Trust isn't a feature. It's the only thing that matters.
Most "inspection" offers in India come from sourcing agents whose income depends on the factory shipping. Ours depends on you being protected. Here is the difference, drawn as money.
The Independence Charter
Paid by buyers only
All Qualis revenue comes from buyer-paid fees. We accept no commission, referral fee, margin, gift, hospitality or benefit of any kind from any factory, trader or exporter — ever, in any form.
Same fee, pass or fail
Our fee is fixed at booking and does not change with the result. We have no financial stake in whether your shipment ships.
Your report goes only to you
Findings, photographs and results are delivered to the buyer alone. Factories receive defect details only if you instruct us to share them for rework.
Random sampling, our hands
Samples are selected by our inspector, at random, from packed goods. Factory-preselected pieces are refused and the refusal is noted in your report.
The shortlisting firewall
Our supplier shortlisting service is a fixed fee paid by the buyer, with zero factory commission. Any later inspection of a factory Qualis shortlisted is performed and signed by a different inspector. We have failed factories we shortlisted, and we retain that right in writing.
Furniture only
We inspect furniture and nothing else. Specialisation is a quality control on ourselves: our inspectors see the same materials, joints and finishes every day, in the clusters where they are made.
Declared conflicts, refused work
If any relationship could compromise our independence on an engagement — family, financial or otherwise — we declare it and decline the work. An inspection you cannot trust is worth less than no inspection at all.
Three ways to get furniture "inspected" in India
A sourcing agent is paid by the factory, usually as commission on shipped orders, so their income depends on your shipment passing. An independent inspection company is paid only by the buyer and earns the same fee whether that shipment passes or fails. One has a reason to say yes; the other has no reason to say anything but the truth.
Going deeper on either comparison: sourcing agent versus inspection company · global firm versus furniture specialist.
| Sourcing agentIndia-based, factory-paid | Global inspection firmSGS · BV · Intertek class | QualisIndependent · furniture · India | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays them | Factory commission | Buyer | Buyer only — Charter Clause 01 |
| Can fail a shipment without losing income | No | Yes | Yes — fee fixed, pass or fail |
| Furniture specialisation | Sometimes, mixed with 50+ categories | Generalist inspector, any product | Furniture only, every day |
| Distance to Jodhpur factories | Local | Flight + hotel, billed to you | Minutes — same-day, unannounced revisits |
| Report transparency | Rarely a formal report | Formal, gated samples | Full sample reports published, ungated |
| Published pricing | Bundled into commission | Quote on request | Fixed fees, on the website |
| Typical cost per inspection | "Free" (paid in your unit price) | High — man-days + travel | 40–60% below global firms |
"I've watched buyers wire deposits to factories their own agent was paid to praise. This Charter is the document I wish someone had shown them first."
Qualis started in Jodhpur in 2017, inside the largest wooden-furniture export cluster in India. We built this firm on one uncomfortable truth: an inspection is a financial instrument. If the person inspecting earns from the shipment, you don't have an inspection — you have marketing.
The Charter above is not a values page. It is the operating agreement behind every booking, quoted in our contracts and enforceable by you. If you ever find us in breach of it, the engagement is free and the report is void.
QUESTIONS? ASK THE INSPECTOR, NOT A SALESPERSON → BOOK A 20-MIN CALL
Independence, examined
What is the difference between a sourcing agent and an inspection company?
A sourcing agent earns from the factories they introduce — commission on shipped orders — so their income depends on shipments passing. An independent inspection company is paid only by the buyer and earns the same whether the shipment passes or fails. The first has a reason to say yes; the second has no reason to say anything but the truth.
Does Qualis take any money from factories?
No — zero commission, referral fees, gifts or hospitality, under Clause 01 of the Charter. All revenue is buyer-paid fees, published on our pricing page.
You offer supplier shortlisting. Isn't that sourcing?
It's the buyer-side version of it: you pay a fixed fee, we shortlist and verify factories, and no factory pays us anything to be on or off the list. Clause 05 firewalls it — a different inspector signs any later inspection of a shortlisted factory, and we keep the written right to fail factories we shortlisted.
Why should I believe a charter on a website?
Because it's contractual, not decorative: the Charter is referenced in every engagement letter, and breach makes the engagement free and the report void. It's also commercially rational — our entire business depends on buyers trusting our reports more than a factory's photos.
Hire the one party in the deal that works for you
Verification before you commit. Inspection before you pay. The same fee whether we pass or fail your shipment.
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