How do I vet a factory before I trust them with a real order?
Never place a production order off a chat screenshot and a website. Order paid samples from at least three vendors, compare them blind, check GST/registration and certifications, and either visit the factory or send a third-party auditor before you commit real volume. The golden-sample trick, where a perfect sample is followed by a mediocre bulk run, is the single most common way new D2C founders get burned.
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4 resources, 2 India-specific, 4 link-checked.
📄 Article
✓ Link checkedIndiaFreeBeginner
A practical, India-grounded checklist for turning an IndiaMART search into a vetted supplier, verify GST, sample first, avoid full prepay, start with a pilot order, from someone who buys this way.
A recent, India-specific six-step sourcing playbook that maps regional hubs to platforms (IndiaMART, TradeIndia, GlobalSources) and calls out GOTS/ISO credentials to check before you commit.
The best tactical breakdown of MOQ negotiation, with the crucial insight that packaging (not the product) usually sets the real minimum and how to design around it for your pilot run.
The classic, hard-won account of how factory relationships quietly degrade, quality fade, spec creep, and margin games, essential mental models for anyone about to trust a manufacturer with their brand.
