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The 60-second supplier red-flag check
Ten things to verify before money moves, with the exact wording to ask in Chinese, and what a clean answer looks like. Built for sellers sourcing on 1688, 17zwd, yiwugo and Alibaba through Sourmo.
The check, in order
- Years trading and transaction count. Ask:
开店几年了？累计成交多少单？— Clean: 3+ years with visible repeat buyers. Red flag: a brand-new shop quoting the lowest price in the category. - Factory or trading company. Ask:
你们是工厂还是贸易商？方便视频看车间吗？— Clean: agrees to a video walk-through, names its industrial belt. Red flag: refuses video, or photos look like stock imagery. - Pic it yourself. Search the same image on Sourmo and compare — if six shops sell identical photos, at most one is the maker, and the price spread tells you who is marking up.
- Pay on-platform only. Ask:
可以走平台担保交易吗？— Clean: yes, trade assurance / escrow. Red flag: wants WeChat transfer, Western Union, or "deposit to my personal account for a discount". - MOQ versus sample. Ask:
可以先拿样吗？样品费大货能退吗？— Clean: paid sample, refundable or creditable against bulk. Red flag: no sample option at any price. - Packed weight and size in writing. Ask:
单件包装后重量和体积是多少？Freight is where cheap units become expensive. If they cannot answer in one message, they have not shipped much. - Real dispatch city and lead time. Ask:
从哪里发货？几天能发？Compare against the lead time published on the listing — Sourmo shows supplier dispatch days on every product card. - Material and compliance claims. Ask for the material code or a test report if you are selling textiles, skin-contact or kids items. Red flag: "all cotton" at a price below raw cotton.
- One written quote, one SKU at a time. Get quantity, unit price, packing, freight term, lead time, payment term in a single message. Screenshots are evidence; verbal WeChat agreements are not.
- Small first order, then scale. Test 1–2 weeks of sales before you commit capital to a mega-sale stock line. On 9.9 the failure mode is not price, it is unsold inventory.
See it on real listings
| Img | Product | Offer ID | Source price | MOQ | Sold / month | Dispatch | Ask supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Anti-slip Anti-odor Quiet Slippers Men Summer Outdoor Antibact | ali-959000170871 | $1.13 | 1 | 132,569 | 2d | |
 | Solid White Heavyweight 300g Cotton T-Shirt, Unisex Oversized | 1688-1015421111631 | $3.57 | 1 | 100,000 | 2d | |
 | Yuangang Casual Sandals 2026 New Women Spring Summer Home Anti | ali-700562774194 | $3.40 | 1 | 79,189 | 2d |
Three live listings from the Sourmo index, 2 Sep 2026. Prices are supplier-side and exclude freight, duties and platform fees.
Use the checklist with Sourmo search
Type a product or drop a photo — Sourmo returns matching suppliers with price, MOQ, monthly volume and dispatch time, and one-tap inquiry links in WhatsApp, LINE, Zalo or Telegram.
Search suppliers free →Also: 150-product asset pack · margin calculator · print one-pager for offline sellers