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Thanks for your feedback, rickdale! Congrats on launching your business under such uncertainty. We love hearing about experiences through B2B sites, especially

Thanks for your feedback, rickdale! Congrats on launching your business under such uncertainty. We love hearing about experiences through B2B sites, especially Alibaba.com. Although you haven't had any horror stories, which we hear all too frequently, sounds like you've experienced a few curveballs. No more curveballs! Help us build a truly transparent purchasing environment.

rickdale 14y ago
The greatest challenge I have faced through this was transferring the money internationally. My first order I did an international wire transfer from my credit union and it took 7 days, went pretty smooth. My second order the credit union had switched companies for processing wire transfers. Took them over 30 days to finally return my money. They thought it was fraud; I tried to explain to the wire transfer company that I had made the same wire transfer 3 months prior, but they weren't convinced. My next solution was to try Western Union online. Their system is awesome. Took a couple of days to get my business approved (faxing docs and such) but then I was able to make the transfer no problem. Coincidentally, I messed up the account number and so after a week of the money not showing up in my distributors account Western Union corrected my error within 15 minutes of me realizing it. My third order the money went through in 10 hours and all of the account information was saved from the previous order, making it really simple. Right now I email back and forth with my 'contact' in China. She is very good and really all I need to order goods. I noticed your site is a lot about tracking the products. I get a DHL tracking number before the products leave the facility and can watch them from HK to US. I don't have photos, but I am sure I could get them. I sorta like the gamble... How are you guys going to stop companies from intercepting potential customers and getting them to pay directly?
- dwshorowitz 14y ago
  Awesome feedback re: payment methods, thanks again for sharing! We encourage buyers to route their goods through our growing network of inspection locations. These locations are neutral 3rd party logistics service providers (think DHL, except specialized in value added services like quality verification). They use our high definition inspection technology (http://www.hdtradeservices.com/distributor.php#inspection http://www.hdtradeservices.com/distributor.php#inspection) to provide buyers with the ability to verify quality remotely, in real time. If the quality of the shipment does not meet your agreement with your vendor, you should not complete payment. It's a very proactive way to manage trade risk. Let me know if you want to learn more. All the best, Daniel
  - rickdale 14y ago
    Daniel, Would like to send you an email about possibly using your company for my next order (which would be next year). I have some basic q's and some more input on my past experience I would like to share and really I would like to learn more. Let me know if you are open to a line of communication. me=midler.dave[at]gmail
- lionhearted 14y ago
  Hey Rick, you've been nice to share your experience. As someone in China, some free advice -- I'd be aware when paying upfront, that it's almost certainly a when not an if that a shipment won't go through and your broker will disappear. Standard operating procedure here is to always screw with the money in the last batch before closing out of work... it's not always even the provider's fault, it can happen anywhere in the supply chain that you don't know about, but you'll feel it. So just budget in cash/inventory, and probably mentally/emotionally too, for your contact to disappear with your cash someday and you getting no product. If it doesn't happen, so much the better. But it could ruin your day if you're not prepared for it. (I love China anyways... it's just the standards/controls aren't there yet. Ten to twenty years from now it'll be a non-issue. But take a couple minutes to protect yourself in the now.)

rickdale 14y ago

The greatest challenge I have faced through this was transferring the money internationally. My first order I did an international wire transfer from my credit union and it took 7 days, went pretty smooth. My second order the credit union had switched companies for processing wire transfers. Took them over 30 days to finally return my money. They thought it was fraud; I tried to explain to the wire transfer company that I had made the same wire transfer 3 months prior, but they weren't convinced. My next solution was to try Western Union online. Their system is awesome. Took a couple of days to get my business approved (faxing docs and such) but then I was able to make the transfer no problem. Coincidentally, I messed up the account number and so after a week of the money not showing up in my distributors account Western Union corrected my error within 15 minutes of me realizing it. My third order the money went through in 10 hours and all of the account information was saved from the previous order, making it really simple. Right now I email back and forth with my 'contact' in China. She is very good and really all I need to order goods. I noticed your site is a lot about tracking the products. I get a DHL tracking number before the products leave the facility and can watch them from HK to US. I don't have photos, but I am sure I could get them. I sorta like the gamble... How are you guys going to stop companies from intercepting potential customers and getting them to pay directly?

dwshorowitz 14y ago
Awesome feedback re: payment methods, thanks again for sharing! We encourage buyers to route their goods through our growing network of inspection locations. These locations are neutral 3rd party logistics service providers (think DHL, except specialized in value added services like quality verification). They use our high definition inspection technology (http://www.hdtradeservices.com/distributor.php#inspection http://www.hdtradeservices.com/distributor.php#inspection) to provide buyers with the ability to verify quality remotely, in real time. If the quality of the shipment does not meet your agreement with your vendor, you should not complete payment. It's a very proactive way to manage trade risk. Let me know if you want to learn more. All the best, Daniel
- rickdale 14y ago
  Daniel, Would like to send you an email about possibly using your company for my next order (which would be next year). I have some basic q's and some more input on my past experience I would like to share and really I would like to learn more. Let me know if you are open to a line of communication. me=midler.dave[at]gmail
lionhearted 14y ago
Hey Rick, you've been nice to share your experience. As someone in China, some free advice -- I'd be aware when paying upfront, that it's almost certainly a when not an if that a shipment won't go through and your broker will disappear. Standard operating procedure here is to always screw with the money in the last batch before closing out of work... it's not always even the provider's fault, it can happen anywhere in the supply chain that you don't know about, but you'll feel it. So just budget in cash/inventory, and probably mentally/emotionally too, for your contact to disappear with your cash someday and you getting no product. If it doesn't happen, so much the better. But it could ruin your day if you're not prepared for it. (I love China anyways... it's just the standards/controls aren't there yet. Ten to twenty years from now it'll be a non-issue. But take a couple minutes to protect yourself in the now.)