How to Choose and Work With a China Sourcing Agent
Most buyers looking for a China sourcing agent start with the wrong question. "What does an agent do?" is answered by a service list. The harder question is how to tell a competent agent from a merely confident one, and how you will work together afterwards. This guide answers it for Spanish-speaking buyers in Latin America and Spain who source home goods and general merchandise from China.
We are Yiwu Ruiheart Trading Co., Ltd., trading as Novel Home Goods: a sourcing agent and export trading company in Yiwu, Zhejiang. We are not a factory — we have no production lines of our own. We source to your requirements, compare prices, check the goods and arrange export.
Three Obstacles: Language, Working Hours, Distance
Language. Listings, quotations, specification sheets and packing instructions are written in Chinese. Platform chats include machine translation, but keep complex technical questions short and in simple English. Machine translation is enough to order a sample; it is not enough to settle a specification dispute six weeks later.
Working hours. Our working day in Zhejiang and yours only partly overlap, so calls must be scheduled — our live video calls run by prior appointment.
Distance. When you cannot walk the aisle yourself, you buy descriptions rather than objects. An agent earns its place by turning your description into something a supplier can quote: a product list with photos or specifications, target quantities, and the market the goods are for. A price quoted without them is a guess.
Interpreter accompaniment can be arranged on request, for a fee.
A Checklist You Can Verify Yourself
Evaluate an agent by documents you can open, not by testimonials.
1. The legal entity. China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System publishes registration and filing information, annual reports, administrative penalties and abnormal-operation status; search by company name or unified social credit code. Enterprises must file an annual report between 1 January and 30 June.
2. Customs standing. China Customs publishes credit grades: advanced certified, certified, general, dishonest and seriously dishonest. Advanced certified and certified enterprises are China's Authorised Economic Operators.
3. Do they say what they do not do? A service list says what a company sells; a boundary list says whether it stays straight when something goes wrong. Ours: we are not a manufacturer; certificates come from the partner factory and we check them against your requirements such as CE, SABER or NOM; we are not a freight forwarder — no space booking, transport documents, freight collection, customs clearance or consolidation warehouse; we provide photo and video self-check records, not inspection reports; and we provide no invitation letters or visa assistance.
4. How money and documents move. What is the quotation basis, when is payment due, what happens to the sample fee? Ours: FOB Yiwu, tax excluded; the full amount by T/T in advance; the sample fee deducted from the order payment once the order is placed.
5. Can you verify before booking a flight? Ask for a live video call: we run them at the Yiwu market, in our warehouse or at a partner factory, against your item list. We publish no fixed hourly itinerary for visits.
From Inquiry to Shipment
1. You send the requirement: product list with photos or specifications, target quantities, target market, target price.
2. We match and compare against partner factories by material, workmanship and price, from the Yiwu market and our partner-factory network across China.
3. Sample and quotation: quoted FOB Yiwu, tax excluded; the sample fee is deducted from the order payment once the order is placed.
4. Order and payment: T/T in advance for the full amount.
5. Production and self-check: checks are arranged on request, not promised by default. Before shipment we provide photo or video self-check records covering quantity, appearance, function, packaging and shipping marks, all against the sample, plus certificates where required and a packing list. We do not issue inspection reports: a formal report is for a qualified third-party body you appoint, at its cost and responsibility.
6. Export documents and shipment: we prepare documents on FOB Yiwu terms and work with the forwarder you appoint. We are not a freight forwarder; ask your forwarder for freight rates and transit times.
7. Certificates: from the partner factory, checked by us against your market requirements.
8. Commission: commission depends on order size — contact us for a quote. It is calculated on the product value. There is no minimum order threshold on the sourcing service. Product MOQs are set by the supplier side and are a separate matter.
Three Things the Buyer Must Watch
The frozen standard. Fix the approved sample, packaging and shipping marks in writing before production, and keep a copy.
Who holds the pen on freight and inspection. You appoint the forwarder and the inspection body. Chinese rules require tax-authority freight invoices and agreed rates in writing on the bill of lading.
Your own entry paperwork. The visa route and accommodation registration are yours. Outside a hotel, report temporary accommodation registration to the local public security station within 24 hours of check-in.
Visa: Two Separate Tracks
Treat the two visa-free arrangements as separate tracks; being covered by one does not put you on the other.
Track one — 30-day unilateral visa-free entry. Ordinary passport holders travelling for business, tourism, family visits, exchange visits or transit for no more than 30 days may enter without a visa; those who do not meet the conditions still need a visa before entry, and the stay counts from 00:00 of the day after entry. It covers 11 countries in two arrangements: nine under unilateral visa-free treatment — four GCC states (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain) and five South American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay) — and two, the UAE and Qatar, under mutual visa-exemption agreements. Valid until 31 December 2026 (policy checked 16 September 2026).
Track two — 240-hour transit visa-free entry, for 57 countries under different conditions: a valid passport with at least three months' validity, and a confirmed connecting ticket to a third country or region, with a confirmed date and seat, within 240 hours, plus a temporary entry card and border inspection. "Transit" means the departure country differs from the destination — departure country ≠ China ≠ destination country. The stay is 240 hours (10 days) from 00:00 of the day after entry, and must not be overstayed. Yiwu Airport is an eligible port of entry; the stay area in Zhejiang is the whole province, and travel may extend across 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
No African country is on either list, so African buyers normally need a business (M) visa; the invitation letter usually comes from their Chinese supplier or partner, not from us. We provide no invitation letters or visa assistance. Confirm current requirements with the official sources before you travel.
Next Step
Send us your product list with photos or specifications, target quantities, the market and, if you plan to travel, your dates in Yiwu. To see the goods first, ask for a live video call before you book your flights.