See What Your China Sourcing Is Actually Costing You

Pick one product you're already buying. We'll break down what it costs to land it in your back room — unit price, freight, duty, and the line items nobody puts on the invoice — then tell you honestly whether we can do better. Free. No obligation. No sales call until you ask for one.

What you get

A short written audit for one product, covering five things:

1. What you're paying now, item by item.
We take your current quote or invoice and separate it out: unit price, tooling, packaging, inland freight, ocean freight, duty, customs fees, last-mile delivery. Most buyers have never seen their own landed cost written on one page.

2. Where the money is going.
Trading company margin, unnecessary packaging upgrades, freight misclassification, or a freight forwarder who prices per container instead of per cubic meter. Whatever it is, we say which line it is and roughly how much it's worth.

3. Whether the supplier is a factory.
Take a photo of their business license — specifically the "Scope of Business" line. If they claim to manufacture but their license only permits trading, you're paying a margin for a service you didn't ask for. We'll tell you what the Chinese characters actually say.

4. What a realistic target price looks like.
Based on material and process, not wishful thinking. If your current price is already fair, we'll say so — that answer is worth having too.

5. The three things we'd change first.
Not a forty-page strategy deck. Three concrete changes, ranked by how much they move your margin.

Who this is for

This works best for:

• Independent garden centers buying seasonal décor, planters, tools and outdoor living
• Independent hardware and building supply stores buying LVT flooring, aluminum windows, insulation or roofing accessories
• Small retail chains currently sourcing through a trading company and unsure what it costs them
• First-time importers who have a quote in hand and don't know if it's good

This probably isn't for you if you're shipping 20+ full containers a year and already have your own China office. In that case you've outgrown this.

Why we can tell you things your supplier won't

We're a buyer-side sourcing partner. We don't represent any factory, and we don't take commission from suppliers. That means two things hold:

• Factory names don't appear anywhere on this site. Not in case studies, not in testimonials, not in quotes we send you. If a factory name were public, you could skip us — plenty of buyers would, and that's a rational thing to do. We keep it closed and earn the margin from the work instead.
• We say no to factories regularly. Our pool is 100+ manufacturers across lawn and garden, building materials, and holiday decoration. Getting into it requires passing our own screen, and we walk away from roughly as many as we keep.

I spent seven years on the sales side of a Chinese factory — which meant sitting in the same room as production planning and QC every week. I know how the substitution decision gets made, and I know which of it you're supposed to see. That's why this audit reads the way it does: it's written by someone who was in the room.

What we need from you

Send whichever of these you have. Partial is fine:

• A photo or PDF of your current quote or invoice (factory names and contact details can be redacted — we only need the numbers)
• The product spec — or just a photo of the item
• Quantity for the next order, and rough annual volume
• Destination — city and state, or your 3PL
• Target in-stock date

Email it to ark@arksourcing.biz, or use the form below. One product to start.

How long it takes

Usually two working days from the day we have everything above. If your category needs a factory check or a material confirmation, it can run to five. We'll tell you which before you wait.

Questions people ask before sending anything

Q: What does it cost?
Nothing. There is no fee and no deposit. If we're a bad fit we'll say that rather than bill you for the discovery.

Q: Do I have to move my sourcing to you afterwards?
No. The audit is yours to keep and use with whoever you like. Most people who get one do end up working with us, but the audit doesn't require it.

Q: Will you share my supplier details?
No. Your quote, your pricing and your supplier contacts stay with us. We don't publish any factory name, including yours.

Q: I'm small — is my order too small?
Probably not. We built this around low minimum order quantities and consolidating several suppliers into one container, which is how small independent retailers get factory pricing without factory volumes. If your volume genuinely can't work, we'll tell you directly.

Q: Do you handle shipping and customs?
Yes, door-to-door to your back room if you want it, with the freight and duty shown as separate line items rather than folded into one number. We are not a licensed importer of record, so your customs entry works the way your broker already does it.

Q: What if my current supplier is fine?
Then we'll tell you and you'll have wasted ten minutes. Knowing that is worth more than wondering.

Send me one product to look at

Pick your worst-margin item. We'll tell you what it costs to land and what we'd change.

Reply within 24 hours — weekends and holidays included. No mailing list, no follow-up sequence.