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早起鸟儿Real people verify real things

Supplier reality check

Five checks you can do yourself, for free, before you wire a deposit. Work through them here — we will tell you what each one genuinely proves, and what it cannot.

Nothing you type is sent anywhere. This runs entirely in your browser.

  1. 1

    The business licence (营业执照)

    Every mainland Chinese company has an 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on its licence. Ask for a photo of the licence, then look the code up on the government registry at gsxt.gov.cn, or on a commercial tool like Qichacha / Tianyancha.

    Proves:
    The company legally exists, when it was registered, its registered capital, and its official registered address.
    Cannot prove:
    That anyone is at that address, or that the company makes anything. Registering a company in China is cheap and fast.
  2. 2

    Marketplace badges

    Gold Supplier, Verified Supplier, Assessed Supplier — these mean different things. Read the badge’s own definition on the marketplace rather than assuming. Most confirm a third party checked paperwork; some include a site visit.

    Cannot prove:
    That the company selling to you is the one that makes the goods. A trading company can legitimately hold every badge on the list. None of them means "we watched them manufacture something".
  3. 3

    Satellite and street imagery

    Put the address into a mapping service and look at the building. An industrial park looks like an industrial park. If the registered address resolves to a residential tower or a co-working floor, that is worth a question.

    Cannot prove:
    Satellite imagery is often one to three years old. A closed factory and a busy one look identical from above.
  4. 4

    Reverse image search their photos

    Run their factory photos through a reverse image search.

    Proves:
    If the same production line appears on twenty other suppliers’ pages, those are stock photos or someone else’s plant. That is a real finding.
    Cannot prove:
    A clean result proves nothing — it only means nobody else reused those photos.
  5. 5

    Ask for a live video walk-through

    Ask them to walk from the street sign, through the gate, to the production floor — in one unbroken call, today. It is free, and a real factory can do it in five minutes.

    Cannot prove:
    You are seeing what they choose to show you, from an address you cannot independently confirm. An unbroken walk from a street sign you can read is much harder to fake than a clip — but it is still their camera.

And these three, no amount of desk research can answer

  • Is there anything at that address today — or is the registered address an empty office? — Companies stay registered long after they stop operating. Nothing above is dated today.
  • Does the sign on the building match the company you are talking to? — A different name on the door usually means you are talking to an intermediary.
  • Is anyone actually working there, or is it a shell that someone rents by the month? — Not on a prepared call — in person, unannounced, by someone with no stake in the answer.

Every check above uses information the supplier controls, or that was recorded some time ago. These three need a person standing on that street, today.

Answer any of the five above and a summary appears here, including the questions that stay open no matter how much you research.

Run by Wuhu Zaoqiniaoer Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhu, Anhui, China. We do not sell products, and we have no relationship with any supplier you check here — which is the whole reason our answer is worth anything.