I have been approached by a company called GuiLin ShengJing Investment CO.,LTD. They claim to be looking at buying in large quantities and are willing to pay by TT. However, they insist that I visit them in China to sign trade contracts. I am concerned and confused, because I cannot work out if this is a scam or not(maybe I am overlooking something)

With normal scams, I would expect them to insist on payment by credit card/western union etc and then ask me to ship to another address, but they have not done this. Sometimes you get guys asking for free samples, but they are happy to see the samples if and when I visit them. They are also willing to provide me with a copy of the contract to be signed, so that I can verify the terms and conditions with my solicitors.

However, I am concerned that they are A) Unwilling to provide trade references and B) Are VERY insistant that I visit them in China.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Is it a new type of scam that I have not seen before? Is there a website where I can run background checks on this company?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Quoting from [Weikee]:


I have been approached by a company called GuiLin ShengJing Investment CO.,LTD. They claim to be looking at buying in large quantities and are willing to pay by TT. However, they insist that I visit them in China to sign trade contracts. I am concerned and confused, because I cannot work out if this is a scam or not(maybe I am overlooking something)


With normal scams, I would expect them to insist on payment by credit card/western union etc and then ask me to ship to another address, but they have not done this. Sometimes you get guys asking for free samples, but they are happy to see the samples if and when I visit them. They are also willing to provide me with a copy of the contract to be signed, so that I can verify the terms and conditions with my solicitors.


However, I am concerned that they are A) Unwilling to provide trade references and B) Are VERY insistant that I visit them in China.


Can anyone shed some light on this? Is it a new type of scam that I have not seen before? Is there a website where I can run background checks on this company?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

     Weikee, I have searched a few data bases for this company but cannot come up with any company in China.  The closest I was able to get was ShengJing Investment CO.,LTD. which is based in Colombia.  This is not to say there is no company with this name as GuiLin is a city in China.  What if any checking have you done on the company.  Have you talked to them over the phone?  Paying you via TT is an aceptable way of them making payment to you.  Furthermore, asking you to come to China to secure a large contract is not out of the question.  If you do go, make sure that you also secure the services of a Chinese lawyer that is working for you and will review the contracts.   From everything you have stated this seems to be a legitimate business.  IM sure that the signing of the contracts is to insure them that they are aquiring a valid supplier that can supply products to them over a long term basis and to negotiate the pricing and shipping terms associated with the deal. 

     Upon a further search while writting this post I did come accross a news item about the company you have named as importers of health and beauty products.  If this is your line I would say they are legitimate. albeit they may be a relativley new company with very little press.   

     By requesting you to visit China to secure the contracts they could also be judging if you have the resources to supply what they are buying.   Usually the buyer comes to the seller.  However as you say there are looking for large quanities and as well a long term commitment and maybe even an exclusive deal to sell and or distribute your products in that area of the world.  Really the question is, what are you willing to do to secure the deal.  

     Hopefully this response has helped you in some small way to further your deal or ask and answer a few more questions.

Best regards,

Ranger

Replying to [Ranger]:

Thank you for your reply and advice Ranger.

I have employed the services of a company in China to run some background checks on them. I don't mind visiting these people, it's just that I've never been asked this before. I'm just worried about all the scare stories about people 'losing' their passports in China and not being able to get out again!! Maybe I am over-paranoid..... but if you never hear from me again, you know where I am!!!!!

Replying to [Weikee]:

sorry.
I have try
but i can not find .
can you supply more information,i just like to make friends in world

welf li

Replying to [welf]:

Thanks for your help. The only info I have on them is their Alibaba profile at http://www.alibaba.com/company/10701798.html

I suggest you not to go to visit the 'company' in Guilin of China.

From my experiences, there are so many 'Company' in Guilin asking foreign people to come to visit them so as to confirm or sign a contract with a huge amount. Actually, this is a trap to trick something from foreigner, may be money, passport or much more ...

Certainly, it does not mean that all trade lead from Guilin is fade. This type of case is mostly likely occurred in Guilin of China, so it is better to ask some credit insurance company to check if such company exists and is registered in Guilin of China before you go ahead.

Replying to [Ranger]: I have been contacted (this year, in March) by three companies from China and asked to sign the contract in China. I was there and signed the contracts (spent time and money, of course) and after a while we could not contact them by any means (e-mails, phones or faxes), so the business failed. My oppinion is, if you cannot trust the company, you cannot find any references about it and they offer a huge price to buy goods, better find other business partner.

Quoting from [Simpet]:


Replying to [Ranger]: I have been contacted (this year, in March) by three companies from China and asked to sign the contract in China. I was there and signed the contracts (spent time and money, of course) and after a while we could not contact them by any means (e-mails, phones or faxes), so the business failed. My oppinion is, if you cannot trust the company, you cannot find any references about it and they offer a huge price to buy goods, better find other business partner.

You stated you went to China to sign the contracts.  Did you have a lawyer in China review the contract as I stated?  If you have a question or topic about Chinese law and contracts you can go to the legal forum and post a question to lawyer HE.  I will also move a copy of this to his forum.

Best regards,

Ranger

Quoting from [Weikee]:


I have been approached by a company called GuiLin ShengJing Investment CO.,LTD. They claim to be looking at buying in large quantities and are willing to pay by TT. However, they insist that I visit them in China to sign trade contracts. I am concerned and confused, because I cannot work out if this is a scam or not(maybe I am overlooking something)


With normal scams, I would expect them to insist on payment by credit card/western union etc and then ask me to ship to another address, but they have not done this. Sometimes you get guys asking for free samples, but they are happy to see the samples if and when I visit them. They are also willing to provide me with a copy of the contract to be signed, so that I can verify the terms and conditions with my solicitors.


However, I am concerned that they are A) Unwilling to provide trade references and B) Are VERY insistant that I visit them in China.


Can anyone shed some light on this? Is it a new type of scam that I have not seen before? Is there a website where I can run background checks on this company?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Ranger for having made very good advice. One more note is, although you may communicate with your Chinese counterpart largely in English, it is advisable for you to ask also for their info in Chinese. That will help us to help you looking into their background. In China, only their Chinese trade names are the official, registered one, not their English names. With only English trade names, it is hard for a lawyer like me to do even any preliminary investigation of the company.

Replying to [Ranger]:T/T payments from China ???.Just forget it.Ask them if they are ready to buy very small amount as sample and pay by T/T.Then you can check through the same bank about their credibility or their existance.!!!.
B.Regards
Grzo

Hi everyone,
Thanks a lot for your useful information. The story you told above is exactly something, which is happening for us currently. They invited us to go there and however we tried the best to get an official invitation from their side, but we couldn't.
Now, my question is that, what are their benefits to making such a trap? Are they thinking about our passport? Are they thinking about our money? What about contract? I really confused!!! Please help us before any decision making by our board member about this trip. Unfortunately, I've chosen to go there for negotiation.
This is an urgent case and I appreciate if you could help me more in this regards.

Many thanks in advance.