Supplier Risk
Mould ownership in China: protect your tooling
Paying for a mould is not the same as controlling it. The tooling agreement, the checks on the mould, and moving it safely.
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Buyer guides for inspection work in China.
Practical articles for importers, brand owners, sourcing teams, and buyers who need clearer supplier control before shipment.
Compliance
Prop 65 and RoHS: inspection vs. lab testing
Warnings, XRF screening and sealed samples on site — and what only a lab can prove under Prop 65 and RoHS.
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Packaging
Cosmetic packaging inspection in China
Zone-based appearance standards, moulding defects, and leak, torque and pump tests for bottles, jars and pumps.
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Free Tool
AQL calculator: sample size and accept/reject numbers
Enter your lot size to get the ISO 2859-1 sample size and accept and reject numbers for major and minor defects.
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Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA inspection in China: inbound checklist
FNSKU scans, covered barcodes, poly bags, carton size and weight — checked at the factory, where FBA errors are still cheap to fix.
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Supplier Risk
Quality fade: why later orders get worse
Why repeat orders slowly get worse, where suppliers cut first, and how to freeze the standard.
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Supplier Risk
Is your factory secretly subcontracting your order?
Warning signs that your order is being made somewhere else, and the PO terms that prevent it.
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Kitchenware
Kitchenware and food contact inspection in China
304 vs. 201 stainless steel, coating and leak tests on site, and what must go to a lab under FDA and EU rules.
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Hardware
Hardware and fastener inspection in China
Head markings, thread gauges, hardness, torque and coating thickness — measuring what a visual check cannot see.
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Compliance
US country of origin marking: what to check
Why "Made in China" on the carton is often not enough, and how to check the product, the package and the carton.
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Compliance
EU GPSR inspection checklist for China shipments
Manufacturer and EU operator details, batch numbers, languages and warnings — the GPSR points you can check at the factory.
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Buying Terms
Why not to pay the balance before inspection
The unpaid balance is your leverage. How to handle pressure to pay early and keep the schedule on track.
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Buying Terms
Inspection clauses for a China purchase order
Seven clauses with example wording: access, AQL, production site, changes, re-inspection, shipping and payment.
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Inspection Tests
On-site tests during a product inspection
Drop tests, barcode scans, hi-pot, tape adhesion, rub tests and more: what each finds, and how to put them in the checklist.
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Supplier Verification
Trading company or factory? How to tell in China
Business licence and scope, the public registry, what the site shows, and how to inspect when your supplier does not own the factory.
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Garments & Textiles
Garment and textile inspection in China
Sampling across sizes and colours, measuring against the size chart, shade, labels, drawstrings and needle control.
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Case Study
Case study: grade 20 steel in place of grade 30
Parts that passed every visual check were made from a cheaper steel grade. The raw-material report is what caught it.
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Furniture
Furniture inspection in China: what to check before shipment
Assembly from the carton, finish against the approved sample, stability, moisture and drop tests, and what still needs a lab.
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Toys
Toy inspection in China: on-site checks and what needs a lab
Small parts, sharp edges, torque and tension, labels and age grading — and why a valid test report can stop describing your goods.
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Electrical Products
Small appliance and electronics inspection in China
Hi-pot and earth tests, run tests, opening units to compare components with the certification, and destination markings.
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Supplier Verification
How to verify a new supplier in China
Business identity, the real operating site, capability against your order — and what verification still cannot tell you.
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Factory Audit
What a factory audit should tell a buyer
Reading audit findings beyond pass/fail, and where an audit ends and a product inspection begins.
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Checklist & Sample Approval
Inspection checklist and sample approval
What to define before the inspector arrives — starting with the golden sample everything else is measured against.
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Production-Stage Checks
During production inspection and initial production check
What mid-order checks catch that final inspection cannot, and which orders justify each stage.
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AQL Sampling
AQL sampling inspection explained for importers
Sample sizes and inspection levels, what a pass actually proves, and when 100% inspection is worth it instead.
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Defect Classification
Critical, major, minor: how defect classification works
How the three categories drive the pass/fail result — and where classification disputes with suppliers get settled.
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Packaging Inspection
Packaging, labeling, and carton mark inspection
Why packaging is the last thing built and the first thing to go wrong, and what to specify in the brief.
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Inspection Report
What a pre-shipment inspection report should show
Sampling method, checkpoint coverage, photo evidence — and how to read a report the factory commissioned.
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Failed Inspection
What to do when a pre-shipment inspection fails
Rework, sorting, concession, or rejection — and how long your leverage actually lasts.
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Loading Supervision
Loading supervision in China
Container condition, carton count, seal evidence — and what that record is worth when a claim arises.
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Inspection Cost
What third-party inspection costs in China
The man-day model, what drives a quote up or down, and what a low quote usually leaves out.
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