Almost every dispute we are asked to rescue started as a payment decision — full advance to an unverified account, or a wire to a company name that did not match the invoice. These are the structures that keep you protected.
| Structure | How it works | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| TT 30 / 70 | A deposit to start production, balance against a copy of the bill of lading before documents are released | The most common arrangement for regular orders |
| TT with balance after inspection | Balance released only after the pre-dispatch inspection report is approved | Stronger for a first order with a new factory |
| Letter of Credit | Your bank pays against documents that exactly match the LC terms | Large orders; adds bank cost and paperwork on both sides |
| Full advance | Everything paid before production | Only for very small samples. Avoid it for bulk. |
We verify the factory before you pay anything — business licence, factory visit by our own team in Guangdong, and confirmation that the company you are paying is the company making your goods. Because we negotiate in Chinese and physically visit, the checks are real rather than a form-filling exercise.
We do not publish rates or fee tables, because a sourcing engagement depends on the product, quantity and how much of the process you want us to run. Send us the requirement and we come back with the commercial terms in writing.
It is reasonable, but for a first order with a new factory we prefer the balance to be released after the pre-dispatch inspection rather than against a bill of lading copy. It costs the supplier nothing if the goods are right.
For large orders it is worth the cost. For routine orders the bank charges and document-matching burden usually outweigh the benefit, and a well-structured TT with inspection achieves most of the protection.
It is not automatically wrong — many exporters invoice through a Hong Kong entity. But it must be explained, documented and consistent with the contract. An unexplained change, or an account in an individual's name, is a stop signal.
Your practical remedy is whatever the inspection report and contract give you. This is precisely why we inspect before dispatch — recovering money after a container has landed in India is extremely difficult.
Have a question about this? Send it to us — we answer with your actual case, not a brochure.
