Choosing a sourcing agent or buying directly from a China factory is a decision about purchasing responsibility, information access and total coordination cost. An agent can perform useful work, but a commission does not establish independence or replace the buyer’s approval of specifications and commercial terms.

Compare the proposed arrangements for the same product, quality requirements and delivery boundary. A lower factory unit price may omit work that the agent’s proposal includes, while an agent’s service description may leave important decisions with the buyer.

Define the agent’s authority

List the tasks the agent will perform: supplier search, quotation comparison, sample coordination, purchase-order administration or follow-up. State which decisions require buyer approval, including supplier selection, substitutions, quantity changes and shipment release.

Identify the contractual seller and the recipient of payment. A sourcing representative, a trading company and a factory can occupy different roles. The paperwork should reflect the actual arrangement rather than using the word “agent” to obscure who sells the goods.

Ask how the agent is paid and whether it receives compensation from suppliers. The buyer needs to understand potential conflicts, even when the quoted service is commercially acceptable.

Normalize the procurement comparison

Include the product price, agent fee, sample work, inspections, buyer coordination, payment costs and the agreed origin handoff. Separate costs that differ between the alternatives from costs both will incur.

For an illustrative $10,000 order, a 5% agent fee is $500. If the buyer still expects $300 of retained coordination work, the modeled service burden is $800. A direct arrangement might instead require $450 of inspection coordination, $300 of travel or remote review and $150 of other administrative work, totaling $900 under invented assumptions.

This example does not establish market commissions or show that either route is generally cheaper. Different included tasks or product prices can reverse the comparison.

The ICC FCA and EXW guidance also shows why the named delivery place and export responsibilities matter when comparing supplier prices.

Keep approval evidence under buyer control

Retain approved specifications, samples, quotations, purchase orders, changes and inspection decisions. The buyer should be able to retrieve them without relying entirely on an individual intermediary’s messages.

Agree how supplier identity and manufacturing information will be disclosed and verified. A buyer can accept a trading-company relationship, but should not mistake it for a direct manufacturing contract.

When using a marketplace, read the current protection terms for the actual order. Alibaba’s Trade Assurance guide links order protection to the agreed transaction conditions. A platform badge or an off-platform promise should not be treated as a substitute for those conditions.

Decide who handles a failed order

Ask both options to explain the same scenario: the factory produces the wrong color, an inspection fails or part of the order is late. Identify who records the problem, negotiates corrective work and authorizes the final outcome.

The agent’s ability to communicate quickly is useful only if the buyer’s specification and approval authority remain clear. Conversely, direct access to a factory does not guarantee that the buyer has staff available to manage every exception.

Do not assign these purchasing responsibilities automatically to the warehouse or forwarder. Physical consolidation and transport coordination are separate scopes unless additional services have been agreed.

Choose the arrangement the buyer can govern

An agent may suit a buyer who needs defined local coordination across unfamiliar suppliers. Direct purchasing may suit a buyer with technical knowledge, established supplier relationships and capacity to manage the work itself.

Test the proposed handoff with a sample order or controlled pilot. Require an approval trail and a complete comparison of included work. The better arrangement is the one the buyer can explain, verify and change when the supplier or product creates a problem.

Sources and verification links

Operational rules can change. Check the linked primary sources and confirm shipment-specific requirements before booking.