As per my experience, your buyer has faced with financial problem, or somehow in difficult situation to fulfill the contract further.

This is my suggestion to dispose (sell to otherone) the stock as early as possible  and do not wait for thay guy. To be honest, I had several of this kind of case in the past, and believe me this is the best way out of this.

I understand your situation. In my opinion, you have several ways:

1.) Talk cleartext with customer. Say him that you are about selling his cargo to other customer and keep his prepayment and ask him what's the real problem. Differ between real problem and what he want, you should believe. If he explain you his real problem, you could try to find a solution with him. If you can solve his problem together, you will get a good customer and this can bind him more closely to your company. In other case, if you feel, he want to explain you a phantastic story, close the relation ship and do the job to make as low as possible loss.

2.) You sell them to somebody else in the same country. If you want to be honest, reduce the prepayment by your costs and return him the rest. If you don't want be honest keep all of his prepayment. Because the goods are already on stock, it's much easier to find somebody to buy. You can also reduce the price and take it from the prepayment. So you will find faster buyer and demorage will reduce.

3.) Take back the material to your own warehouse and sell. Take all the prepayment and cancel contract. International contracts are without any value, unless you choose unicitral as law base.

Anyway, you should always take in mind, that at any phase of delivery, the customer could change his mind and don't want to buy and you need to be at least without loss in this case.

Please take care, that if you will take his prepayment, you have to give him a deadline of 1 week. This would hint him from trying to get penalty from you.

The best way is to work with L/C. Then you don't have such problems.

I wish you good luck.

etenia wrote:

Hello Sir/Madam,


I want to have some input or may be some idea from you as my input to solve my dizzy head that happened with my buyer presently.



The story to share as below;


Now, I have contract with some one from Malaysia, he is a broker, but he is not a genuine buyer's. The genuine buyer truthfully is from Thailand country's.



We have signed some volume quantity of biomass product's. He also already paid for more than a half %tage balance of total amount ( payment as progress stock till the stockpile near the port ), and the last payment is upon the goods into the barge's.



Okey, let's you knowing that already have 48 days gone from end date of tolerance full fill the cargo ( 20days from signing contract ). He didn't take the goods or sending the barge to coming to bring his goods also. Cause I sold to him is by FOB barge at our river port. so the barge's is looking from him, Now ...my stock already over than this ordered volume, but everytime we are connected by phone calls or email or chatting, he always said to me to be patient and this is just delayed.



Have one time I give him a notice after we talking by phone that I charge him for late penalty / carrying charge, he said once loading he come to my country and calculation with me and want I sending firstly total quantity of his booked. But now honesty I'm not respect again for his promise, cause his have too many alibi and always give some lie information. I to be afraid if the goods already goes, and the other balance he do not pay me again. I'm not confidence with this guy now.


I want doing strict to be clearness like as give him a limit time and what he already did paying amount  if  minus my penalty charge's his paid amount are empty and must owe some money. I'm not getting a strict way, I loses some money already.



Please, give me some comment as inputs to solve my problem.



Thank you.

Dear Andy Chen,

Who is the supplier?  From Malaysia or Thailand?  If from Malaysia, let me know the company's full details. Your problem is with the supplier or the buyer?

Need more clarifications from you on the abovementioned. Hope we can be of any assistance to you in resolving your problem.

Longjack                 -                Ori