"Will I see the factory's actual FOB price?"
A transparent agent shows the real factory quote plus their fee, clearly separated. An agent who can't or won't answer this directly, or only offers a single bundled price, is functioning more like an undisclosed trading company.
"Who performs inspection, and who do they report to?"
Inspection should be performed by the agent's own team, reporting to the buyer — not by the factory itself, and not by a third party the buyer has no direct line to. Ask specifically who signs off on a shipment before it loads.
"Can I see factories you've actually worked with?"
A legitimate agent should be able to reference specific factories and, ideally, arrange or describe a real visit — vague answers about "our network" without specifics are worth following up on directly.
"What happens if an order fails inspection?"
A good agent has a clear answer here — rework at the factory's cost, a hold on shipment, transparent communication with the buyer. Hesitation or a vague answer on this question is a meaningful signal about how disputes actually get handled.
Verify claims rather than collecting answers
Anyone can answer a question well. What separates a genuine agent is being able to back it up: naming factories they have actually worked with, offering a live video walkthrough of a production line, or putting you in contact with a current client. A polished website proves very little — an established WeChat history, a verifiable business registration and named contacts prove considerably more.
Put the parts that matter in writing
The things that cause disputes are rarely ambiguous at the start; they become ambiguous later. Agree in writing what the fee covers, which inspection stages are included and against what standard, how consolidation is handled, who is responsible for documentation, and what happens if a shipment fails inspection. A written scope also protects a good agent, which is usually why they are comfortable providing one.
Start with one order, not a retainer
Retainers suit buyers with continuous production, but they make a first engagement harder to evaluate. A single order gives you a full cycle — shortlisting, sampling, production, inspection, shipping — at a scale where the cost of being wrong is contained. Judge them on that before committing to anything ongoing.
Answers that should concern you
Watch for reluctance to itemise factory price and fee, no named person accountable for inspection, an inability to describe a specific rework or claims process, and any pressure to pay before terms are agreed. None of these are proof of bad faith on their own, but together they describe an arrangement where you would have little recourse if something went wrong.