How Much Does a Sourcing Agent Cost in Taiwan? Flat Fee vs Commission vs Directory

There are four pricing models in practice, and the useful question about each is who pays, because that decides whose interest the agent serves. A flat fee paid by the buyer means the agent earns the same whichever factory you choose. A commission usually comes from the factory side, which pulls the agent toward the factories that pay and toward larger orders. A retainer suits buyers who source continuously. A directory costs the buyer nothing to search because the suppliers pay for placement, which leaves the verification work with you.

A Sourcing Request is US$99 one-time at the current launch price; the regular price is US$490 per request, and the launch price is limited-time. It is paid up front, before any supplier is contacted on your behalf. For teams that source continuously there is a Sourcing Partner plan at US$1,490 per month for up to 3 concurrent requests. After the shortlist, optional order-coordination support is 1% of the transaction value, capped, quoted upfront and paid by the buyer, never by the supplier.

One sourcing request returns a verified shortlist of 3 to 5 Taiwan suppliers who have confirmed they are interested in your project, with supplier outreach carried out in Chinese on your behalf. You also get a normalised quote comparison (unit price, MOQ, lead time, tooling cost and incoterms), a response summary from every supplier we contacted, the full funnel from contacted to replied to quoted, a red-flag review with clarifying questions handled for you, and 30 days of follow-up support after the shortlist.

No. Every sourcing request is paid up front, and there is no free tier, free trial or trial credit. The reason is that the work you pay for is real people contacting real factories in Chinese on your behalf, and that cost is incurred the moment outreach starts. After you submit, you can see how many candidate suppliers your request matched, but supplier names, websites and contact details stay masked until the request is paid. What protects you is the refund guarantee, not a trial.

For a qualifying request we guarantee at least 3 verified suppliers who have confirmed they want your project, within 14 days for our five core verticals and 24 days for other categories, or a full refund. A request qualifies when it is for production-grade standard or aftermarket parts rather than ground-up R&D, and includes at minimum target quantities and basic specs. If we cannot close it you also get a written summary of what we searched and why it did not close.

Sample orders, shipping and logistics, and quality-control inspections are not included in a sourcing request. They are available as optional follow-on services once you have a shortlist, coordinated by us for the capped 1% fee. Quotes we collect do include sample pricing and first-article lead time, so you know the pilot-run numbers before you decide.

No. Suppliers never pay to be listed, matched, ranked or introduced, and we take no commission from them. The buyer is our only customer, which is why the incentive is to find the supplier that fits you rather than the one that pays. Any agent you consider should answer the same question plainly: who pays you, and how much?

No. US$99 is a limited-time launch price and the regular price is US$490 per sourcing request. We tell you the price before you submit, and launch pricing does not change on a request that is already in progress.

A free directory is the better deal when you already know your category vocabulary, can tell a manufacturer from a trading company at a glance, and have the hours to run outreach yourself; our Taiwantrade comparison covers that case in detail. A commission-based agent can make sense when you already know you will place large recurring orders and want someone negotiating on an ongoing basis. A flat-fee agent fits best when you want one verified shortlist for one requirement and want the price fixed before work starts.

Five questions separate a service that verifies from one that only sells introductions. Ask them in writing and compare the answers across providers.