Global Sources - Help & FAQ - Sending Inquiries

Sending Inquiries

About Inquiry Basket
• What is the Inquiry Basket?
• How does the Inquiry Basket work?
• How long will the Inquiry Basket store my items for?
• Do I have to register with Global Sources before I can use the Inquiry Basket?

Sending Inquiries
• How do I send multiple inquiries at the same time?
• How do I send inquires to all the suppliers listed?
• Can I view the inquiries I have sent? Are they saved in the Inquiry Basket?
• How can I send attachments with my inquiry?

Troubleshooting
• I have added items in the Inquiry Basket before my computer crashed.
Is there any way of retrieving them?
• Why can't I find the "Add to Basket" button and the "View Inquiry Basket" link?

What is the Inquiry Basket?
Think of the Inquiry Basket as a shopping cart where you can put an unlimited number of products and suppliers in which you are interested. Instead of sending your inquiries to each supplier one at a time, you can put them in the Inquiry Basket first, continue searching for more products and suppliers, and then send all your inquiries at the same time.

How does the Inquiry Basket work?

1. On your search results pages, select the products or suppliers you wish to inquire about.

2. Click the dark blue Add to Basket button. Your selected items will automatically be stored in the Inquiry Basket.

You can also add items to the Inquiry Basket from the following:
• Your personalized Product Alert Page
• Supplier Website pages
• Product Profile pages

To view the contents of your Inquiry Basket from anywhere within Global Sources Online, click on the Inquiry Basket link in the left navigation bar.

How long will the Inquiry Basket store my items for?
Items in the Inquiry Basket will remain there until you:

• Send an RFI (Request for Information) about the items to suppliers. Once sent, the items are automatically cleared from your Inquiry Basket.

• Select the item(s) in the Inquiry Basket and click on "Remove Selected".

Do I have to register with Global Sources before I can use the Inquiry Basket?
Registration is not required to use the Inquiry Basket. However, as a registered user, your Inquiry Basket will retain its contents even if you leave Global Sources Online and return later.

How do I send multiple inquiries at the same time?
Once you have completed your searches and have added all the products and suppliers you are interested in to your Inquiry Basket:

1. View your Inquiry Basket and select all the items you wish to inquire about.

2. Click Inquire Now.

3. On the Request for Information (RFI) form, all the products and suppliers you have selected are listed. The selected supplier companies are listed as recipients of the RFI.

4. Complete the fields in the form. If you are registered and logged on, your inquiry form will be pre-completed with your company and contact information.

5. Click Send.

Tip: If you are registered with Global Sources, login first using the login box at the top of the RFI form so that your contact details will be automatically filled in.

How do I send inquires to all the suppliers listed?
You can easily inquire about all products in a specific product category by using the convenient Inquire All button. This is located at the top of the list of products or suppliers in a search results page. If you do not see this button, narrow your search by selecting a more specific product category.

If there are no (zero) products listed in the product category, the Inquire All button will not be available. However, if there are a number of suppliers listed for this product category, this means these suppliers can provide this product, but do not currently advertise comprehensive company and product information with Global Sources.

To inquire about this product from these suppliers, select the supplier you are interested in and click the Inquire Now button.

Can I view the inquiries I have sent? Are they saved in the Inquiry Basket?
To view and keep track of your sent inquiries, on the RFI form, check the option "Copy to my own e-mail" to receive a copy of the inquiry in your e-mail.

Once an inquiry has been sent, no other record is kept and the products and suppliers inquired about are automatically cleared from your Inquiry Basket.

Click here to see a sample of the e-mail the supplier will receive when you send an RFI.

How can I send attachments with my inquiry?

• Click on the "Add/Delete Attachments" link on the Request for Information (RFI) form.

• Click Browse and select a file on the Attachments screen.

• Click on Attach File (maximum file size: 100KB).

• Click on Done to return to the RFI form.

• Complete the form and send your inquiry.

I have added items in the Inquiry Basket before my computer crashed. Is there any way of retrieving them?
If you were logged in to your account when adding the items, you will be able to retrieve them by logging in again and clicking on the Inquiry Basket link in the left navigation bar. Please do not delete your cookies in the meantime.

Why can't I find the "Add to Basket" button and the "View Inquiry Basket" link?
If you do not see these when you are in Product Search, Supplier Search or a Supplier Website, you could be in any of the following scenarios:

You are in a Free Listing page
The suppliers listed on this page have registered for a Free Listing. This means that they do not currently advertise with Global Sources.
However, you can still select these suppliers to send an Inquiry. On the Supplier Search Results page, simply select the supplier you wish to get in touch with and click "Inquire Now".
You are in a Trade Show Center search
Trade Show Center features products and suppliers for only three months - for one month before the show, for the month of the show and for one month after the show.
Due to this limited time, we encourage you to send inquiries about products and suppliers in Trade Show Center right away, direct from the Product Profile.
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To use the Inquiry Basket, please configure your browser settings to accept cookies.