How to Read This Guide (30 Seconds)
Scams cluster into 4 stages of a deal: ① before contact, ② during negotiation, ③ production & payment, ④ shipping & after-sales.Knowing the stage defeats half the pattern-recognition problem — when someone rushes stage ③ while skipping stage ②'s paper trail, you already know something's off.
Stage ①: Before Contact
Scam 1. The Too-Good Quote (the classic)
The hook: brand-new supplier (or supplier blowing up your DMs) offers genuine-brand or spec items at 40-70% below every market floor — "factory overstock," "friend of owner," "clearing warehouse."
The tell: high-pressure expiring offers + zero verifiable entity details (no real business license photo, no factory video, no verifiable address). Genuine-branded "overstock" from licensed factories literally cannot exist for top brands.
The counter: "Please send your business license and a live video of the production line; we'll pay a deposit after." > 90% vanish instantly.
Scam 2. The Perfect Catalog, Empty Company
The hook: beautiful website/banner images; "12 years experience"; "SGS certified."
The tell: images reverse-search to other companies; "12 years" but the company registered last year; certificates they can't produce with batch numbers.
The counter: reverse-image-search 2-3 catalog shots; verify the license on Tianyancha/Qichacha; ask for the certificate number — real certs live in public databases with issuer lookups.
Stage ②: During Negotiation
Scam 3. The Bait & Switch Sample
The hook: flawless sample arrives; mass production is thinner material, weaker plating, cheaper components.
The tell: refusal to put "production = sample X (serial/photo/date)" in writing; "minor variation is normal" without defined tolerance.
The counter: photograph the sample against a measuring tape + write into the PI: "Production must conform to golden sample [ref#] within ±5% cosmetic / 0% safety deviation." Pre-shipment inspection against those photos is your teeth.
Scam 4. The Fake-Factory Trading Company
The hook: "we are the factory" + showroom photos + factory-price talk.
The tell: business license scope lists only "Sales / Import-Export"; can't produce 5 custom pcs (real factories can); "factory tour scheduling" never lands.
The counter: license-scope check + the tiny-custom-order test ("could you make 5 pcs of this exact custom spec?"). And the ultimate arbiter for ≥ $5k orders: a $150 third-party factory audit — the cheapest truth serum on the market.
Stage ③: Production & Payment (Where the Real Money Vanishes)
Scam 5. The Vanishing Deposit (Personal-Account Style)
The hook: after agreeing terms, "finance says the company account is under maintenance; use my brother/HR's personal account; we'll discount 3% for your trouble."
The tell: account name ≠ company name on the PI; urgency framing; "only this once."
The counter (non-negotiable): payments only to the PI-issuing company's business account, name-matched. Any mismatch requires: PI re- issued + written agent relationship + agency agreement copy (process detailed in our payment safety guide).
Scam 6. The 100% Upfront Push
The hook: "we need 100% to lock raw material price / your special rate / someone else's order."
The tell: refusal of any middle structure (no Trade Assurance, no 30/70+PSI, no L/C).
The counter: offer Trade Assurance escrow as the compromise. A real factory with real capacity doesn't refuse escrow; only one carrying info-asymmetry does.
Scam 7. The Urgency Factory Tour
The hook: "line closes today; wire the balance now or your slot goes."
The tell: any pressure that couples time to your payment-safety habit. Manufacturing schedules are planned weeks in advance; same-day wires are not how B2B runs.
The counter: "We'll wire on inspection pass per PI terms. Happy to produce without us in queue otherwise." Watch the scammer melt — or, occasionally, the real supplier re-structure honestly.
Scam 8. The Shipping-Fee Squeeze
The hook: "free samples, just pay shipping via this forwarder link" (quoted 2-4x market); or balance quoted EXW then a surprise "document/customs/canal fee" before release.
The tell: freight quotes through their channel with no way to cross-check; itemized surcharges appearing after your balance cleared.
The counter: use your own DHL/FedEx account for samples; get a full FOB-to-door quote in writing listing every surcharge allowed; anything not listed = supplier's cost.
Stage ④: Shipping & After-Sales
Scam 9. The Under-Invoicing "Favor"
The hook: "declare $3,000 as $600 to save you duty/customs."
The tell: framed as help, but you sign a customs entry carrying the fraud.
The counter: refuse. Under-declaration risks seizure, penalties at 10x+ the duty saved, and converts a civil dispute into a criminal one (yours). Duty optimization = correct HS codes + legit FTA programs + bonused structures — not fake values.
Scam 10. The After-Sales Vanish
The hook: 2% "goodwill refund" offered for a 20% defect batch; supplier radio silence after balance releases; warranty "expireed" because you waited to consolidate claims.
The tell: no written defect policy in the PI is the root enabler; slowplay responses post-payment.
The counter: PI defect clause per AQL with free-replacement % and claim window (e.g., claims within 14 days of arrival with photos). Then claim within 14 days — always, even for minor defects, to keep the paper trail warm.
The 5-Line Anti-Scam Checklist (Print This)
- Licence scope shows manufacturing; entity verified (Tianyancha/Qichacha).
- Trademark/IP clearance for anything branded or branded-adjacent.
- Golden sample photographed + serial-logged; conformity clause in PI.
- 30/70 split via business accounts; PSI scheduled before balance.
- Third-party inspection booked by you, ≥ $1k orders, every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common China sourcing scam?
The bait-and-switch sample (Scam 3) and personal-account deposit (Scam 5) together account for the majority of beginner losses we've reviewed. Both are defeated by paper trails: golden-sample conformity clauses and name-matched business-account payments.
Are Alibaba suppliers scams?
Not structurally — Alibaba with Trade Assurance is the safest channel for beginners (escrow + structured disputes). Scams on Alibaba happen mostly when buyers exit TA (bank transfer "to save fees") or under-document the TA contract itself. The channel isn't the problem; exiting its protections is.
A "supplier" asked me to pay via Western Union to a personal name. What do I do?
Walk away. WU/MG/crypto-to-personal is irreversible and identity-verification is theater. Every vanishing-deposit case we've seen traveled this rail. Pay only to the PI-issuing company's verified business account (or via Trade Assurance).
The factory offered to declare my shipment at a lower value to save duty. Good idea?
No — it's customs fraud and the liability is yours when caught (and "when" is the bet). Legit duty optimization runs through correct HS classification and any applicable trade agreements, not fake values.
Something smells off in your deal? Ask before you pay.
Forward the email/quote that worries you. We'll tell you which pattern (if any) it matches and the cleanest way out — usually within 48h.
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