Check the badges first
Verified / Gold Supplier status and Trade Assurance are the baseline. No Trade Assurance means no on-platform protection — treat it as a red flag.
Ask for the business license
A legitimate factory can send its business license quickly. Match the company name on the license with the name on the Alibaba profile and on your invoice.
Verify the address
Search the factory address on Google Maps or Baidu Maps. An industrial-zone location fits a manufacturer; a tiny office suggests a middleman (not always bad, but you should know).
Read the review pattern, not the stars
Look at transaction history: how many orders, from which countries, and what repeat buyers say. Many small orders from many countries is a healthy sign.
Get on a video call
Ask for a short live video call or factory video showing your product line in production. Real manufacturers do this routinely; fakes make excuses.
Watch the red flags
Prices far below every other quote, pressure to pay outside the platform, refusing samples or real photos — any one of these means walk away.