Try to say you will pay by Escrow only as it is the first time, scammers hate escrow payment. Chances are more to find out potential issues by some more phone calls and some more questions if scammer are under "escrow" pressure. It is nothing wrong to ask for escrow payment as both side need some more time to build trust.

It is indeed very important to do these checks. Just put a note, it is true many china factories haven't a clue why they need a company email, and many factories change the factory address too without changing the registered information, so they are not neccesserilly bad guys if some of the checks looks not good.

The best way is to book our Basic Verification, Factory Auditing service or Quality Control Inspection service from us to protect your interests in China. We are working for foreign companies in China every day and we are a VIP member at Ministry of Commerce, the People's Republic of China, please have a look at www.bizinchina.cc

We are simply acting as your own Office, assistants and eyes etc and our mission is to save you more and reduce the risks in your business in China!

MSN: momochong1@hotmail.com
Skype: momochong1

__________________
STIN--YOUR OWN 'OFFICE' &'EYES' IN CHINA !
Justin Yuan Skype ID: momochong1
www.bizinchina.cc

Yes, try to say you will use a QC to check the products before you pay, just say how they responde.
We protect the interests of Western companies by providing a full range of high quality verifications of claims by Chinese companies.

Re: Basic Due Diligence Steps

Thanks for the tips. I have been trying to do basic due diligence, and have some familiarity but still wonder how much more I could have done by way of due diligence.

We just ordered a package of lutein, lycopene, and beta-carotene, 95% HPLC from China.

We were assured by email it would come with UPS documentation, contained within 1g packages, marked with the weight and substance eg lutein 1g

We drew a description of the marking we required on request.

We have received the shipment and there is no documentation, there is no marking on the packages.

We paid for this through paypal. It can't possibly be re-sold as is.

I am going to email the manufacturer however I am concerned that they assured us that all these things would be attended to, but they have flagrantly ignored these instructions, having explicitly stated they would address all these issues.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

We are in Australia.

Thanks for the helpful information.

hi guys the words ''LET THE BUYER BEWARE'' Springs to mind Even though my wife and i are resourcers in China we believe that if possible that you can start with small orders for a period and develop a good respect and relationship with your contact, this will offer you in particular a kind of 'safety net' where should you fall into the fraudulent or disreputable hand of your supplier/manufacturer the loss is minimal and they have lost a good cause.
I must extend here that we are here to assist should you wish to persue this suggestion.
regards
christopher and linna

Yes, I agree. Start with sample or small order first. Do not wire much deposit, if you will be in a bad situation, you have no way to get your money back. But if you do much homework at the beginning, it will reduce the risks.

How would I go about finding a chinese agent to work on my behalf? I need to have someone navigate the waters for me.

You have two choices,
1. find a freelancer to work for you. The advantage is the cost is low, the disadvantage is that the service quality is not guaranteed.

2. find a company to be your agent in China. the cost maybe a little higher than freelancer but you can get guaranteed services.

Originally Posted by hlgccbirds

How would I go about finding a chinese agent to work on my behalf? I need to have someone navigate the waters for me.

We would be happy to help you out. Feel free to contact me anytime for further discussions. However, we are not a Chinese agency company. we are a Western owned Company based out of China.

__________________
Your Partner in Asia ( K.O.D Solutions Ltd.)
www.kod-solutions.com info@kod-solutions.com