Should I buy direct from a factory or through a sourcing partner?

Both models are legitimate, and each fails in a specific way. It helps to know which failure you are more able to absorb.

Buying direct gives you one catalogue and one price. If you already know the specification you need, have imported this machine type before, and can assess a factory yourself, that can be the more efficient route — no intermediary margin, direct communication, fewer parties. The failure mode is subtler: you may buy well and still be on a route that turns out to be wrong for your application, because nothing was compared.

A sourcing partner adds a margin in exchange for comparison and coordination — several routes quoted on one specification, and one party responsible through packing, spares and export. The failure mode here is that you pay the margin and still have to make the final decision yourself. Nobody can decide for you which trade-off between specification and cost is acceptable.

The practical question is not which model is better in the abstract, but how much comparison your purchase actually needs. A known requirement with an established supplier needs little. A first purchase of a machine type, or a specification with real alternatives, benefits from it.