Paying my supplier for the first time
Hi, I am a first time seller.
And we are manufacturing a new product with our own brand.
Now, I am ready to pay the deposit to my supplier but am scared of being scammed, and my supplier is not a member on alibaba so I have no option of paying through trade assurance.
All appears to be legitimate and real he has a website and has sent me his company certificates, and all company details.
Are my fears unfounded?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks.
Paying my supplier for the first time
Hi, I am a first time seller.
And we are manufacturing a new product with our own brand.
Now, I am ready to pay the deposit to my supplier but am scared of being scammed, and my supplier is not a member on alibaba so I have no option of paying through trade assurance.
All appears to be legitimate and real he has a website and has sent me his company certificates, and all company details.
Are my fears unfounded?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks.
17 replies
Seller_lQvgU9VW2ivzi
My Mrs pays people that are not members of alibaba or Aliexpress, India, China, Taiwan, North Korea as well. She gets most of the time everything she pays for but sometimes she gets something she didnt pay for and no chance of a refund. They just promise to fix it next time, only once she paid for something and never got it but it was small ish order.
Seller_dm7cxfQDTl7VY
Can you get a small order for starters and make sure it all goes through ok? I’ve only ever ordered on Alibaba but I’d get photos of the items or even ask for a video showing the shipment before paying the balance. If it’s all branded up for you and ready to go it’s unlikely to be a scam. I’d suggest to do a good contract too, with clear expectations; specs, delivery dates, terms of trade etc - saves risking any confusion and lets the seller know that you are not going to accept any messing. Good luck
Seller_NoLYurmb006tq
Amazon will not accept invoices from the likes of Alibaba or other marketplaces and as a new seller selling own brand it is likely they will ask you to verify full details.
This may happen after a few sales and a temporary suspension.
You need to make sure the manufacturer is a registered manufacturer and can supply you an official invoice with contactable information, if you have found them from the likes of Alibaba its possible it is a trading company or a middle man.
As GSM say small sample order, we have some items manufactured abroad and when we add new line we get samples sent first usually high cost but its worth it so if anything your not happy with it can be amended.
Seller_4ygUYoHz4ZsPX
You could agree to pay via an escrow account. That way, the company behind the escrow account will only release the payment if the shipment is sent. That is still not a guarantee that the content of the boxes are what you ordered.
In order to confirm the content, you might be lucky to find a freight forwarder that also offers escrow solution. They might be able to inspect the content and confirm w/you before releasing the payment. Good luck.
Seller_wqciCXuQbNS4p
What type of value are we talking about here?
All low value orders are of higher risk, and if the goods received are faulty, then you will have little or no chance of getting your money back. Primarily because it’s a) A cross border transaction and so harder to recover. b) a B2B transaction which means that normal consumer laws don’t apply. If you do get scammed, obviously dependent on order value, it would cost you more to recover the cost than it would to take the hit.
All you can do is undertake due dilligence on the supplier and take the gamble with a small order. As confidence grows, you can increase order quantities. Again, if it’s a larger shipment, then I would highly recommend the services of a third party QC agent. That will go a long way to allay your fears.
Either way, importing from Asia is not as simple as people make out, and not the golden goose that some people like to think it is.
Good luck with it.
