Source, check and ship from China

You can search the large trading platforms yourself, but the listings are a mix of manufacturers, trading companies and middlemen, and the photographs are often not the factory you would actually be buying from. We run the search from inside China, shortlist suppliers who genuinely make what you want, and tell you which are manufacturers and which are resellers adding a margin.

Yes, that is the point of the inspection service. We verify the factory, review samples, and inspect the finished goods before they ship. You get photographs and a written report, so you decide whether to release the balance based on what is actually in the boxes rather than what was promised in a message.

Sea freight costs far less per kilogram and suits bulky or heavy goods that are not urgent. Air freight costs considerably more but moves in days rather than weeks, so it suits small, high value or time sensitive cargo. We quote both where it makes sense, so you can weigh the cost against your deadline.

Sea freight to most African ports typically runs several weeks, depending on the route, the sailing schedule and whether you are sharing a container or filling one. Air freight is usually a matter of days. Transit times move with the season and with port congestion, so we give you the current estimate for your route rather than a fixed promise.

It is the smallest number of units a supplier will sell or produce, usually shortened to MOQ. It varies enormously, from a handful of pieces for goods already in stock to thousands for anything made to order. If a supplier's minimum is higher than you need, we can often find another supplier or look for stocked equivalents.

Yes. Smaller orders usually travel as shared container space or air cargo rather than a full container, and we can consolidate goods from several suppliers into a single shipment so that a small order is still worth moving.

Pay a company account rather than an individual's personal account, keep the transaction on record, and stage the payment so a deposit is followed by a balance released only once the goods have been inspected. Avoid sending the full amount up front to a supplier nobody has verified. The inspection step is designed to sit between your deposit and your balance for exactly this reason.

No. We handle the sourcing, the inspection and the freight out of China. Duties and customs clearance in the destination country are arranged separately, either by you or by a clearing agent there. We tell you which documents travel with the shipment and what to expect on arrival, so nothing comes as a surprise at the port.

Nearly always one of three things. Paying in full before anyone has seen the goods. Assuming the seller in a listing is the factory when they are a middleman adding margin. Or agreeing a price without confirming what it covers, so packaging, inland transport or inspection appear later as extras. All three are avoidable, and avoiding them is most of what we do.