Pay the deposit the safe way
Against the pro forma, to the factory’s company account, bank transfer or letter of credit, deposit only.
DEFINITION: T/T, L/CNUMBER: deposit share (agreed between you)
The safe way, and it is simple: pay against the pro forma invoice, to the factory’s company bank account, never a personal one, by bank transfer (the trade calls it T/T) or a letter of credit (your bank pays the factory only against the shipping documents). Deposit only now; the balance waits for the inspection and the documents at step 14. If anyone asks you to pay a person, an agent’s own account, or a different company than the one on the quote, stop and ask why in writing.
If the bank details change, hear a voice before you pay. If the factory’s account details change after the order is placed, or arrive from a new email address or over a messaging app, stop, however plausible the reason given. Telephone the factory on a number you already had before the change, never one taken from the message, and have a person you have dealt with before confirm the new details by voice. Changed bank detail fraud is how deposits get stolen, and the message is almost never from the factory. That one call costs two minutes and ends it.
The deposit share is agreed between you and the factory, commonly around a third for a first order. This is standard practice written down for orientation; the terms that bind are the ones on your own order.
What a bad answer looks like: “our usual account is under audit, use this one for now”, or any reason for a different account that comes by phone or chat and that the factory will not put on its own letterhead.
Tools for this step
- Cost of payment terms
Put the deposit, the days and your own borrowing rate in and read what the term costs you in interest, so two quotes on two different terms compare on one line.
Every tool for this guide, grouped by what you are trying to do, is on the tools page.