How much does a China sourcing agent cost?
Real commission bands for a China sourcing agent: what the fee covers, what is billed separately, the hidden costs to watch and how to compare two quotes.
A China sourcing agent usually charges between 3% and 10% of the value of the goods. Most sit in a 5% to 8% band. MeliPrep works in that band, and the percentage falls towards 5% as the client’s monthly volume grows.
That is the short answer. The problem is that the commission is only one part of what a China sourcing agent really costs, and that is where almost everyone gets the surprise: there are agents with very low commissions and very high hidden costs, and agents with higher commissions that end up cheaper.
The three charging models that exist
Before comparing percentages you need to know what you are comparing, because the models are not equivalent.
Percentage commission on the purchase value. This is the market standard model. The agent charges a percentage of what the goods cost. It has one virtue: it aligns incentives. If the agent negotiates a lower price, it earns less, but you save more, and over a long relationship that suits the agent.
Fixed fee per order or per hour. Used for one-off projects, factory audits or product development. It is more predictable, but it is decoupled from the size of the operation: an 80,000-dollar order and a 3,000-dollar order pay the same.
Hidden margin in the unit price. This is not a declared model: it is what happens when a “trading company” gives you a final price that already includes its margin. You see no commission, and that is why it looks cheaper. In reality you usually pay between 10% and 30% more than the factory price, and you pay it on every order.
Commission bands by volume
The tiers seen in the market in 2026 are roughly these:
| Monthly purchase volume | Usual commission | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Under USD 2,000 | Fixed minimum, not a percentage | The percentage does not cover the fixed costs of inspection and handling |
| USD 2,000 – 20,000 | 7% – 10% | Typical tier for a client who is starting out |
| USD 20,000 – 100,000 | 5% – 7% | Requires recurring volume and a stable catalogue |
| Over USD 100,000 | 3% – 5% | Negotiated by contract and reviewed quarterly |
If someone offers you 2% on a 5,000-dollar order, they are not being competitive: they are about to recover the difference somewhere else, or they are not going to inspect anything.
What the commission must cover
An honest commission covers the real work: searching for and filtering suppliers, verification that the manufacturer is who it claims to be, negotiation in Mandarin, placing and paying for the order, receiving at the warehouse, visual inspection and coordinating dispatch.
If your agent charges a commission and also invoices you separately for “order management”, “factory coordination” or “purchasing service”, that is not one commission: it is several commissions under different names.
What is billed separately (and is normal)
These items carry a real cost that someone has to pay. The right approach is not for them to be included in the commission, but for them to be disclosed to you beforehand:
- Samples and their shipping. The factory charges for the sample and the courier charges the freight. Real cost, billed at cost.
- Formal quality inspection against AQL criteria. Basic visual inspection is included; formal AQL sampling with a report and an inspector travelling to the plant is additional work with its own cost.
- Mandatory destination certifications. NOM in Mexico, Inmetro in Brazil. They are processed before shipment and paid for by the owner of the product.
- Storage beyond the included period. The usual arrangement is 30 days free and then a rate per cubic metre per week.
- Product certification and laboratory testing. This is a development cost, not a logistics cost.
The hidden costs you really should watch
This is where the real money is, and none of it comes up in the discussion about the percentage:
Freight surcharge. It is the most common and the most expensive. An agent who charges 4% but bills you freight 30% above the market rate is charging you far more than one who charges 8% at cost. Always ask for the carrier’s rate, not just the total.
Exchange rate. If your agent applies an exchange rate different from the market rate when converting yuan into dollars, the difference is a hidden margin. Ask for the rate applied and the receipt for the payment in yuan.
Product surcharge. The classic one. There is no declared commission, but the unit price is 20% above the factory price. The way to detect it is simple: ask to see the factory’s invoice.
Storage billed by default. “Free” storage that in practice is invoiced because there is always an extra week of waiting.
Handling minimums. Fixed charges for opening a box or for labelling that apply to every line of the order.
How to compare two quotes correctly
Do not compare percentages. Compare the total cost delivered to your warehouse for the same product, the same volume and the same route. To do that you need three pieces of data from each agent:
- The factory price and the commission, separately. If you are only given a final price, you already know what is going on.
- The freight rate and the carrier’s name. So that you can verify it.
- The list of included services and the price of those that are not.
With those three pieces of data the comparison is arithmetic. Without them, it is a comparison of sales pitches.
An example with numbers
Suppose a 10,000-dollar order of goods, 4 cubic metres, sea freight, destination Mexico City.
| Item | Agent A (8% declared) | Agent B (4% “cheap”) |
|---|---|---|
| Factory price | USD 10,000 | USD 11,500 (15% hidden surcharge) |
| Commission | USD 800 | USD 460 |
| Sea freight (4 m³) | USD 720 | USD 940 (30% surcharge) |
| AQL inspection | USD 250 | Not carried out |
| Total | USD 11,770 | USD 12,900 |
The agent with more than double the commission ends up costing about 1,130 dollars less. And it also carried out the inspection, which is what prevents the defective batch.
Questions worth asking before signing
- What is the factory price and what is your commission, broken down?
- Will you give me the factory’s original invoice?
- What exchange rate do you apply when converting yuan?
- Is quality inspection included? If not, how much does it cost and to what standard?
- How many days of storage are included and what rate applies after that?
- What happens if the order fails inspection?
An agent who answers these six questions with concrete numbers is an agent you can work with. One who answers with “relax, we take care of everything” is not.