We've spent over a decade in this industry and have watched too many buyers fall into the same traps: a sample revised four times that still doesn't match the design, a bulk lead time that slips again and again, a defect problem with no one left to call. Almost all of these can be ruled out before you place the order with a few questions. Verify these eight points one by one before you sign.
1. Verify credentials — and whether they are a factory or a trading company
A business licence is the baseline; if export is involved, confirm import/export qualification too. More important is telling a factory apart from a trading company that takes the order and subcontracts it — every layer a requirement passes through loses something, and both lead time and quality gain another point of failure. Ask them plainly: are pattern-making, cutting and sewing done in your own workshop? On a factory visit, look for yourself, or ask for a live video walkthrough of the floor — a legitimate factory won't refuse.
2. Look at the pattern room: development capability decides your cost of trial and error
Many partnership problems start in development: a sample far from the design, slow revisions, a pattern-maker you never speak to. Focus on three things:
- Is there an in-house pattern room and pattern-maker, or do they rely on an outsourced one?
- Are revisions free until the first sample is approved — and revised until both sides sign off?
- Is the communication line you ↔ pattern-maker directly, or relayed through a salesperson layer by layer?
3. Pin down MOQ and the quote structure
Minimum order quantity (MOQ) directly sets your cost of trial and error. Ask: how many pieces per style? How is the sampling fee charged, and can it be credited proportionally once bulk production is confirmed? Does the quote itemise fabric, trims and labour? A quote that gives only a lump sum will most likely come with additions later.
4. Put the lead time in the contract, not in a chat thread
"About 20 days" and a lead time locked into a contract are two different things. A dependable factory gives you a production schedule once the sample is approved and reports key milestones proactively (fabric in-house, cutting, finishing, QC). Always confirm: how is responsibility for delays defined? Should peak-season slots be booked in advance?
5. Quality standards: use the pre-production sample as the baseline
The anchor for bulk quality is the pre-production sample (PP sample) signed off by both sides. Verify that the factory confirms the first piece before cutting the run, and that it allows on-site inspection or a third-party inspection company. A factory that refuses third-party inspection deserves extra caution.
6. After-sales terms: who owns a defect
Finding defects after shipment is the fastest way to lose trust. Confirm the feedback window (say, within 48 hours), how responsibility is defined, and the remake or compensation terms — and get them written into the contract. After-sales is not a favour; it is a clause.
7. Will they sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?
Are your designs, reference samples and technical files used only for your order? Will they commit in writing not to copy the same style for a third party, or to sell it themselves? For a development-led brand this matters more than price.
8. Payment terms and account compliance
The deposit ratio (commonly 30%), the balance milestone, the currency and the corporate account — all confirmed in writing before you sign. A corporate transfer is the basic compliance line; for export orders, confirm the T/T route and currency.
Turn these eight points into a table and work through it with every factory you meet — after two or three rounds, your read on a "good factory" will beat most in the trade.