How to verify a Chinese t-shirt factory before you pay

Most losses in importing from China do not come from outright fraud. They come from choosing a supplier who cannot deliver what it promised. Verification before payment is not only defensive: it is what decides the quality of your order from the beginning.

Are you dealing with a factory or an agent?

The distinction is not a moral one. A professional agent can be an excellent choice for a buyer who does not want to manage detail. The danger is not knowing which you have. Signs of an agent: a very wide product list covering t-shirts, bags and shoes together; an inability to answer precise technical questions such as yarn type or the number of embroidery heads; and a refusal to send a live video from inside production. A real factory specialises narrowly, and asks you about weight, fit and quantity before it gives a price.

Documents to request every time

The Chinese business licence: it carries the legal company name, the unified social credit number, and the registered scope of business. If the scope is trading only and does not include manufacturing, you are dealing with a trading company.
The unified social credit number: verifiable through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
An export record: past invoices or bills of lading with customer data redacted, proving it has actually shipped to markets like yours.
Certificates, if your market requires them: such as textile safety certification, valid and in the factory's own name.

Questions that reveal real experience

Ask questions that cannot be answered with yes: what fabric weight do you recommend for a hot market and why? How many screens does my print need and what is the setup cost? What shrinkage should I expect after three washes? How many days between approval of the production sample and the start of cutting? Who pays for a re-run if the colour deviates from the approved reference? Specific numerical answers indicate a factory that knows its work; reassuring generalities indicate the opposite.

Warning signs worth stopping for

A price far below the market with no convincing technical explanation.
A demand for full payment in advance, or insistence on transferring to a personal account.
A bank beneficiary name that does not match the company name on the business licence.
A change of bank details by email in the middle of a deal.
Refusal of third-party inspection before shipment.
Refusal to sign an approved production sample.

Verifying bank details

The most common fraud in international trade is intercepted email carrying falsified account details. The rule: the beneficiary name must exactly match the company name on the business licence, and any change of bank details is confirmed by a voice or video call with someone you know at the company, never by replying to the email itself.

Safe payment terms

The common structure is 30% deposit and 70% against a copy of the bill of lading, that is, after the goods actually ship and before they arrive. It balances the factory's need for cash flow against your need for security. On large orders a letter of credit is slower and more expensive but offers stronger protection.

Frequently asked questions

Should I visit the factory myself? If you can, yes. If you cannot, ask for a live, unrecorded video walk through the production floor and warehouse.

Are sourcing-platform ratings enough? No. They are an initial signal only, and no substitute for the business licence and independent inspection.

What if the factory is small? A small factory is not a problem if its capacity matches your quantity. The problem is an order far larger than what it normally runs.

We carry out this verification on the ground in Guangzhou before we put any factory in front of a client.