Do you want to source from China, and learn how to identify a legit supplier without visiting China? Pls remember below 6 things before your actions.
1. Check business licenses
All legal companies in China must register with the Chinese government authorities and are given a unique company registration number. To verify this registration number, you just need to visit their local administrative government website or contact Bureau of Industry Commerce in China for verification. If the supplier is not willing to give you this registration number, it is not advisable to transact with it.
2. Use search engines
Go to their website go through their policies and be sure that they have put their contact information and physical address on the site. Then use your search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo, search “company name+ scam” or “company name+ dishonest,” If there are complaints from previous customers they leave a trace of it on the web and you can see it. If there are complaints, hence the supplier may not be real.
3. Make a phone call
Most scammers provide wrong contact information to avoid being traced by law enforcers, so it is very advisable to call the number given to confirm. The most legit number should be a telephone number, not a mobile phone like most legit companies use landline services. Call the landline number and try to get information about the supplier like their registration number; if they hesitate to give it out, there are high chances that they are scammers. Scammers mostly use mobile phone numbers.
4. Ask for references
Ask for their previous customer’s records and also ask for the supplier’s bank reference letters. If the supplier does not have references, it is a sign he may not be true.
5. Do safe payment
Try to tell the supplier that the goods will be paid after your local agent in China visit their address and do quality inspection. If they allow it, then usually they are legit, but if they don’t, they can be scammers. Also, avoid untraceable money transactions.
6. Require auditing the factory
If the supplier is unwilling to be audited, it is a signal of a fake supplier.
Conclusion
With the above actions, it is easy to identify a real Chinese supplier and you can avoid scammers.
