Cost estimator
Sourcing agent fee comparison and total cost estimator
Agents in China usually charge in one of three ways: a percentage of the goods value, a rate per day, or a fixed fee for the project. Enter the figures from the quotes you have received and see what each structure costs for the same order.
Side by side
Enter the goods value to see a result.
| A · Commission | B · Daily rate | C · Project fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent fee | — | — | — |
| Agent fee as % of goods value | — | — | — |
| Shared costs | — | — | — |
| Goods + agent fee + shared costs | — | — | — |
| Cost per unit | — | — | — |
Not included unless you entered them under other quoted costs: international freight, insurance, import duty and taxes, currency conversion and bank charges.
The tool only does arithmetic on your inputs. It does not judge whether a quote is fair.
How the three fee structures differ
The difference is what the fee is tied to. That decides when the fee grows and whose interest it follows.
| Structure | The fee is tied to | It grows when | Ask before you agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage commission | The value of the goods bought through the agent. | The order gets bigger or the unit price goes up. Some agents set a minimum fee for small orders. | Which amount is the percentage taken on — factory price only, or freight and other costs as well? Is there a minimum? |
| Daily rate | The time the agent spends: factory visits, negotiation, follow-up. | The work takes more days than planned. | What counts as a day? Are travel time and expenses charged on top? Who approves extra days? |
| Fixed project fee | A defined piece of work, such as finding and vetting suppliers for one product. | The scope changes. The fee itself does not move with the order value. | What exactly is in scope, what is the deliverable, and what is charged if the scope changes? |
Quotes can combine these — for example a project fee for supplier search followed by a commission on orders. Enter each part in the scenario it belongs to and compare the totals.
City sections
What each place is officially recognised for, from two published government lists, with the source for every row.
Platform sections
Plain descriptions of two marketplaces buyers ask agents about, and the cost lines each one adds to an order.
Canton Fair, 140th session
Official dates for the three phases and what each phase exhibits.
- Phase 115 October 2026 to 19 October 2026
- Phase 223 October 2026 to 27 October 2026
- Phase 331 October 2026 to 4 November 2026
From the handbook
- Canton Fair 140th session: the three phases, dates and what each one shows
Official dates of the 140th Canton Fair in Guangzhou — 15 to 19 October, 23 to 27 October and 31 October to 4 November 2026 — and the product groups in each phase.
- Commission, daily rate or project fee: how sourcing agent charges are built
The three common ways a sourcing agent in China charges, what each fee is tied to, when it grows, and how to compare quotes that use different structures.
- Questions to ask a sourcing agent in China before you sign
A working list of questions on fees, scope, supplier relationships, quality checks and money handling to put to a China sourcing agent before you commit.
- What Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan are officially recognised for
The industries in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan named in China's official list of SME industrial clusters, 2022 to 2025, and what the list can and cannot tell a buyer.
Questions about the estimator
Why are there no default rates?
This site has no sourced data on what agents charge, so it does not suggest any figure. The estimator works on the numbers in the quotes you hold.
What does the break-even figure mean?
It is the goods value at which a percentage commission equals the daily-rate fee or the project fee you entered. Below it the commission is the smaller fee; above it the other structure is. A minimum fee is not taken into account in this figure.
Does the total include shipping to my country?
No. The total covers the goods value, the agent fee and the costs inside China that you entered. International freight, insurance, duty and taxes are left out unless you add them under other quoted costs.
Can the tool tell me which agent to choose?
No. It shows what each fee structure costs for the same order. Scope of work, reporting and who the agent answers to are not numbers and need to be compared separately.
What this page is based on
The estimator has no data behind it: it adds and multiplies what you type. The city sections use lists published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce; the Canton Fair page uses the organiser's website. Each page links to the original.
Data last checked 11 October 2026.