FAQ – Sourcing from China

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FAQ – Sourcing from China

Before You Come to China

Q: Do I need to come to China to source products?

A: If you want building materials and hotel supplies, then you have to come to China. Visiting in person gives you better control, faster decisions, and better negotiation on the customization.
For general goods, we can discuss the sourcing for you remotely.

Q: Which markets should I visit in Guangzhou or Foshan?

A: It depends on your product needs. There is big hotel supplies market in Guangzhou. For building materials & furniture, we usually bring clients to building material markets or furniture malls in Foshan. We also guide you to factories if needed.

Q: When is the best time to come for sourcing trips?

A: here are two long vocation in China which is not good to come.
China National Day
1~7 Oct. All the people is off. Most people are on travel and traffic will be busy. Not good to come.

Chinese New Year
It does not have a certain date but it usually come by the end of Feb. Most people will have two weeks off. All people is off from work and most of them will go back to hometown. Customers do not come at this period.

Beside above two big vocation, there are still small vocation like Mid Autumn Day Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day etc. Most people used to have 2~3 days off but markets & shops are still open. It is not a problem for business visit.
Usually, Markets & Stores are open at weekend.
Bank & Office are closed at weekend.

Q: Are markets open on weekends?

A: Most wholesale markets are open Monday to Sunday.

Q: Can I use USD or credit cards in the market?

A: No. Most markets accept only Chinese RMB and prefer cash, WeChat Pay or Alipay. We can help arrange exchange or payment on your behalf.

Q: Is it safe to travel to China now?

A: Yes. Guangzhou and Foshan are safe and convenient cities for international business.

Q: Do people speak English in the market?

A: English is limited in most markets. Our team provides full translation and communication support.

About Our Sourcing Service

Q: What products do you help source?

A: Mainly building materials, furniture, and hotel supplies. We can also support machinery, cloth for election and more. For details, please send us inquiry.

Q: How does your sourcing service work?

A: We guide you to visit markets, help compare suppliers, negotiate, track orders, inspect quality, consolidate goods, and arrange shipment.
For details, you can kindly check: https://www.tanndy.com/china-sourcing-agent

Q: Do you join us to visit the market?

A: Yes. Our team will accompany you, provide translation, take photos and notes, and assist in comparing options.

Q: Can you help us compare price and quality?

A: Absolutely. We help assess product options, specs, and pricing across different suppliers.

Q: Do you do inspection and quality control?

A: Yes. We provide pre-shipment inspection with photos and video for every order. We will also send you report when inspection is done.
For details, kindly check: https://www.tanndy.com/qc

Q: Can you consolidate goods from different suppliers?

A: Yes. We can collect from multiple suppliers, inspect, repack and load into one container.

Q: Do you handle shipping?

A: Yes. We arrange container booking, loading, and customs paperwork. Sea and air shipping both supported.

Q: What are your working hours?

A: Monday to Saturday, 9:00am – 6:00pm China time. We also support flexible hours during client visits.

Payment & Shipping

Q: What payment methods do you accept?

A: We accept bank transfer (T/T) and RMB/foreign currency payments via company account.

Q: Can you receive payments from overseas clients?

A: Yes. We support international transfers and issue commercial invoices for documentation.

Q: Do you arrange container loading and shipping documents?

A: Yes. We supervise loading, take photos, issue packing list, invoice, and Bill of Lading.

Q: What container sizes do you support?

A: Mostly 20GP, 40GP, and 40HQ containers. We also support LCL and air shipments if needed.

Q: How long does it take to prepare one container?

A: Depending on product type, usually 7–10 days after order confirmation.

Q: How long is the shipping time?

A: Please tell us your city name or nearby seaport, then we will check for you.

About Tanndy Ltd

Q: Where is your company located?

A: Our office is in Guangzhou, next to Foshan. Located in the south of China.

Q: When was Tanndy Ltd founded?

A: We started in 2006 and have over 20 years of experience.

Q: Who are your typical clients?

A: Small-to-medium project buyers – contractors, architects, hotel owners, developers from over 50 countries.

Q: Do you work with small project buyers or only large clients?

A: We specialize in supporting small to medium-size buyers doing full container orders or mixed-supplier purchases.

Q: How many people are on your team?

A: We have a local team of 15+ staff including sourcing specialists, translators, inspectors, and shipping coordinators.

Q: Do you only work in Guangzhou?

A: Our core service area is Guangzhou and Foshan, but we can also help in nearby regions like Shenzhen, Dongguan or Zhongshan.

Trade Terms Explained

Q: What does FOB mean?

FOB – Free on Board.
This means the seller will take charge of Everything(Loading, Transportation to port, do customs clearance) before loading on board.
FOB usually come with a local port name. For example when seller said FOB Guangzhou this means, the seller will handle the goods to Guangzhou port.
After the container/goods was loaded on the ship then their responsibility is finished.

Q: What is CIF or CNF?

CIF – COST, INSURANCE AND FREIGHT
This term the seller will take charge of shipping and insurance as well. They have to ship the container/goods to your port.
Usually CIF come with a port name. For example your port is Durban then it is called CIF Durban. The seller has to ship goods to Durban port with insurance.

CNF – COST AND FREIGHT
CNF is the same as CIF but without buying insurance.

Usually we will suggest customers buy insurance all the time as the insurance is very cheap but important.

Q: What are PI, PL, and CO?

PI means Proforma Invoice.
PL means Packing List.
CO means Certificate of Origin.

Q: What is TT transfer?

A: Telegraphic Transfer – a common method for international bank payments.

Usually our customers will TT USD to us.

Q: How many kinds of Container?

There are total about 10 kinds of different container, like normal standard container, high-cube container, flatpack container etc.
The most common used are:
20ft Standard container
40ft Standard container
40ft High-cube container.

Container-types

Q: What's the size of a shipping container?

20GP: 5.9m × 2.35m × 2.39m
40GP: 12.03m × 2.35m × 2.39m
40HQ: 12.03m × 2.35m × 2.69m

Below is the details sizes of 3 most common used containers:
20 inch Standard Dry Container
40 inch High Cube Dry Containers sizes 40 inch Standard Dry Container sizes

Still have questions?

If your question isn’t listed above, feel free to reach out. Our team is ready to help you with sourcing, market visits, or export support.
Simply leave us a message – we usually reply within 30 mins during working hours.