Everyone working on your behalf in China sits somewhere on a scale between « paid by you » and « paid by the supplier ». Where they sit determines whose interest they serve when the two conflict — which is exactly when you need them. Most disappointments in this area come from not having asked the question at the start.
The three arrangements
- The commission agent. Paid a percentage of what you buy, often by the supplier. Fast, free-seeming, and structurally incapable of arguing for a lower price or a different supplier.
- The buying office or representative on a fee. Paid by you, for time or a retainer. Their interest is your satisfaction over the long run; the cost is visible, which is the point.
- Your own employee. Full alignment, full cost, and the administrative weight of an entity, a payroll and a person who needs a manager.
Questions worth asking before choosing
- « How are you paid, and by whom? » Any hesitation here is the answer.
- « Do you also work for my competitors? » Not disqualifying, but you need to know.
- « Will you tell me when a supplier you introduced is the problem? » The honest answer to this is what you are actually buying.
- « What do you do that I could not do by email? » If the answer is « nothing », you do not need them yet.
What a good representative actually changes
Not the price list. The speed of everything: a question answered the same afternoon instead of the following week, a problem seen on the line instead of in the container, a supplier who behaves differently because someone may walk in. Judge the arrangement on those, not on a negotiated percentage.
A commission arrangement is not dishonest — it is simply a sales relationship rather than a representation one. Problems start when a buyer believes they have the second while paying for the first.