Expert answers to the most common questions about sourcing products from China. We are based in London Mayfair and ship to the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America, India, Australia and beyond.
A product sourcing agent acts as your on-the-ground representative in the manufacturing country (in our case, China). We identify, vet and negotiate with factories on your behalf, manage the production process, oversee quality control and coordinate the logistics of getting finished goods to your destination.
At Huntley Global, we manage the entire journey - from your initial product concept through to delivery at your UK address. That means factory finding, product customisation, packaging design, pre-shipment inspections and customs clearance, all managed under one roof.
Yes. We offer a complimentary 30-minute Sourcing Session via Google Meet for every prospective client. It is a genuine, no-obligation strategic conversation where Director Kaysey Chang reviews your product concept, assesses commercial viability and explains exactly how Huntley Global can protect your interests.
There is no sales pitch. If we are not the right fit for your project, we will tell you honestly and where possible point you in a more useful direction. You can book your session here.
The starting point is our complimentary 30-minute Sourcing Session. You can book directly via Calendly on our Contact & Booking page, or email Kaysey directly at kaysey@huntleyglobal.co.uk.
In the session, we'll review your product concept, assess commercial and manufacturing viability, and confirm whether we are taking on new clients in your product category. If we are a good fit, we will provide a written project brief and fee proposal within five working days.
Huntley Global deliberately limits the number of active projects we manage at any one time. This is not a conventional agency model where your account is handed to a junior team once you have signed.
Every client engagement is personally led by Director Kaysey Chang. By keeping our client roster selective, we ensure that every project receives dedicated oversight, direct communication and the quality of attention that delivers results. If our current availability does not match your timeline, we will be upfront about that at your Sourcing Session.
No. One of the primary values Huntley Global provides is eliminating the need for business owners to travel to China. Director Kaysey Chang manages all factory visits, negotiations and production oversight in person, on your behalf.
Whether you are based in London, New York, Dubai, Lagos or São Paulo — you benefit from having a fluent, experienced professional on the factory floor without the cost, time and complexity of international travel. All updates, reports and sign-offs are communicated to you digitally.
Huntley Global's transparent pricing model is fully published on our Services & Pricing page. Here is a summary of our fees:
There are no hidden fees or supplier markups. We coordinate freight forwarding and global shipping from China to destination ports worldwide — including the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South America.
Radical transparency in our pricing is one of our founding principles. Every fee we charge is published in full on our website. You will never receive an invoice for a charge that was not agreed in writing before work commenced. Our transparent pricing model means we pass factory costs directly to you without opaque markups or padded logistics fees, which is a common practice among other sourcing agents.
Yes. Under our transparent pricing model, we believe in complete financial clarity. If you manage factory payments independently using our Client-Managed Payment option, you will receive the Chinese factory invoice directly from the manufacturer.
If you choose our Full-Service Procurement & Payment Settlement, the factory invoice is billed to Huntley Global, but we can provide copies of the original factory invoices upon request. This ensures you have clear, uninflated documentation for customs, audit trails, and tax authorities, with no hidden agent markups.
For repeat orders of the same products, your costs are reduced because our initial supplier validation, factory auditing, and product sampling are already complete. Consequently, the one-time sourcing fee is waived entirely on repeat orders.
You only pay for our production management phase (3–10% of order value) and logistics management (£50 + 5%). This makes our transparent pricing model highly cost-effective and predictable for growing your global e-commerce or retail brand.
The Sourcing Phase fee (from £350 per product category) covers:
More complex or highly regulated product categories may attract a higher Sourcing Fee. Any variation from the starting price is quoted and agreed in writing before any work begins.
Paying international factories carries real risk - fraud, scams and misappropriated payments are common in unvetted supply chains. Huntley Global offers two transparent options:
Option A (No Fee): Client-Managed Payment. We provide you with the factory's verified banking information. You make the transfer independently through your own banking or FX provider.
Option B (2% + 1%): Full-Service Procurement & Settlement. We manage the transaction on your behalf with a full audit trail. The 2% covers international banking network fees (passed through at cost); our 1% admin fee covers oversight, verification and reconciliation.
Our factory network has been built over six years of hands-on sourcing experience. We do not rely on directories or trade show listings - we have tested these relationships directly by running our own manufacturing projects through them.
For each new candidacy, we assess: production capability, verified compliance documentation, UK and EU export history, financial stability, current capacity, and references from existing clients. We physically visit factories we are considering before recommending them to a client.
MOQs vary significantly between product categories and factories. Consumer goods and accessories might start from 300–500 units; more complex manufactured items could require 1,000–5,000 units for the factory to accept an order at a viable price.
Part of our Discovery Phase is assessing what MOQ is realistic for your product and identifying factories willing to work with your required quantities - and negotiating it down where possible using our established relationships.
We source a wide range of consumer and commercial products, including branded merchandise, accessories, lifestyle goods, health & beauty products, homewares, promotional items and more. We assess each product category individually for factory availability, compliance requirements and commercial viability.
If you are unsure whether your product is suitable, our free 30-minute Sourcing Session is the ideal starting point - we will give you an honest assessment.
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) means you provide a precise design or product specification, and the factory manufactures it to your exact requirements - including your branding. This gives you a proprietary product but typically requires more development time and higher MOQs.
ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) means the factory has an existing product design that you can customise - changing materials, colours, finishes and applying your branding. ODM is faster and less expensive, making it ideal for first-time importers or smaller order quantities.
We advise on the right approach for your brief during the Discovery Phase.
Yes. Huntley Global has a dedicated, on-the-ground team physically located in China's key manufacturing hubs (predominantly Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces). Having our own staff in China allows us to perform direct factory audits, inspect products for quality, and check packaging in person before cargo is loaded.
This eliminates language barriers, verifies supplier legitimacy, and ensures strict quality control before your products leave China for global shipping.
Our primary sourcing network is in China (predominantly Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces), where the majority of affordable consumer goods manufacturing is concentrated. We also source from Vietnam, which is an increasingly competitive alternative for certain categories as businesses seek to diversify their supply chains.
Regardless of the manufacturing location, we coordinate the entire logistics chain, providing global shipping directly from the factory floor to your business address in the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America, and beyond.
A typical end-to-end timeline from initial brief to UK delivery is 12–20 weeks, depending on product complexity, number of sample rounds required and shipping method.
We provide a detailed project timeline at the outset of every engagement so you know exactly when to expect each milestone.
Our standard Quality Gate includes a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) - a physical examination of a statistically significant sample of finished goods before packing for shipment.
The inspector checks against your agreed specification: dimensions, materials, print quality, colour accuracy, functionality and packaging condition. Findings are reported to you in writing, and nothing ships without your explicit sign-off.
For larger or more complex orders, we also offer in-line inspections during the production run to catch issues before they escalate to the full batch.
A pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is a physical examination of your finished goods at the factory before they are packed for export. An inspector reviews a random statistical sample of the production run against your agreed specification - checking dimensions, materials, print quality, functionality and packaging integrity.
Any non-conformances are documented and reported to you in writing before shipment is approved. Our standard Quality Gate includes a PSI on every production order we manage.
To secure your supply chain, our on-the-ground team performs three tiers of inspections:
We verify that all goods meet your exact specifications and international standards. A detailed inspection report with high-resolution photos and video is provided to you before we authorize global shipping.
Yes. Our packaging design service covers the full journey from initial concept through to print-ready production artwork. We design packaging that meets UK retail standards, includes all legally required labelling information, and is optimised for the factory's production capabilities.
We design custom packaging and charge between £100 to £800 depending on the scale and complexity of the project.
Our pre-shipment inspection process is specifically designed to prevent quality issues from reaching the UK. However, if problems are identified post-arrival that were not detectable during inspection, we act as your advocate with the factory to negotiate remedies - which may include replacement units, partial refunds or credits against future orders.
The precise terms of our quality assurance process are set out in the Master Service Agreement signed at the start of every engagement.
Yes. Our Logistics Phase covers the management of all customs documentation, duty declarations and port clearances for importing goods to any destination worldwide — including the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America and beyond. We coordinate global shipping (sea freight, air freight, or rail) from China to your final warehouse address. We charge £50 + 5% of the order value to manage this entire process.
Note: Import duty itself is a government charge payable to the relevant authority in your destination country — this is separate from our logistics management fee. We will confirm the applicable duty rate for your specific product and destination during the Discovery Phase.
UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) is the certification mark required for products placed on the Great Britain market. CE marking applies to products sold in the European Union and Northern Ireland. Whether you need one or both depends on your product category (electrical, toys, cosmetics, medical devices, etc.) and intended sales territory.
During the Discovery Phase, we carry out an initial compliance assessment for your product and advise on the certification pathway. We also seek factories with existing compliance documentation and UK/EU export history to reduce your compliance burden. Note that final product certifications remain the legal responsibility of the Importer of Record.
Yes. Compliance is a central part of our factory shortlisting process. For regulated product categories (electrical goods, cosmetics, food contact materials, children's products, etc.), we specifically seek factories with existing compliance documentation, audit histories and UK or EU export records.
We provide initial guidance on the certification pathway and factory documentation requirements. Final product compliance and safety certifications remain the legal responsibility of the Importer of Record - but we ensure the factory side of that equation is as well-documented as possible.
The Discovery Phase - covering technical auditing, factory shortlisting, initial sample coordination and our written sourcing report - typically takes between 3 and 6 weeks, depending on the complexity of your product category and the number of factories we evaluate.
We provide a more specific estimate at the outset of each engagement, once we understand the full scope of your brief.
If your question is not answered above, the most direct route is to book our free 30-minute Sourcing Session. There are no sales scripts and no obligation - just a straightforward conversation with a sourcing specialist.
Every successful production run starts with a single conversation. Book your free 30-minute Sourcing Session and let's explore whether your project is a good fit for Huntley Global.
kaysey@huntleyglobal.co.uk · Google Meet · Director-led