Great post here. For me, looking at a person in the eye, shaking their hand, talking about their kids with them, that is my contract with a contractor, or it has been in the past, when I could walk into the factory. Recently I have made the decision to go to China to manufacture, and have had to suss out a contractor through the internet. So far I am satisfied that the ones I have chosen are capable, through transactions with one person, who is extremely detail oriented, and communicates very well. However, I am unable to go to China, and walk through the factory with him and talk to the workers. Not that talking to the workers ever insures your production either, but you can see if it is a well maintained facility and the way they communicate information. If there are dirty dusty piles of crap everywhere, they may lose some of your stuff, or sew the wrong pieces together because they are disorganized and live in squalor. So, in this case, I’m grasping at this piece of paper, to create a feeling of security for myself, and also to set myself up as seeming like I mean business! (I once heard that in China, a woman is not taken as seriously in business. And also that in order to bargain properly you must SLAM your hand down on the table and DEMAND a lower price – this from the same person, so who knows!) -mina