Safe payment methods - what else are there?

How do we safely pay a supplier if we do not use western union or credit card etc?

I would recommend paypal, or another big name payment option.

I would only pay with credit card. A last resort would be paypal or another big online payment service. Never click on a link for their payment service unless you know the company well. Best to type in the link yourself these days. A big company will work with you on payment methods. Smaller companies and scammers will not work with you on payments.

I have sourced the product that I have been looking for and have been offered a one off initially, the supplier only accepts Western Union, I have been warned off them, but if I have to use them, how do I go about setting up the money order?

We have been through that dilemma since 2000. Now we have employees in China who we pay our funds to, and they pay over to suppliers.

You should never use Western Union or Moneygram for you get no protection or even a T/T for that matter. Your safest bet is credit/debit card or third-party escrow! A lot of the scammers in Asia will tell you that they cannot get payment from Paypal and that is bullcrap!!! If you notice their T/T is ALWAYS Bank of China! Bank of China can receive funds from Paypal!!! Don't let them tell you otherwise!!! But, if you are in a bind and you think you have to use Western Union to find out if they are legitimate....try this....Make your Western Union payment by phone (yeah the charge is going to suck) and pay by your credit or debit card! If you get your items, then good. But if you do not, just do a chargeback on that debit/credit card that you sent to Western Union.... You do not want to make this a habit, but a last resort because you will most likely have to cancel that card and be issued a new one! I hope this helps....

Take a look at Link hidden: Login to view. Some of the articles posted there now deal with negotiating prices, performing due diligence, making safe payments to China suppliers...

All of the articles are quite interesting and they're all written by experts with long track records of dealing with Chinese exporters. Hopefully you will find some help there! Good luck.