Frequently asked questions about China quality inspection

A local sourcing and inspection partner such as MSC can visit the factory on your behalf, verify production capacity and quality systems through a factory audit, and inspect the goods before shipment, sending you a full report with photos so you can approve the shipment remotely.

A pre-shipment inspection checks quantity against your purchase order, workmanship and defects using AQL sampling, product function and safety, and packaging condition, once 100% of goods are produced and at least 80% are packed. The photo report is normally sent within 24 hours.

Full inspection with sorting costs more upfront than a standard AQL sample inspection, because every unit is checked and sorted. A sample inspection is priced per inspector-day ($240 at MSC) and reports on a sample of the order. Full inspection is priced per unit or per batch and includes sorting and repackaging labour. Defective units are set aside and sent back to the factory for rework or replacement; we do not repair them. The higher upfront cost avoids the cost of a rejected shipment, returns or a second inspection trip. More on inspection pricing.

A spot-check inspection takes an AQL sample of the order at the factory and reports the defects it finds. Full inspection with sorting usually takes place in a dedicated workshop. Every unit is checked, defective pieces go back to the factory for rework or replacement, and good units are relabelled and repacked before shipping. Most inspection companies subcontract this service.

We do both. Routine inspections and audits take place at the supplier's factory. Full inspection, sorting, blind repackaging and sample pre-screening take place in our own workshop in Ningbo. Most inspection companies offer only factory visits.

Yes. You can discuss your orders, specifications and results with our team in French or English. Inspection reports are written in English. Technical questions about a defect are answered by our team together with the inspector who saw the product.

All of mainland China. The $240 per inspector-day rate is all inclusive wherever the factory is, with no travel fees. Our team is based in Ningbo, and a partner team in Guangzhou covers South China.

For long-term accounts, MSC requests samples from shortlisted factories in China, checks them in-house and forwards only those that pass. You avoid paying small invoices to factories directly, and you do not pay to ship a rejected sample overseas.

Yes. A trading company usually checks goods informally before passing them on, as part of its margin. When you buy directly from the factory, that safety net disappears. Verifying the factory and inspecting the goods becomes your job, which is the role an independent QC partner like MSC fills.

A specialist catches defects that a generalist may not recognise as defects, because its inspectors are trained on the parts they check. General inspection companies train inspectors across broad categories such as toys, textiles and furniture, and rotate them between product types. A specialist in mechanical, electrical and electronic OEM parts checks tolerances, torque and electrical safety with inspectors trained in those fields.

Common signs include reports that only say pass or fail without enough detail to act on, inspectors who rotate so you never build a relationship with the same person twice, defects that reach your customers despite a passed inspection, and no one on the team able to discuss a technical issue directly in your language.

Often yes, but it has to be calculated. Buying direct can cut the purchase price by 30 to 50%, and you lose the informal quality control the trading company provided. Once independent inspection is added back, the savings usually remain significant for recurring or larger orders.

A professional QC team sends the same trained, permanent inspectors to your jobs, while a WeChat group booking sends whoever is free that day. Many China inspection jobs are filled informally: a broker posts the order in a WeChat group of independent inspectors. Rates stay low, but judgment and report quality vary, and the work is often limited to simple consumer goods or basic loading checks. MSC's inspectors are permanent staff, and most started on the factory floor operating production machines. That background is what makes full inspection of complex mechanical, electrical and electronic parts possible.

Beyond visual checks and a caliper, MSC inspectors carry a set of portable instruments: coating thickness gauges, Shore hardness testers, a colorimeter for color consistency, torque wrenches, and push-pull force gauges, all recalibrated and serviced on a yearly schedule. For recurring OEM parts, we also build custom fixtures matched to the part itself, such as a dedicated pin-height gauge machined for one client's connector. A freelance inspector booked for a single order through an informal network typically arrives with a caliper and a flashlight and nothing else.

Yes. This site keeps photos to a minimum because our clients' products are confidential and cannot be shown. Real photos of our team, workshop and calibrated equipment are in our company brochure: download it here (PDF, English) or in French.

AQL 2.5 is a common acceptance limit for major defects: the lot passes if the number of major defects found in the sample stays within the limit set by ISO 2859-1 for an acceptable quality level of 2.5%. The sample size depends on the lot size and the inspection level. At General Inspection Level II, a lot of 3,201 to 10,000 units gives a sample of 200 pieces; at AQL 2.5 the lot passes with up to 10 major defects and fails at 11. Buyers usually set critical defects at 0, major defects at 2.5 and minor defects at 4.0. How to read an AQL table.

Each inspection follows a written protocol agreed with you before the visit. If your quality team has its own protocol, we use it. If not, we use our standard checklist or draft a protocol from your drawing and specifications for your approval. Our inspector fills in each line with the conforming and non-conforming quantities, the measured values and photos, and sends the report within 24 hours. The release decision stays with your quality manager. Reports are confidential and shared only with you.

Book as soon as the factory gives you a planned completion date. We reply within one business day to confirm availability, the number of inspector-days and the date. A pre-shipment inspection takes place once 100% of the goods are produced and at least 80% are packed. Before Chinese New Year, book at least two weeks before the factory closes.

You decide the next step with the report in hand. The usual options are to have the factory rework or replace the defective goods and book a re-inspection, to accept the lot with a documented deviation if the defects do not affect use, or to send the lot to our Ningbo workshop for 100% inspection and sorting so that only conforming units ship. Defective units go back to the factory; we do not repair them.