The questions you ask at the start of a supplier conversation shape everything that follows. Ask well and you get an accurate quotation, a realistic date and a partner who understands the project. Ask vaguely and you get a low number that grows later.
These fifteen questions cover the ground that matters. They are friendly questions, and a good factory enjoys answering them, because a buyer who asks them is a buyer who is easy to work with.
1. What do you make yourself and what do you buy in?
Almost every furniture maker buys some components. Foam, gas lifts, hinges, glass and hardware often come from specialists, and that is normal and usually better. What you want to understand is which parts of your product are under their roof and which are not, because that tells you where the schedule risk sits.
2. Which products do you make the most of?
Every factory has a sweet spot. A workshop that makes upholstered seating all day will do your sofa better and cheaper than one that mainly makes cabinets. Asking this warmly, as a genuine question about their strengths, gets you an honest answer and often a better recommendation than the one you came in with.
3. Can I see this exact model in production or in your showroom?
Seeing the real item resolves more questions than an hour of messages. If you cannot travel, a live video walk through works well. It also tells you the product is current rather than an old catalogue photograph.
4. What is the minimum order for this item?
Ask per item, not per order. A factory may accept a small total order while still needing a certain quantity of one model to justify a set up. Knowing both numbers lets you plan a realistic mix.
5. What exactly is included in the price?
Confirm whether the quoted number includes packing, palletising, delivery to the port, export documents and any inspection. These are all normal costs, and knowing which are in and which are out is the difference between a comparable quotation and a confusing one.
6. Which materials are you quoting?
For upholstery, ask the foam density and the frame material. For cabinets, the board type, thickness and edge banding. For metal, the tube wall thickness and the coating. Prices differ mainly because specifications differ, so pinning the specification pins the price.
7. What is the production lead time from deposit or from sample approval?
These are two different dates and the gap between them can be weeks. Agree which one the clock starts from, and put that in the order confirmation.
8. What is your sample process and cost?
Find out the sample fee, the sample lead time, and whether the fee is credited against a production order. Also ask whether they can send finish panels and fabric swatches quickly while the full sample is being made, since that keeps design decisions moving.
9. How do you pack for sea freight?
Ask for the packing specification in detail. Corner protection, foam thickness, carton grade, whether items are knocked down or assembled, and how many units fit a pallet. Packing is a large part of whether goods arrive looking new.
10. What are the carton dimensions and the loading quantity?
These numbers let you calculate how much fits in a container and therefore your real cost per item. A factory that has these figures ready is a factory that ships regularly.
11. Which certifications do you hold, and which can you provide for my market?
Requirements differ by destination and product. Fire performance for contract upholstery, formaldehyde emission classes for panel products, and electrical safety for anything with a plug are common ones. Ask early, because some tests take weeks.
12. What are your payment terms?
A deposit with the balance before shipment is the common structure. Ask what is standard for them, and what they can offer for a repeat customer, since terms often improve once you have a history together.
13. Who will I be talking to during production?
You want a named person and a working channel. Knowing who answers when there is a question about a finish saves days over the course of an order.
14. What happens if something arrives damaged or wrong?
Ask this pleasantly and early, before there is any problem to discuss. A factory with a clear process for replacement parts and spare components is showing you they have handled it before and handled it well.
15. Can you make a small change to this design?
Even if you do not need one, the answer is informative. It tells you how much of the product is theirs to adjust, how their engineering team works, and how flexible they will be when a real request comes along.
How to use the list
Send five or six of these in the first message rather than all fifteen, since a short focused enquiry gets a faster reply. Put the answers in a simple table so you are comparing the same fields across suppliers. Then confirm the important points in the order document, because a clear written order is the kindest thing you can give a factory and yourself.
Buyers who ask these questions get better prices without pushing, simply because the quotation is accurate the first time. If you would like help running this conversation with makers in Foshan, our team does it daily.