I would obviously never pay via Western Union but my question is, are these methods a common form of payments within China, it wouldn't necessarily mean that the company is involved in fraudulent activity or would it ??

I have a company in China offering us two forms of payment WU or TT, if after checking the company out thoroughly and they appear to be legit, do you think we would be safe accepting TT on a sample order..

Hey Candy ^ ^ ,

Well, for China they pretty much only use those payment method's, they are not aware of other payment option's. But what they should be able to accept is Letter of Credit.

Replying to [Xeron]:

Thanks Xeron, so it doesnt automatically mean they are scammers.

No it doesn't,..but still keep researching the company.

But around 96% of China Gold Suppliers are genuine.

Replying to [candy]:
Yes.T/T is the usual payment terms at China.You should research the company more while you are not sure.

Replying to [candy]:Ive done it once and paid samples by TT and they send me junk
General speaking, paying goods in advance we dont do this in Germany. Here we pay when the goods arrive and ok.
Now we pay overseas supplyer only by L/C and SGS-Agent