industrial, machinery and appliance spare parts / Buying guide
How we check a supplier before you pay
Last updated
For machined and remanufactured parts the checks are different from ordinary sourcing, because the risk is different. The question is not whether the seller is honest; it is whether the shop can hold the tolerance and whether anyone wrote down which tolerance mattered.
So the process is built around a first article measured against a drawing, before the rest of the run exists.
In this guide
Before any metal is cut
- Capability matching — the shop's equipment against the part. A three-axis mill will not produce a five-axis part, and a shop that says it will is the wrong shop.
- Written specification — material and grade, heat treatment and hardness, critical dimensions and tolerances, surface finish, coating.
- Agreement on which dimensions are critical, so the quote reflects the part rather than a defensive reading of it.
- Trading and production history, and whether they have made this class of part before.
First article, which is the whole control
One piece is made and measured against the drawing, and we send you the measurements — not a photograph and an assurance. If a critical dimension is out, it is corrected before the run rather than discovered at installation.
Where hardness or material was specified, the test result comes with the first article. That is the point at which a heat treatment that was quietly skipped becomes visible.
What we will not do
- Source branded bearings or control components on the domestic market and present them as genuine.
- Remanufacture parts carrying a safety certification without making the liability transfer explicit to you in writing.
- Reproduce trademarks, part-number stamps or brand markings on a remanufactured part.
- Declare a value other than the transaction value on export paperwork.
Questions & answers
Common questions
- Do I get the inspection measurements?
- Yes, as numbers against the drawing. An inspection that produces only a photograph has not inspected anything.
- What if the first article is wrong?
- It is corrected before the run, which is exactly why it exists. That is a normal part of the process, not a failure of it.
- Can you do full dimensional inspection on a production run?
- Yes, quoted separately. For critical parts at low volume it is usually worth it; on a hundred brackets it is not.
Your next step
Have a link you want checked?
Send a 1688 or Taobao product link and you get back the specification in English, the supplier check, and the landed cost to your country before you commit to anything.
Get a quote