Half the suppliers advertising as factories on B2B platforms are trading companies with a good photo library. That is not automatically a problem. What is a problem is not knowing which one you are talking to, because the questions that protect your money are different for each.
This is written from the buying side, for an importer or distributor building a chassis parts line. It is also the direct answer to the question we get most often: are you a factory or a trader.
What a trading company actually is
A trading company buys from one or more factories and sells to you. In chassis parts, a good trader does four things a small factory often cannot: consolidates several part families into one container, handles the export paperwork, answers in your time zone, and takes the first line of responsibility when a batch is wrong.
Those are real services. A distributor buying forty numbers across five platforms from five factories is running five sets of quality conversations, five payment terms and five shipping schedules. A trader collapses that into one.
The problem starts when the trader markets itself as the maker. Then you lose the ability to check the thing that actually matters: who makes the part, to what drawing, and with what batch record.
Five questions that tell you which one you have
1. Where is the part made?
Ask for the workshop address and a video call from the line, not a photo of a building. A factory can walk you past the press and the machining cell. A trader will offer a “partner factory” video, which may be real and may be three years old. Ask to see the part number you are buying being made, not the factory in general.
2. Who checks the batch, and against what?
A factory has an inspector and a first-article report for the number. A trader either has a QC step at the factory or does not. Ask what is measured on the first article — bore diameter, taper angle, stud hardness, bush rubber hardness — and whether you can have the report. A supplier who cannot name the measurements is not checking them.
3. Can the shipment be traced to a batch?
Traceability is the difference between a recall you can contain and a recall you cannot. Ask whether the carton carries a lot number tied to a production date, and whether a second order of the same number will come from the same line. On a safety part like a ball joint, this is not paperwork for its own sake.
4. Who owns the claim?
When a joint fails in the field, the question is who pays for the part, the labour and the freight. A factory takes the claim on its own production. A trader has to take it from you and pass it back. Both can work; only one of them is fast. Ask what happens on the third claim in a month, not the first.
5. What is the real minimum?
A factory quoting 500 pieces per number is telling you it is set up for volume, which may be exactly what you want. A distributor building a first stock order across twenty numbers needs 30 pieces per number and a mixed carton. Ask for the minimum on the number you are actually buying, in writing, and check it is the same on the proforma invoice.
What “factory price” really means
A factory price includes the cost of the tooling, the material, the labour and the margin. A trader’s price includes those plus consolidation, QC, export handling and currency risk. On a single number at high volume, the factory should be cheaper. On a mixed order of thirty pieces across twenty numbers, the factory price often does not exist, because the factory will not break a production run for it.
So the honest comparison is not “factory versus trader”. It is “which of these can supply my actual order, at a price that still works after freight and claims”.
The model we use, stated plainly
We make chassis parts in Jinjiang, Fujian, and we have since 1993. The plant is 12,000 m² and runs with 40+ people. Control arms, ball joints, tie rods, stabiliser links and bushings are our own production, and the fitment data for those numbers comes from our own drawings and the factory vehicle tables.
Everything else — engine mounts, brake components, cooling, body parts — we source on inquiry instead of pretending to make it. If you send an OE number for a part we do not produce, we will tell you that, then either find it in China or tell you we cannot.
That is a factory with a sourcing desk attached, not a trading company with a factory photo. The distinction matters to a distributor because it decides which half of your order is under our quality system and which half is a brokered purchase.
How to test a new supplier in one order
Do not start with a container. Start with 30 pieces across three platforms you know well, and check four things when the carton arrives.
First, the invoice: does it carry the OE number next to every line, or only the supplier’s own code? Second, the parts: measure one bush bore and one ball joint taper against the old part. Third, the packing: is each carton labelled with the part number and the quantity, or is it a mixed box with a handwritten note? Fourth, the paperwork: is there a lot number, a country of origin and a test record if one was promised.
A supplier who passes those four on a small order is worth a bigger one. A supplier who fails the invoice check will fail the claim check later.
Private label and packaging
If you sell under your own brand, ask early: who prints the box, who owns the artwork, what is the minimum for a printed carton, and does the part itself carry your logo or stay unbranded. A factory can usually do this on a modest quantity; a trader will need the factory’s cooperation and may not have it.
Get the answer before you agree the price, because a private-label carton with a small run changes the unit cost more than the part does.
Terms that keep it simple
We quote DDP or FOB, and payment is before shipment by PayPal or T/T. We do not extend credit to new accounts, which is a policy rather than a judgement about you. Prices are shown after login and move with quantity, so a mixed order of 30 pieces and a repeat of 300 are not quoted at the same rate.
Lead time is confirmed on the order rather than promised in advance, because a promised date that slips costs you a customer and costs us nothing until it happens.
Red flags worth walking away from
A price far below every other quote with no batch record. A supplier who will brand anything for anyone. A refusal to do a video call from the line. An MOQ that changes between the quotation and the proforma invoice. A specification sheet with no measurements on it. None of these are proof of fraud; together, they are a reason to spend your first order somewhere else.
FAQ
How can I tell a real factory from a trading company?
Ask for a video call that shows the part number you are buying being made, and ask what the first-article report measures. Traders can answer the first with a partner video; very few can answer the second with measurements.
Is it bad to buy from a trading company?
No. For a mixed container across many part families, a competent trader is often the better supplier. It is only bad when you think you are buying from the maker and you are not.
What documents should I ask for?
An invoice with the OE cross-reference on every line, a packing list per carton, a lot number for traceability, and the country of origin. If a test report is promised, ask for it with the quotation, not after the goods ship.
What minimum order is realistic for a first order?
For a distributor, 30 pieces per number across several numbers is a realistic start on chassis parts. Below that the freight and the paperwork dominate the unit cost; above it you are taking stock risk before you know the market.
What is the difference between DDP and FOB here?
DDP means we deliver to your door with duty and freight included, so your landed cost is one number. FOB means you take over at the Chinese port and control your own forwarder. Most first orders go DDP because the landed cost is easier to price into a retail margin.
Where to start
Send the OE numbers for the platforms you actually sell, with the quantity you would stock. We will tell you which of them we make, which we source, and what the difference in price and lead time is. That answer is more useful than a catalogue, and it is the one a distributor needs before the first container.
Start with the control arm range or go straight to the sourcing desk for the parts outside it.