Terms of Service

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the services provided by Jia Li (“we”, “us”, “our”), including sourcing, supplier verification, quality checks, procurement, private label development, consultations and on-ground market assistance.

Our registered address is Room B053, 6th Floor, International Building, No. 53 Renmin Avenue, Haidian Subdistrict, Meilan District, Haikou City, Hainan Province, China. Our operating team is based in the Guangzhou and Foshan area of Guangdong Province.

2. Acceptance of these Terms

Ticking the acceptance box on any of our website forms constitutes your binding acceptance of these Terms and of our Privacy Policy. Confirming acceptance in writing — including by email or WhatsApp — or instructing us to begin work has the same effect.

We record the date and time of your acceptance alongside your enquiry. If you do not accept these Terms, do not submit the form, and we will not be able to act for you.

Where you accept on behalf of a company or other organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that organisation, and “you” in these Terms means both you and it.

3. What we are, and what we are not

We act as your agent in identifying, verifying, negotiating with and coordinating Chinese suppliers. We are not a manufacturer, and we do not own or produce the goods we help you source unless explicitly stated in writing.

Where we source or verify a supplier, the commercial contract for the goods is between you and that supplier. We negotiate on your behalf and document what we find, but we cannot guarantee the performance of a third party beyond our own best-effort due diligence and any on-site oversight you have engaged us for.

4. Quotes, scope and engagement

Each engagement begins with a written quotation setting out the specific service, the scope, the fee and, where relevant, the timeline. That quotation, once accepted by you in writing (including by email or WhatsApp), forms the agreed scope of work and is read together with these Terms.

Work begins once the applicable fee is received, unless we have agreed otherwise in writing. Where these Terms and an accepted quotation conflict, the quotation takes precedence for that engagement.

5. Fees

Our published starting prices are:

You are responsible for any transfer fees, taxes or charges imposed by banks, payment providers or authorities. Where a balance falls due and is not settled, we may pause work on your project until it is.

6. Currency and exchange rates

Fees are stated in the currency shown on the quotation or invoice. Supplier payments in China settle in Renminbi (RMB). Where you pay us in Naira for goods or services priced in RMB or USD, the amount payable is calculated at the rate stated on that quotation or invoice.

• A quotation is valid for the period stated on it. Where no period is stated, it is valid for seven days.
• If the applicable market rate moves materially before we receive cleared funds, we may reissue the quotation at the prevailing rate and will tell you before proceeding.
• Where an exchange rate movement between your transfer and settlement with the supplier leaves a shortfall, the difference is payable by you before the order proceeds. Any surplus is credited against your project or refunded to you.
• Bank charges, intermediary fees and losses on conversion are yours.

7. Funds we hold on your behalf

Where you send us money to pay a supplier, a freight forwarder or any other third-party cost, we hold that money for that stated purpose only.

• Funds you send for a purchase are not our income. We do not pay interest on them, and we do not use them for any purpose other than the project they were sent for.
• We will tell you what your money was spent on, and provide proof of payment where the supplier or provider issues one.
• If a project does not proceed before we have paid the supplier, we return the unspent balance to you, less any costs already properly incurred on your behalf, within 10 business days of your written instruction.
• Once a deposit has been paid to a factory or supplier, recovery follows that supplier’s own cancellation terms. We will assist you in seeking a refund, but we cannot guarantee one.
• Where we hold an unspent balance for more than 90 days without instruction from you, we will contact you and return it.

We are not a bank, a payment institution or an escrow agent. Holding funds to execute a purchase you have instructed is incidental to our agency services and is not a deposit-taking, money-transmission or escrow service.

8. Third-party costs

Our fee covers our work only. The following are not included in any Jia Li service fee and are passed on to you at cost:

• The product cost itself
• Domestic transportation inside China
• Sample fees
• International shipping and freight
• Accommodation and travel, where a trip is required
• Third-party inspection, certification or laboratory testing fees
• Any other expense we incur on your behalf

9. Consultation fees and credit

Consultation fees are payable in advance and secure the session. Once a session has taken place, the fee is non-refundable, because the work delivered was the session itself.

The two consultations are treated differently:

• Business Consultation. If you go on to engage us for an eligible sourcing or procurement service, this fee is deducted from that service fee. Where you do not proceed, it is non-refundable.
• China Relocation Consultation. This fee is not creditable against any other service. It pays for the session only.

Whether a later engagement is eligible for the credit is confirmed on the quotation for that engagement.

10. Verification, quality checks and their limits

Where you engage us for a Pre-Payment Quality Check or a Factory Verification, we will carry out the agreed checks and give you a written assessment of what we found, what we could not confirm, and what concerned us.

These services reduce risk. They do not eliminate it. We cannot guarantee goods manufactured by another company, and a favourable report is not a warranty of the supplier’s future performance or of the quality of a production run we have not inspected.

Our fee is payable for the work carried out, whatever the finding. A check that uncovers a problem has done its job.

11. Procurement

Under Chinese Website Procurement we purchase from the supplier or platform you identify, communicate with the supplier, confirm specifications, track the order, receive the goods where applicable and carry out a basic check on arrival against what was ordered. That basic check is a confirmation of item, quantity, colour, size and obvious damage. It is not a full inspection.

Platform listings, stock levels and prices are controlled by third parties and can change without notice. Where a listing turns out to be unavailable or materially different, we will tell you and agree the next step before proceeding.

12. Shipping and delivery

Where we consolidate or prepare goods for dispatch, freight timelines are estimates only and depend on carriers, customs and factors outside our control. Freight, clearing and duties are third-party costs. We are not liable for delays, loss or damage occurring after goods are handed to a carrier.

13. Raising a claim

Inspect your goods promptly. To raise a claim about the goods themselves, notify us in writing within seven days of the goods reaching you or your forwarder, with photographs or other evidence of the problem.

• Factories and platforms operate their own short claim windows. A claim raised after ours has closed may no longer be actionable against the supplier, whatever its merits.
• We will assist you in presenting and negotiating a claim with the supplier. Resolution remains a matter between you and that supplier.
• A complaint about our own service rather than the goods may be raised within 30 days of the work being delivered.

14. Your responsibilities

• Provide accurate product specifications, target quantities and budgets.
• Respond promptly to clarifying questions, so projects stay on schedule.
• Satisfy yourself that your intended use of the goods is lawful in your destination market.
• Comply with all import regulations, licensing, certification and duties in your country.
• Make payments in full and on time, so that suppliers and production are not delayed.

15. Prohibited goods

We do not source, verify or procure counterfeit or infringing goods, weapons, narcotics, or any item whose manufacture, export or import would be unlawful in China or in your destination market. We may decline or discontinue any engagement on these grounds, and fees for work already carried out remain payable.

16. Cancellations and refunds

• Service fees for work already completed — including supplier research, factory visits, quality checks and completed consultations — are non-refundable.
• Fees paid in advance for work not yet started are refunded in full, less any unavoidable costs already incurred on your behalf.
• Deposits held with factories or suppliers follow that supplier’s own cancellation terms, which we will disclose to you.

17. Reports and intellectual property

Sourcing reports, factory comparisons, verification findings and the supporting evidence we prepare for you belong to you, whether or not you place an order. Our own templates, methods and internal materials remain ours.

Where you engage us for private label or product development, your designs, specifications and branding remain yours. You are responsible for holding the rights to any design or mark you ask us to have produced.

18. Your indemnity to us

You agree to indemnify us, and keep us indemnified, against any claim, loss, fine, seizure or reasonable cost we incur arising from:

• any design, artwork, trademark, brand name or specification you supply infringing the rights of a third party;
• goods you instruct us to source, buy or ship being restricted, counterfeit or unlawful in China or in your destination market;
• your failure to meet import, licensing, certification, tax or duty obligations in your country; or
• your breach of these Terms.

19. Confidentiality

We treat your product specifications, designs, supplier lists and business information as confidential, and will not share them with third parties except as necessary to deliver the services you have engaged us for.

20. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising from our services is limited to the service fees you paid us for the specific engagement in question. We are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, including lost profits or lost business opportunity.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, or for anything that cannot lawfully be excluded.

21. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations caused by an event beyond its reasonable control. That includes, without limitation: natural disaster, fire or flood; epidemic or public health measures; war or civil unrest; strikes or labour disputes; port, customs or border closures; government action, export or import restrictions and currency controls; power, internet or platform failure; carrier or freight failure; and factory shutdowns, including extended public holidays such as Chinese New Year.

We will notify you promptly if such an event affects your project and will resume as soon as reasonably practicable. If the event continues for more than 60 days, either party may end the affected engagement in writing, and any unspent funds we hold are returned to you less costs properly incurred.

22. Termination

Either party may end an engagement at any time with written notice. Fees earned and costs incurred up to the date of termination remain payable. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including confidentiality, indemnity, limitation of liability and governing law — continue to apply.

23. General

• Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the accepted quotation for an engagement, are the whole agreement between us and supersede any earlier discussion or representation.
• Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in full effect and the unenforceable provision is treated as modified to the minimum extent necessary.
• Waiver. A failure or delay in enforcing any provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without our written consent. We may assign to a successor of our business.
• Notices. Notices must be in writing and sent to the email address or WhatsApp number each party has given the other. A notice is treated as received on the next business day.
• No partnership. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture or employment relationship between us, beyond the agency described in section 3.
• Language. These Terms are written in English. If we provide a translation and the two differ, the English version prevails.
• Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

24. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the People’s Republic of China. Disputes will first be addressed through good-faith negotiation, then mediation, and if still unresolved, before the competent courts at our registered seat in Haikou, Hainan Province.

25. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated in advance. The version in force for an engagement is the version you accepted when that engagement began.

26. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us:

• Email: jialitrade.co@gmail.com
• WhatsApp: +86 177 0172 5716
• Nigeria: 0706 670 5916