International Trade Questions And Answers

Question:

I have read through you info on this site and found it very informative.

In regards to due diligence as well as doing the checks by cold calling and checking their website, is there a pack which I should put together to ensure the least risk possible.

Any pointers in the right direction would be much appreciated as these people can seem very trustworthy and I myself or employees of mine can have a set procedure in place to make sure we have covered ourselves as well as we possibly could.

Answer:

I am not aware of a 'package' of details that you can check, except for the resources we have compiled on our company page at: http://www.importexporthelp.com/company.htm which you and your employees are free to use any time - just scroll down the page until you see the "Due Diligence" sub-title.

These are not all that are available, I am sure, but if you follow that list you should be able to find any negative details on someone, if there are any on record.

I am not sure if you are in the USA or not, but the US has a program through their embassies that you can pay a couple of hundred dollars to have the embassy rep do a background check on the potential importer.

Another thing you can do is ask for references of other businesses they have dealt with and then actually contact those references. I know of one supplement manufacturer who would not even bother following up a lead if they would not provide them with at least one reference.

You will want to cross reference the reference also to make sure you aren't calling the guys brother or brother in law who is in on the deal with him.

Last, confirmed letters of credit (LOC) are about the safest way to go when it comes to payment, but they are often very difficult to get and much more expensive than regular LOC's.

Ultimately there are no guarantees of keeping you from getting ripped off. I have personally talked with several exporters and importers who had worked for some time with their buyers/sellersin smaller quantity orders. Then a larger order comes in and they end up never getting paid for it or if they are the importer, they send the money and never receive the merchandise.

This last type of deal is the old confidence game where they use small orders to gain your confidence, pay for them up front or shipthem right away and then hit you with a big order which is never paid for and you can never seem to find the person in their office at any time.

It is an unfortunate fact of business life (and personal) that you have to approach every transaction as if it is a fraudulent one and be very firm in your requirements of the other party.

Fraudsters are everywhere - in every country - unfortunately much of the scams come from the very countries that need legitimate trade the most and they are in Africa.

Many (not all) people have come to realize Africa is the main origin for the fraudulent activities so many of the fraudsters have now resorted to faking emails and other correspondence with actual names of legitimate companies in China or India.

The fraudsters will use the actual graphics or letterhead from a legitimate company but place their (the fraudster's) email or phone number (which is usually forwarded) in the correspondence.

Another fraudster technique is to use a color copier to duplicate an actual money order or cashiers check from a legitimate bank. Looks legit, you deposit it, have the goods shipped only to find out about 3-4 weeks later when you get a call from the bank telling you it has been returned. Guess what - it isn't the bank's responsibility and they will take you to court, if necessary, to get the funds from you.

Your qualification requirements have to be so firm that most fraudsters will consider them not worth the effort and crawl back under the rock from which they came - these strict requirements may cost you a real transaction from time to time but it is better to walk away.

Fraudsters know most companies and individuals are desperate to make a sale and they use this against you. If a deal seems too good to be real - it is. If you ever run into a deal that you just can not seem to resist but would like my input, feel free to call me and tell me the details without revealing who the party is and I will be happy to give you my opinion.

In most instances, you will probably not like my recommendation but you always have the final decision.

Hope this has helped and I wish you the best.

Car Importing Exporting Business

For OVER THREE YEARS many people who have visited our
Import Export Business Help center web site have been asked
about information on how they can get into the business of
exporting cars or importing cars and although the Import
Export Toolkit self-study course is still the best
international trade training course on the market, it covers
the overall Import Export Business processes required in an
international trade transaction, it can in no way address
each specific or target market such as exporting cars or
importing cars.

While doing research for a new business client I discovered
what these folks have been asking for over the last 3 1/2
years - and it's title is --

The Beginner's Guide To Insider's Guide To
Importing Exporting Automobiles

This new guide comes from two years of research and
writing by a licensed auto dealer. The guide will give you
the insider secrets from the publisher's interviews and
information from the experts in the car business including
shippers, exporters, Department of Commerce personnel,
foreign nationals, foreign embassies and trade associations.

This car exporting and importing training guide (and bonus
resources listed below) has been seen in such renown
publications as Popular Science - Popular Mechanics - Auto
Trader - Old Car Trader - Deals On Wheels.

By the way, I want to emphasize again - this entire training
program is written by a Licensed Car Dealer - someone who
not only talks the talk but who walks the walk!

If you are considering exporting cars from the USA, NOW IS
the BEST TIME EVER to get involved in this business. Have you
looked at the value of the Euro in comparison to the USA
Dollar?

Here are some of the Section Titles from the Table of Contents:

What Vehicles To Sell
Pricing Cars
How to Select A Country
Shipping/Taxes
Business Strategy
Importing Vehicles

The items listed above are just a preview of portions of this
valuable car import export business MAIN guide - I said
MAIN GUIDE because there are FOUR (4) Bonus resources you will
get along with the MAIN GUIDE.

Here are the Bonus Resource titles:

1. WHOLESALE CAR AUCTION RULES - Your first visit to a
wholesale auto auction can be exciting and intimidating -
this guide teaches you all the "rules" that "all" attendees
to the wholesale car auctions must follow - you will also
learn the secret of getting the auctioneer to reverse a deal
if you happen to get a lemon.

2. CONTACT INFO AND LOCATIONS FOR 500+ WHOLESALE CAR AUCTIONS - ALL 50 STATES - This guide cost over $200 to compile this directory list -- You can use it to quickly locate the 500+
best places to get cars for exporting at the lowest prices!

3. USED CAR WHOLESALER - This manual gives the complete
details and info on obtaining your car dealers license and
how the car auctions operate.

4. INSIDER'S DICTIONARY - this is your insider's guide to the
language of the auto business - if you don't know what the
terms "car jacket", "bumble bee" or "invisible trucks" are,
then you definitely need this report which contains over
100 car business insider terms used every day - with this
valuable information you too will be able to 'talk the talk'
and sound like and be treated like an old pro rather than
a rookie.

These are not printed manuals - when your payment is
approved you will be redirected to the website where you
will be able to DOWNLOAD Your Main Guide and 4 FREE BONUS
reports - they are all available, right NOW and you can
have all of them in 10 minutes or less!

• Immediate download. You get them NOW!
• Easy to read
• Can be read with any Windows Computer or Apple Mac
• No waiting for shipment and snail mail delivery
• No paying the high cost of shipping and handling
• You can read all of them on your computer or you can
  print one or all of them out for easy off-line reading

The amount of targeted car exporting and importing business
information contained in the main guide and bonus reports
go far beyond the small investment this experienced auto
trader is asking and I in fact recommend they raise the
price because of the incredible amount of valuable inside
information they are revealing.

Go check it out for your self now, and if you are
one of those many people who called or emailed me in
the past few years asking for information that specifically
addressed importing or exporting cars, just go get this
training package because this is "exactly" what you have
been searching for.

Last, for any of you international trade customers who
have purchased our Exporters Master Package, Importers
Business training kit or the Import Export Toolkit - you
still have the most comprehensive courses available for
the overall Import and Export business, however, if
exporting cars or importing cars is an area you have
considered specializing in, the I strongly urge you
to invest in this guide and bonus materials as it will
provide you with the specialized training you need for
that target market.

This is the best (and only) specialized training
information package of it's kind that I have found and the
fact the gentleman who published it is a licensed car
dealer himself means you are getting experience, not just
theory.

If you are interested in car exporting or importing, then
Go NOW, check it out and invest in your business by getting
your own copy:

http://www.importexporthelp.com/recommends/car-business-guide.htm