When you hear a price range again and again, you start to believe that this is the normal price of that commodity everywhere.

The problem is, this industry is filled with scammers, and con-men are just waiting to take your money.

Scammers know very well that in order for you to speak to them, they need to give you such a low price where you just can’t resist. You have to take them up on their offer.
You have to take the chance!

For example, If the industry rate for a given commodity is $900, the scammers will quote you $400.

When you hear prices ranging from between $300 to $500, you start to believe that this is the normal standard rate.

After that, when someone genuine comes along and quotes you $850-900, you dismiss and reject him right away thinking his price is too high. Sadly, the con-men are plentiful, and because of their numbers, they may have brainwashed you and made believe that the industry rate for that commodity is actually around the $400 mark.

So how can you be sure?

How can you be sure that the lower priced supplier is genuine and not a con man?

The first concept you have to keep in mind is, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Secondly, if you see a supplier offering a price of $400 and he also asks for an advance cash deposit of some sort, then that should ring alarm bells in your brain. It’s a huge red flag! Scammers always ask for a deposit (typically 10-30%) and allow you to pay the rest by LC or when the goods reach the destination port. Sadly, you’ll never see the goods reach your port because then con-men would have run after receiving your 10% deposit.

That is their entire game plan. They rope you in. They will offer you an irresistible price. They will even show you doctored paperwork to try and convince you. They will speak professionally and seem quite genuine, but the reality is, they will take your money and you’ll never hear from them again.

Some of them will even try and convince you by asking you to visit them first if you don’t believe them. They will say, “Come and see us, inspect the goods, and then pay after you are satisfied“.

They only say this to try and convince you, hoping you will not visit them. If you do visit them, you will not find them. They will not pick you up from the airport, and when you visit their address, you’ll find an empty room with one desk, like a garage. This happened to a buyer of mine who I sent to visit a supplier I had been talking to for months.

Can you imagine that? A supplier was in communication with me for months, and yet he was not a supplier at all. He was a regular con man. It’s called a “Long Con”.

So if a supplier asks you for a deposit to cover the arrangement of goods, be careful, especially if their prices are lower than the industry standard rates.

What to do…

The first thing to do is to remove the lower brainwashed price out of your head because it doesn’t exist. It only exists to try and con you by the majority of “suppliers” out there.

Retrain your brain to accept the higher price as the only real price range. You need to do this in order to move forward without still trying to grab that elusive deal.

Yes, you might be thinking, “I’m still willing to give this lower priced supplier a chance, because if I can make a deal, I will be able to beat all my competition in my local area“. If you’re starting to think like that, then you may as well stop now and throw your money down the toilet. If you plan to visit him first, then you may as well throw your flight and accommodation money down the toilet. These prices just don’t exist amongst suppliers who want a cash deposit first.

There is one exception…

There are some genuine suppliers who can supply you at a cheaper price than the industry standard. But they are very few in number. You can get these lower prices directly from the farms or refineries or mills. But generally, they do not accept a letter of credit. They will require a cash deposit upfront. Furthermore, they may not be allowed to export by themselves directly. You may have to go through a trading company to get their prices.

If you can strike a deal with them, you may just be able to secure yourself a lower price (not much lower) while paying them a deposit. But just remember, these prices and genuine suppliers are very few (1-5%). You’ll be lucky to come across them.

You are more likely to come across a con man posing as a genuine supplier and you will lose your money.

So the best thing you can do is re-evaluate your business and mentally prepare to pay the industry standard rate, but do try and get a deal on that at the same time. So if the going rate is $900, try and bring the price down to $870 or even $850. You never know when you might hit a deal!

Amin Sadak