Sourcing Agent for Clothing Brand - China manufacturers, custom production, must have done this for real brands

Hi! We run a streetwear and hikewear clothing brand - jackets and tracksuits
mainly. We're growing and finding and vetting factories is eating our time, so
we want one experienced person to own it.

This is not a research job for a beginner. We need someone who has genuinely
done this before, for real clothing brands, and can prove it.

THE WORK

• Find and vet manufacturers in China for our products. 1688, Alibaba, trade

shows, agent networks, wherever you actually get good factories - we care
about the result, not the source. -

• Custom branding on existing products: our logo printed, embroidered, debossed

or engraved onto stock items like wallets, caps and accessories. Getting a
real branded sample made, not a mockup.

• Fully custom production from our tech packs: fabric and trim sourcing, sample

rounds, fit corrections, then bulk.

• Negotiate. We will give you a target landed cost per unit and your job is to

hit it, or come back and tell us why it can't be hit.

• Bring our existing costs down. We have products in production now. We want the

same or better quality for less.

• Handle MOQs, sample costs, lead times, payment terms and who pays for what.
• Be the person we message when we have a new design, and come back with options.

HOW WE WANT IT REPORTED (this part matters as much as the sourcing)
For every product, one short summary we can read in two minutes:

• The shortlisted suppliers, ranked, with your recommendation at the top
• Unit price at our quantity, MOQ, sample cost, sample lead time, bulk lead time
• Pros and cons for each one, in your own words
• What you have actually verified versus what the supplier claims

We do not want a wall of screenshots or a 40-row spreadsheet. We want a decision
we can make quickly, with the reasoning underneath it.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU (please read this part properly)
YOU KNOW HOW TO GET PAST ALIBABA. Most of what's listed there is a trading
company putting a margin on a factory's price, which is exactly the problem
we're hiring you to fix. Tell us how you find the factory behind the listing.

• YOU HAVE DONE THIS FOR CLOTHING OR APPAREL BRANDS BEFORE. Name them. Say what

you sourced, where from, and roughly what volume. This is the single biggest
thing we are hiring on.

• A REAL EXAMPLE OF A PRICE YOU NEGOTIATED DOWN. The product, the first quote,

the price you landed, and how you got there. One paragraph is fine.

• Experience with CUSTOM BRANDING on existing products - print, embroidery,

engraving, debossing, custom packaging and labels. Tell us what you've had
branded and how it came out.

• Experience taking a TECH PACK to a finished sample and into bulk.
• You know how to avoid the overpriced middlemen. A lot of what's listed on

Alibaba is a trading company marking up a factory. Tell us how you tell the
difference.

• Excellent written English, and you can communicate with Chinese suppliers

(tell us how - your own Mandarin, WeChat with translation, an agent you work
with, whatever it actually is. We'd rather know than be told what we want to
hear.)

• You can work to a target price we set and push back honestly when it's not

realistic.

WHAT WE DON'T NEED

• AN ALIBABA SPECIALIST. If your experience is searching Alibaba and email ing

gold suppliers, this is not the role. We can search Alibaba ourselves. We are
already paying middleman prices and that is the thing we want fixed.

• A sourcing agency or a factory's sales rep. We're hiring one person who works

for us, not someone who gets paid by the supplier.

• Someone who will send us the first three Alibaba listings they find. We can

search Alibaba ourselves. We're paying for judgement and relationships.

• A team. One person.

HOURS AND PAY
Around 10-15 hours a week to start, long-term, with more as we grow. Paid
weekly.
$5-8 USD/hour depending on what you've actually done, reviewed after the first
month. If you'd rather be paid per project, tell us how you normally structure
it and we'll consider it.

HOW TO APPLY
Start your reply with the word ANVIL so we know you read this.

Then send us:
1. The clothing or apparel brands you have sourced for, and what you sourced
2. The price you negotiated down - product, first quote, final price, how
3. What custom branding you have had done, and on what products
4. How you communicate with Chinese suppliers
5. How you tell a real factory from a trading company
6. What hours you can work, in your local time, and your time zone
7. Your WhatsApp number