I'm sorry, but has everyone in international trade gone lazy?! In reading through the many forums on Alibaba I have come across the same common broad questions many times.
- "can anyone give me a good freight forwarder?"
- "can you tell me a good supplier in China?"
- "is XYZ real or a scammer?"
- "I'm thinking about doing business in the western hemisphere, anyone have a list of honest suppliers/buyers they can give me?"
- "I'm lazy and don't feel like doing my own due diligence, please someone hold my hand and do the work for me"
It is so simple, if you are looking to find a freight forwarding company, GOOGLE IT. Here is the results page;
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=freight+forwarding&btnG=Google+Search
Look at all of your options, do some research, call them, get some info. Once you have narrowed it down to a couple you would like to use, then ask the question: "has anyone here ever used ABC for shipping? I'm thinking about using them and would like your opinion."
Or you could ask the question to your supplier/buyer, if they have been doing business for awhile they should be familiar with at least one freight company that they prefer using.
Or, how about doing due diligence yourself on the company you are dealing with, instead of asking everyone on this site to do it for you, for free, on their time: "can anyone tell me if XYZ Inc is real or a scammer?". Hmm, how about you research the company and their contact information yourself.
There have been countless forums on how to do this research and yet so many of the members of this site are asking someone else to do this service for them, for free. Haven't they done enough by writing extensive instructions on how to do it.
Here are few of these fantastic posts:
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/18274/Marketing_and_Business_Planning.htm
Thank you Aussie
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/7855/Ways_to_Identify_Scammers.htm
Thank you TwoRivers
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/17530/Tips_for_you_to_verify_Chinese_companies_.htm
Thank you Business In China
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/18101/Product_Sourcing_and_Certification.htm
Thank you Rizzob http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/12377/Most_important_documents_in_order_of_business_negotiations_.htm Thank you Ranger
And there are many, many more out there.
What works for you will be different than what works for someone else. We all have different business models and different needs. Do the research yourself and you will get exactly what you are looking for. Ask someone else to do the research for you and you will either get a broad answer that doesn't fit your needs, or you will get a very specific answer that fits their needs instead of yours.
Basically, do the research yourself and then ask specifics.
If you want someone else to do all the leg work, hire a representative in the country you are doing business with and pay them to handle the headache.
Half the questions asked can be answered by the person asking it if they would just step back and look at the situation. For example; "XYZ will give me an unbelievable price on widgets, they have a website, and answered the phone number they gave me, but they can only receive money by western union. Are they for real?"
Are you kidding me?!! Right there, price too good to be true, only receive western union. This is the point where you walk away and don't look back.
Do yourselves a favor and read all of the forums on Alibaba. You will learn a ton about international business and be able to fend for yourself.
Buyers: Really research the product you are looking for so that you know where it is produced. i.e. Televisions are not produced in Indonesia. Also, know the brand, major companies like Sony and Seiko are not going to allow their product to be devalued on the global market.
Sellers: Really research the market you are selling into. 100,000 HD flat screen televisions to Nigeria? Does any company on the planet buy 100,000 of one kind of TV on one order?
I'm not saying that people shouldn't ask questions in these forums, but come on people, the forums here are becoming clogged with questions that shouldn't need to be asked. Please, read the forums and you should be able to answer most of your own questions.
[Copied from Due Diligence to Basics. PS ... well said Cali. I nominate it for "Best Post of the Year" ... Cheers mate, Aussie ![[em1]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_smile.gif){kind=icon}
]
I am a newbe here.. Thanks for the heads-up and clearification. Double cheers!!
I partly agree with your opinion,as it is sometimes the reality.but there are also some people answering those questions,which are like you said. Thanks for your good posting !
Folks are not neccessarily looking for free service, They just dont know where to look.
Not only is there a language difference there is also a difference in deciphering the characters that make up the language.
Most businesses dont want freebies they just want to know how and where to start in their quest for information.
Talking about researching companies. dont forget that a company could be trading one day and suddenly up and vanished the next day, So I would think. One should physically check it out. do a real life inspection and make sure all is as it should be.
Great write up.
I find it amazing that people still fall into the trap of scammers.
I personally visit every supplier i do business with in China and even employ 2 people ( based in China ) now to source products and visit the manufacturers prior to my visits.
I even produce a product specification sheet for each and every product I purchase .1 for the manufacturer, 1 for the customer and 1 for me. any deviation from the specs then the product is refused. we should all know that chinese manufacturers will try to save a cent there and a doller here by changing something that can effect quality and performance.
All buyers should make the effort to visit who they buy from, costs can be recouperated over time
As a new member to Alibaba, I have a perspective on this topic that you may not have considered. You say that some of us may not be ready for international business and that is probably true BUT...we are being forced into INTERNATIONAL business because almost everything is being made in China now. I have an idea for a product and have been doing my own research to find help with the product. I would love to find a manufacturer of the product in the USA, but so far all I find is China companies. So I have realized that there is little choice anymore but to get involved in international trade with China. As we are forced to deal with China as the world's manufacturer of gadgets, many of us that don't want to be involved in international trade have little choice but to try to figure it out fast. I hope you and all the seasoned international business people of the world can give us newbies to the international stage a little slack until we educate ourselves.
I thank you for pointing us to the forum, but I think it could have been said a little nicer for us new people to the world market. I don't like being in the international market place any more than you like reading my questions. If you don't want the new guys on your site, keep up the harsh comments and the new ones will go somewhere else or give up. Either way it doesn't seem good for the future of international business.
The world is changing and we weren't all international business people before, in the past we could get by just being national business people.
On other forums I have been involved with, when people ask repeat questions someone just mentions the earlier post for reference and lets it go at that. I like that response better. Maybe Alibaba.com can figure out a better way to educate all of us that have little choice but to jump into the international marketplace with China.
Just like my old my boss used to say when I ask questions:
"You HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS" and we do but for saome reason we still ask.
So you folks have the answers, they are out there.
Thank you for the Article.
That's what a forum is made for, duh! Google does not tell you anything. but the reviews, experience and feedback from fellow buyers help much more.
Mister "I am smarter then anyone else" - get down your high horse and stop giving people stupid lessons. we are not your kids.
GOOGLE what a FORUM is made for. and then you'll understand why we ask those questions!
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