What is Sourcing agent?

A sourcing agent is a person or company that finds suppliers, negotiates prices, checks quality and arranges shipping on behalf of a buyer, usually in the country where the goods are made.

A sourcing agent replaces the work of searching marketplaces, vetting factories and chasing production from abroad. The buyer deals with one contact instead of several suppliers and forwarders.

Agents are paid by a commission on the order value or by a margin included in the quoted price. YiwuHQ works on the second model: you receive one all-in quote.

Related terms

Pre-shipment inspectionA pre-shipment inspection is a quality check of finished goods at the factory before they are shipped, usually when production is complete and most of the order is packed.
MOQ (minimum order quantity)MOQ, or minimum order quantity, is the smallest number of units a supplier will accept for one order of a product.
IncotermsIncoterms are standard international trade terms, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, that define where the seller's responsibility for cost and risk ends and the buyer's begins.

Ready to source a product?

Send a request and get one firm quote with price, lead time and shipping terms.

Request a quote