you commit to anything.
Get a quote