You cannot prove a negative, but you can make hidden payments hard to arrange and costly to hide. Write a no-payments clause into the agent contract, pay the factory directly, and see the factory's own quote and invoice.
When the money and the paperwork run straight between you and the factory, there is very little room for a hidden share of the price.
Set it up in the contract
- Include a clause stating that the agent accepts no payment, discount, gift or other benefit from any supplier, directly or through related companies.
- Require the agent to disclose any ownership or family link with any supplier they propose.
- Give yourself the right to end the agreement if the clause is breached.
- Agree the agent's fee in writing, so you know exactly what they earn from you.
Keep the money visible
Hidden payments usually travel inside the price. The simplest defence is to keep the price and the payment out of the agent's hands.
- Pay the factory directly, to a bank account in the factory's own name. See paying the factory directly or through the agent.
- Ask to see the factory's own quotation on its letterhead, not a summary from the agent.
- Check that the commercial invoice comes from the factory you approved, at the price in your contract.
- Check that the exporter named on the shipping documents is the same company.
Keep the factory reachable
An agent who hides the factory's name or blocks direct contact has something to protect. You should know the factory's legal name and address, and be able to speak to it. Read will I know the real name of the factory for why this matters.
Visit the factory yourself from time to time, or ask the factory directly whether anyone else is paid on your orders. Compare prices now and then with a second supplier, which also gives you a backup.
Why it is worth the effort
A hidden payment is not just a cost problem. It shapes which factories you are shown, how hard the price is negotiated, and how strictly lots are inspected. The wider effects are explained in an agent paid by you or by the factory.
Checks like these also protect a good agent. An agent with nothing to hide will welcome them, and will usually suggest them before you ask.
Signs that something is wrong
- The agent insists that payments go through their account.
- The agent will not name the factory until after you have paid.
- The invoice comes from a company you have never heard of.
- The agent resists every suggestion to try a second supplier.
- Inspection reports never find a problem, even when goods arrive with one.
Next step
Our contract says we accept nothing from any factory. You see the factory's name, its own quote and its invoice, and you pay it directly. To see how that works on your product, book a free sourcing review.