How we work
Your packaging sourcing agent, from factory to front door
We handle the parts that make factory-direct packaging risky — finding the right factory, samples, quality control, freight, customs and duties — and give you one landed price per piece.
1. Quote: real factory pricing, landed
Send your spec (or a sample), quantity and current price. We get pricing from factories that already make your type of packaging and quote you a landed, duties-paid price per piece — so you can compare apples to apples with your current supplier.
2. Factory selection & samples
We shortlist factories by capability, quality history and price, then manage drawings, tooling, artwork proofs and physical samples until you approve. Samples typically take 1–3 rounds.
3. Production with deposits that protect you
Orders typically run on a 30% deposit / 70% balance structure, with the balance paid only after the goods pass inspection.
4. Pre-shipment inspection
An independent third-party inspector checks every production run at the factory: dimensions, print and color, function (lids, magnets, hinges), defects, counts and carton marks. A typical inspection costs a few hundred dollars per visit — cheap insurance on a five- or six-figure order. How pre-shipment inspection works.
5. Freight, customs & duties (DDP)
We book ocean (full container or LCL) or air freight, clear U.S. customs, pay duties and tariffs, and schedule delivery to your 3PL or warehouse. Average ocean transit on our recent shipments was about 36 days from departure to arrival.
Who we work with
Product brands — often founder-run, often selling online — that buy the same packaging repeatedly and are paying a domestic supplier for it. If you order 10,000+ clamshells or a few thousand boxes at a time, we can almost certainly lower your cost.
Frequently asked questions
What does a packaging sourcing agent do?
A sourcing agent finds and vets factories, negotiates price and MOQ, manages samples and artwork, arranges quality inspection, and coordinates shipping. You deal with one person instead of a factory, an inspector and a freight forwarder.
How do you get paid?
Our fee is built into the landed price we quote per piece — there is no separate retainer. You see one number that covers product, inspection, freight and duties.
What does DDP mean?
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means the price includes freight, U.S. customs clearance and duties, delivered to your door. No surprise customs bills or brokers to deal with. More on DDP shipping.
How do you check quality?
Every production order gets a third-party pre-shipment inspection: an independent inspector visits the factory, pulls random samples and checks dimensions, print, function, counts and packing against the approved sample. If it fails, it doesn't ship until it's fixed.
How long does an order take?
Across our recent shipments, the average was about 4 months from order to delivery, with roughly 36 days of that in transit. Reorders are faster because tooling and approvals already exist.
Do you only work with China?
Most packaging we source is made in China, where the factories, tooling and prices are strongest. We will look at other countries when tariffs or the product make that the better choice.
Paying too much for packaging?
Send us your current spec and price. We will come back with a factory-direct, landed (DDP) quote — free.