Leo Li
Backed by China’s powerful manufacturing hubs, we offer sourcing across all product categories. Whether you need large-volume bulk orders, small batches, samples, or a specific single item, we can find and source it for you.
For faster communication, we highly recommend having product images and detailed specifications ready before sending your inquiry.
They thought they were buying direct from a factory in Shenzhen. The invoice address said Shenzhen. The contact spoke Mandarin. The warehouse photos looked convincing enough.
It wasn’t a factory. It was a trading company — and it had been quietly eating their margin for two years.
The result — same product, same listing, same price point
+23 percentage points. No product changes. No price increases. No new ad spend.
Trading companies are not factories. They buy from factories — often the same ones you could reach directly — and add their own markup before selling to you. That margin layer typically runs between 20% and 35%, depending on the product category and how deep the chain goes.
My client had been paying it for two years without knowing. That’s not unusual. On sourcing platforms, trading companies and factories use identical templates, post the same certifications, and frequently claim to be manufacturers. Without visiting the facility in person or auditing the supply chain, you genuinely cannot tell the difference from behind a screen.
This is the specific gap that a ground-level sourcing agent fills.
Traced the Actual Manufacturer
I requested a sample batch and identified the real manufacturer through component markings and internal packaging codes. The factory was in Dongguan — not Shenzhen, and not connected to the trading company in any official capacity.
Ran a Factory Verification
Business license check, production line walkthrough, QC process review. The factory was legitimate and willing to work direct — they just hadn’t had a way to connect with overseas buyers without going through a middleman.
Negotiated Direct Terms
Unit cost dropped 28% on the first order. Combined with a lower return rate — because quality feedback now went directly to the people making the product, not through a middleman — the net margin moved from 18% to 41% within one production cycle.
Margin problems usually get blamed on ad costs, platform fees, or market saturation. Those are real pressures. But if you’ve been selling the same product for more than six months and the margin hasn’t improved, the supply chain is the first place I’d look — not the listing.
The signal to watch for
Your “factory” supplier replies instantly to every enquiry — real factories have production schedules and don’t monitor emails 24/7.
Customisation requests get vague answers or unusually long lead times — they have to relay everything back to the actual maker.
The invoice address and the factory visit address are different cities. That gap is someone else’s margin.
Think you might be buying from a trading company?
Send me your current supplier details. I’ll tell you within 48 hours whether there’s a factory-direct option — and what it would realistically save you per order.
