Questions and answers

No, on both counts. We do not buy goods, we do not hold stock and we do not resell. We also do not sit between you and a factory as an intermediary taking a margin on a transaction. We are a research service: what you buy from us is information — organised findings, comparisons and referenced sources. Any purchase you decide to make is between you and the party you choose, on terms you negotiate and verify yourself.

No. We do not purchase on your behalf, we do not make payments on your behalf, and we do not handle your money at any point. We never take title to goods, we never hold stock as an intermediary and we never act as your payment route. You transact directly with whoever you choose, using your own accounts and your own terms. Our role stops at the information we hand over.

A written information pack. It contains the criteria we agreed, the sources we consulted with the date each was read, comparison tables placing candidates on one frame, and a shortlist with the reasoning behind it. Anything unverified or contradictory is labelled as such rather than smoothed over. You receive a document you can read, question, circulate internally or act on — not a verbal summary.

A single-question desk brief is normally returned within one to two working days. A comparison across products or competitors usually takes three to four working days. A full sourcing review with an information pack takes around five working days. If your question is wider than that, we will tell you the realistic timeframe when we scope it rather than after you have paid.

No, and we would be cautious of anyone who does. Research answers the question you asked; it does not manufacture a favourable answer. What we commit to is the method: agreed criteria, multiple independent sources per material claim, single-source figures labelled, and contradictions surfaced rather than averaged away. The conclusion follows the evidence, not the other way round.

Published sources: product listings, manufacturer and brand documentation, specification sheets, trade directories, published commercial terms, open catalogues and publicly available company records. We record the type of source as well as the source itself, because a specification sheet and a marketplace listing carry very different weight. Nothing is presented as fact on the strength of a single page.

Only against published information, and we will always say which is which. We can check what is publicly recorded — registration details, stated trading history, published terms, certification claims and how they appear in directories. We cannot confirm internal reliability, real production capacity, quality control in practice, service history or unpublished commercial terms. Those require site visits and private access, which are outside our method.

Both. The service was set up for individuals and small businesses making a product or sourcing decision without an in-house buying team. Individual buyers, sole traders, partnerships and small limited companies are all normal clients. There is no minimum order size and no minimum commitment — you commission the question you need answered.

A price figure without the frame behind it is usually misleading, so we do not hand one over in isolation. What we do give you is the spread: what comparable items and channels actually cost, what each figure includes, what the published minimums and lead times are, and where the cost structure differs. That lets you judge value against your own criteria rather than against a headline number.

No. We do not approach, negotiate with or correspond with third parties on your behalf. We identify and describe channels and give you the approach details so that you can make first contact yourself, on your own terms and with your own questions. This keeps you in control of your commercial identity and keeps us clearly outside any agency relationship.

Tell us which item and we will re-check that specific point. Published prices, minimum order quantities and lead times move, which is why every pack records the date each source was consulted and why we treat figures as point-in-time. We do not issue forward price or availability commitments, and we would rather you treat the consultation date as the honest boundary of the work.

Yes. What you tell us about your product, your margin expectations and your plans is used only to answer the question you commissioned. We do not publish client briefs, we do not use your enquiry as marketing material, and we do not pass your details to any third party. If you need a written confidentiality undertaking before you share detail, ask and we will provide one.

Most consumer and light industrial categories are straightforward: apparel and textiles, consumer electronics and accessories, homeware, kitchenware, small tools, packaging and general merchandise. Some categories sit outside what desk research can usefully answer — regulated goods, pharmaceuticals, food with specific import rules, and anything requiring testing or laboratory verification. If your category is one of those, we will say so at scoping rather than take the brief and hedge later.

A short written description of the decision you are facing, the category you are working in, any specification that is fixed, the constraint that matters most to you (budget, volume, timing or quality), and the deadline you are working to. If you are unsure how to frame it, a fifteen-minute scoping call is usually enough to turn a vague intention into a researchable brief.

No. We are a research service, not a legal, tax, customs or regulatory adviser. Where published rules, duties or standards are relevant we will point you to the published source and record it, but interpreting how those rules apply to your specific transaction is a matter for a qualified adviser. We will never present research as a compliance opinion.