The supplier stopped replying. The shipment is wrong. The deposit is gone.
Most disputes with Chinese factories don't get resolved over email. They get resolved when someone walks into the factory.
We are that someone.
We read the contract you signed (or didn't sign). We pull the actual record — production photos, shipping logs, payment trail, communication history. We sit with the factory owner. Not the sales rep. The owner. In Chinese. In the building.
We don't promise to win. We promise to show up, take the meeting, and tell you what's recoverable.
#5 — Your biggest problem in China isn't IP. It's communication. That's where most money is lost.
Most disputes don't start with bad intent. They start with assumptions both sides made and neither side wrote down. By the time emails stop being replied to, the problem isn't legal — it's that no one in the room understands what the other side actually meant. We get in the room.
What a Fixer engagement actually looks like
We read everything
The contract (or what's missing from it). The PI. The PO. The chat history. The shipping documents. The payment records. The product photos before and after. We build a timeline of what was promised, what was delivered, and where the gap opened.
We go to the factory
Not a phone call. Not a video meeting. A China Agent representative drives to the factory and sits across from the owner — in Chinese, with full context, with the file in hand. The factory now knows this isn't a buyer they can ignore.
We tell you what's recoverable
Some disputes are 100% recoverable. Some are 30%. Some are zero. We don't promise outcomes — we tell you the truth, fast, so you can make an informed decision about whether to fight, settle, or walk.
We execute, or we hand it off
Smaller disputes (Tier 1) end with a written assessment. Mid-disputes (Tier 2) end with negotiated recovery. Full Fixer engagements (Tier 3) include sustained on-site presence, local legal coordination, and follow-through until the matter is closed.
Something feels off · Diagnostic only · 2–3 business days
Quick Dispute Review
Tell us what happened. We tell you if it's worth fighting.
You send us the documents — PI, PO, chat history, payment records, shipping logs, product photos. We read it all and write back with a clear assessment: what likely happened, what's recoverable, what your real options are, and whether it's worth escalating.
- Document review — PI, PO, contracts, communications, payment trail, shipping records, product photos
- Written diagnostic — what happened, what didn't, where the gap is
- Recovery probability assessment — best case, likely case, worst case
- Your real options — walk away, push back yourself, escalate, or accept
- What we'd recommend if it were our problem2–3 business days turnaround
- No supplier contact — we don't get involved at this tier
- One dispute per review
$795
The Quick Dispute Review is the fastest, cheapest way to know if a problem is worth fighting. The $795 credits any Fixer upgrade within 30 days.
Ready for real intervention?
The Quick Dispute Review tells you what happened and what's recoverable. The three tiers below are when we actually go in — research, negotiate, and recover.
Consultancy & Review
Diagnostic-only. Best for: buyers who need to understand what happened, what's recoverable, and what their actual options are — before deciding whether to escalate.
- Full document review (contract, PI, communications, shipping, payments).
- Timeline reconstruction.
- Recovery probability assessment.
- Factory legal & operational status check.
- Written report with strategic recommendations.
- One follow-up call to walk through findings.
- Delivered in 5–7 business days.
$2,950
Full Fixer Involvement
Sustained intervention until the matter is closed. Best for: high-stakes disputes, repeat offenders, or cases where the buyer needs a permanent China-side representative until resolution.
- Everything in Enforcement & Negotiation.
- Sustained on-site presence (up to 30 days).
- Multi-meeting negotiation cycles.
- Coordinated legal escalation if required.
- Direct communication with factory ownership.
- Recovery execution (refund, re-production, or compensation).
- Senior China Agent management oversight.
- Final close-out report with all documentation.
- Reviewed by senior China Agent legal partner.
$8,950
Enforcement & Negotiation
Active intervention. Best for: buyers ready to push for resolution and willing to authorize on-the-ground negotiation.
- Everything in Consultancy & Review.
- On-site factory visit.
- Direct negotiation with factory owner (not sales).
- Chinese-language pressure correspondence.
- Local legal coordination if needed.
- Negotiated settlement or recovery plan.
- Documented agreement (English + Chinese, chopped).
- 30-day follow-through after agreement.
$5,950
When the dispute exceeds these tiers:
- Some disputes require litigation, customs intervention, or recovery beyond what these tiers cover (factory bankruptcy, ownership disappearance, criminal-grade fraud).
- In those cases, the Tier 1 Consultancy & Review tells you that — and we coordinate with Chinese litigation partners and your home-country legal team. We tell you when a fight isn't worth fighting. That's part of the service.
What this looks like in practice
"The supplier blamed logistics. We sat with the factory owner. The story changed in ten minutes."
A container arrived with 30% defective product. The buyer panicked. The supplier blamed shipping. The contract didn't cover the failure mode. Emails were going nowhere — slower replies, vaguer answers, and the suggestion that "next batch will be better."
We took the file.
The defects weren't from logistics. They were from a material swap mid-production. The supplier had quietly substituted a cheaper input on the second half of the run — same look, worse performance. The factory knew. The shipping records confirmed it. The product photos confirmed it. Nobody told the buyer.
We drove to the factory.
We sat across from the owner — not the sales contact, the owner — and laid out the timeline, the records, and the answer the buyer was no longer getting over WeChat. The conversation moved from "logistics issue" to "we'll need to discuss compensation" within ten minutes.
We negotiated rework on a portion of the goods, scrapped the rest, and recovered partial compensation in cash — documented in a chopped agreement, in Chinese, signed by the entity (not the parent, not the trading company).
Without us showing up in person, the buyer would have eaten the loss. The supplier was counting on the email thread going cold. We made sure it didn't.
Fixer case · Guangdong, 2024
What this isn't
Not a guarantee
We don't promise recovery. Some disputes are 80% recoverable. Some are 20%. Some are zero. The Consultancy & Review tells you which one you have — fast — so you don't pay for a fight you can't win.
Not litigation
We're not your law firm. For full court proceedings, we coordinate with Chinese litigation partners and your home-country counsel. Most disputes resolve before that — but if yours doesn't, we tell you, and we connect you to the right lawyers.
Not an emotional service
We don't punish factories for being difficult. We don't shame them. We don't post about them. We collect facts, present consequences, and make recovery the easier path. Factories respond to leverage, not to anger.
Not retroactive insurance
A Fixer engagement after the fact is more expensive than a Contract before the fact. If you have an active supplier relationship and no Chinese-law contract in place, the smartest move you can make is to fix that before you need us to fix something else.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions before buyers commit. If yours isn't here, ask.
Four tiers, four stages of trouble. Quick Dispute Review ($795) — fast diagnostic only, 2–3 days. We tell you what likely happened, what's recoverable, and what your options are. No supplier contact. Consultancy & Review ($2,950) — deeper document review and timeline reconstruction with light involvement. Still no on-site work. Enforcement & Negotiation ($5,950) — we go to the factory, sit with the owner, and negotiate recovery in Chinese with documented agreements. Full Fixer ($8,950) — sustained on-site presence for up to 30 days, multi-meeting negotiation cycles, and coordinated legal escalation. Most clients start with the Quick Dispute Review and decide whether to escalate based on the recovery probability.
Consultancy & Review: we begin within 48 hours of engagement and deliver findings in 5–7 business days. Enforcement & Negotiation: factory visit typically scheduled within 7–10 days. Full Fixer: same scheduling, but the on-site presence extends up to 30 days.
No, but it changes the strategy. With a properly drafted Chinese-law contract, recovery becomes about enforcement. Without one, recovery becomes about leverage — production records, payment trails, business reputation, future order pipeline. We've recovered substantial sums from contractless disputes. It's harder, not impossible.
We trace it. Chinese business records show ownership history, address changes, related entities, and asset registrations. Disappeared factories often reappear under different names with the same legal person. Our Consultancy tier identifies whether tracing is viable before you commit to enforcement.
In Tier 1 (Consultancy), the supplier doesn't know — we're working from documents you provide. In Tier 2 and Tier 3, yes — we identify ourselves as your representative. That identification itself is part of the leverage. The factory now knows the buyer has on-the-ground capability and isn't going to disappear into an email void.
Yes, when the factory still exists, has assets, and the legal grounds for recovery are valid. We've recovered deposits paid for goods never produced, refunds for defective shipments, and partial recovery in supplier-bankruptcy scenarios. We're honest in the Consultancy phase about which scenarios are realistic.
That's effectively the Tier 1 Consultancy — we give you the file, the strategy, and the leverage points. You execute. Some buyers prefer this. Others escalate to Tier 2 once they realize how different a face-to-face Chinese negotiation is from an English-language email exchange.