Dear friends
My name vikas das and i a manufacturer and supplier of leather boots situated in INDIA, i am new to international market so dont having too much knowledg of international business ,

i am trying to find some good business opportunities on internet for selling our products internationally , i am very upset today because of fake queries from buyers ,
many time i recieved queries of buyers with a promise to provides me a good business opportunity they demands free sample first for qualities checking
but after sending sample free of cost they dont reply even they also dont pickup phone ,
i invested a lot of money in free sampling for getting any chance for a good business opportunity , ?
as you can understand that making sample's is very expansive and also sending to there address by international courier very expansive and after all of these no response heart-stricken ,

CAN WE DO ANYTHING AGAINST THESE TYPE OF QUERIES ?
HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT THE QUERIES ARE FAKE OF REAL ?

Replying to [vikasdas]:

I understand your frustration all to well, but there isn't very much to do to eliminate those "rotten apples". You can only make it a little harder for them to fool somebody.

The generally accepted rule for samples is: if it only costs you pennies to make and send the sample, and the prospect looks real, send it for free.

If it is a little more expensive, but not very much, still give it for free and let the prospect pay the freight. If he is only looking for free merchandise, this might keep him from trying.

And if it is quite expensive and also the shipping costs a lot, offer prepaid or COD samples only (including freight). You might want to calculate the price so you don't really earn anything, but you sure won't lose a penny either.

Replying to [vikasdas]:

We know it's very normal for customers to want samples before they enter into any new business with you.
We also know that the seller would charge for the sample and the shipping too, but maybe some buyers would not like this way, the facts are you need to offer your way and stick to it.

You can do the sample in other ways, tell the buyer they need to pay for the sample and shipping but they can get all costs back if they order a min order.

Tell the buyer the sample would be sent but the shipping is at collect and the buyer must pay the shipping company.

but your job is to check these buyers first and make good communication before you deside to send the sample and make sure they are in the business to offer your company any future order?

I am sure you would do well, choose your buyers well

Replying to [vikasdas]: Thanks for your reply to my questions , my main question is that can we do against these type of buyers ?


last month i invested about USD 350 on sending three pairs to a cleint from china , i make the sample with all best qualities following all his required charachters , but now he is not reply my emails and even he also ignoring my phone calls ,


i am very angry to him , i wana do anything against him .

do you have any idea ?


thanks once again for reply my question and for your time to reading my posting .


regards vikas das

from INDIA
*Please do not post private contact details or websites in these forums. It is against regulations - Moderator*

Replying to [vikasdas]:

Actually, It's really hard to "do against this kind of buyers", maybe they are even not real buyers, just want to get some free samples!
So the only thing you can do is: take care!

I came across this problem before.
Some one from Chile sent me a inquiry and said: they want to place a big order but they need to see our samples be paid.
I told he, it's our company's policy that the clients need to pay for the postage, and we can supply the sample to them for free.
Then I heard nothing from him again.

Some days later, I received another inquiry and let me send the samples be paid again. It's another company, but I found their "Sender's IP Address" are the same!!!
So I know they are frauds!

You need to take care next time. And because the courier cost is really expensive, let the clients pay for it. If they really want to do business with you, they will pay for it. If not, just let them go.
That's my opinion.
Good luck!

There is no definite way to know that your potential customer is a legitimate one, but there are a number of things that you can do to protect yourself against these type of people.

First off never send free samples and cover transportation costs yourself. Sending free samples while the customer pays for transport is the standard. If you want to charge the customer for the samples then that is also a good idea but may come at a loss of some potential business. As someone suggested you can offer to refund sample costs once an order is received.

The quality of a buyer can sometimes be determined from the quality of their contact. If you get an enquiry that asks for samples straight away then that may be an indication that they are more interested in your samples than your actual production.

If the ‘customer’ is not familiar with simple trading terms such as FOB, MOQ etc. then that may indicate that they are not a serious trading prospect.

If they are not too familiar with the product, materials, packaging methods etc. then again it could be an indication that they are not the sort of customer that you really want.

Free email addresses can sometimes indicate that someone is not representing a company but not always. Sometimes good quality buyers don’t want you to know which company they represent until they are ready to confirm orders with you.

Replying to [vikasdas]:

i never know who is serious buyer, but when someone request sample, they must paid for it, and paid for shipping cost.

in my opinion, if buyer is serious, they should at least paid for sample, no matter how much it is. i always paid for samples as well when i request it from factory.

Replying to [vikasdas]: What can you do to these "fakes" when they are "10000 miles" away from you? I've encounter the same situation and have learned my "expensive" lesson. I don't offer free freight but potential buyers will have to pay for it. After they place their first order, I will give them a rebate. This will "scare off" all those who just want freebies. Let us move on and forget the incident but remember the lesson. Wish you all the best....

Replying to [vikasdas]:I agree with Saveas. If they want probe good, they must pay for them.

Replying to [vikasdas]:

Hello, Vikasdas, it's natural and understandable that "you wanna do anything against him".

But will it do you any good now?

Maybe just forgive and not forget. Get yourself free, and learn your lessons.

Tom
Hong Kong

Replying to [vikasdas]:
You gonna improve yourself. Everyone has the right to inquiry! just like shopping, Why should they buy your products, Don't they have the right to ask the price?
You just get used to this! months later, you will treat every inquiry as an opportunity!