Privacy Policy

Plain-English summary: FlatFee Sourcing only collects information you give us directly or that we need to deliver our sourcing services. We do not sell your data. We do not profit from hidden fees — and we apply the same principle to your personal information.

Who We Are

FlatFee Sourcing ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website FlatFeeSourcing.com and provides China sourcing agent services, including product sourcing, factory inspection, quality control, Amazon FBA preparation, and logistics coordination for international buyers.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you visit our website or engage our services, how we use it, and what rights you have over it.

What We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our sourcing services and respond to your inquiries.

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as government IDs, financial account numbers, or biometric data.

How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

• Service delivery: Processing your sourcing requests, coordinating with factories on 1688, conducting inspections, arranging logistics, and preparing FBA shipments.

• Quoting and invoicing: Preparing accurate a-la-carte service fee estimates and issuing transparent invoices (including unmodified 1688 factory invoices).

• Customer support: Responding to inquiries, troubleshooting issues, and following up on active orders.

• Service improvement: Analyzing how visitors use our website to improve content, pricing tools, and user experience.

• Legal compliance: Fulfilling obligations under applicable law, including export documentation and customs requirements.

• Marketing (with consent only): Sending sourcing guides, service updates, or promotional content — only if you have opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We will never use your data to mark up product prices, share information with competing sourcing agents, or engage in any practice inconsistent with our open-book transparency policy.

Legal Basis for Processing

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with data-protection legislation, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Contract performance: Processing is necessary to deliver the services you request (e.g., running a sourcing report or coordinating an inspection).

• Legitimate interests: Improving our website, preventing fraud, and maintaining business records — provided such interests are not overridden by your rights.

• Legal obligation: Compliance with applicable laws, tax regulations, and export/import documentation requirements.

• Consent: Sending marketing emails or using non-essential cookies, where we have obtained your explicit consent.

Who We Share Your Information With

We share your data only when necessary to deliver our services or comply with law. We do not sell your personal information.

• 1688 factories and suppliers: Your product specifications and order details are shared with Chinese manufacturers solely to fulfill your sourcing request.

• Third-party inspection labs: Accredited labs (e.g., SGS, TÜV, CTI) receive sample and product data necessary to carry out compliance testing.

• Freight forwarders and logistics partners: Shipping details (name, address, cargo description) are passed to our logistics partners to coordinate delivery.

• Payment processors: We use secure, PCI-compliant payment gateways. We do not store full payment card details on our servers.

• Website analytics providers: Anonymized or pseudonymized usage data may be shared with analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to improve our website.

• Legal and regulatory authorities: We may disclose data when required by court order, customs authority, or applicable law.

All third parties we work with are required to handle your data securely and only for the specified purpose.

International Data Transfers

FlatFee Sourcing operates primarily in China and serves clients worldwide, including North America, Europe, and Australia. Delivering our services requires transferring some personal data to China (e.g., sharing product specs with 1688 factories).

Where such transfers are required by applicable data-protection law to meet specific safeguards, we rely on:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, where applicable.

• Your explicit consent when provided during the service engagement process.

• The necessity of the transfer for the performance of our contract with you.

If you have questions about international transfers, please contact us at the address in Section 14.

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to function correctly and help us understand how visitors use it. The types of cookies we use are:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for basic website operation (e.g., maintaining session state). Cannot be disabled.

• Analytics cookies: Help us measure traffic, page views, and usage patterns so we can improve the site. These are only set with your consent.

• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences (e.g., selected services in the fee calculator) to improve your experience.

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences at any time. Disabling analytics cookies does not affect your ability to use our services or contact us.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected:

• Inquiry and quote data: Retained for 12 months from last contact, unless a service engagement begins.

• Active client data: Retained for the duration of your engagement plus 5 years, to comply with accounting and export documentation requirements.

• Factory invoices and order records: Retained for 7 years in accordance with standard business and tax record-keeping obligations.

• Marketing consent records: Retained until you withdraw consent.

• Website analytics data: Aggregated and anonymized; individual-level data is deleted after 26 months.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

• Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.

• Deletion: Request that we delete your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention requirements.

• Restriction: Ask us to limit how we use your data while a dispute is resolved.

• Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (where technically feasible).

• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.

• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 14. We will respond within 30 days. We will not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

If you believe we have not handled your data appropriately, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or your EU member state supervisory authority).

Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for business operators and are not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal data through our website, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., blog references, logistics partners, or 1688.com). This Privacy Policy applies only to FlatFeeSourcing.com. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and encourage you to review their policies before submitting any personal data.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit on our website.

• Restricted access: only team members who need data to perform their job can access it.

• Secure communication channels for sharing sensitive documents (e.g., factory invoices).

However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in high risk to your rights, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or best practices. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

• Post a notice on our website homepage for a reasonable period.

• Where required by law, notify you by email.

Your continued use of our website or services after any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please reach out:

FlatFee Sourcing

Email: [email protected]

Telegram: @Julian_Dong

WhatsApp: +852 5709 3280

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 2 business days.