One number. It only applies when you buy.
10% of FOB value, invoiced per purchase order. No retainer, no setup fee, no minimum commitment. You contract with and pay the factory directly, so the FOB price you see is the price you pay — our fee is separate and visible.
- Multi-origin RFQ: quotes from named, audited factories in China and other countries, with HTS classification and tariff/origin analysis per SKU.
- Factory qualification: on-site audit with photo report, capacity check, NNN agreement executed in the factory's jurisdiction.
- Engineering support: DFM review in writing, tooling ownership documentation, first-article inspection report against the drawing.
- Quality system: golden sample control, in-process check, AQL pre-shipment inspection, loading supervision, written remediation policy.
- Logistics coordination: forwarder and broker introductions, booking, document preparation, ISF data.
- Compliance file: UFLPA traceability, certification map (UL/ETL, FCC, CPSC/Prop 65, FDA as applicable).
- Account management: one named contact in a North American time zone, monthly scorecard, quarterly origin review.
Third-party lab testing and certification fees, sample freight, tooling. Approved by you before they're incurred.
Ocean or truck freight, customs brokerage, duties. We coordinate; we don't mark up.
Taking title to your goods, financing, warehousing, or a margin hidden inside the FOB price.
Below roughly $25,000 in annual FOB per part family, the fee doesn't cover a first program's audit and inspection cost. The re-quote says so and points you at a better option.
What the fee looks like against the saving.
The two worked examples from our re-quote sheet, fee included. Rates as of September 26, 2026, confirmed per HTS code in the re-quote. Double digits on the lines that move — and we tell you which lines shouldn't.
| Program | Annual FOB at new origin | Fee (10%) | Landed saving vs. China, before fee | Net to you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molded EPDM gasket, HTS 4016.93.50 (List 3), 120,000/yr — FTA-qualifying origin | $165,600 | $16,560 | $39,600 | $23,040 (11%) |
| Same gasket — 12.5% origin | $151,200 | $15,120 | $26,400 | $11,280 (5.4%) |
| Injection-molded PP enclosure, HTS 3926.90.99 (List 4A) — best alternative, per unit | — | 10% of FOB | $2.77 → $2.50 landed | under 1% — stay put |
The enclosure is the honest case: a List 4A part with a lower China stack lands $2.77 from China, $2.79 from a 12.5% origin and $2.50 from an FTA-qualifying one, and the fee eats the difference. Section 232 does the same to metal parts from any origin. We say so in the re-quote; what you keep regardless is a qualified second source and an inspection system.
Start with us, and we'll over-deliver on purpose.
- Sample and first-article coordination on your first three part numbers at no fee.
- Priority engineering time — DFM reviews inside five business days.
- Quarterly origin and tariff review for the first two years, not one.
- Direct line to a founder, in your time zone, for the life of the account.
- A reference call for prospects.
- A written case study once the first reorder ships on time and in spec.
- Permission to use anonymized audit and inspection reports as samples.
About the fee.
Why a percentage of FOB rather than a retainer?
Because it only costs you something when it is working. A retainer pays us to look busy; a percentage of FOB pays us when a factory we qualified ships a part you ordered. It also keeps the incentive honest on the re-quote: if the answer is "stay where you are," we earn nothing and tell you anyway.
Is 10% negotiable at volume?
Above roughly $2M in annual FOB with us, yes — we tier down. Below that, the fee reflects the audit, inspection and account-management cost of running a program properly, which does not shrink much with volume.
What if the factory quotes us directly to cut you out?
The NNN with every factory includes non-circumvention, and the supply agreement names us as agent of record. In practice it rarely comes up: the factory does not want to lose the inspection discipline that keeps your reorders coming, and you do not want to lose the second source and the origin reviews.
How is the fee invoiced?
Per purchase order, at 10% of the FOB value on the factory’s commercial invoice, due net 30 from the shipment’s inspection release. You pay the factory on its own terms (typically 30% deposit / 70% before shipment on early orders, moving to net terms as the relationship matures). We never sit in the middle of that payment.
What are the pass-through costs, typically?
Third-party lab tests run $150–$1,500 per test depending on the standard; certification (UL, FCC, CPSIA) can run $2,000–$15,000 for a new product; sample freight is usually $50–$300 per shipment; tooling is quoted per part. All at cost, invoice attached, approved by you in advance.
Send us your top five SKUs. Get every viable origin back.
No commitment. In ten business days you’ll have a landed-cost comparison you can put in front of your CFO, with named factories behind every number.