Use an agent paid only by you because their income then depends on serving you, not on keeping a factory happy. When the factory pays the agent, the agent's interest and yours split the moment something goes wrong.
Many agents in India are paid by suppliers, often as a hidden share of the price. The service can look free to you. It is not free, and it changes how the agent behaves.
Where the conflict shows
Most of the time, an agent paid by the factory and an agent paid by you will do similar work. The difference appears at a few specific moments.
- Choosing suppliers: a factory-paid agent tends to shortlist the factories that pay them, not the best ones for your product.
- Price: the factory's payment to the agent sits inside the price you pay, so a lower price also cuts the agent's income.
- Inspection: if the lot fails, a factory-paid agent risks the relationship that pays them. Passing a marginal lot is the easy choice.
- Claims: when goods arrive short or off-spec, a factory-paid agent has every reason to soften the claim.
- Switching suppliers: if you want to move to a better factory, the agent loses income. Expect resistance.
What changes when you pay
An agent paid only by you can tell a factory that its lot fails, without losing anything. They can show you the factory's own quote, because there is no hidden margin to protect. They can recommend a backup supplier, or recommend that you stop buying altogether.
You also get the factory's real name, direct contact and direct payment. Nothing has to sit behind the agent. That makes the agent replaceable, which is exactly what keeps them honest.
A simple test case
Imagine a lot that is slightly off-spec. It is not a disaster, but it is not what you approved either. A factory-paid agent has to choose between telling you and keeping the factory sweet. An agent paid only by you has one job: tell you, with photos and the test result, and let you decide whether to accept, reject or renegotiate.
Over several orders, those small moments decide whether quality holds or slowly slips. Our guide on why quality drops after the first container shows how the slide usually starts.
The cost question
Paying a fee feels more expensive than a free service. In practice, a factory-side fee is paid by you anyway, through the price, and you cannot see how large it is. A written fee is visible and fixed in advance. What drives that fee is covered in what a sourcing agent in India costs.
Whichever agent you use, check the arrangement. Our guide on checking that your agent takes nothing from factories lists the questions and documents that help.
Next step
We are paid by you alone, under one written fee agreed in advance, and our contract says we take nothing from factories. To talk it through for your product, book a free sourcing review.