A quality control inspection is your last chance to catch defects while your money is still in your hands — not after the goods land in your country. Yinhan Sourcing inspects every order to AQL 2.5 before shipment, in person in Shenzhen and across the Pearl River Delta, and sends you a detailed photo and video report. If the goods are not right, they are fixed before your balance is at risk. Inspection is included in both of our plans — on the Pro Plan the service fee is $0.
Yinhan Sourcing QC at a glance
- Standard: AQL 2.5 inspection on every order, before shipment
- Reports: Detailed inspection report with photos & video
- Where: At the factory, or at our Shenzhen warehouse after consolidation
- Based: Shenzhen, Guangdong — physical office, local team of 12 sourcing experts, founded by Yingying in 2023
- Fees: Inspection included — Pro Plan $0 service fee · Basic Plan 5% (min $100) — see full pricing
- Response: Free supplier list + quotation within 24 hours
What AQL 2.5 Inspection Actually Means
AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) is the international sampling standard for inspecting bulk production. Instead of trusting the factory’s own check — or checking nothing — an inspector:
- Draws a statistically set sample from your finished order (sample size is set by the lot size and inspection level, not picked at random by the factory)
- Checks each sampled unit against your specification for workmanship, function, dimensions, colour, quantity and packaging
- Classifies defects as critical, major and minor, and passes or fails the lot against the AQL 2.5 limit you agreed before production
In plain terms: a small number of minor imperfections can pass; a pattern of major defects cannot. You see the result — photos, video and counts — before you authorise shipment or pay the final balance. That timing is the whole point of the service.
When We Inspect — Three Checkpoints
1. Before production — supplier verification
The cheapest defect to fix is an order placed with the wrong factory. We visit factories in person, verify the business licence and production capability, and check samples against your specification before you commit. See also Supplier Verification & Factory Audit and our guide on how to verify a China sourcing agent.
2. During production — follow-up, not surprises
Your dedicated manager tracks production and sends real-time photo and video updates while your order is made, so a drift from the approved sample is caught mid-run, not at the end.
3. Before shipment — AQL 2.5 pre-shipment inspection
The formal inspection: sampled units checked to AQL 2.5 at the factory or at our Shenzhen warehouse, with a full report. Problems found here are fixed while your balance is still in your hands — this is the checkpoint page-1 buyers ask every agent about, and the one most DIY Alibaba orders skip entirely.
What Is Checked in a Pre-Shipment Inspection
- Quantity — cartons and units match the order and packing list
- Workmanship — finish, assembly, stitching/gluing/printing as applicable to the product
- Specification — size, weight, colour and materials against the approved sample
- Function — the product works as intended (power-on / basic function tests for electronics)
- Packaging & labelling — retail packaging, barcodes, carton marks and, for Amazon sellers, FBA labelling requirements
- Defect count — critical / major / minor defects tallied against the AQL 2.5 limit, photographed for the report
Quality Control Fees — Included, Not Added On
We do not add a separate inspection line to your bill:
- Pro Plan — $0 service fee. We source from our verified suppliers; AQL 2.5 inspection, production follow-up and 3 months free warehousing are included in the unit price you approve before production. The Pro Plan also includes our quality guarantee: free replacement or compensation if quality issues arise.
- Basic Plan — 5% of product value, minimum $100. You use your own suppliers; we conduct AQL 2.5 inspection at our warehouse and arrange door-to-door shipping. Includes 1 month free warehousing. The quality guarantee does not apply on Basic, because the suppliers are yours, not ours.
Full details and worked examples: China Sourcing Agent Pricing & Fees. For the costs buyers usually miss, read Hidden Costs When Hiring a China Sourcing Agent.
Why Inspection by a Shenzhen-Based Team — Not the Factory's Own Report
- Independent from the factory. A factory inspecting its own production has one incentive: ship it. We work for you, and our report is written for you.
- On the floor, same day. Our team is based in Shenzhen, with Dongguan and Guangzhou factories within reach — Huaqiangbei electronics, Pearl River Delta factories, Yantian and Shekou ports. See our Shenzhen Sourcing Agent page.
- Evidence you can act on. Photo and video reports, not a one-line “QC passed” message — the same evidence standard we use on our homepage and every service page.
- No language barrier in either direction. You brief us in clear English; we put the defect list to the factory in Chinese and manage the fix.
How It Works
Step 1: Submit an inquiry, and our team will match you with a professional agent.
Step 2: Get a free quotation within 24 hours and compare it with any existing quotes from your own supplier.
Step 3: We streamline suppliers, send samples, and track production progress for you.
Step 4: We conduct a thorough AQL 2.5 quality inspection at our warehouse and arrange shipment to your door.
New to importing? Start with the China Sourcing Agent Complete Guide, then come back for your free quote.
Get a Free Quote for Sourcing + Inspection
Send us your product link, photo, or specification. Within 24 hours you’ll receive a free supplier list and quotation you can compare against any price you already have — no obligation to proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AQL 2.5 inspection?
AQL 2.5 is an internationally used sampling standard: a set sample from your bulk order is checked unit by unit, defects are classified as critical, major or minor, and the lot passes or fails against the 2.5 limit. Yinhan Sourcing inspects every order to AQL 2.5 before shipment and sends a photo and video report.
Is quality inspection included in your fee, or charged separately?
Included. Both plans include AQL 2.5 inspection — the Pro Plan at a $0 service fee (cost included in the unit price you approve, with a quality guarantee), and the Basic Plan at 5% of product value with a $100 minimum (quality guarantee does not apply, as suppliers are your own).
When does the inspection happen?
Before shipment — at the factory or at our Shenzhen warehouse — so defects can be fixed before your final balance is due. Production is also followed up during manufacturing with photo and video updates.
Can you inspect goods from my own supplier?
Yes, under the Basic Plan: your suppliers send the cargo to our warehouse, we conduct the AQL 2.5 inspection there, and we arrange door-to-door shipping.
What happens if the inspection fails?
You receive the full report with photographed defects before shipment. The problems are put to the factory to fix while your balance is still in your hands. On the Pro Plan, our quality guarantee also applies: free replacement or compensation if quality issues arise.
Do you work with small orders and startups?
Yes — low MOQ is welcome. Many of our clients are Amazon sellers and eCommerce businesses starting with a small trial order before scaling up.