Resources Profile - Ranger

I can't say that the following books are in print for every language, but if you want to really understand how the many ways work for the buyer and seller you should check them out.

1. Financing International Trade  by James Calvin Baker

2. Export Credit Agencies  by Delio E. Gianturco

3. Finance of International Trade by Eric Bishop

4. India and Southeast Asia: Towards Security Convergance by Sudhir Devare  (understanding EXIM banking)

5. Mastering Import & Export Management By Thomas A. Cook, Rennie Alston, Kelly Raia

    

The basis for posting this is the fact that anyone that plans on doing international trading long term needs to open their eyes to all the ways that can build trust between buyers and sellers and how you can protect your business via any payment option you undertake except for W/U or straight line MT103 which offer no protections

Concept of a marketing platform:

Im not going to go into that here but you can read a very good definition of what and types there are at the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-business_electronic_commerce#E-Marketplaces

Pay close attention to what an E-market place could offer. Notice #4? Alibaba does not do this as is their choice. That one service has costs associated with it that would double and even triple costs of their own and memberships as well.

Alibaba is a marketing platform pure and simple and according to the articles I have read concerning its establishment are exactly on point to the scope of its establishment. "To allow small and medium sized Chinese companies to market their products to the world" The key word there is MARKET.

Gold and Trust Pass members pay membership fees which in many people eyes lends the companies to be real and honest businesses. However, for the dishonorable companies do the fee's warrant a sustantially higher retun on their investment? Yes they do, and not just on Alibaba but in every corner of the world. Not until some group forges ahead in the world of B2B commerece offering bonded suppliers will the scammers not have a multitude of opportunity to partake in their dishonest business practices.

Lets examine what D&B does exactly. They make contact via a phone number which may or may not be a land line. Cell phoses by the way do not confirm any address just a region. Maybe they check a business registration. But what does that mean? It only means that they legally filed to conduct business and nothing about the type of business intended to be carried out. Then they may even check for a credit rating. But, anyone knowing anything about business also knows that credit ratings cant be established in a day and for all purposes is most unlikey to be established for 2 business years.

So then you can assume some or part of the following:

Gold Supplier = individual or entity that has made a payment for marketing products

Trust Pass = 1. entity or business that has established communication via land line or cell phone. 2. May or may not have had legal authority to conduct business reviewed. 3. Quick search of company name based on credit.

Nothing here establishes the honesty of any supplier to fullfill any obligation.

Think of it this way a retailer in your area runs a marketing add stating " Stock of xyz product 85% discount" you get there and they already sold the 3 they had. Its not false advertising but it is misleading. They did have stock but the ploy was not to sell that item to you but for you to look at the rest of the items in their store and maybe make a sale. This is MARKETING!

Ranger

The only safe third party payment company is at www.escrow.com. Its 100% safe for the Seller, and 100% safe for the buyer.


Here's how it works step by step:

1. Buyer and Seller agree on a price including shipping.
2. Seller sends the Buyer a Pro forma Invoice with shipping shown as a seperate cost and by the service it will be shipped ( Shipping method must include tracking)
3. Buyer submits a copy of the Pro forma invoice along with payment and fee's for the transaction to escrow.com
4. When escrow.com receives cleared payment to cover sellers invoice and escrow.com's fees they send a message to seller to ship the goods.
5. When escrow.com receives confirmation from the shipper that the goods have arrived at the buyers address the buyer has 7 days to inspect the products.
6. On the 7th day if the buyer has not contacted escrow.com disputing the quality of the goods escrow.com will send payment via T/T to the seller per the payment details of the Pro forma invoice covering the total price of the invoice.

If a dispute in quality arrises:

1. Buyer would have to contact escrow.com and make arrangements for returning the goods via a trackable shipper to the seller at the buyers expense.

2. Upon receiving confirmation from the shipper that the products have arrived back to the seller the transaction is voided.

3. At this point escrow.com will release payment to the seller for the initial shipping cost.

4. Funds are returned to the buyer from escrow.com minus initial shipping refund to seller plus escrow.com fee's.

These are the basics of the process. For more detailed information of this safe payment method you should visit their website at www.escrow.com

or

Escrow.com
16251 Laguna Canyon Road
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92618-3603

1-949-790-5800 (phone)
1-949-790-5890 (International)
1-949-790-5801 (fax)
1-888-511-8600 Toll-free (USA)

Ranger

Do you really want to make money or try to eek out a living on the slim profit margins of buing Ipods from re-sellers? Ipods are made in China by Foxconn.

Did you realize that you can buy Chinese made MP3/MP4 players of excellent quality for a 1/3 of the price you would pay from a reseller of the Apple Ipod, and if the quanity ordered is sufficient you can have your own logo placed on the player as well as having the packaging made with your company name.

If you repeat the example of Apple you may some day have a company name that is as well known as they are. Its truely amazing that so many are willing to risk so much to be able to sell the same items, yet for a significantly smaller profit than those with the ability to buy 1000-10,000 pcs.

The point is for most, you can't compete on that level. So, as I say repeat the process that has made someone else sucessful. The most sucessful individuals and or companies are those that learn from the experiences of others and put them to work to make their businesses sucessful as well.

Best regards

Ranger

Looking for Products from Gold Suppliers with Trust Pass - HINTS
There really are quite a few excellent suppliers on Alibaba. I can only speak about those in a few area's such as Electronic's, Electrical products, and products utilizing gas and or electric motors.

Before I give you some hints let me say this is based entirely on my methods of confirming real business partners. That are:

1. Gold Suppliers (ONLY)
2. Gold Suppliers + Trust Pass
3. Trust Pass (ONLY)
4. Free Members

Gold Suppliers: These members have not had their contact information verified. They are merely buying advertising space on Alibaba and are from China, Hong Kong and soon Taiwan. Beware of the company offering hundreds of items. Trading companies specialize they are not Super Stores like Walmart and others like them. I have had a few deals with Gold Suppliers that I have been able to verify but then again they were specialized and they were co-operative in supplying the necessary documents to allow me to verify them. Don't look for brand name item's.

Gold Suppliers + Trust Pass: Once again, they are buying advertising space on Alibaba and are from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. They have had their contact information verified. This does not mean that their registration file has been reviewed or a credit history reviewed by the third parties that are verifying them. Here too you must exercise caution. Again trading companies specialize. One company which I wont name has 5 Alibaba sites all with Trust Pass and they are excellent suppliers. They go the extra mile and each one of their sites is specialized. Once again don't look for brand name item's.

Trust Pass (ONLY): These members are from any country outside the scope of China. They have had their contact information verified. This does not mean that there registration file has been reviewed or a credit history reviewed by the third parties that are verifying them. It is however easier to verify these companies if you know how and where to look.

Free Members: Nothing has been verified and you must do the verification your self or have someone verify their information. I have also made purchases from free members on some items from several countries.

What ever the product(s) you are looking for make sure you know as much about them as the person or company selling them. If you don't, how can you ask legitimate questions about the products? Usually you can ask a very few questions and know in minutes if they themselves know anything about what they are selling. If your talking on the phone with the sales contact and they can't answer your question on the spot about a product or ask a co-worker its time to find another supplier. Do not settle for "Let me look into that information and we'll send you an e-mail." If your buying the product(s) they should be able to supply a real-time photo of the item in its packaging and not a generic picture taken off some other website. Besides this they should be able to give you an accurate specification breakdown on the item. Payment methods and shipping are always negotiable from real suppliers. However do not get caught up in any statement where a trading company must have any money up front when you are purchasing via L/C. For if they are a legitimate trading company they should already have the relationship with the manufacturer's allowing them to complete the deal without it.

Also, I can't say this enough you must verify all trading partners. Fly and buy, Pre-shipment inspection, premises inspection, and Escrow all these will help you complete succesful deals.

Best regards,

Ranger

In helping those new to doing buisness globally I will be writting articles and "White Papers" so that especially new traders have a starting point to prepare them for conducting safe trade. My first posting are sites that I highly recommend that you visit and read the information to prepare you:

http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/e-commerce-investigation-take-the-money-and-run.cfm

http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles2/card-fraud-strategies.htm

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

http://www.fraud.org/

http://www.iovation.com/pressroom/risk_factor_byline.pdf

http://www.bbb.org

http://www.webtraderuk.org.uk/content/consumersComplaint.asp

http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/

Before any company asks you to make payment via an escrow service please take a look at this list of fraudulent companies below.

http://www.scamfraudalert.com/showthread.php?t=403

http://www.scamfraudalert.com

http://www.ftc.gov/

http://news.com.com/Scam+traps/2030-1017_3-5491074.html

http://www.business.com/directory/transportation_and_logistics/intermediaries/

Hopefully, many will find these resources informative in helping them to be more informed about the pitfalls of purchasing items internationally.

The next article will take into consideration, "Ok I Found A Supplier, Whats Next"