TLSourcing
DE

For manufacturers

You received an enquiry from us.

This page explains who is behind it, who we buy for, and what we need in order to move quickly. Reading it saves both of us two rounds of email.

Who we are

A buying agent, not a broker of enquiries.

Thomas Lee, owner of TL Sourcing
Thomas Lee, owner

TL Sourcing sources products for clients in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We find manufacturers, verify them, manage samples and production, and inspect the goods before loading. Our contacts in China, Korea and Vietnam speak with you in your own language and time zone — Korean plants are handled by our owner himself, with a degree and working years in Seoul.

One point that matters for how you judge this enquiry: our clients buy on our recommendation. So you are not looking at a cold enquiry from the internet. You are looking at a buyer with a budget, a timeline and the intention to purchase — one who listens to our assessment because we checked first. That is why we ask more questions than an anonymous sourcing portal, and why a detailed reply here is not wasted effort.

What we look for

What our enquiries are about.

We work project by project, not industry by industry. Every enquiry you receive from us belongs to a specific client project with a specific requirement.

Of interest to us

  • Factories that manufacture in-house — or trading companies that say so openly.
  • Experience shipping to the European Union.
  • Willingness to make samples and to implement changes to them.
  • Realistic figures for capacity and lead time, even when they are inconvenient.

Not of interest

  • Copies of protected products or of other companies' brands.
  • Offers unrelated to the actual enquiry („we can make anything“).
  • Prices that change again after the order is placed.
  • Certificates issued to a different factory or a different product.

Your first reply

With this, we can start straight away.

The more complete your first email, the faster we reach the sampling stage. If something is still open, write that instead of guessing — an honest gap is better than a flattering number.

About the product

  • Specification sheet, plus photographs of the actual product.
  • Price breaks from MOQ upward — stating the trade term (e.g. FOB, and which port).
  • Minimum order quantity and production lead time after order confirmation.
  • Sample cost and how long a sample takes.
  • Carton dimensions, pieces per carton, gross and net weight.

About your company

  • Are you a manufacturer or a trading company? Either is fine — we simply want to know.
  • Business licence and, if available, audit reports from an inspection body.
  • Product certificates for the European market, where applicable to this product.
  • A named contact with a direct line, and your experience with EU customers.

What happens next

Four steps to an order.

01

We review your quotation

Your quotation is put on the same basis as the others and presented to our client with our comments. If something is missing, we will ask once, specifically.

Usually a reply within a few working days.
02

Samples

If you make the shortlist, we order a sample. Sample costs are paid — we do not expect free samples. Anything we find comes back to you in writing, with photographs.

Assessment within a few days of arrival.
03

Order

Specification, quantity, price, dates, packaging and inspection criteria are put in writing. The contract of sale is between you and our client; we accompany it.

Terms and dates are discussed with you directly.
04

Inspection and loading

Before loading we inspect to the agreed plan. Once the first shipment runs cleanly, later orders no longer carry the overhead of the first round.

The inspection date is arranged with you.

Fair play

What you can rely on.

What we commit to

  • We reply to every serious quotation — including with a refusal.
  • Sample costs and freight are paid.
  • Your prices and documents are not passed to your competitors.
  • If a project falls through, we tell you instead of leaving you waiting.

What we expect

  • Prices that still hold after the order is placed.
  • Mass production that matches the approved sample.
  • Early notice when a date cannot be met — not on the loading day.
  • No supply of our client's product to third parties.

Received an email from an address at @tl-sourcing.de and want to be sure it is genuine? Simply reply to it, or write to info@tl-sourcing.de. We write only from this domain, and we never change bank details by email.

No enquiry from us yet, but a good fit?

Send us your product range and your factory details. We will come back to you as soon as a client project matches.

Send your details