There are so many scammers on this site, it can be downright hard work trying to find the legitimate ones. So let me give you the best advice I possibly can: I do not care what someone tells you, how many pictures of their "alleged" products they have, as soon as they mention the word "Western Union" or any other type of money wiring, IT IS A SCAM.
These types of services are for

1. People that do not have bank accounts

2. Money as a gift

3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).

If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.

This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:

"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "

REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!

We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Replying to [parviz]:Go to your command prompt in windows and type
tracert "Enter IP Address"

It will trace the ip address to its ISP of origin and display a country. You cannot get anymore info fro the ISP unless you are doing a legal investigation

Replying to [shuks]: i paid $100 and the guy didnt send me the product

YEAH, I WAS SCAMMED TOO, THESE LIARS/FRAUDS are MR. JINJIAN LIN of SHANGHAI YAJIN ELECTRONIC and MR. ZHIYAO WU a.k.a. TEDDY of PUTIAN JIAYI TRADE CO., I sent them payment via Western Union and they sent me FAKE mobile phones. BEWARE of this SCAMMERS!!! THEY ARE SWEET LIARS!!!! THAT SHOULD BE BURN IN HELL!!!

Replying to [inwilddreams]:
frankly it feels like you are post a ads of ur business here but not a tip articl.my friend.

Replying to [inwilddreams]:i think it depends on the supplier and customer. which way is convinient for each other.

Replying to [Swff]:

An ad for my business? Are you insane? I have a Internet Fraud help website, that I have never made a dime from. I started the website because of the response to this article. The reason I added my website address just recently is because I have received over 100 emails from people who have been scammed from paying through western union, and found my email from this article. Know your information before you start adding your opinion. Buying products from around the world is not about 'convenience', it is about smart business decisions, and protecting our hard earned money from the con artist scumbags trying to steal from us at every opportunity. This article was written to protect the honest. So what is the motive behind your comment?

Most companies on these B2B websites are scam artist. They have fake addresses and phone numbers. Check to see if their phone and fax number are the same, what's up with that. If they give you a cell phone number, think about this. Do you know of any companies with 50 to 100 employee's and the only way to contact them is through the CEO's cell phone. Why is the CEO of a company the contact person, think about it.
Google one of these big successfull companies names and phone numbers. You'll find that they only exist on the B2B websites, and their phone number is invalid or belongs to some little old lady.
If their contact information is false, report them to the B2B website owners and have them removed, before them scam someone else. I've had about 10 companies remove in the past 3 weeks.
Ask these B2B website owner to implement a rating system like Ebay. Stop the Scammers

Replying to [inwilddreams]:

I beg your pardon.. NOT ALL PEOPLE WHO ASK PAYMENT THROUGH WESTERN UNION ARE SCAMMERS... I for one accept payment through western union.

Why? Because when clients pay me through wire or bank transfer... the amount i get is less than the amount agreed upon.. and the client is not willing to pay for the difference... I offer web design services and i do not want to be shortchanged...

So I hope you understand my statements.. Actually my question is what do we do with clients who run away right in the middle of a job? Some clients i have experienced, to be fair have sent their downpayments, but just before the project is through... they seem to disappear... just as i would require the final payment...

I agree on most of your points... but i myself use a free email address and my website is hosted on a free site...because i am a practical person.. but practical does not mean a scammer right? Please do not say everyone... there are small business like mine, small but legit.. sometimes maintaining a bank account is more costly...

Thank you

Replying to [cowman]: I think that there should be a points system also (like feedback on Ebay) but a place on the suppliers company description that shows how many people have bought from them and how many actually got what they paid for (if indeed they got any goods at all!). This would then ring alarm bells to any potential buyer either to stay away from that supplier or buy from that supplier. The same thing could be done for the buyer also!

I am dealing with a supplier from the Putian City, Fujian Province and it was my first purchase, a sample of the Nokia N95 (which they said was real. I am tracking the item as we speak!).

I started to get worried when the CEO (can only speak to her via the EC21 Messenger) didn't respond after I paid for the sample via WU (yes I did pay and I was starting to regret it!). Fortunately, I saved every conversation I had with her and when I looked back after I made payment, she said that I can get them taken of EC21 if I thought they had scammed me and also make them lose their TRADE PRO status. So I did!

I emailed EC21 saying that I think I was scammed and they promptly took their webpage off so noone else could get scammed. They then received an email from this company stating that they had no stock and that stock just recently came in and that I was going to receive the tracking number shortly. I wish that communication could play a MAJOR part in these transactions as it would have made me feel more confident that I wasn't being scammed and that I didn't have to close their webpage.

The communication was crap (in other words nonexistent) and then I was always ignored through the messenger until finally I got my tracking number!!!

I am confident that I will be getting a sample of something that might resemble a Nokia N95 but the CEO I had been speaking to also said that if I didn't like what I received, I could get my money back within 15 days. Now I might take up that offer if I get a phone that is not what she has said it is!!

After I receive the item, I will reinstate their website and TRADE PRO status as EC21 have asked me to do just that to make sure I get the item. At least I had something on my side!!!

Anyway to sum up, I agree with nmasoud about building a business relationship around trust and being able to confidently purchase anything from that supplier.

I know that this has been stressed heaps of times and I agree with that as well...Do your due diligence, check everything about the company you can, also if you can, call the numbers they list and try to contact them.

Happy buying!!!

Replying to [inwilddreams]:if people who's cheated knew that there is no free lunch in the world, he would not be cheated.