Well, I just answered why there's an upfront fee. Another country does not work like you want it too is the source of your frustration. This custom furniture need to be designed and produced, it's a unique product that does not exist yet. The analogy with real estate is comparing apples to oranges. Real estate has a product (property) that can be offered to many buyer and the commission on that will no doubt be greater than your product depending on how many units you are manufacturing. If you don't want to pay the fee then you can just use alibaba to find a supplier yourself. But in China the cheapest price is not the best price, suppliers will often low ball quote to get the order and then slowly nickel and dime up the price with hidden fees when your too far gone to change suppliers or the product you get delivered might not even match the sample you approved, a container full of sub standard product vs $300. All this vendor management is a benefit to you. I've been working with China for over a decade, I've seen all of these things first hand, and new things every day.