This comes up more often than most buyers expect. A supplier presents professionally, responds quickly, quotes a competitive price — and turns out to be a trading company, not a factory. Whether that matters depends on your situation, but if you're trying to go direct, it helps to know how to tell.
Here is how I approach it.
Start with the Email Domain
A factory will almost always use an email address that matches their company name. A trading company usually won't — they'll use Gmail, a generic domain, or something unrelated to the factory name. It's a small signal, but a consistent one.
Look at the Company Name
Words like "Trading", "International", "Import & Export", or "Service" in the company name are strong indicators of a trading company. Factories rarely use these terms — they tend to name themselves around what they make.
Google the Company
Search their exact company name. A real factory will almost always have content about their production capabilities — equipment, workshops, capacity. They want buyers to know they're a factory. If the website is vague, product-focused only, or has no manufacturing information at all, that's worth noting.
When You're Still Not Sure, Ask Directly
Just ask: are you a factory or a trading company? If they say factory, follow up by requesting their BSCI report, ISO certificate, or similar third-party audit document. Check the name on the certificate against the company name and email domain. If they don't match, you have your answer.
The Harder Case: When a Factory and Trading Company Work Together
This is where it gets more complicated — and it's something most buyers don't know to look for.
Some factories have commission arrangements with trading companies, and go as far as providing them with a factory-domain email address, so the trading company appears to be a direct factory contact. The trading company is still taking a cut — which means your budget is being compressed without you knowing it. You're paying more than you should for the same factory relationship.
The arrangement tends to be closer than a typical trading company setup — but the extra layer is still eating into your margin.
A few ways to work through this:
- Visit the factory in person. Leave your business card — that's completely normal. If the arrangement between the factory and trading company isn't exclusive, factories will often reach out to you directly afterwards. During the visit, it's also worth asking questions like how long the trading company representative has worked there, or which department they sit in. Hesitation or vague answers can tell you something.
- Arrange a third-party factory audit. If you can't visit yourself, request that the factory owner or manager sign the audit report and include their direct contact details. Finding the decision-maker matters — they're the one who can actually choose to work with you directly.
- Request certification documents. The lowest-cost option: ask for BSCI, ISO, or similar reports upfront. The registered company name on those documents is the actual factory. Search for that company online, find their direct contact, and reach out yourself.
The goal in all of these is the same: get past the intermediary and connect directly with the factory.
Some trading companies add genuine value — especially for smaller orders or mixed-category sourcing. But it's worth thinking through whether your project justifies having an extra layer in between that's taking a margin out of your budget.
Happy to hear how others have handled this — it probably looks different across categories.
Work with Irene
From the factory floor to the buying office — I have worked both sides. I know what suppliers say to buyers, what they leave out, and exactly what buyers actually need.
I work with European and Australian businesses that need someone on the ground in China — for supplier sourcing, quality oversight, and projects that cannot afford to go wrong. If what you have read here sounds familiar, I am happy to have a conversation.