How to verify if a seller is serious - any tips?
Post 1 of 428
I find it is very difficult to verify a seller is serious or not. I have encountered several sellers before, but they proved to be bogus companies.
Can someone tell me how to find a serious seller and how to verify them according to your own experience?
14 Sep 2005 23:05
Post 2 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]: We can't judge the mind of a known person easily, so how can we judge a person who is stranger to us. Whether the party (buyer/seller) is serious or not, can only be judged through the practice of business. It is not beneficial for any business to apply any rigid/stic rule to this issue. Just go on, take care by your assessment, learn thru past mistakes, do business open heartedly, I promise you will get business definately, as good or bad people do comes in life, no matter, life goes on.
17 Oct 2006 09:32
Post 3 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]:
Hello Sir
I think its very easy to verify if a seller is serios
you can verify when you ask to pay money, even he must pay alitle sum of money for reply his email
Ahmad Al Fares
Hello Sir
I think its very easy to verify if a seller is serios
you can verify when you ask to pay money, even he must pay alitle sum of money for reply his email
Ahmad Al Fares
17 Oct 2006 10:42
Post 4 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]: Hi, so glad to have this topic discussed. http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_great.gif
Great - I am new to alibaba and to the whole international trade arena. I am starting up my business and need to get in contact with suppliers of raw materials so that I can determine the degree of funding required to get started.
I must admit it is a bit scary especially after what I have read so far on the topic. This is what I have decided to do based on my several years in the IT business and my short time of being here and reading responses to buying leads I've posted:
1 - Trust Pass and Gold Supplier only
2 - Watch out for persons who are using other people's accounts
3 - Try to make contact via phone
4 - The seller's country may have their chamber of commerce online and allow you to check on companies that way. Failing that call them and find out
5 - Fake websites can be easily created. Check the properties of images to see if they are from the same site as the url of the page. You could also do a search for the image name using google images, you might just find the same image on a completely unrelated site.
6 - Make sure there are no local customs restrictions on the product or the country of origin
7 - Watchout for persons who try to rush you into a purchase
8 - Shop around
9 - Make first purchase a small one - in other words set aside a risk fund out of which you make initial purchases.
Hope this is useful,
Thanks to everyone for sharing
Great - I am new to alibaba and to the whole international trade arena. I am starting up my business and need to get in contact with suppliers of raw materials so that I can determine the degree of funding required to get started.
I must admit it is a bit scary especially after what I have read so far on the topic. This is what I have decided to do based on my several years in the IT business and my short time of being here and reading responses to buying leads I've posted:
1 - Trust Pass and Gold Supplier only
2 - Watch out for persons who are using other people's accounts
3 - Try to make contact via phone
4 - The seller's country may have their chamber of commerce online and allow you to check on companies that way. Failing that call them and find out
5 - Fake websites can be easily created. Check the properties of images to see if they are from the same site as the url of the page. You could also do a search for the image name using google images, you might just find the same image on a completely unrelated site.
6 - Make sure there are no local customs restrictions on the product or the country of origin
7 - Watchout for persons who try to rush you into a purchase
8 - Shop around
9 - Make first purchase a small one - in other words set aside a risk fund out of which you make initial purchases.
Hope this is useful,
Thanks to everyone for sharing
17 Oct 2006 12:21
Post 5 of 428
Replying to [Nancy]:
Probably becouse they are afraid!, they do not trust -or they had bad experience
Probably becouse they are afraid!, they do not trust -or they had bad experience
17 Oct 2006 13:37
Post 6 of 428
Replying to [tradeoneusa]:
Hi Ismail,
Thank you very much for the insight...
The escrow.com would really secure our payment....
But this is very good only for physical delivery of goods.
How about for customized software? The seller can ship the CD and upon confirmation of receipt, escrow.com will release the payment.
My concern is if the software delivered (via CD) did not function as per agreed specifications? Can you still hold the release of payment, knowing that escrow.com will release funds as soon as the courier confirmed delivery of package?
Can you recommend how to go about this?
I will be ordering customized software from India for use with Vehicle Tracking and Asset Management System.
Thanks and best regards,
-----------------------------------------
Rodel V. Mangulabnan
To prevent spam, do not enter your contact information - Moderator
Hi Ismail,
Thank you very much for the insight...
The escrow.com would really secure our payment....
But this is very good only for physical delivery of goods.
How about for customized software? The seller can ship the CD and upon confirmation of receipt, escrow.com will release the payment.
My concern is if the software delivered (via CD) did not function as per agreed specifications? Can you still hold the release of payment, knowing that escrow.com will release funds as soon as the courier confirmed delivery of package?
Can you recommend how to go about this?
I will be ordering customized software from India for use with Vehicle Tracking and Asset Management System.
Thanks and best regards,
-----------------------------------------
Rodel V. Mangulabnan
To prevent spam, do not enter your contact information - Moderator
17 Oct 2006 17:52
Post 7 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]:
If you want to be sure if a seller is serious, it is a seller who asks you to come and meet him face to face. Then you seee the products, make the payment at where he is and get your things and ask him to ship them while you go on a plane. There fore you and your things go together and next time you know how to deal with him...
If you want to be sure if a seller is serious, it is a seller who asks you to come and meet him face to face. Then you seee the products, make the payment at where he is and get your things and ask him to ship them while you go on a plane. There fore you and your things go together and next time you know how to deal with him...
17 Oct 2006 18:14
Post 8 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]: Hi there! ![[em13]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_bye.gif)
In my own experienced, we are manufacturing company selling any kind of display racks. You can tell that a seller is serious if they answer your inquiry very fast and accurate according to your needs.
Hope that helps you..
In my own experienced, we are manufacturing company selling any kind of display racks. You can tell that a seller is serious if they answer your inquiry very fast and accurate according to your needs. Hope that helps you..
17 Oct 2006 19:14
Post 9 of 428
Replying to [grigo]:
Yes, I totally agree with you.
Although internet has made contacts between buyers and sellers very convenient and B2B webs like Alibaba are providing more and more help in international business, you may still need someone in the supplier country acting as your buying/sourcing agent. By working this way, there is no need for you to worry about the supply. Your agent will handle all. You only need to take care of you local business.
The current situation in China is like this: most factories (especially small sized ones) have few experience in export business. That's because, in the past, China had very strict control over export business. Only some state-owned companies were granted the licence to export.
Years ago, after China entered WTO, China government has loosened its control over export and now thousands of factories all over China are starting their own export business. This also gave B2B webs like Alibaba a chance to grow. As you can see, a very big portion of the suppliers from Alibaba are small factories.
Many small factories could not get the right person to handle export business for them. And even they do, they most often could not treat them well ---- long working hours, low salary, promised commision will not be paid, etc. Many factories have this problems. So you can imagine.
If you understand Chinese language, you can go to Alibaba suppliers forum to read about what the export sales people say.
We shall believe that in coming futures, these factories will realize their problem and improve their management to solve it. But for now, it is very a good idea to have someone from China acting as your agent. This person shall have years experience in international trade and have very good background knowledge of Chinese export business.
Cheers.
Richard Shu
Yes, I totally agree with you.
Although internet has made contacts between buyers and sellers very convenient and B2B webs like Alibaba are providing more and more help in international business, you may still need someone in the supplier country acting as your buying/sourcing agent. By working this way, there is no need for you to worry about the supply. Your agent will handle all. You only need to take care of you local business.
The current situation in China is like this: most factories (especially small sized ones) have few experience in export business. That's because, in the past, China had very strict control over export business. Only some state-owned companies were granted the licence to export.
Years ago, after China entered WTO, China government has loosened its control over export and now thousands of factories all over China are starting their own export business. This also gave B2B webs like Alibaba a chance to grow. As you can see, a very big portion of the suppliers from Alibaba are small factories.
Many small factories could not get the right person to handle export business for them. And even they do, they most often could not treat them well ---- long working hours, low salary, promised commision will not be paid, etc. Many factories have this problems. So you can imagine.
If you understand Chinese language, you can go to Alibaba suppliers forum to read about what the export sales people say.
We shall believe that in coming futures, these factories will realize their problem and improve their management to solve it. But for now, it is very a good idea to have someone from China acting as your agent. This person shall have years experience in international trade and have very good background knowledge of Chinese export business.
Cheers.
Richard Shu
17 Oct 2006 20:02
Post 10 of 428
Replying to [hurricane]:
1. Ask for thier physical address, fax nos and landline contact numbers.
2. Check with the Chamber of Commerce if the Seller is an existing company.
3. An obvious one is when the seller is using yahoo or other public free email services.
1. Ask for thier physical address, fax nos and landline contact numbers.
2. Check with the Chamber of Commerce if the Seller is an existing company.
3. An obvious one is when the seller is using yahoo or other public free email services.
18 Oct 2006 01:54
Post 11 of 428
Replying to [bird]:typically these are enquiries from buyers who have already found cheap or low price suppliers, and just before placing an order they do the rounds to ascertain that there is no major shift in the international pricing.
18 Oct 2006 05:01