Choose a garment buying house in India if you run a large, repeating programme and want one team to manage many factories. Choose a garment sourcing agent if you are smaller or newer and want help finding, checking and following up a few factories. The labels overlap, so judge the arrangement, not the name.
The structural comparison is covered in garment buying house vs sourcing office. This article is about the decision and what happens after you decide.
Decision rules
- If you place many orders every season across several factories, a buying house with merchandisers and a quality team can save you time.
- If you place a few orders a year, you probably do not need a permanent set-up. A per-project agent is easier to start and to stop.
- If you want a factory you can work with directly, choose an agent that introduces and checks the factory, then steps back.
- If you are unsure what you want to make, an agent who can advise on factories before you commit is more useful than a house that already has its own list.
Who pays the agent matters most
Some buying houses and agents are paid by the factory, and some are paid by the buyer. Neither is wrong, but the first can quietly push you towards the factories that pay best. Ask for the arrangement in writing, and ask whether the agent takes any payment from the factories you will use. Our guide on checking your agent takes nothing from factories gives the questions.
How a first garment order runs
A sensible sequence for a new buyer looks like this:
- You send a tech pack or a reference garment, with sizes, fabric, trims, labelling and the quantity you have in mind.
- The agent shortlists factories that make that garment type. A factory that is excellent at knit tops may be poor at tailored trousers.
- Samples are made and judged against the tech pack. Expect more than one round for a new design.
- A pre-production sample is approved, with the fabric and trims confirmed in writing.
- During production there is an inline check, and a final random inspection before packing, with the acceptable quality level agreed in advance.
- Shipment follows only after the final report is signed off.
Red flags
- A promise of any garment, any fabric and any volume from one "factory".
- No questions about your fabric, fit, size spread or labelling requirements.
- Sample garments that are perfect but made by a sampling room, not the line that will make the order.
- Reluctance to share the factory's name before you commit.
- A buying house asking for payment into its own account for the factory, with no direct payment option.
A note on retailer audits
If you sell to retailers, they may require social compliance audits at the factory. Check early whether a candidate holds them; see BSCI, SMETA and WRAP. An agent should be able to say which factories already hold a current audit, and should not claim one it cannot show.
Mistakes buyers make with garment orders
The commonest mistake is an incomplete tech pack. Missing measurements, trim details or wash instructions are filled in by the factory, and the factory fills them in the way that is cheapest for it. A good agent will ask for the missing information before samples are made, not after.
A second mistake is approving only one size. Garments are graded across a size range, and a sample in the middle size can look right while the smallest and largest sizes fit badly. Ask for a size set sample for any style you plan to repeat.
A third is leaving the acceptable quality level undefined. If major and minor defects are not defined and limits are not agreed in advance, the final inspection becomes an argument. The definitions are explained in major, minor and critical defects.
Lastly, many new buyers place a first order with too many styles. Two or three styles in sensible quantities teach you more about a factory than ten styles in small ones, and they make inspection simpler.
How we work
Garments sit within the textiles we cover; see what we source. We are a sourcing agent, not a buying house with its own factories: we find and audit manufacturers, check samples and documents, have lots tested, and supervise production and loading. You pay the factory directly, we take nothing from factories, and the fee is agreed in writing in advance. Book a free sourcing review to talk through your first order.