Print this before a meeting with a distributor, a Tmall Partner (TP) or a Douyin Partner (DP). When a term comes up, tick it and write down what the partner said it means for your deal. Then compare the notes across candidates.

The reasoning behind each term, with sources, is in China ecommerce partner glossary: 40 terms.

Partner types

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
代运营	dài yùnyíng	Outsourced store operation	Whose company holds the store?
代理运营商	dàilǐ yùnyíngshāng	Agent operator declared on a Tmall Global store	Will you be declared as our operator?
服务商	fúwùshāng	Accredited service provider	Accredited by which platform, at what level?
经销商	jīngxiāoshāng	Distributor that buys and resells	Do you take title to the goods?
代理商	dàilǐshāng	Agent, sometimes a distributor	Do you buy the stock, or sell it for us?
总代理	zǒng dàilǐ	Master agent for a country or region	What targets come with exclusivity?
进口商	jìnkǒushāng	Importer in general trade	Who holds the import paperwork?
境内代理人	jìngnèi dàilǐrén	Domestic agent for cross-border customs	Who is it? It shares civil liability
境内责任人	jìngnèi zérènrén	Domestic responsible person for cosmetics	How would we replace it?

Stores and import routes

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
跨境电商零售进口	kuàjìng diànshāng língshòu jìnkǒu	Cross-border retail import	Are our prices under the 5,000 RMB order cap?
一般贸易	yìbān màoyì	General trade	Which products need it?
保税仓	bǎoshuìcāng	Bonded warehouse	How much cash sits there before launch?
旗舰店	qíjiàndiàn	Flagship store	Opened in whose name?
专卖店	zhuānmàidiàn	Single-brand authorized store	Authorized until when?
专营店	zhuānyíngdiàn	Multi-brand store	Which other brands sit beside ours?
品牌授权书	pǐnpái shòuquánshū	Brand authorization letter	What end date will it carry?
商标注册证	shāngbiāo zhùcèzhèng	Trademark registration certificate	Is our mark registered in China, in our name?

Money

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
保证金	bǎozhèngjīn	Security deposit	When does it come back, and what can be deducted?
年费	niánfèi	Platform annual fee	Which fee tier is our category?
扣点	kòudiǎn	Share of sales kept	Taken on GMV or on settled sales?
服务费	fúwùfèi	Fixed monthly retainer	What scope does it cover?
提成	tíchéng	Commission on sales	How is the base counted?
账期	zhàngqī	Credit period	How many days, from which event?
返利	fǎnlì	Volume rebate	Paid on sell-in or sell-out?
买断	mǎiduàn	Buy-out	Who sets the price after you buy?
寄售	jìshòu	Consignment	Who carries unsold stock?

Douyin

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
达人	dárén	Creator who sells	What did these creators sell last quarter?
精选联盟	jīngxuǎn liánméng	Douyin affiliate marketplace	What commission rate do you propose?
坑位费	kēngwèifèi	Upfront livestream slot fee	Who pays it, and is it capped?

Channel discipline

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
窜货	cuànhuò	Goods leaking across territories	What happens when it’s found?
乱价	luànjià	Price disruption	Who monitors online prices?
控价	kòngjià	Price control	How is price kept in line without fixing it?
压货	yāhuò	Stock pushing	What stock level do you hold today?
动销	dòngxiāo	Sell-through	Will you report it monthly, by channel?
刷单	shuādān	Fake orders	Will the contract ban it in writing?
进场费	jìnchǎngfèi	Supermarket listing fee	What does each fee buy?

Paperwork

Term	Pinyin	Meaning	Ask
公章	gōngzhāng	Company seal	Does the seal match the license name?
营业执照	yíngyè zhízhào	Business license	May we see it before we sign?
统一社会信用代码	tǒngyī shèhuì xìnyòng dàimǎ	Unified social credit code	What is your code?
法定代表人	fǎdìng dàibiǎorén	Legal representative	Who signs, and with what authority?

The 5,000 RMB cap is set by Caiguanshui 2018 No. 49. Every other source is cited in the article.

When you’re ready for names, ask for a Compass shortlist.