What to do after Canton Fair: follow up with suppliers

What to do after Canton Fair: sort suppliers, verify companies, request samples, compare quotes, agree terms and pay safely before your first order.

You leave Guangzhou with business cards, WeChat contacts, product photos and prices scribbled in your phone. None of that is an order yet.

If you are wondering what to do after Canton Fair, the first job is not to start sending deposits. It is to reduce all those contacts to a small number of suppliers you can properly verify, sample and compare.

The suppliers that looked impressive at the booth may not be the ones you eventually buy from.

Here is how to turn the contacts you collected into a controlled first order.

First, sort the suppliers before you forget who was who #

Do this while the conversations are still fresh.

Create three groups:

• A — serious: right product, sensible price, acceptable MOQ and good communication.
• B — possible: interesting supplier but something still needs checking.
• C — no: wrong product, weak communication, unrealistic price or obvious mismatch.

For every serious supplier, record:

• company name;
• salesperson;
• hall and booth number;
• WeChat, WhatsApp or email;
• product and model;
• price discussed;
• MOQ;
• sample availability;
• production lead time;
• certificates they claimed to have;
• and anything they promised to send later.

Do not trust your memory.

The official Canton Fair platform now includes supplier and product search, electronic business-card exchange, instant messaging and trade matching, so it can also help you reconnect information collected during the fair.

What should you send a Canton Fair supplier after the meeting? #

Do not send:

Hello, nice meeting you at Canton Fair. Please send your best price.

The supplier probably met dozens of buyers.

Give them enough information to identify you immediately.

A better message is:

Hello Ms Li. We met at your Canton Fair booth and discussed your 5,000mAh power bank, model PB25. I am the buyer from Nigeria. Please send your formal quotation for 1,000 and 3,000 pieces, sample cost, production time, packing details, FOB price and available certifications. Please also send your company business licence.

That message moves the conversation forward.

It also gives you written evidence of what the supplier is now offering, rather than relying on a rushed booth conversation.

Get every supplier to quote the same product #

You cannot compare suppliers properly when they are quoting different specifications.

Suppose Supplier A quotes $4.20 and Supplier B quotes $3.60.

The cheaper supplier may be offering:

• thinner material;
• smaller battery capacity;
• cheaper packaging;
• no logo;
• a higher MOQ;
• fewer accessories;
• or a different shipping term.

Send the same specification to every shortlisted supplier.

Ask for:

• exact model;
• material;
• dimensions;
• colour;
• logo or branding;
• packaging;
• quantity;
• MOQ;
• sample price;
• tooling or mould cost, if applicable;
• production time;
• EXW or FOB price;
• FOB port;
• carton quantity;
• carton dimensions;
• gross weight;
• and payment terms.

For products you intend to import into Nigeria, also calculate the cost after freight, clearing and local delivery, not just the factory price.

Our landed cost from China to Nigeria guide explains that calculation.

How do you verify a supplier you met at Canton Fair? #

Being an exhibitor is useful evidence that you met a real business representative.

It is not a reason to skip verification.

Ask the supplier for its Chinese business licence.

You want the company's:

• full Chinese legal name;
• Unified Social Credit Code;
• registered address;
• legal representative;
• and business scope.

Chinese company records can also be checked through China's official National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System using the company name or registration details.

Now compare that identity with:

• the company on the quotation;
• the company issuing the invoice;
• the factory or office address;
• and eventually the name receiving your payment.

A different company name does not automatically mean fraud. Some manufacturers sell through trading or export companies.

But the supplier should be able to explain the relationship clearly.

If the answer becomes confusing when money is involved, stop and verify it.

Check whether Nigeria will allow the product before ordering #

This should happen before the bulk order, not when the goods reach Lagos.

A Chinese supplier knowing how to manufacture a product does not mean they know every Nigerian import requirement.

Depending on the product, you may need to check requirements involving SON, SONCAP, NAFDAC, NCC or another regulator.

Start with our guide on which certificate your product needs to enter Nigeria.

Also check the Nigeria prohibited imports list before paying for unfamiliar product categories.

For SONCAP-regulated goods, read our SONCAP requirements guide.

Do not accept “we ship to Africa all the time” as proof that a product complies with Nigerian rules.

Nigeria is the destination. Nigeria's rules are the ones that matter.

Order samples before the bulk order #

A beautiful Canton Fair display sample tells you what the supplier can make.

You still need to know what they will make for your order.

Request samples from the strongest two or three suppliers where the product and economics justify it.

When the sample arrives, check the things that will matter when you eventually receive hundreds or thousands of units:

• material;
• dimensions;
• colour;
• weight;
• function;
• finishing;
• accessories;
• logo;
• packaging;
• labels;
• and overall build quality.

Take photos and record the specifications of the sample you approve.

For customized products, keep the approved sample or specification as your production reference.

If the bulk goods later differ from what you approved, you have something concrete to compare them against.

Do not negotiate only on price #

Price matters, but a supplier who is 5% cheaper can become very expensive if the goods arrive late, fail inspection or cannot be sold legally in Nigeria.

Compare the complete offer.

Look at:

• MOQ;
• product quality;
• communication;
• sample quality;
• production time;
• packaging;
• customization ability;
• compliance documents;
• payment terms;
• and willingness to accept inspection.

A supplier refusing reasonable verification is giving you information about the relationship before you have sent money.

Use it.

Get a proper proforma invoice before paying #

Once you have chosen a supplier and agreed the product, ask for a proper proforma invoice.

It should clearly identify the transaction.

Check:

• supplier's legal name;
• your company or buyer details;
• product description;
• model;
• specifications;
• quantity;
• unit price;
• total value;
• Incoterm;
• port, where relevant;
• production time;
• payment terms;
• packaging;
• and bank details.

Our proforma invoice from a China supplier guide shows what to check before accepting one.

Do not let the final PI quietly change the product you negotiated at the fair.

Check it line by line.

Verify the payment details again #

One dangerous moment in China sourcing is when a genuine supplier conversation produces bank details you never independently checked.

Before transferring money, compare the beneficiary name with the supplier you verified.

Be especially careful if somebody suddenly says:

• “our old account cannot receive payment”;
• “send it to our director”;
• “use this personal account”;
• or “finance changed the account today.”

A bank-account change does not prove fraud.

It does mean you should verify the change through a contact method you already trust before sending anything.

Read China payment scams: how the money disappears before your first large transfer.

Should you use Alibaba Trade Assurance? #

Sometimes the supplier you met at Canton Fair also sells through Alibaba.com.

If both sides decide to use Trade Assurance, make sure the actual order and payment follow Alibaba's required process.

Alibaba says Trade Assurance protection is tied to the online order, the agreed product and shipping terms, and payment through the platform's supported process.

Do not assume that simply finding the supplier on Alibaba automatically protects a payment made somewhere else.

And do not weaken your order description.

If quality matters, write the measurable quality requirement into the order.

“Good quality” is not a specification.

Decide the deposit and balance before production starts #

Do not negotiate the payment structure after the supplier has already started producing.

Agree:

• deposit amount;
• what triggers production;
• when the balance becomes due;
• whether inspection happens before balance payment;
• and what happens if the goods fail inspection.

There is no payment percentage that is automatically safe for every order.

The right structure depends on the supplier, product, customization, order size and your negotiating position.

Our guide to China supplier deposit and balance explains what to check before releasing each payment.

Inspect the bulk goods, not only the sample #

Your approved sample and your finished production are two different things.

For a meaningful first order, consider checking the goods before they leave China.

A pre-shipment inspection can verify things such as:

• quantity;
• workmanship;
• dimensions;
• function;
• colour;
• labels;
• accessories;
• packing;
• carton count;
• and visible damage.

The inspection criteria should come from the specification you agreed with the supplier.

Do not wait until the goods reach Nigeria to discover that 20% of the cartons contain the wrong colour.

What if a supplier stops replying after Canton Fair? #

Do not panic after one slow reply.

Factories and sales teams return from the fair with their own backlog.

Send one clear follow-up that gives the supplier something specific to answer:

• confirm this price;
• quote this quantity;
• send this certificate;
• issue the sample invoice;
• or confirm this production date.

If a supplier repeatedly ignores clear commercial questions while another comparable supplier responds properly, that should affect your shortlist.

Communication does not usually become easier after you send the deposit.

Your first seven days after Canton Fair #

A simple system is enough.

Day 1: Sort your supplier contacts.

Day 2: Contact the strongest suppliers with the exact products discussed.

Day 3: Collect quotations and make them comparable.

Day 4: Verify company identities and documents.

Day 5: Request samples from the finalists.

Day 6: Check Nigerian import requirements and estimate landed cost.

Day 7: Decide which suppliers continue to the next stage.

You do not need to place a bulk order in seven days.

The goal is to remove weak suppliers quickly and give serious suppliers a clear next step.

Before you send the first deposit #

Ask yourself:

• Have I verified the company?
• Does the quotation match the product I actually want?
• Have I checked Nigerian import requirements?
• Have I approved a sample where necessary?
• Is the PI correct?
• Have I verified the payment beneficiary?
• Are production and inspection terms written down?
• Do I know the freight and landed cost?
• Do I know when the balance becomes payable?

If several answers are still “no”, you are not ready to pay.

That is what to do after Canton Fair: turn booth conversations into evidence, samples, documents and controlled commercial decisions.

The fair helps you find suppliers.

The work you do afterwards determines which of them deserves your money.

If you met a supplier at Canton Fair and need help checking the company, coordinating samples, confirming specifications, arranging inspection or moving the goods to Nigeria, ChinaBridge Global can help you manage the China side before the order becomes expensive to correct.

First published 24 Sep 2026. Last checked 26 Sep 2026 by The ChinaBridge desk. Something here out of date? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.