Noryce"What do you charge?" is the first question every buyer asks — and the one most agents answer vaguely. Here is the full picture: the four pricing models you will meet, honest 2026 ranges, and the one cost that is never on any quote.
The four pricing models
| Model | Typical 2026 range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on order value | 3–10% | Simple product buys; scales with volume |
| Flat fee per project / SKU | USD 300–1,500 | Defined tasks: sourcing, sampling, one audit |
| Monthly retainer | USD 800–3,000 / month | Continuous purchasing without hiring in China |
| Hybrid (base + reduced %) | e.g. base + 2–4% | Regular orders where pure % overcharges |
Ranges are wide because scope varies wildly. A USD 400 one-shot factory audit and a USD 3,000/month purchasing desk are both "sourcing services" — comparing them by price alone is meaningless.
What drives the price up or down
- Product complexity — electronics with certification chains cost more to source than simple goods
- Order size — percentage models should decrease as volume grows; insist on tiered rates
- On-site work — audits, fair visits (Canton Fair etc.) and production follow-up add man-days
- Language & reporting — English documentation and weekly written updates are a service level, not a given
The cost that is never on the quote: factory kickbacks
The sourcing industry's open secret: many agents charge you a visible 5% and collect a hidden commission from the factory — typically another 3–10% baked into your goods price. You pay it in every unit, forever, and it quietly biases which factories the agent "finds" for you.
How to price-check any agent, including us:
- Ask for the supplier's original quotation — the document the factory issued, not a retyped summary
- Ask whether the agent receives any payment from suppliers, in any form
- Ask who the goods invoice comes from — you, or the agent marking up the goods?
An agent who hesitates on any of the three is running the kickback model. It is not always disclosed because it is not always wrong — but you cannot make a fair decision about fees you cannot see.
How we price (for comparison)
Noryce runs a deliberately unbundled model, visible on our How We Charge page:
- Precision sourcing — USD 600 per product line + 3–5% service fee on order value, quoted in writing before work starts
- Supplier's original quotation open to you — we forward what the factory actually issued
- No goods, no markup — suppliers invoice you directly; we never take title to goods or resell them to you
- Milestone payments — 30/40/30 on project work, so you are never fully prepaid
We can price this way precisely because we refuse the other revenue stream. A 5% visible fee with zero hidden factory commission is cheaper than a 3% fee with a 10% kickback in every unit — the arithmetic is not close.
A worked example
Say you order USD 20,000 of goods, repeat 4 times a year:
| Kickback agent | Transparent agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Visible fee (3%) | USD 600 | — |
| Service fee (5%) | — | USD 1,000 |
| Hidden factory kickback (8% in goods price) | USD 1,600 | USD 0 |
| Real annual cost (×4 orders) | USD 8,800 | USD 4,000 |
Same factories, same goods — different invoice architecture. Ask the three questions above and run your own numbers.
Bottom line
- Match the model to your need: flat fee for one-off tasks, retainer for continuous buying, tiered % for growing volumes
- Compare agents on total cost including hidden commissions, not the quoted percentage
- Get scope, fee and the supplier's original quotation in writing before any payment
Want a second quote on your current agent's pricing? Send us your product and current landed cost. We will show you the factory-side math — original quotations, our fee, total — and you decide. First reply within 12 hours.