Short, direct answers to the questions B2B buyers ask before sourcing from China. Factory verification, MOQ ranges, payment terms, tariffs, and what to do when things go sideways.
Mostly yes — but a 30-minute, 6-point document and trace check separates a real Lecong-district furniture factory from a trading company.
It depends — FOB unit prices in 2026 typically run from about $40 for a basic chair to $800+ for a custom upholstered sofa, driven by four levers.
It depends — PO-to-FOB-ready typically runs 30 to 90 days, driven by factory backlog, materials, sample rounds, and pre-shipment inspection.
It depends — neither city has a categorical edge. Foshan dominates residential upholstery and case goods; Dongguan leads in office and outdoor contract volume.
Yes — five document and behavior checks done over email and one short video call usually separate a real Chinese manufacturer from a trading company.
It depends — MOQs typically run 50-500 units for furniture, 100-1,000 for acrylic displays, and 1,000-5,000 for cosmetics OEM, driven by setup cost and material chemistry.
30/70 means 30% deposit on order, 70% on completion before shipment — the default T/T split with China factories. The protective conditions live on the 70% leg, not the headline ratio.
Different tools for different jobs — an open marketplace's catalog scale versus a curated, verified GBA directory. Pick by sourcing scenario, not by name recognition.
Usually not fraud — a 7-day diagnostic plus parallel bank-recall and platform-escrow tracks is the fastest path to resume the order or recover funds.
Six pre-contract questions and a short list of third-party test reports keep most Prop 65 60-day notices from ever reaching your inbox — whether you import composite-wood furniture, plastic displays, or private-label cosmetics.
Yes — check the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on China's official gsxt.gov.cn registry in about ten minutes, then read the business scope to spot a trader posing as a factory.
It depends — small countertop acrylic displays typically run a few dollars per unit FOB, with size, thickness, finishing, and order volume moving the price.
Five steps — write a clear spec, send an RFQ, agree the sample fee and lead time, evaluate against your spec, then lock a signed golden sample into the order.
It depends on who verified it — a document upload proves little, while a real audit means an auditor walked the production line and signed a dated report.
CIF covers the ocean freight and a basic insurance policy to the destination port; FOB stops at the ship — and under both, the risk passes to you when the furniture is loaded in China.
Plan on three to five months for a first custom order — and expect production to be the shortest part of it, with vetting and sample rounds taking most of the calendar.
It depends on the product: Guangdong runs deeper in furniture, electronics and displays; Zhejiang in textiles, hardware and small commodities — then reliability is verified factory by factory, not by province.
It depends on the product: electronics is Shenzhen’s deeper export machine; display stands are the simpler spec and faster first order — and both ship from the same export base.
Start with evidence, not accusation — the approved sample and the written spec decide it, and most cases end in rework, replacement, a discount or a credit against the next order.
ASTM standards are voluntary until the CPSC writes one into federal law — and the two rules most likely to catch a furniture order, formaldehyde and upholstery flammability, are not ASTM standards at all.
It depends on how much of the product is yours — stock is the faster, cheaper way to get goods on a shelf, and made-to-order is how you end up with a product a competitor cannot buy from the same supplier next week.
Waiting quietly is the worst move — split the shipment, move the critical portion by air, use the balance payment, inspect early, or check who carries the risk under your Incoterm.
Usually both — REACH covers nearly everything that enters the EU, RoHS only products with electrical function. Neither is a certificate, and the importer, not the factory, carries the legal duty.
It depends on the product — Vietnam typically wins labour-heavy, stable-spec volume runs; China keeps the edge on custom OEM work, supply-chain depth and sampling speed.
Document everything before touching the shipment — photographs, the packing list and a written claim decide it, and goods never go back to China without a written agreement.
Mostly duty-free — ChAFTA took the tariff on Chinese-origin furniture to zero, claimed with a Certificate of Origin. What remains is 10% GST, timber biosecurity screening and an illegal-logging due diligence duty.