EMS–TRADE Electronics export trading
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Fanned blank checklist sheets with tick boxes, a pen, glasses and a small circuit board in a grey tray, photographed from above

Trust layer · the awkward questions

Questions buyers ask us

MOQ, money, paperwork and who is really behind this. Every answer carries a number, a standard code or a mechanism you can test.

18 questions Basis date 2026-09-16 No adjectives

01Orders, MOQ, lead time and samples

Small first orders are accepted.

MOQ from 1 unitNo MOQ on board work
An open 48U server rack filled with identical closed 1U units and teal power cabling
MOQ 5 AI racks, 42U–52U, 30 days standard FOB.
A finished pair of AI camera glasses seen front-on with the lens set into the temple
MOQ 100 Smart glasses, per SKU; 14-day prototyping.
An overlapping fan of finished display modules with blank grey fields and ribbon tails
MOQ 500 Display modules; samples in 7–15 days.
Q1 · MOQ What is your MOQ? Set by product family: chargers from 1 unit, UQD couplings 50 pcs, smart glasses 100 pcs per SKU, display modules 500 pcs, AI racks 5 units. Board work publishes no MOQ.
Q2 · Lead time What should I plan for? Display modules: samples 7–15 days, mass production 20–35. AI racks: 30 days standard FOB. Add 14 days Yantian to Long Beach at sea.
Q3 · Samples What do samples cost? Smart glasses prototype in 14 days after spec freeze, from 100 pcs per SKU. Sample and courier charges sit on the quotation.

02Payment, Incoterms and who pays for inspection

FOB by default. Never EXW.

Incoterms 2020 · 11 rulesIn force since 2020-01-01
A dimensioned engineering drawing sheet with a pencil and a pair of dividers laid over it
Terms What the quotation states, in writing.
An open shipping container at a loading dock with unlabelled cartons stacked on a pallet inside
FOB Risk passes on board; the export declaration stays ours.
Hands closing digital calipers around a machined part beside a clipboard with a blank inspection sheet
Inspection $199–320 per man-day, paid to the inspector.
Q4 · Payment What terms do you work on? 30% deposit with 70% before shipment, or an L/C at sight. Below about $5,000, PayPal is possible. The quotation states the terms.
Q5 · Incoterms Which rule do you quote? FOB by default, FCA for inland stuffing, CFR or CIF only when we sell the freight. Never EXW: China's transaction-method table has no EXW code.
Q6 · Independence Who picks the inspector? You pay the inspection body directly and you choose it — SGS, TÜV, Intertek, Bureau Veritas or UL. That keeps the result independent.

C-group rules transfer risk at shipment, not at destination: CIF is ICC (C) cover, CIP is ICC (A). The Incoterms guide

03Certification: what it proves and how to verify it

Named certificates only. Never a holder name.

12 / 24 ISO 900115 / 24 RoHS15 / 24 CE
Close macro of a circuit board edge showing stacked copper planes and plated holes
System ISO 9001 certifies how a company runs its processes.
A row of finished modules in black and white enclosures standing on a pale surface
Product A product certificate is a different document entirely.
A clipboard holding a blank ruled form with a pen and a teal sticky tab, photographed from above
Look-up Number, issuer, scope, site address, validity.
Q7 · Our certificate Can you send yours? The trading company holds no citable certificate. Measured 2026-09-13: 12 of 24 partner sites publish ISO 9001, 15 RoHS, 15 CE, 2 none.
Q8 · Verification How do I check one is real? Look the number up in the issuing body's database, compare scope and site address, and ask for the audit report rather than the PDF.
Q9 · CE and CB What do they actually prove? CE is a manufacturer's declaration supported by an EU Declaration of Conformity — not an approval. A CB certificate is an input to national approvals.

Interview research (Business Horizons 62(1), 2019) found fake ISO 9001 certificates widespread in China. How we verify

04Tariffs, HS codes and compliance

No single China rate exists in 2026.

Basis date 2026-09-16Re-confirmed at quotation
Pallets of plain cartons staged in a large empty dispatch hall under ceiling lights
Duty Stacked measures, decided by the importing customs authority.
A production panel of identical printed circuit boards held in a white inspection fixture
8534.00 Bare boards. Layer count does not change the heading.
Four finished rack-mount network switches in a row with closed blank faceplates
8473.30 Once assembled, the board moves to the machine heading.
Q10 · Duty How much will I pay? No single reliable China rate exists in 2026: IEEPA tariffs were struck down 2026-02-20, the Section 122 surcharge lapsed 2026-07-24, and Section 301 adds 12.5%.
Q11 · HS code Which heading does my board use? Bare boards are 8534.00 — HTSUS 8534.00.00 at MFN Free — and layer count does not change the heading. Assembled boards move to 8473.30.
Q12 · CBAM and REACH Do they apply to electronics? CBAM covers cement, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen only. REACH applies as an information duty: above 0.1% w/w SVHC, answer within 45 days.

05Quality control and inspection

Sampling mathematics, not reassurance.

ISO 2859-1 level IICritical 0 · Major 2.5 · Minor 4.0
A production panel of identical green circuit boards held in a white inspection fixture
Sampling A 1,201–3,200 lot samples 125 pieces.
An engineer's hands at a bench under an inspection lamp, working on a board with tweezers beside an open laptop
Class The class decision belongs to the buyer, per IPC.
An empty industrial corridor with a closed roller door and a painted floor line running to the far end
Release The report releases or holds the balance payment.
Q13 · AQL What do you inspect to? ISO 2859-1 / ANSI-ASQ Z1.4 level II: critical 0, major 2.5, minor 4.0. A 1,201–3,200 lot samples 125 pieces: accept ≤7 majors, reject ≥8.
Q14 · Class 3 Can I specify it? Yes — IPC puts the class decision on you. Class 3 acceptance adds 20–40% over Class 2, with 8–15% expected defect rates against 2–5%.
Q15 · Sign-off Who declares the goods acceptable? The pre-shipment report releases the balance: issued 24–48 hours after inspection, booked about a week ahead with 48 hours' notice to the factory.

06IP, tooling and who you are buying from

Five names have to match.

Three-part obligation, per factoryTooling clause before deposit
Technical drawings with digital calipers, a drafting triangle and machined sample parts on a pale bench
Tooling An undocumented mould is a hostage.
An SMT line seen down its length, pick-and-place machine and reflow oven with boards on the conveyor
Site The address in the scope, on the documents and on the visit.
Rows of identical machines receding down a bright production hall
Shipper Who appears as the operating unit on the export declaration.
Q16 · Tooling Who owns it? The clause goes into the purchase order before the deposit. Market norm: 50% tooling deposit, refundable after the third order, moulds kept 5 years.
Q17 · IP How is my design protected? Non-disclosure, non-use and non-circumvention terms are signed per factory before files are shared; firmware and serial records stay under your part-number scheme.
Q18 · Identity Who am I actually buying from? Five names must match: registered entity, contracting seller, bank beneficiary, production site and shipper. We are a trading company, and we say so.

24 partner sites across 5 capability groups, all HTTP-verified reachable on 2026-09-13. The register · Terms and IP clauses

07Still unanswered

Ask it directly, and get it in writing.

Send the spec and the question together. An engineer answers with the numbers attached.

Recorded. An engineer will reply.

Written answer from eric@dfshk.cn.

All contact routes eric@dfshk.cn · +86 152 3512 7440