Ways to check if company/supplier is legit.


abstrakt
Full Member
  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: 21 Jun 06
  • Karma:
21 Aug 06 01:33:32 am
I have found bits and pieces of information on this in various posts on the forum, but it would be good to have all information about the different ways of checking if a company/supplier is legit in the one thread.

I have found a couple of potential suppliers and now want to check them out as much as I can before proceeding further.

I have signed up with readnotify.com so that can track email comunications. If you don't know about readnotify, it allows you to track when and where from, that the emails you send are opened. eg. potential supplier tells me he is in china but I can tell that he is opening and recieving his emails in nigeria. Has lot of other great features too.

I saw a post but now can't find it about researching and finding information about websites as a way of uncovering the scammers. If someone knows where on the forum that is could you point me in that direction please.

If others that know could post about things to look for or ask for that would be great.


archangel
Full Member
  • Posts: 13
  • Joined: 04 Aug 06
  • Karma:
21 Aug 06 05:34:13 am
Lo mate

Good to see another Aussie :)

I haven't been doing this long, but here is what I have learn't so far.

You can look for feedback on that website, or even better if you search/google that company and see what you can find out about them. Even use the forums from here to check out the company you've found, if they're mentioned.

Look for links to 'Rating Sites' such as BBB, Bizrate, etc, and check that site for customer feedback. If your not sure, email that rating site and ask.

Check out their payment methods. Is there a safe payment method where it is possible for you to get your money back if things go wrong?

Email/contact them, and see what they have to say. See if they will let you do a trial order and build up from there.

If your not sure, ask around, search, contact them and then if your still not sure, maybe avoid them, or tread cautiously. Try Link hidden: Login to view to get info on a website, such as domain, registration date etc (Apology to mods here, I'm not sure about adding links and regulations)

Most of the Aussie sites you find usually ask for an ABN, but I don't know how deeply involved with a business you want to get.

I hope this helps. If anyone spots any errors, please correct me. Also I will be learning from any other replies to this.


mslilly
Free Member
  • Posts: 180
  • Joined: 11 Apr 06
  • Karma:
23 Aug 06 12:54:20 am
I have found bits and pieces of information on this in various posts on the forum, but it would be good to have all information about the different ways of checking if a company/supplier is legit in the one thread.

I have found a couple of potential suppliers and now want to check them out as much as I can before proceeding further.

I have signed up with readnotify.com so that can track email comunications. If you don't know about readnotify, it allows you to track when and where from, that the emails you send are opened. eg. potential supplier tells me he is in china but I can tell that he is opening and recieving his emails in nigeria. Has lot of other great features too.

I saw a post but now can't find it about researching and finding information about websites as a way of uncovering the scammers. If someone knows where on the forum that is could you point me in that direction please.

If others that know could post about things to look for or ask for that would be great.


Great info!! I was wondering just the other day how to figure that out!


4kids
Full Member
  • Posts: 5
  • Joined: 16 Sep 06
  • Karma:
16 Sep 06 02:56:08 am
:) Hi thank goodness some aussies I can talk to.I am new to all this so just wanted to say then first posting about readnotify.com was a great piece of info.Secondly to you both find that you can import items in Oz without having an ABN number.I just want to sell on ebay for a bit of extra cash and wondered if I had to declare anything to the tax dept or have the ABN
Any advice would be great
Thanks Tracie


bacpro
Full Member
  • Posts: 331
  • Joined: 16 May 06
  • Karma:
18 Sep 06 01:09:43 pm
Hi
I am A member of read notify and its
a great program....Sometimes when
senting email you just don't know if
they see your email or opened your email
I use it all the time...Iam also an affialite
so if you want to join here's the link..
I'd appreciate that.

Thanks
John (bacpro)
Link hidden: Login to view


J Baca

jo77
Full Member
  • Posts: 4
  • Joined: 12 Sep 06
  • Karma:
23 Sep 06 02:00:44 pm
Hello i am new to buying and selling on ebay and i have found 2 websites that i would like to purchase items off. One of them i phoned their phone number and it was a residential house in the USA (and she wasnt happy) so i would leave that one alone. But the other one i would like to order off i have been emailing and they have been emailing back i asked them for a certificate (which he sent me) but i still dont know whether to order from them because the payment is not secure. They are from Indonesia. i dont know if anyone has bought from indonesia but could someone give me a bit of advice please.

Thank you


wibowo1
Full Member
  • Posts: 23
  • Joined: 29 Jun 06
  • Karma:
23 Sep 06 11:13:45 pm
Hello i am new to buying and selling on ebay and i have found 2 websites that i would like to purchase items off. One of them i phoned their phone number and it was a residential house in the USA (and she wasnt happy) so i would leave that one alone. But the other one i would like to order off i have been emailing and they have been emailing back i asked them for a certificate (which he sent me) but i still dont know whether to order from them because the payment is not secure. They are from Indonesia. i dont know if anyone has bought from indonesia but could someone give me a bit of advice please.

If the payment method not secured do not do it. I only pay via Credit Card or Paypal to buy the goods for resell. Stay away from Indonesian websites, majority of them are scammers!
Check my ebay username: awibowo
Good luck!

Thank you


shizaam
Full Member
  • Posts: 10
  • Joined: 09 Aug 05
  • Karma:
5 Nov 06 02:31:14 am
This is how I check, but great ways guys. I never knew about readnotify


- You make sure he has good payment methods (ideally Escrow)
- He has shipping prices to everywhere (Scammers normally can't be bothered to figure out the shipping prices all over the place)
- Ask him what the MOQ is and check it's not too high (Always good to start small with a new supplier)
- Ask for a sample product (This way you know if he actually has the product, it may be retail price but then you know he has the product and most likely legit)
- Also ask him for his whereabouts as there may be a chance he is close to you and you can just pop in and buy directly from his warehouse

Hope this helps anyone. Most of this information is scattered about this forum anyway.


mabullas
Full Member
  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: 23 Feb 07
  • Karma:
26 Mar 07 09:43:26 am
:) Hi thank goodness some aussies I can talk to.I am new to all this so just wanted to say then first posting about readnotify.com was a great piece of info.Secondly to you both find that you can import items in Oz without having an ABN number.I just want to sell on ebay for a bit of extra cash and wondered if I had to declare anything to the tax dept or have the ABN
Any advice would be great
Thanks Tracie


You don't have to have an ABN for a bit of hobby selling. If you aren't in a fully fledged business you still have to declare your earnings to the ATO when you do your yearly tax. The ATO's rule of thumb is that any income you earn - whatever the source - is declared somewhere/somehow in your tax return. If you won Tattslotto tomorrow, you'd also have to account for that, too.

Most of the overseas suppliers that I've been contacting over the past month or so don't really worry about internationals being a registered business. I have come across a couple who won't sell to you unless you have a resell licence (or some sort of equivalent in your own country). I find this frustrating because we don't have them, we only have the ABN requirement, so how do you give them something your country doesn't even issue? In these circumstances, I find the ABN useful, as I will explain that and provide the business with my legal ABN. I haven't come across any that won't accept that. After all, they can always look me up on the register and check. or I can always fax over a copy of my certificate issued by the Australian government if they need proof.

The ABN application has a number of questions that help you determine whether you're really in business or whether you're selling as a hobby. However, the point at which you move from hobby to business isn't always clear cut. My accountant said I was borderline between hobby selling and a business, and that I could legally go either way at the moment - until I start making a lot more income with it. If you're currently hobby selling but it grows into a fully fledged business, you can apply for an ABN at that particular time.

Eventually I decided to register as a legitimate business, even though I won't really be really up and running properly or earning consistently for a couple of months because there are businesses that won't deal with you unless you do, and it also gives me a legitimate presence in the business world. Also, in Australia, if you are conducting business with other businesses and you don't have an ABN, the other businesses you deal with can charge you tax at the highest possible taxation rate. And that's not just suppliers - you can conceivably deal with overseas suppliers without that - but also applies to any B2B transaction you make.

I would ask your accountant about the ins and outs because some of the stuff in the ABN application looks like its written in another language. If you do get to the point where an ABN becomes inevitable, it doesn't cost you anything to get an ABN or nominate a trading name, anyway, and if your situation changes you can always cancel the ABN when you don't need it anymore. It's only registering an ACN (company name) as well as an ABN that costs money, but you don't need to have that, because you nominate a name that you trade under in the ABN application. In the business register, I am listed as a sole trader trading under the business name of Savvy Trading. I haven't paid for an ACN and company name, but it doesn't matter, because Savvy Trading is my legal business name. It's confusing! Probably because the ACN system was around before they brought in the ABN stuff.....

You don't have to opt into the GST system if you're earning less than $50,000 per year from your venture. If you do, you can get GST credits, and the GST is passed onto your customers. If you don't, you pay the 10% GST on all taxable items. If you do opt in to the GST system, you have to stay in it for a certain period of time before you're allowed to drop out. But then you are obliged to provide proper tax invoices to customers. My accountant said it would be better to wait at this stage of my business.

Unless you are a fully fledged company with employees, you would most likely be registered as a sole trader. There are a number of different business structures that you can choose from apart from these 2 options. Again, the ABN application form explains it all.

The down side is that accountants charge you more to do your tax, but just like personal tax, you can claim back 100% of your tax agent's fees in the following financial year.

More information to help you decide whether you need an ABN or not can be found at the following link:

Link hidden: Login to view


 

SaleHoo helps over 137,216 online business owners
find reliable low cost suppliers

Find out how