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.

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1. 1

   Business licence

   Ask for a photo of their business licence, then look up the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on the government registry (gsxt.gov.cn) or a tool like Qichacha.

   Proves:

   The company legally exists, when it was registered, and its official registered address.

   Cannot prove:

   Whether anyone is at that address. Registering a company in China is cheap and fast.

   Code checks out, details matchNo licence, or details do not matchHaven't done this
2. 2

   Marketplace badge

   Read the actual definition of their badge on the marketplace — Gold Supplier, Verified, Assessed all mean different things.

   Proves:

   Usually that a third party checked paperwork. Sometimes a site visit.

   Cannot prove:

   That the company selling to you is the one that makes the goods. A trading company can hold every badge on the list.

   Badge includes an on-site assessmentPaperwork only, or no badgeHaven't done this
3. 3

   Satellite and street imagery

   Put the registered address into a mapping service and look at the building.

   Proves:

   Whether the address is an industrial area, an office tower, or a residential block.

   Cannot prove:

   Anything about today — satellite imagery is often one to three years old. A closed factory and a busy one look identical from above.

   Looks like the kind of place they claimResidential, co-working, or nothing thereHaven't done this
4. 4

   Reverse image search

   Run their factory photos through a reverse image search.

   Proves:

   Whether those photos are theirs.

   Cannot prove:

   Whether the real plant looks anything like the photos.

   Photos appear only on their own pagesSame photos appear elsewhereHaven't done this
5. 5

   Live video walk-through

   Ask them to walk from the street sign, through the gate, to the production floor — in one unbroken call, today.

   Proves:

   That someone is somewhere, and that they are willing.

   Cannot prove:

   That you are seeing the address you were given. You see what they choose to show.

   They did it, unbroken, on requestRefused, delayed, or edited clips onlyHaven't done this

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.