I'm an American and have been doing product sourcing here in China for the past three years. Put simply, what I do is connect buyers from abroad with sellers in China.   Although I'm sure you would rather deal with the manufacturers directly, I can assure you it's worth paying a slight premium going through a sourcing agent like myself to ensure you get exactly what you want. In fact, I can actually get lower prices that if you contact factories from abroad.   How do I do this? First, I'm here in China, which has enabled me to establish solid relationships with local manufacturers. This is much cheaper than sending your own company representatives back and forth to China doing the same job. Second, I have an assistant who is Chinese working for me. She is excellent at doing this kind of business, so she can get the best prices. Trust me, you have to be Chinese to get low prices, otherwise you just end up getting "Lao wai" (foreigner) prices.