Last updated: October 2026
By Jack Lv, General Manager — 925 sterling silver and GRA moissanite manufacturing in Foshan since 2011
On a first order with a Chinese jewelry factory the usual structure is a deposit by bank transfer to start production and the balance before shipment, with the exact split stated in the quotation rather than assumed. A deposit is normal because the factory commits metal, tooling and labour before you pay the rest. If you want the risk to sit somewhere other than your own judgement, pay through a platform escrow where the money is released against delivery, and treat a letter of credit as a tool for larger orders rather than a default.
Payment terms are not a formality that follows the price; they are part of the price, because whoever carries the money risk is carrying a cost. A supplier who is paid in full before production is taking no risk and can price accordingly. A supplier who is paid after delivery is financing your order, and that financing is either priced in or refused. Understanding which side of that line a set of terms puts you on is more useful than comparing terms as if they were neutral.
The common structure is a deposit paid by bank transfer before production starts, and the balance paid before the goods are dispatched. The deposit is what the factory uses to buy metal, cut or buy the tooling and hold a slot in the schedule. The balance before shipment is what protects the factory from the position where goods have left the building and payment has not arrived. Nabest accepts T/T bank transfer, and also accepts online payment through Alibaba, including credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and online transfer.
Some details are worth nailing down at the quotation stage rather than the day before payment: what the split is, and what document triggers each payment. Both belong in the quotation, and both should be readable without a phone call.
The table below compares the routes buyers normally consider on a first order. The point is not that one route is best, but that each one moves risk between buyer and supplier, and that the risk has to land somewhere.
| Route | How it works | Risk mainly borne by | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| T/T deposit plus balance before shipment | Bank transfer for the deposit, bank transfer for the balance once production is finished and before dispatch | The buyer, because money leaves before goods arrive | The standard route once a supplier is already vetted, and the route most factories quote from |
| Payment in full before production | One transfer covering the whole order before any work starts | The buyer entirely | Rarely appropriate on a first order unless the amount is small and the supplier is already verified |
| Payment after delivery | The supplier produces and ships, and invoices afterwards | The supplier | Not normally offered to a new buyer, and when offered it is usually reflected in the price |
| Platform escrow, such as online payment through Alibaba | The buyer pays into the platform, the platform holds the funds, and release follows delivery and the agreed terms | Shared, with the platform holding the funds in between | The lowest-risk practical route for a first order, and the one to ask for if the supplier is new to you |
| Letter of credit | A bank pays against a defined set of shipping documents rather than against your instruction | Shared, with the bank controlling the documents | Larger orders, established shipping routes and buyers with bank experience in documentary trade |
A deposit is not a fee and it is not a sign of distrust. It is the factory funding your order. Silver has to be bought before it can be cast, tooling has to be cut before it can be sampled, and a production line slot has to be reserved before your order can take it. All of that happens before the piece exists, which is why a supplier asking for nothing up front on a first order is unusual.
The proportion is negotiable, and it is negotiated against things you control. A larger deposit or earlier full payment usually moves in exchange for something: a tighter schedule, a better place in the queue, a willingness to run a smaller first order, or a firmer price. Those are real concessions and it is reasonable to ask for one in return rather than treating the deposit as fixed.
What you should not do is argue the ratio without knowing what it covers. Ask what the deposit is applied to, whether it is credited against the order total, what happens to it if the schedule slips and what happens to it if you cancel. If custom tooling has already been cut for your design, expect a real cost to have been incurred and ask how that is handled in writing. The figure itself should appear on the quotation; treat anything agreed verbally about money as unagreed.
Most first-order payment losses come from the same pattern: paying a person instead of a company, and paying against a conversation instead of a document. Both are cheap to prevent.
The company you are contracting with should be identifiable, and the bank account you pay should belong to that same legal name. Nabest is the brand of Foshan Nameituo Jewelry Co., Ltd., whose registered address is Units 706-1, Building 2, Jinying Green Island International Center, No. 133 Jihua West Road, Nanzhuang Town, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong, China, and whose website is nabestjewelry.com. If a quotation carries one name and the payment instruction carries another, stop and resolve it before the transfer, not after.
On a first order the balance is normally paid once production is complete and before the goods are dispatched. It is an uncomfortable moment, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest: you are paying for goods you have not yet held. The reason the term exists is that once a shipment leaves, the supplier has no further control over it, and any supplier financing that gap is lending to a buyer they have never transacted with.
The practical answer is not to argue the term away but to buy evidence around it. Ask for pre-shipment photographs and video of the finished production, a final inspection record, and the packing list before the balance is transferred. Nabest photographs each shipment before dispatch, which gives a first-order buyer a visual reference and a basis for comparison when the parcel is opened. Agree in advance which document has to reach you before the balance is due, so the sequence is a procedure rather than a favour.
The trade-off to accept honestly: the earlier you pay, the less protection you hold, and the later you pay, the less the supplier will commit to schedule. On a first order, taking a small first order size and accepting standard terms is usually a better risk trade than negotiating an unusually favourable term with a supplier you have not tested. At Nabest the minimum order is 10 pieces per style, which keeps the amount at risk on a first order modest without asking the factory to finance it.
Platform payment, such as online payment through Alibaba, moves the money out of your bank and into an intermediary. The platform holds the funds against the order, and release follows the delivery and the terms recorded on the platform rather than a private arrangement. For a first order with a supplier you have not tested, that is the single most effective structural change you can make to your risk position, because it removes the case where you have paid a stranger with no recourse.
The second advantage is evidentiary. Card and wallet payments come with a transaction record, and credit card payments carry dispute rights with the card issuer that a bank transfer does not. If a shipment arrives wrong and the supplier stops responding, a card dispute is an avenue; a wire is not.
The limits should be stated plainly. Platform payment is not a quality guarantee: a platform can act on a shipment that never arrived or a materially different order, but it is a poor instrument for a dispute about whether a stone looks lively or whether a polish is good enough. There are also administrative requirements, order-value limits and platform terms that vary, so confirm what applies to your order before you rely on it. And not every supplier accepts it, particularly where the work is fully custom, because custom production is difficult to resell if a buyer walks away. Nabest accepts T/T and online payment through Alibaba, including credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and online transfer, so a first-order buyer can choose the route that fits their own risk policy.
A letter of credit is a bank instrument. Your bank commits to pay the supplier once a defined set of documents is presented and matches the terms of the credit. It replaces trust in the counterparty with trust in a bank, which is why it is used on larger first orders and on routes where the parties have no history.
What it does well is protect both sides against the other vanishing. What it does not do is judge quality. A bank checks documents, not rings: if the paperwork matches the credit, payment follows even if the pieces inside the box fall short of the specification. Documentary credits also demand precision, and a discrepancy between the documents and the credit terms can delay payment and cost amendment charges.
The honest assessment for a first jewelry order is that a letter of credit is usually too much machinery for the amount at stake. It is worth the administration when the order is large enough that the cost of the instrument is trivial against the exposure, and when the shipping documentation is standardised. For a first order at the minimum quantity, a platform payment with an agreed inspection step is normally the more proportionate control, and it fits the same payment structure of deposit plus balance that the factory already quotes from.
None of these are exotic risks and none of them require a lawyer to avoid. They require a quotation in writing, an invoice that matches the bank account, a specification attached to the order and one deliberate decision about how the money travels.
Expect a deposit, because the factory buys metal and cuts tooling before the order exists, and expect the exact split to be stated on your quotation. The proportion is negotiable and moves with how much risk the supplier is being asked to carry, but it should never be a verbal figure. Ask what the deposit covers, whether it is credited against the order total, and how it is treated if the order is cancelled or rescheduled.
For a first order, generally yes, because the platform holds the funds and releases them against delivery, and because card and wallet payments leave a transaction record with dispute rights attached. It is not a guarantee of quality; it is a guarantee that your money is held by a third party rather than by the supplier. Nabest accepts both T/T and online payment through Alibaba, so you can choose based on your own risk policy.
The balance is normally due once production is complete and before the goods are shipped, and that term is standard because the supplier loses control of the shipment once it leaves. You can ask for pre-shipment photographs, an inspection record and the packing list before transferring the balance, and agreeing that sequence in writing is a more realistic protection than asking a new supplier to ship unpaid goods.
Usually not for a small first order, because the administrative burden and the document precision a credit requires rarely justify it at that size. It becomes reasonable when the exposure is large and the shipping documentation is standard, and it is worth remembering that a bank pays against documents, not against quality, so a credit does not replace an inspection step.
Verify that the legal name on the quotation, the invoice and the bank account are the same, and confirm the account details through a second channel rather than from a single message. Get the quotation and specification in writing, and keep the certificate references for your records. Nabest, the brand of Foshan Nameituo Jewelry Co., Ltd., issues quotations within 24 hours Monday to Saturday, GMT+8, and will confirm its registered details and certificate numbers on request.
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