Sourcing Agent Versus Buying Direct From the Factory

What an agent is actually selling

Coverage and coordination. An agent can place a range across several factories and manage the parts you do not want to manage. That is worth money when a range genuinely needs several specialisations.

What direct buying gets you

A straight answer on why a price is what it is, and one place where the sample room and the production line are the same people. Here that means knitting, sewing, finishing and packing on one site in Yiwu.

What you take on

The coordination. Fabric approval, colour approval, labelling for your market and the delivery plan become your thread to manage, which is why those enquiries run by email rather than through a ticket system.

The case where direct is clearly better

When one factory can already make most of the range. This catalogue covers seamless activewear, bras, hoodies, tees, outdoor layers, bottoms, shorts, underwear and kids wear, which is most of an activewear assortment.

The case where an agent earns the margin

When the range needs product types that no single factory makes, or when you have no capacity to manage development at all.