Buy building materials in China with a local partner
We live in Foshan, the city that makes a large share of the world’s tiles, sanitary ware, aluminium, lighting and stone. You get a local partner who meets you when you land, walks the markets and showrooms with you, asks the questions in Chinese and puts the answers in writing, and stays with the order after you fly home: quotes compared side by side, contract and deposit checked, container consolidated, goods shipped.
You can buy in Foshan on your own. Here is where it usually goes wrong
One pallet, one supplier, one product: that is simple, and you do not need anybody for it. It stops being simple the moment a container carries nine suppliers, or the friendly factory turns out to be an office with a very good catalogue. These are the six things that cost our clients money before they called us.
The first price is never the price
A foreign buyer gets a foreign quotation. Without a local reference for what that tile, profile or basin actually sells for this week, you have nothing to compare against and no reason to push back.
Your factory may be a desk
A large share of the sellers in the markets are traders. Same product, extra margin, and nobody who can change a glaze, a size or a packing list when your drawing changes.
Two batches, two shades
900 square metres of tile produced in two runs can arrive in two visibly different shades. On a finished wall that is permanent, and it is only caught before loading, never after.
It fits the drawing, not the building
Door leaves, aluminium systems, cabinet carcasses and sanitary rough-ins are built to Chinese standards unless someone says otherwise. Correcting that on site usually costs more than the goods did.
Everyone quotes ex-works
Nine suppliers, nine ready dates, one container. Consolidation, export packing, timing and documents are the part of the job nobody puts in a quotation, and the part that holds shipments up.
After the balance, silence
Once the final payment leaves, so does your leverage. Claims get answered for the people who will be standing in that factory again next month. That is the only reason they get answered.
One trip to Foshan covers almost everything in a building
Foshan and the surrounding Pearl River Delta produce a large share of the world’s ceramic tiles, sanitary ware and aluminium profiles. The main categories we handle for buyers, with buying guides for each:
Ceramic & Porcelain TilesFloor, wall, large-format slabs, outdoor
Sanitary Ware & BathroomToilets, basins, faucets, showers, bathtubs
LightingLED panels, downlights, chandeliers, outdoor
Aluminium Doors & WindowsSystems windows, sliding doors, curtain wall
FlooringSPC, laminate, engineered wood, vinyl
Kitchen & Bathroom CabinetsModular kitchens, vanities, wardrobes
Stone, Marble & QuartzNatural stone, quartz surfaces, sintered stone
Hardware & FittingsDoor locks, hinges, handles, railsDirect factory prices, without the risks of buying blind
Independent advice
Our fee is agreed with you in writing before work starts, so you know what our help costs before you commit to anything.
Manufacturers and verified suppliers
It is not always obvious whether a supplier is a manufacturer, a distributor or a trading company. Our local team helps buyers understand who they are dealing with, and we take you to the source wherever we can, so your price carries fewer margins.
Quality control before shipment
Pre-production sample confirmation, during-production checks and a pre-shipment inspection with photos. Where goods do not match the approved sample we raise it with the manufacturer before shipment and help you agree what happens next.
One container, many suppliers
We consolidate tiles, sanitary ware, lighting and doors from different factories into one FCL or LCL shipment, with export packing that survives the trip.
We speak the language of the factory
Specifications, tolerances, glaze grades, hardware standards – written in Chinese, confirmed on the pro-forma, and followed up until the container is loaded.
After-sales that actually exists
Breakage, shade variation, missing boxes – we handle claims with the factory on your behalf, because we will be dealing with them again next month.
From your material list to a loaded container
Send your list
Drawings, quantities, photos of what you like, or just a rough idea. We reply with realistic price ranges, lead times and a suggested visit plan.
Visit Foshan (or don’t)
We meet you at the hotel, drive you between markets and factories, translate and negotiate. Can’t travel? We source and send samples and video for you.
Order & production
We fix specifications on the pro-forma invoice, confirm samples, follow production and inspect before shipment.
Ship & receive
Consolidation, export packing, documents, sea or air freight to your port, and claim handling if anything arrives damaged.
Three days here can replace three months of emails
Foshan is 40 minutes from Guangzhou Baiyun airport. In one day you can walk through China Ceramics City and Huaxia Ceramics Expo City, compare hundreds of tile brands, then visit a factory and see the kiln. The next day: sanitary ware in Shiwan, aluminium profiles in Dali, lighting in Guzhen. We plan the route, book the visits and sit with you at every negotiation.
Projects we typically supply
Villas & private homes
Complete finishing packages: tiles, bathrooms, kitchen, doors, windows, lighting – usually one 40ft container, sometimes two.
Hotels, apartments & developers
Repeatable specifications, mock-up rooms, staged deliveries and long-term price agreements with a few key factories.
Importers & showrooms
Regular container programmes, OEM branding, private-label packaging, and a local pair of eyes at the factory every time.
Straight answers before you spend a cent
How to read a tile grade
AAA, first choice, “premium” – what the labels really mean, and how to inspect a pallet in 10 minutes.
What a container of materials really costs
Freight, insurance, export packing, port charges and duties – the full landed-cost picture, not just the FOB price.
Can I buy small quantities?
MOQ reality by product type, and how consolidation makes a mixed 20ft container possible for a single house.
When you do not need us
One pallet. One supplier you have already received goods from. A repeat order of something identical. Buy it directly and keep the fee. If you send us a list and that is what it is, we will tell you so instead of quoting you.
We are worth paying when the order is mixed, the specification matters, the money is meaningful, or you simply cannot be in Foshan the week your goods are being produced.
Send one quote. Get a straight answer
Send us a quotation you already have, a photo of the material, or a rough list. Within one business day you get back, in writing:
Not sure you need us? Send the quote you already have
Tell us what you need, when you plan to come, or just forward a supplier’s offer. We reply the same business day with a realistic price range, whether that supplier is a real factory, and which markets are worth your time. The first answer costs nothing.