Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi,

I do not understand why is it so hard to trust your overseas partner/ distributors. I left some stocks with them and it happen that they are able to sell it and refuse to return our money.

I have also supplier who also able to quote but when come to delivery, they disappeared or by the time my buyers send me the payment, their telephone is out of order and there are some who taken my deposit and never hear them anymore.

All this happen in USA, can someone advise me ?

 

Sounds to me like you are consistently dealing with scammers. Before you send money overseas you should have them checked out by somebody more knowledgeable than yourself, you could try a service like Google answers  you set up the price then ask the question. For something like this you would set the price between ten and twenty dollars and as `Is this site  www.sitename.com trustworthy, is it a reputable company. If they can answer with any degree of certitude you`ll get an idea of whom you are dealing with before you send them any money.

Good luck!

Elí

Hi,

Thank you for your response, I`ll work on it.

Adeline

 

 

Synergylab,

Having set up resellers and distributors in many parts of the world, including Singapore, my advice would be:

1. Never trust anyone until they have demonstrated trustworthiness.

2. Never send or leave merchadise with anyone unless they pay for it in advance.

3. Always get a letter of credit from the distributor`s bank, or some other form of security or collateral, if option #2 above is not feasible. If they cannot or will not provide a letter of credit or other collateral, don`t do business with them.

4. Be responsible for investigating your business partners throughly. Ask for references from other manufacturers who they work with, bank references, customer references, etc. Be sure they are a legimate company by asking for a tax identification number and checking it against the national registry.

5. Call the Better Business Bureau in the city they operate from and find out if there have been any complaints lodged against them. This is a US consumer advocacy organization that records complaints against businesses, among other things.

Good Luck

Hi,

This is a piece of great advise and this is what I needed to give myself more confidential in dealing with such partners.

I get in touch with "Better Business Bureau" and see what happen after that.

I take your advsie and work on this 1 to 4 principle.

You take care and many thanks again.

Adeline

Adeline,

I wouldn`t expect too much from the Better Business Bureau but it is a good thing to check when everything else looks good. Unfortunately, most people that get taken advantage of do not report it to the BBB.

I would focus on 1-4 instead and leave the call to the BBB for last.

Regards,
Kregg

Hi again,

That what I will be doing, focusing on 1 to 4 and if I meet a new partner or distributor again, I will go for BBB and pay a small sum to Google answers to confirm.

Thanks

 

 

 

I would recommend creating a "New Account Form" which should request

the basics (name, address, telephone, tax ID) 

infomration about the prinicples of the company (owners names, social security, etc. )

bank references (bank name, type of account, contact person)

at least 3 trade references ( 3 other co`s this co has done business with)

And MOST importantly, best sure SET YOUR TERMS :

COD, COD secured, Wire Transfer, etc. and have them fill out a credit application for anything less than certified funds.

 

I have these forms on file as created for my own business.  If you would like me to send them to you to use as a template, please PM me.

Best of Luck!

Start up business selling advertising. One of my concerns is customers trusting us with large deposits as we will require a 50% deposit (sales will range from $500 to $20,000) How do other startups ease clients fears about this?  I was thinking about some type of escrow service but wasn`t sure if people would find that odd. Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions? Thanx.

I`m not sure if I know what I`m talking about---someone else will know---but can`t you set up an escrow account with an objective third party, like a bank?