In The Beginning (You need to know) International Trading for the Intermediary

In The Beginning (You need to know) International Trading for the Intermediary The effective procedures taught here are supported under the Rules of Delivery (intcoterm2010), Rules of Collection (UPC522) and The International Rules of Banking (UCP600). In any business, knowledge is power. In the international trading business, knowledge is survival. 1

I have stated this in every book I ve written because you must remember and know that years ago Intermediaries had no effective uniform policies or any set of guiding rules available to rely on for international commodity trading. For years Intermediaries were doing the best they could with little or no rules at all. While other institutions have rules of some sort which an Intermediary was relying on, but its basis are informally applied and not fully constructed as uniform applications. Although these informal applications are somewhat appropriate for the End Buyer and the Supplier dealing directly with each other they are not applications that can work for the Intermediary. An enterprise known as Foreign Trade Negotiator Exporting had developed an effective doctrine and a guiding set of rules which was tested in 1998 and over many years it was refined and perfected so it could be applied in 2005. For the first time in years the Intermediary could apply a safe legally defined set of standards and be able to act in the position of a professional international trade Intermediary with secure, safe, procedures and applications. These rules are founded on the doctrines of English Law, International trade rules and UCP 600. These rules and regulations are the only effective applications an Intermediary can successfully close a deal. If one is going to survive in the international trading market, you must know as much or should I say, more than your global buyer, seller and intermediary. That s why training in the proper procedures, rules and policies is not just necessary, it is a necessity, to stay ahead of the common enemy the intermediary, buyer and sellers all share THE SCAMMER. In this training book we are going to give you the knowledge needed to stay ahead of the scams that are taking place everyday in every country in the world. 95 % of the intermediaries are untrained and trying to honestly trade, but are only prey for the scammer. Most intermediaries has followed the role of the intermediary before him, and he before him, and he before him, and so on and so on, having no knowledge of the proper procedures and these flawed LOI / BCL / NCND / MFPA documents are being continuously used. These are the perfect conditions for the scammer. The scammer depends on your lack of knowledge and dangles the carrot of success and money to blind a person of their common sense. We have all, at one time or another been dazzled by a dangling carrot. It is just human nature and the scammer knows it. 2

This collection of training materials has been designed to help you the intermediary succeed in international trading and the correct use of documents to prevent you from being scammed or circumvented by the dishonest broker. Anything less then the correct applied trading procedures cannot and will not come to a closing deal. You must have a set of guiding rules. Your success in the international trading world depends on the understanding of the documents and procedures used to close a deal. Incoterms 2010 (You need to know the difference between Incoterms 2000 and Incoterms 2010) Every 10 years the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) will review the incoterms to see if the current world practices for international trading are still effective for today. After the 10 year review they decided to update Incoterms 2000 and called it Incoterms 2010. Subtitle ICC rules for the use of domestic and international trade terms. There are certain trade blocks that this does not apply. Eg. The European Union has many countries in that trade block where they do not have a customs border. It's a free trade zone so some of the incoterms does not relate well with their circumstances. With all the chances made in the new release of incoterms 2010, it has made no changes that will affect the proper trading procedures the intermediary need to practice. The New Incoterms 2010 Ex Works (EXW) Free Carrier, (Named Place:) Named Place of Origin (FCA) Free Alongside Ship, (Named Port of Shipment) (FAS) Free on Board, (Named Port of shipment) (FOB) Cost and Freight, (Port of Destination) (CFR) Cost, Insurance and Freight, (Port of Destination) (CIF) Carriage Paid To, (Named Place of Destination) (CPT) Carriage and Insurance Paid To, (Named Place of Destination) (CIP) Delivered at Frontier, (Named Place of Destination) (DAF)...REMOVED Delivered Ex Ship, (Named Place of Destination) (DES)...REMOVED Delivered Ex Quay, (Named Place of Destination) (DEQ)...REMOVED 3

Delivered Duty Unpaid, (Named Place of Destination) (DDU)...REMOVED Delivered Duty Paid, (Named Place of Destination) (DDP) Rules for Any Mode of Transport (ships, planes, trucks or trains) CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid... (Container term) for FOB CPT - Carriage Paid To DAP - Delivered at Place (NEW) (Just like DES and "DEQ" intermediaries shall not deal in DAP transaction.) DAT - Delivered at Terminal (NEW) (just like "DAF" and "DDU intermediaries shall not deal in DAT transaction) DDP - Delivered Duty Paid EXW - Ex Works FCA - Free Carrier... (container term) for CID The intermediary needs to mostly stay with FOB applications and CFR delivery modes Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport Only CFR - Cost and Freight CIF - Cost, Insurance and Freight FAS - Free Alongside Ship FOB - Free On Board Actually next to nothing has changed between incoterrms 2000 and 2010 for the intermediary because the wants of the end buyer is made to the supplier and the offer of a supplier is the same to the end buyer through the intermediary. But you still need to know the delivery modes you can and cannot use as an intermediary. It is stipulated in the incoterms 2010 that the intermediary fails to apply the correct terms. (This is what I believe they are referring to) (You need to know the difference) "CIP" (Carriage and Insurance Paid) is the container term for "CIF" (Cost Insurance and Freight) "FCA" (Free Carrier) is the container term for "FOB " (Free on Board) 4

The 2010 incoterrms is available through ICC "international Chamber of Commerce". The new rules came into effect on Jan 1, 2011 Intermediaries deal in documents not product or goods so the intermediary must work with very clearly defined documents. Even though the new incoterms rules have very little change for the intermediary it is import for the intermediary to know what he can and cannot do so his payment can be effectively collected. The players in the deal Supplier: The person holding title and in possession of the product as owner. Seller: The person who sourced the Supplier (Sourcing Intermediary) who is trading on the Title (the document) of the goods. Buyer/Seller: The (Principal Intermediary) who controls the deal and protects the commission and interest of the other intermediaries in the chain of the deal. The principal Buyer/Seller intermediary can only sell to an end buyer (The one taking possession of the goods) not another buyer intermediary. The principal intermediary Seller/Buyer can only buy from the supplier (The on who is in possession of the goods) not another seller intermediary. Buyer: The person (Sourcing Intermediary) who sourced the end buyer. End Buyer: The person who buys and takes possession of title and physical product. It is not uncommon to have many sourcing intermediaries in one deal. Mandate to supplier: Is an agent who acts on behalf of a disclosed principal. A mandate is not just given to a person; (as implied so often). It has to be earned, after a strong relationship has been built from many years of dealing with a principle supplier. The mandate agent can only act under the instructions of their principle (supplier) who must disclose to end buyer immediately when the offer is made to a end buyer and in closing the deal the mandate agent would be paid a very small sum by the supplier is often the end result. The mandate agent gets no commission from the buyer s side of the deal. A mandate agent has to close many deals in order to get any reasonable commission amount from the supplier. Many intermediaries claim mandate ship because they think being next to the supplier as a mandate agent is putting them in a great position. This is incorrect. An intermediary in a chain deal will make a great deal more money than a mandate agent. 5

Many deals have collapse due to misunderstanding. When referring to the buyer specify whether you mean the end buyer or the intermediary buyer. When referring to the seller specify whether it is the supplier or the seller intermediary. The best position in a deal is the controlling buyer/seller intermediary. The buyer/seller must know procedures really well and act in the best interest of all parities on both sides of the deal. Forget about becoming a mandate holder of a principal as it is not a feasible position to hold if you are looking to make the big money. Learn the proper procedures, rules and policies and become the legally defined Buyer/seller controlling intermediary. Knowing and understanding the functions of the players are important but your very first and most important piece of information is: Secure Your Supplier (This is where it all starts) The most important player is the Supplier. You cannot make an offer to your end buyer without having a secured supplier. Securing the supplier means you must get a Quote from the supplier first giving you the authority to sell his product. Without a genuine supplier quote you have no product to offer an end buyer and with no product you cannot issue a offer and start a deal.) If you make an offer to an end buyer and it is accepted and once it s applied on the contract, this is an effective legally binding document, and if you issue an offer to an end buyer and have nothing to sell, you can end up in big trouble. If a buyer issues a DLC (Documentary Letter of Credit) to your bank account and you have no product you have put yourself in a position of being charged on fraud. It is fraud to offer to sell something you do not have the authority to sell. You must never trust the intermediary who says they have a supplier. You must offer to protect the intermediary commission and ask them to step back and do your due diligence. There is no document that is a 100% guarantee but the agreement created by FTN Exporting called the IPG (Intermediary Payment Guarantee) that is issued to the intermediary by the Primary Intermediary for full protection of commission is a the only document that will legally protect the commission. Each intermediary in a 6

chain deal will have a IPG agreement with the PI. There is only one intermediary per IPG. FYI: The flawed NCNDA, is a document with very little protection of your commission if any at all. There is no proof to what deal the intermediary was apart of. How can the judge go after anyone? There is also no way to find out if the deal closed even if you do know who the players are. So the NCNDA is a contract that promises to circumvent you. This flawed contract is used so often by misinformed and inexperienced intermediary who are just following another misinformed intermediary. Even inexperienced lawyers who have no knowledge in international trading have offered this flawed NCNDA document. Once your due diligence has been satisfied you as the PI will send a formal RFQ Request for Quote to the supplier. If the supplier has an interest in your offer to sell his product he will provided the quote and other information as required and you then can make a formal offer rather than a simple quote to your buyer. You can not make a formal offer without a supplier. Without a secured supplier you have nothing to offer. This means you can not make a deal. An end buyer can request a quote from a buyer/seller intermediary but the buyer/seller intermediary can not give the end buyer a quote unless he has a secured supplier. GET YOUR SUPPIER FIRST. Offers/Quote You must be able to recognize a bad offer/quote from a good offer within 60 seconds. If the offer is using all the flawed terms you know instantly that the offer did not come from a supplier as only an inexperience intermediary would issue such. (The RFQ should be on the buyer/seller intermediary s letter head) (The RFQ should be clear, clean cut and easy to read.) No dark background pictures with hard to read print. It will be misconstrued as a Nigerian scam and discarded without being read. 7

This is a good Offer/Quote Your Company Name City, State Zip Code Ph: 1-480-XXX-XXXX Fax: 1-727-559-XXX http://www.yourwebsite.com emailadress@yourcompany.com Attention: Mr. Supplier Company Name Company Address State, Country, Zip July 16, 20XX Validity 4 days from above date. Subject: (RFQ) Request for Quote for consideration: White Refined Cane Sugar ICUMSA 45 FOB Dear Mr. Supplier We (Your Company Name) enclose a RFQ for our consideration from (The Supplier Name)., as an Independent Primary Agent. Our intent is to source and conduct business on behalf of an undisclosed principal end buyer using UCP600 Bank issued Letter of Credit Rules, Incoterms 2010 Rules of Delivery. Product Wanted: White Refined Cane Sugar ICUMSA 45 Transaction Code: 16SET-1RE-2201-J First Delivery: in 90 days time -/+10 days. Specifications: Polarization: 99.80 Degrees min. Ash Content: 0.04 Max. Icumsa: 45 RBU Max. (Brazil S.G.S Scale) (Note; Not Sao Paulo scale) Solubility: 100% Dry and Free Flowing Color: White. Maximum 45 Icumsa attenuation Granulation: Fine Crystal Moisture: 0.4% Max Magnetic Particles: 4Mg/K SO2: 70Mg/K Ash by Electrical Conductivity: 0.04% Max. (On dry weight basis) Sulphur Dioxide: 20mg/kg min. Sediments: None Smell: Free of any smell 8

Reducing Sugar 0.05% Max by weight HPN Staph Aureus: Nil Max (AS): 1 P.P.M. Max (PS): 2 P.P.M. Max (CU): 3 P.P.M. Substance: Solid Crystal Quantity: Up to 25,000 MT per month for 12 months, FOB Incoterms Target Price: $ US dollars per metric ton Packaging: New PP woven Bags, 50KG Net Destination: Country of Origin: Performance Guarantee: Supplier will be required to offer a UCP600 SLC to a XX.% value of shipment as a Performance Guarantee upon acceptance of buyers full UCP600 transferable Irrevocable DLC (non-cumulative revolving), as defined on final contract and being advised and accepted from a top 100 ranked bank rules of Trade: UCP600, URC522, INCOTERMS 2010 (Your Company Name) Procedures: (1) Quote (2) Offer (3) Contracts (4) (Your Company Name Here) deposits active Payment (5) Supplier deposits active PG (6) Delivery (7) Collection at Sight (8) Next Shipment Confirmation slip- Supplier s Advice Please Return VIA E-MAIL Please confirm relevant details including, exact product being quoted, Specifications, Port of loading, Packaging, Quantity, Name of bank for depositing our UCP600 financial instruments, Analysis Inspection certification issuance entity and Final assured price at FOB or FAS 15 days from quotation issued. We wait for your final quote for our considerations. Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime when goods are available for our considerations. 9

Your Name www.yourwebsite.com Business email: emailaddress@yourcompany.com Personal email: email.trader@live.com Ph: 1-480-478-XXXX Fax: 1-727-559-0XXX End of RFQ The above RFQ is an attempt to secure a supplier. You can not enter into a contract with an end buyer selling nothing. You can not makeup a price on a product you do not have access to, for two reasons #1- Its Fraud. #2- You could go to jail. If a buyer/seller intermediary can get a quote from a direct supplier that alone is worth so much. It gives you the required Ostensible Authority to sell without worry about fraud charges.. (When asking the supplier for a quote, ensure USA labeling laws apply. E.g. Metric / imperial quantities, quality, ingredients, language, etc, etc.) With such an offer or quote in your hand you can now make your own offer to SELL as seller to an end buyer. You are not an end buyer of supplier, you are a Seller/buyer putting yourself in the position of the primary intermediary agent. That position stipulates specifically that you can only sell the Title to the goods to the end buyer. You don t have possession of goods nor will you ever get possession of goods. Remember If You Have No Supplier You Can Not Make an Offer to a Buyer A lot of suppliers don t know that much about the true intermediary applications, so getting a quote for much wanted goods is not going to be easy. The suppliers know the application and business of an end buyer but an intermediary will have to really work hard to get a quote from a real supplier. A Quote from a supplier does not imply any obligations of the supplier but asking for a Quote is a better option than an offer outright. The intermediary must know the product and know what is possible and what is not. Some much wanted goods often apply a three year forward order. Some suppliers have forward orders for 5 years. Other, not so much in demand products like Novelties, Jewelry, and Stuffed Dolls may be easy to source but to sell these goods can be impossible. 10

Regardless of the product, the trader must ask for a quote in a well formed document using the proper trading rules and acceptable trading terms. Issuing LOI or offering ICPO will end up in the trash of a real supplier. Note: Quote need to be offered from a supplier; at least holding firm for 10 days. I would ask for 15 days. The longer the better! The minimum information a quote should bear from the supplier on his letterhead is as follows: 1. Name of the applicant giving the quote (eg. Mr Smith CEO) 2. Full Non P.O. Address (No Post Office Box 3. Full contract number 4. Quantity/Delivery mode. 5. Legal Product Name 6. Some Idea as to Packaging 7. Some Idea as to Grade 8. A Firm Validity Date 9. A Firm Price Note There is no such thing as a Soft Offer It is an OFFER and nothing more. The quote of cost in the offer is not subject to change until the pass of the validity date. The very first document to start a deal must come from the supplier in the form of a QUOTE. Without this you can not start a deal. Note: (understand and read the following carefully) 1. A Quote from a Supplier to a buyer/seller is not legally binding; it is a consideration to sell is what is being applied. 2. A Quote from a Buyer/seller to an end buyer is not legally binding; it is a consideration for the end buyer to buy is what is being applied. 3. A Quote from another intermediary seller is hearsay. It is no good unless he steps back, discloses the supplier so you can confirm the quote with the supplier. (You need to know that when issuing any document prior to the contract, state on that document that it is subject to contract. The document will then not be binding. 11

Note: If the quote the buyer/seller has given to the end buy is accepted, the buyer/seller then confirm the quote and get an OTS (Offer to sell) from the supplier. (Usually it is valid for 15-21 days) The OFFERS (understand and read the following carefully) 1. An Offer/Quote from the PI to the supplier is an offer to sell the suppliers product. 2. An Offer from the supplier to the PI is an offer to sell suppliers product with the cost of product. 3. An Offer to the end buyer is from the PI is an offer of consideration for the end buyer to buy said product at the PI quoted price. (Commission is the difference between the quoted price of the supplier and the quoted price to the end buyer by the PI) The CONTRACT The contract is a binding agreement between the end buyer and the buyer/seller PI Agent. You as the (PI) private intermediary agent must make sure that all things are applied on the contract as to your obligations. What you provide to the end buyer is provided to you from your supplier, (except cost of product) but this is not to say that a supplier can t make a mistake. You must check and recheck before proceeding with any deal. There must be no discrepancy. There is no room for error or the deal will collapse. The Pre Advice part of the Letter of Credit will be clearly stipulated in your contract. RFQ (Request for Quote) is non binding Offer can be binding in some countries Contract is binding Letter of Intent is non binding and unnecessary as your intent is stated is the RFQ. LOI will never be binding, since your intent to purchase can change at any given time. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT for payment for goods. The supplier should ask for a UCP600 bank to issue an Irrevocable Transferable UCP600 formatted DLC. (DLC, regardless of what variant, is the only financial instrument an intermediary can deal with.) If the supplier asks for any other type of payment you must negotiate with him. If the supplier will not agree to the DLC payment then you must walk away. There is no other payment that an intermediary will not be circumvented. Walk Away! 12

Even the Nigerian Government can see the value and safety of a Documentary Letter of Credit. FYI: As of July 31, 2009, the government of Algeria's Cabinet of Ministers put into force a new regulation - la loi de finances complémentaire. Not only were the Algerian companies in a bit of shock but were trying to get article 69 revoke. Article 69 stipulates: "Payment for import can only be executed by means of documentary letter of credit". What this means basically, in order to legally export to an Algerian customer you must only accept payment in L/C, the customer is forbidden by law from paying through any other means. Several large Algerian companies were trying to pressure the government to revoke article 69 (or at least make exception for the importers of raw materials). How stupid is that? FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT of payment for PG and commission payment.. SLC: Stand-by-Letter of Credit must never be used or implied to be used for the payment of goods. The SLC is suitable only for the payment of commission and/or PG (Performance Guarantee). If the SLC is used as per the rules supported under ISP98 SLC (International Stand-By Practices) as defined in the year of 1998 by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), the SLC is allowed to be transferred many times among Intermediaries. A SLC defined as UCP600 SLC can only be transferred once from the buyer/seller to the End buyer as issued from the Supplier, and must be marked as transferable. Intermediaries may use both SLC but only for commission payment or PG. ( NOT payment of goods.) In other words: SLC (Standby Letter of Credit) defined as UCP600 transferred once SLC Standby Letter of Credit) defined as ISP98 transferred many time (Used only for Commission payment or PG ) and must be stimulated in contract The UCP600 SLC is the most used. The DLC (Documentary Letter Of Credit) has many variants -Irrevocable DLC -Revocable DLC -Stand-by DLC 13

-Pre Advise -Non-transferable -Transferable -Confirmed In some offers from inexperience intermediaries they will use words that have no meaning with the DLC. A Credit can be transferred only if it is expressly designated as "transferable" by the Issuing Bank. Terms such as "divisible", "fractionable", "assignable", and "transmissible" do not render the Credit transferable. If such terms are used they shall be disregarded. The three steps of the DLC from the issuing bank to the advising bank to the accepting bank. (You need to know and understand the mechanics of the DLC) Issuing Bank is the..end Buyer Bank A Corresponding Bank is a bank giving assistance and support to the issuing bank. This bank will be the same branch but possibly in another country. It would be considered part of the issuing bank. The Advising Bank Intermediary (PI) Buyer/Seller bank The Accepting Bank is the. Suppliers Bank The End buyers bank issues PA CITDLC to the buyer/seller bank account (In the contract between buyer/seller intermediary and the end buyer it is stipulated and agreed the cost of transfer to the Advising Bank, the L/C fees is to be paid by the end buyer. If this is not stipulated on contract it is the ruling of UCP600 that the cost of transfer fees will be the obligation of the beneficiary (And that would be the PI intermediary) Step by Step Process End Buyer and Buyer/seller Intermediary agree to conduct business. The buyer/seller (PI) wants a letter of credit to guarantee payment. End Buyer applies to his bank for a letter of credit in favor of the buyer/seller (PI). End Buyer's bank approves the credit risk of the end buyer, issues and forwards the credit to its correspondent bank. The correspondent bank is usually located in the same geographical location as the buyer/seller intermediary. Advising bank (PI s bank) will authenticate the credit and forward the credit (Cost of product) to the supplier s bank (the accepting bank). (Only 14

after the PI meets all conditions of the DLC will the LC be transferred to the accepting bank.) Supplier (beneficiary) delivers the goods, then verifies and discloses the documentary requirements to support the letter of credit. Documentary requirements may vary greatly depending on the perceived risk involved in dealing with a particular company. Supplier presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank to be processed for payment. Advising (PI) or confirming bank examines the documents for compliance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are correct, the advising or confirming bank will claim the funds by: o Debiting the account of the issuing bank. o Waiting until the issuing bank remits, after receiving the documents. o Reimburse on another bank as required in the credit. Advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Issuing bank will examine the documents for compliance. If they are in order, the issuing bank will debit the controlling PI the DLC and the supplier's account. Issuing bank then forwards the documents to the buyer. All documents are in order and collection is made. Control Deal as Buyer/Seller. Anyone can become a legal Buyer/Seller (PI) but you must have a set of guiding rules. Your success in the international trading world depends on the understanding of the documents and procedures used to close a deal. You cannot hold the position of only a buyer or a seller and be in control. You buy from the supplier and sell to your end buyer using the end buyer s funds. That makes you a buyer/seller, the controlling intermediary controlling the deal. The difference is your commission, which the (PI) has in his account. An intermediary buyer or an intermediary seller depends on you the buyer/seller (PI) controlling the deal, for their commission. 15

The Buyer/Seller (PI) intermediary must secure a supplier first. Here is how an intermediary can get them self in trouble and why the first most important thing is to secure a supplier first. If an end buyer issues a DLC to the (PI) s account with the belief that the supplier is genuine (because of quotes the (PI) received from another seller) and it proves that the seller really did not have a supplier then the (PI) can and will be charged on fraud. The end buyer went through a very expensive transaction setting up the DLC and in return was defrauded by the (PI). It is guaranteed that the (PI) is in big trouble. Intermediary often are not fully aware of the cost involved for an end buyer opening a letter of credit. Most can estimate for developed nations the percent cost for opening and paying a Letter of Credit will be 0.75 % for LC in excess of $100,000 ( minimum will vary from bank to bank) for underdeveloped countries, the issuing and negotiation cost can be upwards of 1.5%. An end buyer is not going to think kindly of you if he has set up his expensive Letter of Credit and you do not have the goods to sell him. So step #1 is before you even think of starting a deal SECURE YOUR SUPPLIER. This does not include refineries. (You must find a buyer first) You can deal with refineries but it is very difficult. Dealing directly with a refinery means PRIMARY Contracts. A primary contract must carry, especially in oil, the REFINERY OIL NUMBER and the buyer must have the OIL REFINERY BUYERS NUMBER as registered under OPEC. 99% of Intermediaries cannot or will not be able to get such a Number. Also a primary contract carries a set amount of commission which is very low. Even if a group of intermediaries could buy a Primary oil contract, their commission would be shared...typically, they as sellers would receive 2.5 cents per barrel as set by the discount which cannot be changed. URC 522 (Uniform Rules for Collection No 522) The Uniform Rules for Collections, ICC Publication No 522, shall apply to all collections and was first published by the ICC in 1956. Revised versions were issued in 1967 and 1978. This present revision was adopted by the Council of the ICC in June 1995. It is issued with the title ICC Uniform Rules for Collections as ICC Publication No 522. This English language gives the official text of the 1995 Revision. Free download http://www.tradercommodityb2b.com UCP 600 (Uniform Customs Practice 600) The 39 articles of UCP 600 are a comprehensive and practical working aid to bankers, lawyers, importers, and exporters, transport executives, educators, and everyone involved in letter of credit transactions worldwide. Free Download http://www.tradercommodityb2b.com 16

In Conclusion: A well informed intermediary knows everything about a banks business, but a bank know very little of the overall intermediary process. Most Lawyers know very little about banking and the intermediary process but they are good at producing contracts..etc..etc and intermediary has to know a wide range of things about the whole process. When you see terms like LOI, NCND, POP, BCL, MPA plus so many more you can almost guarantee the offers are not genuine or to say the least the deal will never close for the intermediary. When an end buyer and a supplier is dealing directly with each other and no intermediary is involved any applications can apply. It is important to recognize bad offers within minutes of receiving them. This will come when you learn the proper procedures and all the flawed terms the inexperience intermediaries and cons are using. In the beginning of your trading career if you choose to challenge those inappropriate offers it is best to be completely professional and reply by stating that their procedures are not workable for you. International commodity trading can be the most rewarding career you will ever find. But without knowledge and experience your time invested in sourcing principals will be in vain. You must never work off of trust or hear say. Your lack of knowledge can lead you into regret and disappointment. Knowledge and skill in this field is the development of an invaluable asset. www.tradercommodityb2b.com for more resources All material here in matters of International Trading procedures is the personal opinion of the author j. hollister based on her experience, training and education in the International Trading Market. No liability will be directed for the opinion. 17