China purchasing agent for Mexico

Your purchasing officein China

We find the factory, check the sample, follow production and deliver the cargo to your warehouse. You deal with one company, in your language and your time zone.

Stacked containers and gantry cranes at a southern China port terminal at dawn
The route

Why buy with us

We speak your language and the factory's

Spanish, Chinese and English in the same conversation.

One point of contact

The same person stays with you from the first email to delivery.

You pay one company

One invoice per project instead of ten transfers to ten factories.

You see the cargo before it ships

Photos and video of production and packing before shipping.

What goes wrong when you buy on your own

None of these problems are unusual. The job is catching them while they can still be fixed.

You write and three days go by with no answer

We sit in the factory's time zone. We ask in the morning in China and answer you the same day in Mexico.

The sample is perfect and the production is not

We keep the approved sample as a physical reference and production is compared against it, not against a photo.

Freight ends up costing more than the goods

We work out the volume before closing the order and adjust the packing so the container is actually filled.

You paid and now nobody answers

The deposit is released against verifiable milestones and the balance against an approved inspection.

Digital caliper measuring an aluminium part on an inspection bench
The approved sample is kept signed and production is measured against it. It is the evidence a claim is built on if the lot does not match.
Loaded container ship crossing the Pacific bound for MexicoFactory → Customs and your warehouse

The route, leg by leg

Six legs between the factory and your dock. Each one has something to check and someone answering for it.

  1. 01

    Factory

    We quote several plants from your one spec sheet and send you the comparison. No deposit goes out before the factory is chosen.

  2. 02

    Sample

    We request the physical sample, check it here and keep it signed. Production is compared against that sample, not against a photo.

  3. 03

    Production

    Photo and video follow-up while the line runs. If something drifts, you hear about it while it can still be fixed.

  4. 04

    Inspection

    Pre-shipment check against the criterion agreed in writing. A lot that fails is fixed at the factory, which is where it is cheap.

  5. 05

    Consolidation

    We bring several suppliers together into one shipment, check the packing for the transit and prepare the documents.

  6. 06

    Customs and your warehouse

    Your customs broker clears it with the full paperwork in hand. The cargo ends at your warehouse door.

What is included and what is not

We would rather say it up front. A clear limit at the start avoids an argument once the cargo is on the water.

Included

  • Sourcing and comparison of factories from a single spec sheet.
  • Verification that the supplier exists, produces what it claims and is registered.
  • Negotiation of price, minimum quantity and payment terms.
  • Physical sample checked and kept signed as the reference.
  • Production follow-up with photo and video evidence.
  • Pre-shipment inspection against the agreed criterion.
  • Consolidation of several suppliers into one shipment.
  • Freight coordination and shipping documents.
  • One contact, in Spanish and on your clock.

Not included

  • Clearance in Mexico stays on your side: we hand over the full paperwork and coordinate with the broker you choose.
  • Cargo insurance is contracted separately and is not part of the commission. We always recommend taking it.
  • Payments to the factory leave your account, in your name; the money never passes through us.
  • Before quoting with factories there is no price: any figure said from memory is a made-up number.
  • A supplier who refuses to have the lot inspected is dropped from the list.
  • You bring the product. We start from your spec, your sample or your drawing; we do not design it.

If something you need is on neither list, ask before you sign. We would rather say we do not do it than say yes and work it out along the way.

What your final number depends on

We do not publish a rate because there is not one single rate. These are the six factors that move the number, so you know what to ask.

01

Volume and minimum quantity

Unit price drops with quantity, but the factory minimum can be higher than your first order. Sometimes a different factory beats a different price.

02

The Chinese calendar

The weeks before Chinese New Year have the worst price-to-quality ratio: lines are saturated and staff leave. Moving the order three weeks is usually worth more than negotiating.

03

The Incoterm you sign

Two quotes are not comparable if one is EXW and the other CIF. What changes is not the goods price but how many costs stay on your side afterwards.

04

How the container gets filled

A half-filled container costs almost the same as a full one. Working out the volume before closing, and adjusting the packing, usually moves the final cost more than a per-unit discount.

05

How much checking you want

Sampling is not the same cost as checking piece by piece. It is decided per product: machinery is run and tested, textiles are checked by lot.

06

How special your product is

A catalogue product with your logo is not the same as one with its own mould, certification or designed packaging. The mould is paid once, but it is worth knowing who ends up owning it.

Consolidation warehouse aisle with stretch-wrapped pallets and a forklift at the far end
A half-filled container costs almost the same as a full one: volume is worked out before closing the order, not after.

Reference figures worth keeping at hand

General references for Asia to Mexico ocean trade. Useful for sizing; the final figure always comes from your quotation.

33 m³Approximate usable capacity of a 20 ft container
76 m³Approximate usable capacity of a 40 ft high cube
24 to 32 daysUsual ocean transit from a south China port to Manzanillo
16 %General VAT rate on customs value when importing into Mexico

Duties depend on the tariff code of each item and are reviewed by the customs broker before clearance.

Questions we get before we start

The same nine, almost always in the same order.

What if it turns out not to be worth importing?

We tell you before we start. Some products, once landed in your warehouse, do not compete with what is already available in Mexico, and some orders are so small that freight eats the difference. We would rather lose the job than have you lose the money.

Do I have to travel to China?

No. That is the point of the service: we are in the same time zone as the factory and we go to the plant when needed. If you do want to travel, we set up the visit schedule.

What if the factory goes quiet halfway through the order?

We are in their time zone and within travelling distance, so the first move is not an email: it is showing up. That is also why the deposit is released against verifiable milestones and the sample is kept signed: if the supplier has to change, you do not start from zero.

Can anything change once production has started?

It depends what and when. A packaging or label change almost always fits; a dimension or a material almost never does without redoing the sample. That is why we insist on approving the sample in writing before the line starts.

Do you pay the factory?

No. Payments leave your account, in your name, so the commercial relationship with the factory is yours. We verify who is being paid before the transfer goes out.

What if the goods arrive wrong?

That is what the signed sample and the pre-shipment inspection are for: they are the evidence a claim is built on. What is caught before shipping is fixed at the factory; after shipping the conversation changes, which is why we insist on cargo insurance.

Do you work with suppliers from the platforms?

Yes, and outside them too. A platform is a directory, not a guarantee: many who advertise as factories are middlemen. Verifying who actually produces is part of the job.

Can I put my own brand on it?

Yes. It ranges from something simple, such as your logo and packaging on a catalogue product, to a product with its own mould. The budget changes and the contract changes, and it is worth putting in writing who owns the mould.

What language do we work in?

Spanish with you and Chinese with the factory. There is no translator in the middle and no English email chains where half of what was agreed gets lost.

Tractor-trailer hauling a red container on a Mexican highway at dusk

Start with a list

Send us what you need and we come back with real factory options

A photo, a link or a description is enough to start. If the product is not worth importing, we will say so.