Payments ·6 min read
Why Wiring 100% to a Chinese Factory Is the Most Expensive Mistake You Can Make
How escrowed milestone payments and bilingual intermediary contracts eliminate the single biggest source of cross-border trade loss.
The single biggest source of cross-border trade loss is not bad product. It is buyers wiring 100% of an order to a Chinese factory and discovering they have very little leverage afterwards. The fix is mechanical, not relational — change the payment structure and the problem disappears.
30%
Deposit
Released to factory on signed purchase order. Funds raw materials and tooling.
40%
On QC
Released after pre-shipment inspection (PSI) signs off — AQL 2.5, photo/video, function tests.
30%
On delivery
Released against bill of lading copy after cargo is on the water — or on receipt for DDP.
When Makehe sits between you and the factory, the contract is in our name, the wire is to our Shanghai account, and the leverage to enforce QC stays with us. The factory cannot quietly walk away with your money — and you do not have to chase remedies through a Chinese court system you don't know.
Three things this structure prevents
- · The "we shipped — file a claim with the carrier" defence after the factory shipped scrap and disappeared.
- · Quiet substitution of cheaper materials between sample approval and bulk production.
- · Delivery slippage with no consequence because the money is already gone.
Next step
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