How is this checklist different for each product niche?

The compliance surface changes completely by category. Baby products carry testing and labelling duties that garden lighting does not, and electronics bring EMC and low-voltage requirements that textiles never touch. The generated checklist reflects the category you enter.

Do I need to visit the factory in person?

Not always, but someone should. For a first order of any significant value, a third-party audit or an agent visit is usually cheaper than the first failed production run. Video calls walking the line are a reasonable middle step for lower-value orders.

What is the single most common vetting mistake?

Accepting a certificate without checking that it covers the exact model being bought. Reused and expired certificates are widespread, and the importer, not the supplier, is the party the market surveillance authority contacts.

Is the checklist free?

Yes, with no sign-up. It generates in a few seconds and can be printed. The paid SinoSource report goes further with evidence-scored supplier shortlists and Safety Gate screening for your product scope.

Free tool · for importers already sourcing

What should this actually cost?

Name: Supplier Vetting Checklist
Author: SinoSource

Build the price up from its parts — material, labour, machine time, overhead, tooling and margin — then see how far a real quote sits from it, and what that gap is worth as a negotiating position.

Every figure below is yours. This supplies the structure a factory actually costs to — it does not know your material prices or cycle times, and a model built on guessed inputs will not survive contact with a factory that knows its own costs.

What it is made of

One component to start. Add a component for every separate part and finishing step — a vacuum bottle is two shells, a lid, a seal and a coating pass, and modelling it as a single part understates it by more than half.

Weight grams Material € per kg Scrap % Labour min per unit Labour rate € per hour Cycle seconds Machine rate € per hour

Order quantity

Overhead, tooling and margin

Typical starting points, not facts about your factory. Chinese contract manufacturers commonly run 10–25% overhead on conversion and 5–15% net margin; both move with volume, complexity and how much the factory wants the work.

Factory overhead % of conversion Packaging € per unit Tooling € one-off Factory margin %

Against a real quote

Quoted price € per unit, ex works Best alternative quote €, optional Annual volume units, optional