FAQ
Questions buyers actually ask
The essentials
Can you guarantee a supplier is legitimate?
No. FactoryPass China reports what the available evidence shows and where it is inconsistent or missing. A registry record can confirm that a company is registered and active; it cannot confirm that the company will perform. We use a visible-risk vocabulary — low, moderate, elevated or high visible risk, or insufficient information — precisely because a guarantee would misrepresent what any review of this kind can establish.
What records do you check?
A Supplier Verification Report draws on Chinese public company registry information — legal entity name, unified social credit code, registration status, establishment date, registered capital, legal representative, registered address and business scope — together with abnormal-operation indicators and public judicial or enforcement indicators where they are available. We then compare those records against the supplier's marketplace profile, website, email domain, phone numbers and claimed addresses.
Can you verify an Alibaba supplier?
Yes. The usual task is establishing which legal entity actually sits behind the Alibaba storefront, because the trading name on a platform profile, the company on the proforma invoice and the beneficiary on the bank instructions are not always the same. Platform badges such as Verified Supplier or Gold Supplier describe a platform status, not an independent assessment of the factory, so we check the underlying registration separately.
Can you confirm whether it is a real factory?
We can report factory-versus-trading-company indicators — business scope wording, registered capital, employee-count and address signals, and whether the registered address is an industrial or an office location. Documentary indicators point strongly but are not conclusive. The direct way to test the claim is a Live Factory Visit, where a representative attends the site you were given and shows you what is there.
What happens during a live visit?
A bilingual field representative attends the supplier site and opens a live video connection to you at an agreed time. You direct the camera: exterior and signage, production floor where allowed, machinery, warehouse, packaging area and sample close-ups, plus questions put to the supplier representative in Chinese. Afterwards you receive visit notes, footage where recording was permitted, and a list of questions that were not resolved. It starts at US$899.
Can the supplier refuse filming?
Yes, and some will. A supplier may decline a visit entirely, restrict filming to certain areas, or exclude customer-specific lines and tooling for confidentiality reasons. We do not film covertly and we do not attempt to work around a refusal. What we do is report exactly what was refused, because a refusal is itself information you can weigh.
Is a live factory visit an audit?
No. A live factory video visit is a visual verification service, not a formal factory audit, product inspection, legal due diligence, financial audit, or certification. An audit is a structured assessment of a supplier's management systems against a defined standard, performed by a qualified auditor and issued as a formal report. A live visit shows you visible conditions at one site at one moment, with you directing what to look at.
How quickly can you arrange a visit?
In the major manufacturing hubs — the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Yiwu–Ningbo and the Qingdao area — a visit can typically be scheduled within 72 hours, subject to supplier confirmation, access approval and field-team availability. A 24–48 hour rush is possible at a 50% surcharge. Outside the base regions, scheduling is quoted case by case.
What documents should I send?
To start, send the supplier's company name as it appears on their documents, the marketplace profile or website link, and the quotation or proforma invoice if you have one. For a Pre-Deposit Risk Review we also need the payment instructions, including the beneficiary name and bank details. Do not send anything you are not authorized to share.
Do you receive commissions from suppliers?
No. FactoryPass China charges fixed buyer-paid fees only and takes no commissions or kickbacks from the supplier being reviewed. We do not accept referral fees for introducing you to a supplier, and we do not have a supplier list to sell you. Our only commercial relationship is with you.
Verification reports
What exactly do I receive with a Supplier Verification Report?
An English PDF report, delivered in 2–3 business days, covering the registered entity details, identity-consistency findings across the supplier's online presence, factory-versus-trading-company indicators, a visible-risk rating, a list of questions to put to the supplier, a recommended next step and an explicit statement of what the review could not establish.
What can Chinese public records not tell you?
Public registry data establishes legal existence, status and formal details. It does not establish production capacity, actual factory ownership, quality systems, financial health, subcontracting arrangements, or how the company behaves with customers. Registered capital in particular is a subscribed figure, not cash in the bank, and is regularly misread as a measure of size.
What if the company name on the quotation does not match the registry?
That is a common and important finding rather than an automatic disqualification. Chinese suppliers often trade under an English marketing name distinct from their registered Chinese name, and a group may quote through one entity and invoice through another. We report the mismatch, identify which entity the records actually describe, and give you the specific question to put to the supplier.
Do you need the supplier’s permission to run a verification report?
No, because the report is built from publicly available records and the supplier’s own published material. We do not contact the supplier as part of a standalone verification report unless you ask us to. A live visit is different — that requires the supplier’s consent by definition.
How current is the registry information?
We report the data as it appears on the date of review and we state that date in the report. Chinese registry records are updated on their own schedule, and a change in legal representative, address or status may not appear immediately. A report describes a point in time, not a permanent condition.
Can you check a Hong Kong or offshore company?
We can check Hong Kong registration details, which is often relevant because a mainland factory frequently invoices through a Hong Kong entity. The important question is usually the relationship between the two — whether the Hong Kong company is a related party or an unconnected intermediary. Where we cannot establish that link from available records, we say so.
Payments and deposits
Is the Pre-Deposit Risk Review sold on its own?
No. It is a US$100 add-on to the Supplier Verification Report, because reviewing payment documents without first establishing which company you are dealing with produces a much weaker answer. The combined starting price is US$299.
What is the most common problem you find in payment documents?
A mismatch between three names that should agree: the company on the proforma invoice, the registered legal entity, and the beneficiary on the bank instructions. Each mismatch has innocent explanations and serious ones, and the difference is usually resolvable with one direct question — but it has to be asked before the transfer, not after.
Should I refuse to pay into a personal bank account?
A personal account as beneficiary on a business transaction is a significant risk signal and removes most of your practical recourse, because the payment no longer sits against the company you contracted with. It is common in some small-supplier contexts and it is still a risk. We report it plainly and set out what to ask before you decide.
Can you tell me whether the price I was quoted is fair?
No — market pricing is outside the scope of this review and depends on specification, volume, materials and tooling that we are not positioned to price. What we do review is whether the commercial terms are complete and internally consistent: deposit and balance structure, lead time, inspection stage, packaging, warranty language and specification gaps.
What if the supplier changes bank details after I have paid a deposit?
Treat a mid-transaction change of bank details as a serious event and verify it through a channel you already trust, not through the email that requested it. This is one of the most common ways buyers lose money, and it frequently indicates a compromised supplier email account rather than a dishonest supplier.
Live factory visits
Do I need the supplier’s agreement for a live visit?
Yes. We coordinate access with the supplier you identify, and access, filming areas and management availability remain subject to supplier consent. In practice most suppliers agree, because a buyer preparing to place an order is a buyer they want. Where a supplier declines, we tell you that they declined and what reason they gave.
What if I cannot join at the scheduled time because of the time difference?
Factory hours in China are the constraint, so a live session is normally scheduled during a Chinese working day. Where the time zone makes attendance impractical, the representative can run the visit against your written checklist and deliver footage and notes instead — a weaker form of evidence than being live, since you cannot redirect the camera, and we will say so.
Can I record the session?
Session recording is included where it is technically and legally permitted and the supplier has consented. Some suppliers permit a live view but not a recording, particularly where other customers’ products are on the line. We confirm what is permitted before the visit rather than discovering it on the day.
What does a live visit cost outside the main manufacturing hubs?
Base pricing from US$899 applies to the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Yiwu–Ningbo and the Qingdao area. Remote-area travel adds US$100–200 or is quoted individually, a 24–48 hour rush adds 50%, and multiple sites or an extended session are quoted case by case.
The factory looked clean and busy. Does that prove it is a good supplier?
No. A visit shows visible conditions at one site on one day. It cannot establish future quality, financial stability, regulatory compliance or delivery reliability, and a prepared area can be presented for a visit. A live visit is strong evidence about identity and physical existence, moderate evidence about scale and process, and no evidence at all about future performance.
What if the supplier only shows us the showroom?
Then you have learned something specific and useful. We report exactly which areas were shown, which were requested and refused, and what reason was given, and we put the unresolved items on your follow-up list. A showroom-only visit does not establish manufacturing capacity, and we will not describe it as if it did.
Scope and disclaimer
FactoryPass China provides practical business verification, document review, supplier risk screening, and fieldwork coordination based on information available at the time of review.
Our services do not constitute legal advice, financial advice, certification, a formal factory audit, a product inspection, laboratory testing, or a guarantee of supplier performance, product quality, delivery, regulatory compliance, or future conduct.
Customers remain responsible for final supplier selection, contracts, payment decisions, product compliance, professional inspection, customs clearance, and import requirements.
A live factory video visit is a visual verification service, not a formal factory audit, product inspection, legal due diligence, financial audit, or certification.
Fixed buyer-paid fees only. We take no commissions or kickbacks from the supplier being reviewed. Read more about how we stay independent or how we reach a finding.
About to send a deposit?
Send the supplier name, profile link, quotation or PI. We will recommend the right verification step and reply by email within 24 hours. No call required.
Fixed buyer-paid fees only. We take no commissions or kickbacks from the supplier being reviewed.