The 8-Point Checklist to Verify a Chinese Appliance Supplier Before You Pay
Every season, Western African and Middle Eastern importers lose container-sized sums to suppliers who never intended to deliver, or to fraudsters posing as them. Here is the verification checklist we would run on our own company. Eight points, one hour of work.
Legal identity
1. Business license, translated. Match the English name, the Chinese name and the registration number. 2. Account-name match: the bank account receiving your deposit must carry the same name as the license. Any "use my partner's account" answer ends the conversation. 3. Export history: ask for two redacted bills of lading from past shipments. A factory with no paper trail is a factory you cannot sue.
Capability proof
4. Live video warehouse call — not a recorded tour they send you. Walk the racks, see the batch, ask the staff to rotate a unit. 5. Test evidence: per-unit serial logs and run videos for the exact stock you would buy. 6. References: two buyers in your region you may call. Any supplier with real volume has them.
Structure proof
7. Third-party inspection welcome. SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, a legitimate exporter has nothing to hide for $250–400. 8. Contract with arbitration clause (CIETAC in China) and a banking confirmation page naming account, currency and bank.
The meta-rule
Legitimate suppliers make verification easy because verification filters their worst customers too. If a supplier pressures you to skip checks ("many people waiting for this container"), the urgency is the product. Walk away, the next container of washers is always three days away.