## Why this comparison is hard to make honestly

Most comparisons between sourcing agents and platforms stay qualitative: agents are slow, platforms are transparent, agents own the relationship, platforms don't. All true, and covered in full in [the case against the agent model](/hub/blog/the-sourcing-agent-model-is-broken-heres-what-it-costs-you). But founders evaluating whether to switch usually want the actual number, not the argument.

The reason that number is hard to get is structural. An agent's margin is rarely presented as a line item. It's built into the unit price the factory quotes you, the factory prices the order including the agent's cut before you ever see a number, so there's nothing on the invoice that says "agent fee." A platform commission, by contrast, is something you can point to and calculate directly. Comparing a visible number against an invisible one isn't really a comparison until you make the invisible one visible.

## What an agent actually charges, in practice

Sourcing agent commissions in apparel manufacturing typically run 10 to 20% of the order value, sometimes higher, and this is not a one-time fee. It applies to the order that starts the relationship, and it applies again to every reorder with the same factory for as long as the agent stays in the middle, which in practice is usually indefinitely, because the factory's only contact for that brand is the agent, not the brand itself.

Where that margin lives varies. Sometimes it's a stated percentage the agent adds openly. More often it's folded into the unit price the factory quotes, structured so the brand never sees the agent's actual cut, only the final number. Either way, the effect on your landed cost is the same.

## The worked example: a €20,000 first order

Take a first production order landing at €20,000 in factory-quoted value, a realistic size for an early collection of a few hundred units across two or three styles.

**Through an agent, at a representative 15% margin:** roughly €2,600 of that €20,000 is the agent's cut, embedded in the unit price you were quoted, not a separate line you'd see or negotiate against directly. You paid it because the factory's quote already had it built in before you ever saw a number.

**Through NovaSupplier, at the 3.5% commission:** roughly €700 on the same order value, charged to the manufacturer, capped and stated plainly rather than folded invisibly into a unit price you can't see behind. You know exactly what the number is and why it's there.

|                                 | Sourcing agent (15% representative)                      | NovaSupplier (3.5% capped)               |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Fee on a €20,000 order          | ~€2,600                                                  | ~€700                                    |
| Fee stated plainly upfront      | Usually no, built into unit price                        | Yes, capped at 3.5%                      |
| Who negotiated the number       | The agent, on your behalf, with their own margin in mind | You and the factory, directly            |
| Who you're actually talking to  | The agent, in most cases                                 | The factory                              |
| Who the relationship belongs to | The agent controls the contact                           | You and the factory, direct from day one |

The gap in this single example is roughly €1,900. That's real money on a first order, but it's not actually the headline number. The headline number is what happens next.

## Why the first-order comparison understates the real gap

An agent's 10 to 20% doesn't disappear after the first order. It applies to your second order, your third, every reorder with the same factory, for as long as the agent stays the intermediary, which is structurally forever unless you do the work of extracting yourself from the relationship the agent controls. A brand placing four orders a year with the same factory through an agent is paying that margin four times a year, every year, on a relationship they don't own and can't easily take direct.

This is the part that rarely gets modeled honestly, because most cost comparisons look at a single order in isolation. Run the same 15% margin across a brand's first year of reorders with one factory, and the agent's total take dwarfs any single-order number. It's not a one-time cost of convenience. It's a recurring tax on every unit that factory ever produces for you, for as long as the arrangement continues.

## What you're actually paying for in each model

An agent's fee buys you someone else managing the language barrier, the factory search, and the relationship. That was genuinely valuable when Portuguese factories had no web presence and no way to be found by an international brand without a local intermediary, which is the entire reason the agent model exists in the first place, covered in more depth in [why the sourcing agent model developed the way it did](/hub/blog/the-sourcing-agent-model-is-broken-heres-what-it-costs-you).

A platform commission buys you a screened introduction to a factory whose capabilities have actually been verified, plus the infrastructure, threads, quotes, files, payments, to manage the relationship yourself once it starts. What it doesn't buy is someone standing between you and the factory indefinitely, taking a cut of every future order regardless of whether they're still adding value to that specific transaction.

## The question worth asking before you commit either way

Not "which model is cheaper on paper," but "who is actually doing work that justifies what I'm paying them, on this specific order, right now." An agent negotiating your very first Portuguese factory relationship, navigating a language and process you've never dealt with before, may genuinely be worth their margin on that first order. The same agent, still taking the same cut on your eighth reorder with a factory you now know well and could talk to directly, is a different question entirely.

:::faq

### How much does a sourcing agent typically charge?

Sourcing agent commissions in apparel manufacturing typically run 10 to 20% of order value, and sometimes more. This is usually built into the unit price the factory quotes rather than shown as a separate line, which makes it difficult for a brand to see the exact figure without asking directly.

### Is a sourcing agent's fee a one-time cost?

No. An agent's margin applies to every order placed through them with a given factory, not just the first one. Because the agent typically remains the sole point of contact between the brand and the factory, that margin recurs on every reorder for as long as the arrangement continues, which is often indefinitely.

### How much does NovaSupplier charge compared to a sourcing agent?

NovaSupplier's commission is capped at 3.5% of a completed transaction, charged to the manufacturer. On a €20,000 order, that's roughly €700, compared to roughly €2,000 to €4,000 through an agent at a representative 10 to 20% margin.

### Why is an agent's fee usually invisible on the quote?

Because the factory typically prices the order with the agent's margin already built into the unit price before the brand ever sees a number. The brand receives one final figure, not a breakdown showing the factory's price and the agent's cut as separate line items.

:::

***

NovaSupplier connects independent clothing brands directly with vetted Portuguese manufacturers. The commission is capped at 3.5%, charged to the manufacturer, and stated plainly, never buried in the unit price the way an agent's margin usually is.

[Start a direct factory relationship on NovaSupplier →](http://novasupplier.com)

*Not familiar with NovaSupplier?* *[Here's what it is and how it works →](/hub/blog/what-is-novasupplier)*