by Tekle Sebhatu

Question:

Do you know an escrow company called www.electronics-shipping.com? A seller proposed I use it for a transaction but I do not know it, and it does not seem to be trustworthy, although it appears to have been created in the U.S.A. Do you know of possible frauds that are being made through contacts made through Alibaba? Do you have any safe method of transaction protected or made by Alibaba (type Escrow Paypal de Ebay)? Thanks and greetings, Jose Martín.

Answer:

Dear Jose: Your question has two parts. First, it appears that you have answered your own question when you wrote; “It absolutely does not seem to be trustworthy”. If it doesn’t seem to be trustworthy, why then bother to do business with that company? Have you asked your seller why he suggested that specific company to you? If you did ask him, are you convinced by the reasons your seller gave you to use that escrow company? Most importantly, how well do you know your seller? If you are suspicious of his recommendation, how can you then trust his other commitments? It appears that you are not convinced by your seller’s recommendation. Answering the above questions might help you to get to the bottom of it. The fact that you found out through your research that the company was not established in 1998 should be a red flag that requires further investigation before you do any kind of business with the named escrow company and including the seller. That should be a good reason to investigate further. Secondly, all payment methods have some risk associated with them, including letter of credit. Before choosing a method of payment or escrow company, know your seller very well and establish a good relationship for a long term business partnership.