Short answer: Verify four things before you pay: the legal entity and its business scope, its export record, whether the production steps are done in-house, and whether the certificates are real and cover the exact model you are buying. A fifth check — a physical pre-production sample — catches most of what paperwork cannot.
1. Confirm the legal entity
Ask for the business licence and check the unified social credit code, registered address, legal representative and business scope against public registries. A company whose scope is “trading” or “e-commerce” is not a manufacturer, whatever its catalogue shows. Also check how long the entity has existed and whether there are enforcement or dispute records.
2. Separate a factory from a trading company
Both can be legitimate, but they behave differently. A factory controls the line, the MOQ and the production schedule; a trading company aggregates multiple plants and adds a margin. Ask which steps are done on site, how many machines are on the floor, and what is outsourced. A high outsourcing ratio usually means the supplier is effectively an assembly or coordination shop. See Factory or Trading Company? How the Difference Changes Your MOQ and Price.
3. Verify certificates, not just logos
CE, RoHS, REACH, FCC, BSCI or ISO certificates should be checked against the issuing body, the certificate number, the validity dates and — critically — the models covered. A test report for one product does not cover a modified version. For regulated markets, ask for the actual report rather than a badge.
4. Insist on a sample and an inspection
Agree a written specification and acceptance criteria, approve a physical pre-production sample, then inspect the finished batch before shipment. Our sampling and QC process documents each step with photos and a report in English.
Frequently asked questions
Can this be done remotely?
Most document checks can. For capability, nothing replaces a floor visit; our team is based in Zhuhai and Hong Kong, China, within reach of the main Greater Bay Area clusters.
How long does verification take?
Document checks are quick. A factory visit, sample round and report take longer, and we confirm the schedule before you commit.
Do you charge factories to be listed?
We do not take hidden kickbacks. A recommendation is based on capability for the buyer’s brief.
Tell us what you want to make. Email tacousus@hotmail.com, message us on WhatsApp at +86 133 5546 5164, or request a quote. Our team works from Zhuhai and Hong Kong, China.