HANGZHOU, CHINA
I am your person in China.
You find something you want. I buy it, open it, check it, and send it to you. Or I go to the factory and tell you what the photos did not show.
Not an agency. Not a platform. One pair of hands, in the city where most of your stuff is made.
Hangzhou · Yiwu 1 hour · Ningbo port 2 hours
Things I can do for you
Small jobs, done properly. If what you need is not on this list, ask — I have probably been asked worse.
Buy it for you
Send me a Taobao, 1688 or WeChat link. I order it with my own account, at the price you can see, and I keep the receipt.
Check it before it ships
I open the box, count it, photograph it, and tell you if it matches what was advertised. Including when it does not.
Go to the factory
I visit in person, film the floor, and tell you whether it is a real factory or an office with a nice website.
Find the maker
You describe the product. I find three factories, get quotes at your quantity, and put them side by side.
Talk to your supplier
Chinese calls, WeChat, awkward questions about deadlines. I do the talking so nothing gets lost in translation.
Receive and repack
Your parcels come to my place. I consolidate them, repack them properly, and send one box instead of six.
Send a sample
To you, or straight to your customer. With photos before it leaves, so nobody argues about what was sent.
Test it and write about it
Some things I live with for a few weeks and write up honestly. That is most of the blog.
Recently on the blog
Product tests, factory notes, and the things I learn buying stuff here.
- How to buy from Taobao when the seller will not ship abroadYou found the exact thing on Taobao. The price is a third of what it costs at home. Then you message the seller and get the… Read more: How to buy from Taobao when the seller will not ship abroad
- Why the factory in the photo is often not the factoryA supplier sends you a photo: a bright workshop, forty people at sewing machines, a sign above the door with the company name on it. You… Read more: Why the factory in the photo is often not the factory
How I work
- You pay the supplier, not me. I never hold your money for goods.
- No commission from factories. If a factory wants to pay me to recommend them, the answer is no.
- Bad news on day one. If the supplier is a trading company in a rented office, you hear it before you send a deposit.
Who you are dealing with
I live in Hangzhou, and I have spent years buying from factories here — first for my own projects, then for people who kept asking how I found them. Yiwu is an hour away. Ningbo port is two hours. Most of the suppliers you are looking at are a day trip from my flat.
There is no team behind this page. If you email, I answer. If you hire me, I am the one who goes.
Send me a link. I will tell you if it is worth it — free, within 24 hours.
Or just email me: hello@handsonchina.com