I found a supplier on Alibaba — how do I verify they're a real, legitimate factory before I pay a deposit or wire money?
The situation
"I've got a supplier I like and I'm about to pay a 30% deposit. Before I wire anything, what do I actually need to check to be sure they're real, legitimate, and who they say they are?"
Short answer
Before any money moves, verify three separate things: that the company legally exists and is allowed to make what you're buying, that the bank account belongs to that exact company, and that you're dealing with the actual maker rather than a middleman. A badge and a friendly chat are not verification. The deposit is the moment your risk peaks, so the checks belong before it, not after.
How to think about it
- Verify the legal entity. Get the registered company name and business license, and confirm the scope includes manufacturing your product category. A company existing isn't enough on its own, it has to actually be allowed to make your goods.
- Match the bank account to the company. The single most expensive mistake is wiring to an account whose name doesn't match the verified company, to a personal account, or to an account that changed at the last minute. A name mismatch is a stop sign, not a detail to smooth over.
- Confirm factory versus trader. Ask technical questions about the production process, request a live walk-through video of the line, and check the registered address is a plant rather than an office or a home. A trader posing as the factory means you don't actually know who is making your goods or who is accountable for a defect.
- Validate the product, not just the company. A verified company can still ship the wrong spec. A sample before the bulk order confirms the thing you're paying for matches the thing you agreed on.
- Structure the payment to limit exposure. Avoid 100% up front. Use staged terms, and for an early relationship use platform escrow (Trade Assurance) so the deposit isn't naked risk.
Specifics
- The three pre-payment checks: legal entity and scope, bank account name match, factory versus trader.
- Hard stops before wiring: a mismatched or personal bank account, a last-minute bank change, refusal of a live factory tour, a price far below market.
- A Gold Supplier or Verified badge is a weak prior, not a substitute for any of these checks.
- The order of operations matters: verify the entity and banking, confirm the factory, sample the product, then release the deposit.
Where China Partner Hub fits
We run exactly these pre-deposit checks, entity, banking, and factory confirmation, so the moment you wire a deposit isn't the moment you find out who you were really dealing with.