Short answer: Yes — a deposit is completely normal in Chinese manufacturing, and it is safe when two conditions are met: you have verified that the supplier is a real, registered company, and you never release the balance until the goods have passed an independent inspection. But there is one hard rule we live by: never pay more than a 30% deposit. The standard, safe structure is 30% to start production and 70% before shipment (30/70). A supplier who pushes for 50%, 70% or 100% up front is showing you a red flag — and in our experience, the more of your money a factory holds before the work is done, the lower its commitment to finishing the job well. The only real exception is a custom order where the factory must buy expensive special materials or build a mold specifically for you.
The moment you are about to wire money to a factory you have only ever met online is the most anxious point in the whole import journey. Here is exactly how to make that wire safe.
Why 30% — and why more is a red flag
A 30% deposit is the near-universal standard: enough to commit the factory and cover the start of production, not so much that you lose your leverage. The remaining 70% is your leverage — it is what motivates the factory to finish your order properly and ship it, because that is how they get paid the rest.
Hand over 50%, 70% or 100% up front and you flip that incentive. We have seen it again and again: the more a factory is paid before the work is done, the less committed it is to finishing on time and to standard. Once they are holding most of your money, a delay or a quality slip costs them very little. So a supplier who insists on more than 30% is not just a cash-flow risk — they are removing the very pressure that keeps your order on track.
> Keep the deposit at 30%. The 70% balance is not just money you owe — it is the leverage that makes the factory finish your job right.
That is why we never recommend paying more than 30%, and why a demand for more is a signal to slow down and ask questions — not to pay faster.
The one real exception: custom tooling and special materials
There is a legitimate case for paying more up front, and it is specific: when you ask a factory to build a mold or tooling for you, or to buy special or expensive raw materials that are unique to your order. In that situation the factory has to spend real money before it can even start — money it cannot recover if you walk away.
When that happens, treat the extra payment for what it actually is — funding the tooling and the materials, not a bigger "deposit":
- Pay the tooling/mold cost as its own line, ideally against the factory's quote or invoice for it, and agree who owns the mold (see who owns the mould).
- If the materials are genuinely expensive and custom, cover that cost separately and, where you can, ask for proof of the purchase.
- Keep the production deposit itself at around 30%, and still tie the final balance to a passing inspection.
Structured this way, you are paying for real, evidenced costs — not simply handing the factory more leverage over you.
The real ways buyers lose money (it's rarely the 30% deposit)
When importers say they "got scammed on the deposit," the loss almost always traces to one of these:
| How buyers lose money | What actually happened | How it's prevented |
|---|---|---|
| Paid too much up front | Sent 50–100% before production; no leverage left when things slipped | Cap the deposit at 30% |
| The supplier vanished | Paid an unverified "company" that never intended to ship | Verify the business licence and bank account first |
| Wrong or downgraded goods | Balance paid before anyone checked; the container held defects | Pre-shipment inspection before the balance |
| Paid a personal account | Money wired to an individual, not the registered company | Only pay the company account that matches the licence |
Notice the pattern: an over-large deposit is what turns every one of these from a scare into a real loss. A 30% deposit is survivable; handing over most of the money — or the balance — on unverified goods is what wipes people out.
How to structure a payment you can actually trust
A safe payment plan is a sequence, not a single transfer:
- Verify first, pay second. Confirm the supplier is a real registered entity, and confirm the bank account name matches the company name exactly.
- Deposit 30% to start — no more. Enough to commit the factory; not enough to lose your leverage or your business if the worst happens.
- Inspection before the balance. Book an independent pre-shipment inspection when the goods are made and packed. Problems get fixed while the factory is still waiting for its 70%. See what a pre-shipment inspection actually checks.
- Balance on a passing report. For most orders a bank wire (T/T) against a passing inspection is fine. For a first order with a new supplier, or a very large one, consider a Letter of Credit or escrow-style term that releases funds only on documents.
A confident, legitimate factory will happily accept 30% and "balance after inspection", because they know the goods are good and they want the 70%. A supplier who refuses is telling you something.
First order? De-risk it further
On a brand-new relationship, lower the stakes until trust is earned:
- Start with a smaller test order so the sum at risk is small while you learn the supplier (more in our guide to low-MOQ test orders).
- Keep the deposit at 30%, and insist on the inspection even on the small order.
- Factor payment security into your budget from the start, alongside freight and duties, using a full landed-cost view.
How Trade Entrust de-risks the wire
This is one of the most valuable things a sourcing partner does — turning a leap of faith into a controlled process:
- We verify the supplier before a cent moves — business registration, the account name against the company, and whether they are the real maker or a middleman.
- We hold the line at a 30% deposit — and if a supplier demands more, we treat it as a red flag and find out why, rather than paying it.
- We separate tooling and special-material costs from the deposit when a custom order genuinely requires them, so you fund real, evidenced costs — not extra leverage.
- We inspect before the balance — your goods are checked against your approved sample and specs, and the 70% is only released on a passing report.
The result: you never over-pay up front, and you never wire money into the dark.
Bottom line
Paying a deposit to a Chinese supplier is safe — as long as you verify who you are paying, cap the deposit at 30%, and never release the balance on goods you haven't inspected. A supplier pushing for more than 30% is a red flag, not a formality — in our experience it actually lowers the factory's commitment to finish. The only time more is justified is genuine custom tooling or expensive special materials, and even then you pay for those real costs, not a bigger deposit.
Before you wire anything:
- [ ] Supplier's business licence checked and the bank account name matches the company
- [ ] Deposit is 30%, not more (and not to a personal account)
- [ ] Any tooling or special-material cost is a separate, evidenced line — not a bigger deposit
- [ ] The balance (70%) is tied to a passing pre-shipment inspection
- [ ] For a first or very large order, an LC/escrow term considered
Not sure whether a supplier — or a payment request — is reasonable? Send it to our team for a free check; we'll verify the factory and keep your deposit at 30% with QC before you release the balance. See also what a pre-shipment inspection actually checks.