FAQ

Our inspections start at $200/day in China, ~$250-$300 for most other countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America. We support over 20 countries and have coverage in all major manufacturing zones worldwide.

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We charge using the industry standard man-day model, which includes 1 day of an inspector’s time. You can control exactly what the inspector does in that time whether testing more units for function, or running wear & tear tests! Many inspections take just a day, while some may take more. We’ll quote you exactly after you’ve booked your inspection.

If price is your biggest concern, you should go with them! We’re not the cheapest option (although we do charge around the average market rate), and that’s because customers choose us for our level of detail and thoroughness.

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It’s an open secret that most companies overcommit their inspectors and do not perform the checks they promise to do (our founder saw this personally while living in China). While all companies claim to hold their inspectors accountable, OpsNinja is the only company built around doing so. Our technology tracks inspectors in real-time with GPS location & timestamps, cross references your Amazon returns data, and many inspectors even use body cameras on-site.

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While the marginal cost of an OpsNinja inspection may only be $0.01 per unit more, the cost of shipping a bad batch can cost you easily several times the cost of your purchase order in bad reviews, returns, and bad inventory.

We will credit you for the time difference in full-days! If the inspection was quoted for 2 days and took 1, you will receive a credit for the extra day.

No we will never charge you more than we estimate! In fact, if it takes less days than quoted, we will credit you for the difference in full-days.

We have a more limited basic tier starting at $200/day in China which includes more restricted checks. That said, even on the smallest batches (and most simple products) it’s important to test a statistical sample size of your products and most inspections really do take a full day.

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A full-day inspection is only nominally more than a basic inspection and our team will help you make the most out of your inspector’s time for the most thorough check.

Typically no! We get it, things change all the time in this space. That said, we typically have a 48 hour cancellation/reschedule policy. This is usually when we incur non-refundable travel costs and gives us enough time to reschedule our inspector to another project. If done after, we’ll try our best to recover as much of the costs as possible to give you the maximum credit.

Once you book your inspection in our platform, our team will reach out and give you a few options to choose from. We will do all the heavy lifting including helping you build and adjust your checklist to make the most out of your inspection and budget.

This is the industry standard model for inspections. We don’t book inspectors for multiple inspections in one day to ensure they have enough time to properly conduct each inspection, inclusive of travel and setup time.

We conduct inspections on-site at your supplier’s location. We can also do inspections at a warehouse or another location, but we highly recommend inspecting before it leaves your supplier’s warehouse. This is because your supplier often has machinery and equipment customized to properly test your product type, allowing us to do a much more thorough inspection. It also allows for easy re-packaging.

We can book inspections as soon as a few days out, but typically we recommend letting us know when you place your purchase order with your supplier. We will follow up with them automatically and book the earliest date, no action needed from you.

Yes! If you have a last-minute booking, just let us know in your booking request. We do weekend inspections all the time at no extra charge to you as long as your supplier agrees.

Easy - we will reschedule your inspection! No action required from you. Our team regularly follows up with your supplier to check-in for changes even after the inspection is scheduled.

Up to you - but most of our customers let our team handling scheduling with your supplier on your behalf. No action needed from you.

You will get it within 24 hours of inspection completion typically.

Doing regular inspections on all every shipment is a standard industry process with companies and orders of all sizes. If your supplier raises objections, it’s a major red flag. Here are answers to common objections:

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O: None of our customers need inspections except for you.

‍A: That’s a major red flag. Third-party inspections are standard practice in global manufacturing—from first-time sellers to Fortune 500s—and on orders of any size, even after years of cooperation.

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O: We do our own inspections already. You don’t need a third-party.

‍A: Internal inspections are expected—but a third-party inspection provides an independent check based on your requirements. It ensures nothing gets missed, and adds a layer of accountability.

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O: We don’t allow outsiders to our factory.

‍A: Inspectors only check your batch—nothing proprietary. We’ve visited suppliers with ongoing production for brands like Samsung. This is standard in the industry.

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O: It will delay the process.

‍A: Most inspections take just one day and can be scheduled in advance—often for the same day production ends. The goal is to avoid delays from rework, returns, or rejected shipments. If a supplier is worried, it could be a sign they’re cutting corners.

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O: It adds unnecessary cost.

‍A: Inspections are a small investment compared to the cost of a bad shipment, returns, or negative reviews. Most buyers cover the cost, so there’s no expense to your supplier.

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O: Why don’t you trust us?

‍A: This isn’t about trust—it’s about having a process. Even the best factories make mistakes. Doing inspections shows you take your business seriously.

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Other objections:

• “We’ve never had issues before.”
• Rebuttal: “That’s great, but every production run is a new opportunity for errors. Inspections are preventive, not reactive.”
• “It’s not necessary for small orders.”
• Rebuttal: “Even small orders can be expensive to fix if wrong. It’s especially important when starting out or testing a supplier.”
• “You can inspect it after delivery.”
• Rebuttal: “That’s too late to fix any defects. Inspections must happen before shipment so you can take corrective action.”

If you haven’t been doing inspections with your suppliers regularly, you might be worried that they view this negatively (i.e. a sign of distrust). Here’s a good framing to use:

Hey ____,

Just wanted to give you a heads-up—we’ll be implementing third-party inspections on all orders moving forward. This isn’t targeted at you specifically; we’re applying this policy across all suppliers. These requirements were introduced by our finance partners, insurance providers, and other vendors.

Our inspection partner, OpsNinja, will reach out to coordinate. Let me know if you have any questions.

This framing helps ensure your supplier doesn’t feel singled out—even if they are. Plus, most insurance companies and finance partners do require having a documented quality control process. Without inspection reports, your business may be at risk if something goes wrong.

If your supplier pushes back, this is a major red flag as it is an industry standard process and it may be time to consider a new partner—someone who’s aligned with your long-term growth and quality expectations.

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We do not leave the inspection process up to each individual inspector. The inspection process is setup before the inspector is assigned alongside you and customized to your product. Inspectors are given exact instructions. They are monitored via timestamps, GPS, often body cameras, and must produce media including photos & videos of completed tasks. If an inspector does not complete the required tasks, they must provide reasoning and let our team know in real-time.

Our standard inspection includes a comprehensive panel of checks to ensure your shipment is up to your specifications. These include quantity, workmanship, material, weights, dimensions, barcode scan tests, warehouse conditions, factory conditions, product appearance, assembly, colors, logo placement & printing, assortment, packaging and labeling, performance & function checks, accessories, shipping cartons, and shipping carton labeling.

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We recognize that every product is different and our team will customize a checklist individually to your product based on your needs and concerns for the best hands-on testing.

We follow the AQL standard and inspect a statistical sample size of your batch. Each check includes it’s own respective sample size. The visual workmanship inspection is usually done on the largest sample size of units, followed by functionality checks. More time consuming checks such as weights & measurements, or destructive tests such as simulated wear & tear, are done on very few units to conserve costs.

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You will be informed of all checks and sample sizes after the booking is placed on our site and can customize the process to your exact needs. Testing more units takes more time and will increase the cost of your inspection.

Yes we can, but we recommend against doing so! We use a statistical sampling model to decide how many units to check. By randomly checking a statistical sample size, you will get nearly identical defect rates as if you inspected the full batch. Additionally, checking a sample size of units allows us to do more thorough testing and more checks instead of mass-checking a large number of units.

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If you find defects beyond the acceptable amount, we recommend that you have your supplier check 100% of units and fix the problems, followed by a re-inspection with us to ensure issues were rectified. This approach doesn’t affect your results while significantly lowering your costs!

Absolutely! You can specify your own custom checks and store a checklist in our platform for use on any of your products and inspections.

The final report includes a detailed deep-dive broken down by category and test, pass/fail results, and a description of exactly what went wrong (or didn’t). You will also receive hundreds of photos of your product at all angles and any defects. We also include videos in every inspection of each test conducted so you can verify exactly how the inspector did it.

OpsNinja inspectors undergo rigorous training and monitoring before working with us. At minimum, inspectors have several years of experience with our expert level inspectors having 10-20+ years of experience in the field. Depending on the type of service you are booking, inspectors and auditors hold different certifications such as ISO 9001 or SA8000.

It’s an open secret that most companies overcommit their inspectors and do not perform the checks they promise to do (our founder saw this personally while living in China). While all companies claim to hold their inspectors accountable, OpsNinja is the only company built around doing so. Our technology tracks inspectors in real-time with GPS location & timestamps, cross references your Amazon returns data, and many inspectors even use body cameras on-site.

Yes - inspectors are regularly rotated between different inspections and batches to avoid a risk of familiarity. This is a major benefit of working with an established inspections company like OpsNinja with a large workforce.

We have standard business liability and insurance policies. As per our terms of service (and the standard in the industry), we limit any damages to 10x the cost of the service conducted. Please refer to the next question on finding defects post-inspection to learn more about how this translates to the quality of your products.

As a USA-based business, we take negligence seriously and take responsibility if we did not execute to our scope. That said, we cannot guarantee that your products are free of defects. Even major companies like Apple find quality defects post-shipment. Catching defects during inspection involves having a great inspector, checking the right number of units, and doing the right checks. Although we make recommendations for the number of units to test and checks to be done, you have full control over our process. We include photos, videos, and even body camera footage (on select inspections) for your benefit so you can verify with visibility into exactly the service conducted.

We take privacy and confidentiality very seriously at OpsNinja. Our customers trust us with sensitive trade secrets, designs, and more. Your information is stored securely in our platform. Your data can only be accessed through the platform and inspectors only have access during an active inspection.

Short answer - yes! Our final report will include a detailed summary of the findings divided up by category (e.g. quantity) including photos and often videos. Our team is always available to assist you if you have questions and guide you through next steps.

First, we recommend going through the report in detail to ensure you agree with our findings. Sometimes, the defects we find may not be important to you. From there, we recommend letting your supplier know of the failure, provide them a copy of the report if necessary. We typically inspect a statistical sample size so your supplier will need to review the entire batch to fix issues, not just the units inspected. Upon completion, you’ll need to do a re-inspection to randomly recheck the batch and ensure issues are fixed. This is critical step to add accountability for the supplier.

Absolutely, but the cost is typically the same. The cost of the inspector’s time is the same regardless of whether it’s the same batch or a new one.