The nine checks
Run them in order. The first four cost nothing but an email and a search, and they eliminate most of the risk before you spend anything.
- 1 — Legal name and registration number, matched against the invoice.
- 2 — Bank account name identical to the legal name. If a supplier asks you to pay a third party, stop.
- 3 — A video call on the production floor, unscripted.
- 4 — Two reference buyers in your market you can actually email.
- 5 — A paid sample with your own artwork.
- 6 — Wash the sample twice at 40°C before approving.
- 7 — Written specification: weight, knit, colour standard, size chart, packaging.
- 8 — Third-party inspection offered before final payment.
- 9 — A written answer on what happens if the goods fail inspection.
Why the bank check catches the most
The common pattern is a legitimate-looking website, a real-sounding quote, and an invoice with a bank account in a different company name — explained as "our trading company" or "our Hong Kong office".
Sometimes that is genuine. Often it is the point where money leaves the transaction. A supplier who cannot explain a name mismatch in writing, on letterhead, is a supplier you do not pay.
What the sample proves and does not prove
A sample proves the decoration is possible and the garment exists. It does not prove the bulk will match, because the sample is often made by a different line or hand-finished.
That is what the inspection is for. Sample plus inspection is a chain; either one alone is a hope.
Red flags worth acting on
A price far below every other quote for the same weight. A minimum that changes after you ask for it in writing. Refusal of third-party inspection. Payment demanded in full up front on a first order. And urgency: a discount that expires today is a pressure tactic, not a price.