Question 1

How much does it cost to work with you?

Accepted Answer

No surprise fees, ever — you'll always know what you're paying and why before anything moves. Our pricing is transparent and scales with your order, whether it's a $500 first run or a $50,000 production run. You can see exactly how it works on our Sourcing page, or just message us and we'll walk you through it for your specific product. Your quote and each payment request show up in your MerchSourcer project, at the step they belong to.

Question 2

How do I know you're the real deal and won't just take my money?

Accepted Answer

Fair question — it's the internet, and China sourcing has burned people before. We're a registered agency based in Zhongshan, Guangdong, with a real team, a real office, and a track record you can see. Every project is managed personally, every payment is tied to a step you can see in your project, and we're one message away the whole time — not a faceless account that goes quiet after you pay.

Question 3

My orders are small — am I too small for you to bother with?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. We work with growing brands and SMBs all the time, with orders starting around $500 — we were small once too, and we treat a first small order as the start of something, not a favor. Message us on WhatsApp or drop us an email and tell us what you need; we'll tell you honestly whether we're a good fit.

Question 4

What is MerchSourcer, and do I have to use it?

Accepted Answer

It's the workspace we built to run every sourcing project: the Planner lays out 50+ festivals with suggested start dates, the Builder turns your ideas into a product list, and the Tracker follows your order through 12 steps with every photo, file and quote in one place. You don't have to use it: message us on WhatsApp and we'll set the project up for you.

Question 5

I've never sourced from China before — isn't it risky?

Accepted Answer

It's only risky when you're doing it alone, cold, through a screen. With us, you get someone on the ground who knows the factories, speaks the language, and has done this hundreds of times. We handle the parts that trip people up — vetting, negotiation, quality checks, shipping — so your first order feels less like a gamble and more like a normal business decision.

Question 6

What happens if the factory sends bad or defective products?

Accepted Answer

That's exactly what we're here to prevent. We vet factories before you commit, inspect goods before they ship, and catch problems while they're still fixable — not after they've landed at your door. And because we manage the relationship end to end, if something's off, we handle it with the factory directly. You're never left arguing with a supplier in a language you don't speak.

Question 7

Why not just find a factory myself on Alibaba?

Accepted Answer

You absolutely can — and many people do, then spend months learning which listings are traders vs. real factories, why the sample looked great but the bulk order didn't, and how to chase a delay across a 12-hour time difference. We're the shortcut past all of that. Same access to factories, minus the trial-and-error, the middleman markups, and the risk of going in blind.

Question 8

I already have a supplier or agent. Why would I switch?

Accepted Answer

If yours is great, keep them — genuinely. But if you're dealing with slow replies, creeping prices, quality that slips, or an agent who's clearly juggling too many clients to care about yours, that's worth a conversation. A lot of our clients came to us frustrated with “fine.” Send us your current products and we'll quote them side by side, so you can see the difference before you change anything.

Question 9

Can you handle custom or branded products, not just off-the-shelf items?

Accepted Answer

Yes — custom is most of what we do. Your logo, your packaging, your spec, your materials: we match you with factories set up for exactly that kind of work and manage the samples until it's right. Send us a reference photo, a sketch, or even a rough idea, and we'll tell you what's possible and what it'll take to make it real. Can't find it in our catalog? Add it as a custom item when you start a project.

Question 10

What does working with you actually look like, start to finish?

Accepted Answer

You plan and build your project in MerchSourcer, or tell us what you need and we'll build it with you. We find and vet the right factory and share your quote in the project. You approve a sample, we run quality checks in production, and we manage shipping to your door. Every update and file lands in one place, and we're on WhatsApp the whole way.

Question 11

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Message us on WhatsApp with the product you're after (a photo or a link is perfect), or start a project in MerchSourcer: you can build as a guest and only add your email when you submit. Either way, the first conversation is free.

Compared on	Other agents	MarketplacesAlibaba.com, etc.	AI sourcing	Tophney
Built for	Importers who arrive with a spec	Anyone buying anything	Brands launching their own products	Businesses that need branded merch: gyms, cafés, hotels, events
Who does the work	An account manager, between you and the factory	You do	Software, with specialists behind it	Tony and Daphne, with MerchSourcer to track it
Timing	Starts when you send a brief	Your problem	Fast quotes, per product	Planned backwards from your season, factory holidays included
Scope	Usually one product per order	One listing at a time	One product at a time	The whole kit for a venue, consolidated into one shipment
Updates	Emails and spreadsheets	Seller chat	A dashboard	A 12-step tracker plus a WhatsApp chat with the founders
Factories	Their own network, rarely shown	Millions of listings, unchecked	Tens of thousands in a database	100+ we’ve vetted ourselves, matched to each item

Your partner inside the factory of the world.

Plan it. Build it. Source with Tophney. Track it.

Plan

Build

Track

A boutique sourcing agency

Peace of mind, built in

A personal touch

Factories we hand-picked

Where we fit.

Seven years on the factory floor, for brands like yours.

Factories we’ve vetted

Years sourcing from China

Consolidated projects shipped

If it takes a logo, we can make it yours.

Outfit your whole place in one project.

We build trust by showing, not telling

Hear what our clients turned friends have to say

Questions, answered

Tell us what you need. We’ll take it from there.