v1.2.0 — The Toolkit Edition

The toolkit grows up: five deep guides, three interactive browser tools, one system.

🧮 Landed Cost Calculator

FOB + freight + duty + VAT + customs fees → true per-unit cost, with the 2026 post-de-minimis reality baked in.

🚩 Supplier Red-Flag Checker

12 questions, 3 minutes, live score against the VERIFY system — with the 3 dealbreakers that override any total.

🧧 CNY 2027 Order Deadline Calculator

Chinese New Year lands Feb 6, 2027 — 11 days early. Last safe PO date mapped against the real factory shutdown calendar, not the 8-day official holiday.

All three run entirely in your browser (zero dependencies, zero data out), and all three are free to embed on your own site.

The full picture

• 5 deep guides: supplier verification (VERIFY), business license decoding, payment safety, Alibaba vs 1688, the bilingual phrases decoder
• 5 free email templates (first contact → pre-production lock)
• 3 interactive tools

The China Sourcing Playbook 2026 ($12 during September) completes the system: all 25 templates, payment-safety tiers, 10 AI sourcing prompts. Email assassinationss@163.com with subject Playbook — or subject Sample for the free pack.

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Full changelog: https://assassinationss.github.io/

v1.1.0 — Payment Safety deep guide

Added

• Deep guide #4: How to Pay a Chinese Supplier Safely — the complete payment map:

  • The 6-tier safety hierarchy (Trade Assurance → L/C → T/T 30/70 → staged → 100% upfront → personal account)
  • The workhorse 30/70 structure, document-triggered balance release
  • 30/40/30 upgrade for tooling-heavy orders (first-article gate)
  • The four payment scam patterns: account switch, personal account, rush discount, mid-stream change
  • Fee/FX mechanics + the recovery sequence when it goes wrong

• README deep-guides index updated

Links

• Full playbook (25 templates + payment-safety tier checklist + demand-letter template): landing page
• Launch offer: $12 for the first 20 seats — email assassinationss@163.com subject Playbook

v1.0.0 — The complete open-source toolkit

First tagged release of the China Sourcing toolkit.

What is inside

• The VERIFY System — six-step supplier verification framework
• 10 Instant Red Flags — disqualify risky suppliers in minutes
• 25 free email templates — negotiation, verification, payment structuring
• Incoterms cheat sheet — EXW to DDP, who pays for what
• Landed cost calculator — the real per-unit math

Deep guides

• How to Verify a Chinese Supplier in 2026
• How to Read a Chinese Business License
• Alibaba vs 1688

The full system

All 25 templates, payment-safety tiers, the 2026 tariff reality, and 10 AI prompts live in The China Sourcing Playbook 2026.

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Star the repo to get updates. Issues and PRs welcome — especially template improvements from your own sourcing wins.