60 QUESTIONS TO ASK A SELLER

1. Which product is in question?
2. What are the product specifications?
3. Is there anything unusual about the product, such as being recycled or irregular in some way?

With bitumen, one seller did not tell me that the product is recycled...

On D2, a seller in Venezuela forgot to tell me that the sulfur content was extremly high;

1. Does the product conform to any widely acceptable world standards?
2. What is the current price of the product?
3. Has that price been verified, recently?
4. Is the price quoted a CIF price or is it FOB or other?
5. What is the entire process?
6. What are the complete details of how the product is packaged?
7. Is there any requirement for application or license with any entity?
8. Is there an up front fee?
9. Does the seller have a quantity minimum?
10. Is there a seller-mandated quantity maximum?
11. How many brokers between you and the seller?
12. Is there a commission?
13. How much is the commission?
14. Who takes part of the commission?
15. Who is considered the buyer's side of the transaction?
16. Who is considered the seller's side?
17. Who are the intermediaries?
18. How is the commission divided?
19. What is the claim of commission, for each person in the chain?
20. What will each broker in the chain be doing, in order to earn his/her share?
21. Will the brokers be forging any seller signatures?
22. From which port will the product depart?
23. Does the seller interfere with what is charged for the product?
24. Does the wholesale price vary, as a function of what is charged?
25. Will the seller sign an NCNDA?
26. Will the seller have his signature notarized on the NCNDA?
27. What is the policy of the seller, when buyers attempt to circumvent brokers?
28. Which method of payment is acceptable to the seller?
29. Is the seller flexible on payment method?
30. Is there a higher price if the payment method is varied?
31. Have you shipped with them?
32. Has anyone ever shipped with them?
33. Which insurer has issued performance bonds for this seller?
34. Can we speak with the insurance company?
35. When can the seller begin shipping?
36. How long has the seller been in business?
37. Does the seller require that the buyer use a reliable bank or world top 50 bank?
38. Does the seller use a reliable bank?
39. Who is the Paymaster?
40. How do brokers get paid?
41. Are the brokers paid directly by the Paymaster or paid by the seller?
42. Have you ever been paid by the seller on any transaction?
43. Are the procedures flexible or rigid?
44. How long does it take to get a Soft Offer?
45. How long does it take to get an FCO?
46. How long does it take to get a Draft Contract from the seller?
47. How long does it take to get a Final Contract, with full cooperation from the buyer?
48. Who is the Paymaster?
49. Can we trust them to pay us?
50. Will the seller ever have possession of our commission?
51. Is the Paymaster the seller's bank?
52. Is there a contract with the Paymaster that we can read now?
53. Do you have this Paymaster contract in your possession?
54. Will the Paymaster send each broker a notarized copy of the IMFPA?
55. When will we receive a notarized copy of the IMFPA?
56. Has the Paymaster ever been sued in a dispute over commission?
57. If so, what were the results of that case?

If you are short on questions to ask, here are 50 to get you started, there are many more questions you could ask:

• Questions about Price
• Questions about Procedure
• Questions about Payment Terms
• Questions about Broker Commission
• Questions about Shipping
• Questions about Available Stock
• Questions about Packaging
• Questions about Seller's History
• Questions about Documents
• Questions about Insurance
• Questions about which Banks are accpetable, to handle the transfer of money
• Questions about the Paymaster, which might be the most important questions of all, for a broker

I have not exhausted the list here and these eleven categories are not the full story.
I think I've merely scratched the surface on the total list of questions, which could be asked about any commodity.
It takes time to get to know your seller and the questions never end.
After you have done 100 transactions with your seller, you will know the answers to many of these questions
If you don't ask questions, you will be taken advantage of, by 'hit and run operators' who take what you have and try to give you nothing for it.
If you're allowed one question for each dollar of commission, you might as well ask enough questions to have a clear understanding of the deal, so you don't get 'experienced' again!

Hope this helps :-)