How can I avoid being scammed by suppliers in China that aren't legitimate?

Global SourcesUpdated on 2024/05/21

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Full Question I received an e-mail from some company. I went to their web site and saw that they had ATVs, motorcycles, computers, laptops and other products, I was going to order some things from them but when I tried to go back to the web site, this company was not there anymore. Now there are more companies sending me e-mails with the same products as that first company. How do I know if they are real companies and if the products they show are what they will actually send me?

Answer I'm so glad you paused and didn't buy right away. I think you were almost the victim of a growing scam in Asia. In the past weeks, we have been contacted by a handful of people who fell for the scam. In short, if a seller offers a wide range of branded products at unreal pricing, it's too good to be true. Here's the link to this answer on our Ask the Experts section explaining the scam and offering tips to avoid these traps: Red flags to suspect the supplier is not legit (How do I know if the pricing and import-export information I've received from a China supplier is legitimate?)

The second half of your question was about how to determine if the supplier is a legit vendor. The following short videos should help get you pointed in the right direction: How To Find Chinese Suppliers How To Evaluate Chinese Suppliers

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How can I avoid being scammed by suppliers in China that aren't legitimate?

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