Level 11 · Part 4
Getting paid and staying safe
Long distances raise the risk of non-payment, delay and fraud. Agree safe terms and start small.
When the buyer is far away, it is harder to check who they are and harder to act if they do not pay. Safe terms and small first steps protect you.
- Check the buyer: ask for references, look for a real business address and registration, and speak to other suppliers or your trade body.
- Agree price, quantity, quality, delivery, payment time and method in writing (Level 9).
- Do not send a large first shipment on open credit to a buyer you do not know.
- Ask your bank or the authority which payment methods exist for international sales and what each costs and protects.
- Think about currency: if the price is in another currency, your income changes when exchange rates move.
- Think about what happens if goods are rejected or delayed, and who pays.
Warning signs of fraud
Be careful if a buyer is very eager but vague, asks you to pay fees or send money first, offers to overpay and asks for a refund, refuses to be checked, or pressures you to ship quickly. Stop and ask your bank, your trade body or the authority before you act.
Start with a trial
A small trial order shows you the real costs, the paperwork and the buyer's behaviour. It is cheaper to learn from a small shipment than from a large one.
Exercise 11.4 · A safe first export plan
- Write how you will check a buyer before you agree.
- Write the payment terms you would ask for and why.
- Write the size and value of a trial shipment that you could afford to lose.
- Write who you will ask for advice at each step.
Background reading for this part:
- Legal Guide on Contract Farming — UNIDROIT, FAO and IFAD, 2015