Buying guides
How we check a supplier
Last updated
Published by 1688 Sourcing Agent · Review method
Key takeaways
- The written quote should define which supplier review, sample, receiving, measurement and specialist inspection tasks are included.
- Arrival photographs record visible details; they do not establish authenticity, material, safety or the consistency of an entire batch.
- Use a discrepancy hold and agreed remedy process, and obtain final packed measurements and route acceptance before release.
The useful question is what evidence your order needs and who will produce it. Ask us to quote that scope before payment: supplier review, samples, receiving photographs, measurements and specialist inspection are different tasks.
This is a checklist for an agreed review, not a claim that every order receives an audit or that any check guarantees the supplier. The written quote should state included work, limits, extra costs and the point at which you approve the purchase or shipment.
Turn this guide into a buying request
Keep this page as context. Add what you know; review everything before sending. No purchase is made at this step.
Continue to request →-
Supplier identity
record the legal business name, registration information provided, marketplace seller and payment recipient. Investigate mismatches rather than accepting a familiar display name.
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Factory or trader
ask who manufactures and which processes are in-house. Registration details, process answers or a visit can contribute evidence, but no one signal proves the entire claim.
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Product specification
confirm variant, material, dimensions/tolerances, function, accessories, labels, packaging and quantity. Record any permitted substitution explicitly.
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Commercial terms
stock or production date, total price, deposit/balance, return eligibility, claim deadlines and who owns the marketplace order.
In this guide
Before payment: establish who and what
- Supplier identity: record the legal business name, registration information provided, marketplace seller and payment recipient. Investigate mismatches rather than accepting a familiar display name.
- Factory or trader: ask who manufactures and which processes are in-house. Registration details, process answers or a visit can contribute evidence, but no one signal proves the entire claim.
- Product specification: confirm variant, material, dimensions/tolerances, function, accessories, labels, packaging and quantity. Record any permitted substitution explicitly.
- Commercial terms: stock or production date, total price, deposit/balance, return eligibility, claim deadlines and who owns the marketplace order.
- Comparison: investigate unusually low offers for missing components, different grades, quantity tiers or exclusions. A low price alone neither proves fraud nor proves a bargain.
Samples and documents need a defined purpose
An approved sample establishes what you examined in that sample. To assess a later lot, agree the sampling method, quantity and acceptance criteria. Do not convert a single sample into an invented batch pass rate.
For a test report or certificate, check issuer, report identifier, date, product/model, applicable standard and scope. A warehouse photograph cannot replace laboratory analysis, engineering qualification or destination-specific compliance review.
A management-system certificate and a product report answer different questions
Public-source comparison, 2 October 2026: IAF CertSearch describes verification of an accredited management-system certificate using the certified entity, status, standard, scope, locations and issuing bodies. This helps check a supplier’s claimed management-system certification. It does not test the product in your carton or establish that every material and process is covered.
For a hypothetical supplier whose certificate covers metal fabrication at Site A, an unrelated battery report for Site B remains a separate unresolved claim. Do not merge the documents into a general “certified supplier” conclusion. Match the entity and scope to the activity being purchased.
IAF CertSearch: what management-system certificate verification covers ↗
Verify a report with its issuer before relying on its results
SGS provides a document-verification service for SGS-branded documents. Our research confirmed the verification route exists; we did not submit or authenticate a supplier’s report. Use the issuing organisation’s official channel, not only a seller-supplied QR destination.
Check authenticity and applicability separately. A genuine report for an undecorated sample does not automatically cover a decorated finished item; a genuine report for a different battery model does not clear the offered battery. Ask the issuer or a qualified assessor to resolve the scope, and record a hold if the match is missing. Obtain permission before sending confidential supplier documents outside the agreed review.
A real public-document audit: five models do not cover a whole range
We followed Victron’s official Lithium NG product-page download to its two-page safety certificate and checked both pages on 2 October 2026. Certificate U10U 087546 0006 Rev. 01, dated 5 March 2026, names Victron Energy B.V., report 713405405 and TÜV SÜD America, Inc. as the issuer. It references UL 2054:2021/R:2022-03; this is a TÜV SÜD certificate against that standard, not evidence of a UL-issued certificate or UL Listing.
Page 2 names only five variants: 12.8 V/100 Ah, 12.8 V/200 Ah, 25.6 V/100 Ah, 25.6 V/200 Ah and 51.2 V/100 Ah. It describes stationary application and conditions of acceptability. A product-family name or a similar battery photograph cannot extend that list.
Victron-hosted TÜV SÜD safety certificate, pages 1–2: entity and exact model scope ↗
Compare the certificate with the product documentation, then make a bounded decision
The manufacturer’s 12.8 V technical-data table includes 150 Ah and 300 Ah products as well as 100 Ah and 200 Ah. Its UL 2054 entry applies to the 100 Ah and 200 Ah columns with a footnote specifying certification with Lynx BMS NG. That BMS statement comes from the manual; the two certificate pages do not name it explicitly.
For a hypothetical offer of a 12.8 V/150 Ah unit, our decision would be: hold the certificate-dependent approval and request exact-model coverage, configuration conditions and issuer confirmation. This linked certificate does not cover that model. That is an evidence gap, not a finding that the product is unsafe or lacks every possible certification.
This is a real public-document comparison, not a completed supplier audit or a recommendation to buy Victron. We did not authenticate current certificate status with the issuer, qualify a reseller, trace a supplied batch, test a battery or approve an installation. An unknown supplier cannot borrow this certificate for a lookalike product. The same entity→model→scope→configuration check should be applied to the actual offer.
Victron Lithium NG 12.8 V technical data, section 8.1 and footnote 4 ↗
Worked discrepancy log: what a useful review changes
Illustrative example, not an order we inspected: the approved brief requests 200 pieces of one variant; the supplier replies with a 200-piece mixed-colour carton. Counting 200 pieces would pass quantity but fail the variant requirement. Record requirement, evidence, discrepancy, proposed remedy, cost and approval separately.
A useful disposition is “hold 200 pieces; request the specified variant or a buyer-approved revised assortment”. It is not “supplier passed” or “warehouse failed”. If the correct variant cannot arrive before the latest dispatch date, compare a partial shipment, alternate seller and local stock before releasing payment or freight.
Warehouse evidence to request
- An arrival record connecting the parcel label, supplier order, SKU and receipt date.
- Photographs of unopened packaging and visible damage, followed by opened contents where the agreed scope permits.
- Counted quantity and the exact units or cartons sampled, including any unopened portion.
- Requested dimensions shown with an appropriate measuring tool and a readable result; functional tests need a separate method and conditions.
- A discrepancy log against the written order, with hold/release instructions and a record of any seller response.
- After packing: carton IDs, external measurements, gross mass, packaging photographs and the final packing list used for the freight quote.
What photographs cannot establish
A photograph may document visible condition at one moment. It does not by itself prove authenticity, composition, hidden defects, electrical safety, batch consistency or shipping fitness. Editorial illustrations on this website are not customer-order or inspection records.
If the decision depends on a property that cannot be seen, request the appropriate evidence or qualified test. Missing evidence should remain an open issue, not be described as a passed check.
When a problem is found
Ask the warehouse to hold the affected goods while you review the discrepancy, seller remedy, return deadline and costs. Being in China can make a remedy more practical, but does not guarantee a return or refund.
Before releasing the goods, obtain the accepted shipping route and any required documentation. Do not request false product descriptions, understated values or transport through a route that prohibits the goods.
Make the next request specific
Send the product link or specification, quantity, intended use, destination, deadline and the checks that decide acceptance. Ask which evidence can be supplied within the quote and which needs an independent specialist. For branded goods, supply appropriate provenance or rights information rather than assuming a logo is either proof of authenticity or a universal ban.
Use a staged evidence handover
Before purchase, close identity, specification and payment issues. Before balance payment, review the agreed production or sample evidence. Before export, close quantity, packing and route acceptance. Each handover needs the person who approves it and an exception owner; one photograph should not silently approve all three stages.
This page explains our requested review scope. It contains no verified supplier audit, laboratory result or customer shipment. Send the evidence you already have, identify the gaps you want us to coordinate, and request the price and limits in writing.
Questions and answers
Common questions
- Do all orders include a factory visit?
- No. Confirm whether a visit is available and useful, what it will examine, who performs it and the separate price. A warehouse receiving check is not a factory audit.
- Do arrival photographs mean the goods passed inspection?
- Only the agreed visible checks can be reported from photographs. Any unperformed test, uncounted units or unverified documentation must remain clearly outside scope.
- Can a failed check guarantee a refund?
- No. Recovery depends on the contract, evidence, timing, seller and applicable dispute process. Agree the hold and remedy procedure before the order.
Your next step
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Send a 1688 or Taobao product link and you get back the specification in English, the supplier check, and the landed cost to your country before you commit to anything.
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