Factory or Middleman? How to Tell Who You're Really Talking To

You found a "manufacturer" online, sent a few emails, and got a friendly reply with a price list. It all feels promising. But something is a little off: they say "our factory" a lot, the address is a suite number in an office building, and when you ask about minimums the answer comes back after a day, as if someone had to go ask somebody else.

That doesn't mean you're being scammed. It probably means you're talking to someone in the middle: a sourcing agent, a trading company, or a full-package developer. Those businesses can be useful, sometimes very useful. The problem is only when you don't know which one you're dealing with, because that changes what you're paying for, who controls quality, and who you call when a bulk order shows up wrong.

The four kinds of people who answer "we make clothing"

From the outside they all look the same. A website, an email address, a sales contact who says yes. Here's what's actually behind each one.

• Factory: Owns or leases the production floor. Employs the cutters, sewers and finishers. Has machines, a cutting table, and usually a sample room. When you talk to them, the person on the email can walk downstairs and look at your garment.
• Sourcing agent: Works on your behalf to find factories, negotiate, and often handle quality checks. Usually paid a commission (often somewhere around 5–15% of the order, though it varies a lot) or a flat fee. A good agent is your representative in the factory, not the factory's salesperson.
• Trading company: Buys from factories and sells to you. They're the seller of record, so they set the price, and their margin is built into it. You usually won't know which factory made your goods, and that's part of their model.
• Full-package developer: Takes you from sketch or tech pack to finished product: patterns, sampling, fabric sourcing, production management. Some own a sample room and outsource bulk. Some own nothing and coordinate everything. Many are excellent and save first-time founders months.

The lines blur. Plenty of factories also act as agents for work they can't do in-house, and plenty of developers own a small production line. What you want is to know which role they're playing on your order.

When a middleman is the right call

I'm not anti-agent. I run a development studio that sends work to factories in LA and overseas, so in a lot of conversations, I'm the person in the middle. A middleman earns their fee when:

• You're new and don't speak "factory" yet. Someone who can read a tech pack, push back on a sample, and translate between you and the floor can save you more than they cost.
• You need several product types. A tee, a hoodie and a cap usually come from three different factories. An agent or trading company can consolidate that into one relationship.
• You're sourcing overseas and can't visit. Having someone on the ground for pre-production checks and final inspection is real value.
• Your volumes are small. Some factories won't take a 100-unit order from an unknown brand, but will take it through an agent they already trust.

The fee is fine. Paying it without knowing you're paying it is the issue.

Signs you're talking to a middleman

None of these prove anything alone. Two or three together are a pretty clear signal.

1. No physical address, or an office address. A factory has a building with loading access. A downtown suite, a residential address, or "we're located in Guangdong" with nothing more specific usually means the production happens somewhere else.
2. "Our factory" instead of "we." People who own the floor tend to say "we cut," "our sewers." People who manage it tend to say "our factory" or "our partner facility."
3. They won't video the floor. Ask for a live video call walking the production area. A factory can usually do this within a day or two. A middleman will often send photos instead, or the same polished photos on their website.
4. Prices with no breakdown. A factory can tell you roughly what's fabric, trims, cut-and-sew labor and finishing. A single number with nothing behind it often means there's a margin they'd prefer you not see.
5. Different factory names on the paperwork. The invoice, the shipping documents, the care label or the compliance certificate names a company you've never heard of. That's the actual maker.
6. Slow, relayed answers to technical questions. Ask something specific about seam construction or shrinkage testing. If it takes a day and comes back secondhand, someone else is answering.
7. They make everything. Knits, wovens, denim, swim, leather, hats. Real factories specialize. A catalog that covers every category is usually a network of factories behind one storefront.

Questions that reveal who you're talking to

Ask these early, politely and directly. A good partner of any type will answer them without getting defensive. We keep a longer list at factory questions, but these are the ones that sort roles fastest:

1. "Is production done in a facility you own or lease?" Simple and fair. Most honest middlemen will just tell you.
2. "Can we do a short video call on the production floor?" Watch for hesitation.
3. "What's the name and address of the facility that will make my order?" A trading company may decline. That tells you what you need to know.
4. "Can you break the price into fabric, trims, labor and margin?" You won't always get every line, but you'll learn how transparent they are.
5. "Who will be my contact during production, and are they at the factory?"
6. "Will I be able to visit or send an inspector?"
7. "How are you paid: by me, by the factory, or both?" This one matters most with agents. An agent paid by the factory isn't really working for you.

If the answers are clear, you can decide with full information. A developer who says "we develop in-house and produce with two partner factories we've used for years" is giving you a great answer. You know who does what.

How reviews tied to real projects help

The hardest part of all of this is that you're judging from emails. Everyone sounds capable in writing. What you need is evidence from people who actually placed an order.

That's why we built reviews on Runsheet around real projects: who made the goods, what was ordered, how sampling went, whether bulk matched the sample. A review like that tells you whether a listing is the floor itself or a coordinator, and whether that mattered to the brand. When you browse the factory directory, look at what kind of work reviewers describe, not just the star rating.

A common version: the quote comes from one company, the proforma invoice from a second, and the sample's care label says "Made in" somewhere else entirely. None of that is automatically a problem. But you should know who is actually sewing your garment before you pay a deposit.

If you'd rather skip the guesswork for a first project, we also offer a free factory introduction. You tell us what you're making, and we connect you with factories that fit. Ask every one of them the questions above anyway.

What to do once you know

Knowing the role lets you set up the relationship correctly:

• With a factory: Expect to manage more yourself, including fabric decisions and approvals. In return you get lower cost and a direct line to the people sewing your product.
• With an agent: Get the fee structure in writing, confirm who pays them, and ask for the factory name so you can verify it.
• With a trading company: Accept that you're buying a finished product, not a relationship with the maker. Get quality standards and remedies for defects written into the order.
• With a full-package developer: Clarify what's in-house and what's outsourced, who owns the patterns, and what each stage costs. This is often the best fit for a first collection.

None of these is the wrong answer. Starting the conversation is the right move, because the path from first email to bulk takes time no matter who's on the other end.

The same thing, from the other side of the table

If you run a factory: Brands are getting better at asking these questions, and the fastest way to win their trust is to show your floor. A listing with your real address, your specialties and reviews from actual projects does a lot of that work for you. You can list your factory on Runsheet with 90 days free.

If you're a consultant or product developer: Being in the middle is a legitimate business, and saying so clearly is a selling point, not a weakness. Brands that understand what you do will pay for it. You can list your services free, no commission.

The short version

1. Factories own the floor; agents, trading companies and developers coordinate it. All four can be good partners.
2. A middleman earns their fee when you're new, sourcing several categories, or can't visit the factory.
3. Watch for office addresses, "our factory" language, no floor video, unexplained prices and unfamiliar names on paperwork.
4. Ask directly who makes the goods, where, and how everyone is paid.
5. Use reviews from real projects to see what working with someone was actually like.
6. Pick the structure that fits your stage, and get its terms in writing.

Know who you're talking to, then start the conversation. Browse the factory directory and reach out to two or three this week.