How you pay a Chinese supplier

How do you pay a Chinese auto parts supplier?

In practice you pay by international bank transfer, which foreign trade calls T/T (telegraphic transfer). The standard flow is: you ask for a quote, I send a Proforma Invoice with the parts, OE numbers, quantities, unit prices, total, currency and Incoterm; you review, confirm and transfer to the bank account printed on that PI. The transfer goes from your bank to the supplier's bank using the SWIFT details on the document. It is not an odd platform or an informal channel: it is a normal bank wire, backed by a document that states exactly what you are paying for.

The golden rule is that money moves against paper, not against a chat message. The paper is the PI. Everything you agree over WhatsApp, parts, prices, who pays freight, has to end up written on that Proforma before the transfer leaves.

What exactly is a Proforma Invoice (PI)?

The Proforma Invoice is the formal quote issued before any money is collected. It is not the tax invoice yet; it is the document you use to confirm the order and later to compare against the commercial invoice that travels with the cargo. A well-made PI leaves nothing to interpretation: each line is one part, with its OE number, its quantity and its price. If the PI and the commercial invoice do not match, you stop and check before shipping.

These are the fields you should be able to read on any serious PI before you transfer:

• Parts line by line: description, OE number, and the brand/model/year they fit.
• Quantity and unit price on each line, plus the total.
• Currency: usually USD. It should be written, not assumed.
• Incoterm: EXW, FOB or other, so you know how far the price reaches and where freight starts running on your account.
• Bank details: beneficiary, bank, account number and SWIFT code.
• Payment method: T/T, and any split between deposit and balance that was agreed.

Why is it smart to keep the first order small?

Because a small first order turns trust into a test that costs little. Before you have worked with me, the real question is not "is the supplier trustworthy" in the abstract, but "what do I lose if I am wrong". A small first transfer keeps that answer at an amount you can afford to verify without it hurting.

The catalogue makes this easy: on most parts the MOQ (minimum order quantity) is 1 piece, so you are not forced to buy whole cartons just to try. You can order a few pieces, receive them, look at the real quality, check that the fitment is right against the car, inspect the packing, and only then scale up. The first purchase is not to fill a warehouse: it is to confirm that the part that arrives is the one that was promised.

This protects the serious supplier too, because a customer who starts small and repeats is worth more than one who risks a lot once and disappears. The relationship is built order by order: validate first, volume later.

What is the full step-by-step flow?

This is the usual order from the moment you ask for a price until the cargo leaves:

1. Parts list. You send the list with OE numbers (or photos of the old part) plus brand, model, year and VIN where it applies.
2. Part-by-part confirmation. I identify each part, confirm the correct OE, and clear up versions or sides before pricing.
3. Proforma Invoice. I send the PI with parts, prices, currency, Incoterm and bank details.
4. You review and confirm. Any change is corrected on the PI, not by word of mouth.
5. Payment by T/T. You transfer as agreed on the PI.
6. Preparation and check. Parts are gathered and verified against the PI; on in-stock items pick-and-pack runs about 2-4 working days.
7. Shipment and commercial invoice. The cargo leaves with the commercial invoice and documents, which must match the PI.

What is the difference between the PI, the commercial invoice and the payment receipt?

These are three different documents that get confused with each other. Each does one job at a different point in the order:

The practical rule: you pay against the PI, keep the T/T receipt, and on arrival check that the commercial invoice says the same as the PI. If all three line up, the order is clean.

What do I check before I wire the money?

Before you touch the transfer, run this short list. It takes a few minutes and it heads off the expensive mistakes:

• The PI lists every part with its OE number, not just "kit" or "misc".
• The currency and Incoterm are written, not assumed.
• The bank beneficiary matches the supplier company name.
• Parts that split by side or version carry a photo of the real part, confirmed.
• The PI total is the same amount you are about to transfer, no surprises.

If something does not add up, it gets corrected on the PI and re-sent. The goal is that when the money leaves, no open question remains.

Do you offer credit or deferred payment?

On this page I do not promise credit terms or fixed payment periods. Those are worked out order by order, and they depend on history and amount: a first trial order is not the same as the tenth reorder from a customer I already know. What is standard in the industry, and what I can describe without committing to anything, is the general frame: you pay by T/T against a PI, you start with a small order, and every part is confirmed by OE and photo before it ships. On that solid base, the rest is agreed transparently and in writing.