Hello and thank you for looking and hopefully someone can help me with some of my questions. I am new to buying from overseas suppliers, and there are a few terms that I'm not familliar with such as L/C, T/T. I have noticed that a lot of the suppliers take those terms as well as western union for payment. This bothers me a little bit as the dealer can just take the money and run. I s there some kind of escrow account that the dealers can accecpt as well or is this just normal? If any one can help answer these questions I would be very thank full. Thank you all.

Replying to [bigroy]:
1. L/C's - Letters of Credit

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/273718/L_C_Contract_Question_PLEASE_HELP_ME__.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/270057/HELP_Two_LC_amended_under_one_advice_.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/13917/Operative_amp_pre_advised_LC_s.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/259543/Can_someone_explain_to_me_what_type_of_payments_there_are_.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/227861/L_C_matters.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/248479/How_to_formulate_LC_terms_.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/156601/Re_BACK_TO_BACK_LETTERS_OF_CREDIT.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/231202/Irrevocable_at_Sight_by_Payment_VS_Irrevocable_at_Sight_by_Negotiation.htm

Replying to [Leo chengcheng]:
T/T - Bank to Bank Wire Transfer

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/5782/Why_China_prefers_TTs_.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/246899/Would_advice_me_about_the_T_T_account.htm

,L/C is letter of credit,which is a kind of payment terms.T/T is telegraphic transfer,which is a kind of remittance.

Replying to [bigroy]:

Sure, it is normal payment terms like L/C and T/T in international trade, please refer to more details from internet (as the guys showed you) and professional book.

You can only go smoothly in business after you master these knowledge well. And it is not only 1 or 2 days to practise&improve your skills. Learn more and Work harder!

Replying to [bigroy]:You can get the answers in the payment & finance forum. Good luck!

Replying to [bigroy]:
usually, people use TT as payment terms.
If you worry about treated, check the supplier trust doc., and pay attention to the talking record, I think a trustpass supplier would be a good choice, or SGS verifed supply. such like we are a SGS verified supplier, clients of ours always have no doubts to pay us TT in advance. and we have happy transaction between us.

Replying to [bigroy]:

L/C= letters of credit

T/T= bank to bank wiretransfer

I think you need to ask question about a detailed point, it's too hard to answer a general question.

Replying to [bigroy]:You being in the US, may not be familiar with L/C, T/T as it is not required in normal trading within the country. Most companies will check you credit and give you terms such as 2/10, 60EOM or net 30 and 60 days. You will simply pay when the money is due. If you do not pay, the chance is your payment history will be reflected on the credit bureau and that will affect your credit with future suppliers. In summary the US has an elaborate and mature credit system and legal structure to give you good enough protection.

In international trade, you will have to learn different tricks as suppliers are thousand of miles away from you and they DO NOT KNOW YOU. Therefore, they trust two things: The first is a highly rated bank paper called irrevocable letters of credit which is a bank's promise to pay if the seller fulfills the paper's condition. This gives seller comfort that if they do their part, they will get paid. The other is cash. I do not need to elaborate this as nothing is better than "you give me money first and I will give you goods you want.". That's basically what TT does.

Depending on which State you are located in, your banks will be able to help you. But if you are located in a small town, you may need to go to big city to talk to banks which typically require you to put up collateral to support the issuance of L/C.

The last thing is there are costs involved in the L/C and you need to take that into consideration. It takes time to learn to deal with L/C as it is more complicated than most people think.

As far as escrow, it really depends on how likely your suppliers will accept that as it could be expensive going to an escrow agent.

LC / TT :The term Telegraphic Transfer or Telex Transfer, often abbreviated to 'TT', is most often used in UK Banking to refer to a CHAPS transfer; that is a payment made via the Clearing House Automated Payments System.

The term is also used to describe other electronic funds transfer methods and, incorrectly, BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing Services) and AFTS (Automated Funds Transfer System) payments.

If this help you let me know.