Blind shipping — what it is, in plain terms
Blind shipping is a shipment arranged so one party can’t see another on the paperwork. Most often, it hides your supplier from your end customer — so the customer who receives the goods can’t find the factory and buy direct next time. It’s a normal, legal commercial practice, and it’s a core tool for protecting where your products come from.
Blind shipping vs double-blind shipping
The difference is who’s hidden from whom:
Blind shipping
The end customer doesn’t see who the original shipper/supplier is. The packing slip shows you as the sender, not the factory.
Double-blind shipping
Both ends are hidden from each other. The supplier doesn’t know your customer; your customer doesn’t know your supplier. Only you (in the middle) see both.
Double-blind is what protects you most: neither end can cut you out of the deal.
Is blind shipping legal?
MOQs are a starting position, not a wall. What actually works:
Blind shipping only changes the commercial documents the parties see — the packing slip and labels. The customs paperwork stays accurate and complete; you’re not hiding anything from authorities, just from a competitor or a customer. It’s standard in dropshipping and in confidential sourcing.
Frequently asked questions
A shipment set up so one party is hidden on the paperwork — usually the supplier is hidden from the end customer, so they cannot go direct.
Yes. It only affects the commercial documents the parties see. Customs declarations stay accurate, so nothing is hidden from authorities.
Blind hides the supplier from the customer. Double-blind hides both the supplier and the customer from each other, so only the middle party sees both sides.
Stuck on a factory's MOQ?
A sourcing agent with volume can often get it lowered.