Agent, Marketplace or Direct: What Each One Costs You
There are three ways to buy a machined part from another country, and the argument about which is best is usually an argument between people at different stages. The right answer changes as your part moves from a drawing to a repeating line item.
The three models, stated plainly
Direct. You find the shop, vet it, quote it, order from it and manage it. You pay the factory price and nothing else. You also do all the work, including the work you did not know existed until a shipment sat in customs.
Agent. A company in the supplier country acts for you. Depending on the agreement they may find the shop, audit it, place the order, inspect the goods, arrange freight and handle the paperwork. They are paid by commission inside the price, by a retainer or by a fee per order.
Marketplace or matching service. You submit a drawing and the platform routes it to shops. Some platforms quote you themselves and subcontract the work, which makes them a reseller. Others introduce you to shops that then quote you directly, which makes them a matching service. The difference matters more than the branding.
What each one actually costs
| Direct | Agent | Matching service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money on the invoice | Factory price | Factory price plus commission or fee | Factory price |
| Who owns the order | You | Often the agent | You |
| Who finds and filters shops | You | Agent | The service |
| Who inspects | You or a third party you hire | Agent, usually included | You or a third party you hire |
| Time cost on order one | High | Low | Medium |
| Time cost on order ten | Low | Low | Low |
| Ease of leaving | Full | Depends entirely on the contract | Full |
| Who holds the relationship | You | Agent | You |
The row that decides most cases is the last one. If the agent holds the relationship, you are buying convenience and paying for it with dependency. That can be an excellent trade when you have no bandwidth, and a bad one when the part becomes strategic.
When direct is right
- You already know the country, the process and roughly what things should cost
- The part is simple enough that a missed detail is not expensive
- You have someone internally who can read a dimensional report and push back on it
- The volume justifies building a relationship that lasts years
- You expect to visit at least once
Direct is where most long running programmes end up. It is a poor place to start if you have never bought from that country before, because the errors you will make are the ones you do not yet know are possible.
When an agent earns their fee
- Your team is small and nobody has time to chase a factory across time zones
- You need someone physically present for inspections and problems
- The order involves several suppliers that have to be coordinated
- You are buying a category rather than a part, and the sourcing work is continuous
- Something has already gone wrong and you need it fixed locally
An agent is worth most when their presence is the product. An agent who does everything by email from another country is charging you for something you could do yourself.
When a matching service fits
- You have a drawing and no shortlist
- You want to compare real quotes rather than read supplier directories
- You would rather hold the relationship yourself from the first reply
- You are testing whether a country makes sense at all before investing in it
A matching service is a filter, not a middleman. The useful question to ask any of them is: do you quote me, or does the shop quote me? If the platform quotes you, it is a reseller and its margin is inside the number. If the shop quotes you, you are seeing the real price and the service is paid some other way.
This site works the second way. The shops quote you directly and pay us nothing. If you want more than a shortlist, an audit, PO management or order management is quoted to you as a separate fee, so the shop’s price stays the shop’s price.
Questions that cut through the sales pitch
Ask any intermediary these five and the model becomes obvious:
- Who is named as the seller on the commercial invoice?
- How are you paid, and by whom?
- Will I know which factory makes my part?
- If I want to buy direct in a year, what happens?
- Who is responsible if the parts are out of specification, and what does that responsibility actually mean in practice?
The answers do not have to be the ones you prefer. They have to be answered without hedging.
The staged approach most buyers end up with
Stage one, you have a drawing and no idea who can make it. A matching service or an agent gets you real quotes quickly.
Stage two, one shop has delivered well twice. You keep talking to it directly, whatever brought you together.
Stage three, the part matters. You visit, you negotiate annually and you add a second source so the first one never becomes a single point of failure.
Skipping stage one costs time. Skipping stage three costs more, later.
If you are at stage one, send the drawing. We shortlist up to three machine shops in Vietnam that fit the part, they quote you directly and the relationship is yours from the first reply. If nobody on your side can visit, the services page shows what an audit and order management add.
Frequently asked questions
Is going direct always cheaper?
On the invoice, usually. In total, only if your time is free. Direct means you do the finding, the vetting, the chasing and the quality follow up yourself. That work has a cost even when it does not have a line item, and it is highest on the first order with a new shop.
Can I start with an agent and move direct later?
Often yes, and many buyers do. Read the agreement first. Some agents deliberately hide the factory identity or contract as the seller, which makes the handover impossible. If you intend to go direct eventually, say so at the start and pick a model that allows it.
How do I know whether an agent is adding margin?
Ask how they are paid. A commission inside the factory price, a fee you pay separately and a lead fee paid by the supplier are three different models with different incentives. Any of them can be fair. An agent that will not explain which one applies is the problem.
Need a quote for a part like this?
Send the drawing. We shortlist up to 3 machine shops in Vietnam, manage the order if you want us to and reply within 24 business hours.
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