Buyers In B2B Markets – How To Prevent Fraud?

Because of the enormous level of such business that can be done on a B2B marketplace, there is obvious room for fraudulent activity that needs to be monitored in order to avoid. Even if a business itself is honest and legitimate, that is not necessarily reassurance that the parties within that business with whom you are dealing are credible as well. Though B2B e-marketplaces ordinarily have strong moderators who check the credibility of registered businesses from time to time, it is up to the buyers themselves to protect themselves against any fraud and thus retrieve the maximum benefits of the market.

Here are some tips for buyers to prevent fraud in their online business endeavors:

Know the People behind the Partner Company
The best way to gauge the credibility of a company listing is to make contact with the company. You should know the people behind the business before you think of starting a relationship with them. If possible, visit their official premises. However, since this is not usually possible in offshore outsourcing deals, it is important that you research about potential service providers on the internet, check through their website as well as their various presense on the web and get a good idea about the reputation of the company. Call on persons who have given testimonials about the company and ask them questions about the company.

Conduct a Background Check
Conducting a background check about your potential supplier or service provider is indispensable. Use independent third party resources to make sure the potential company is registered or not. If you cannot locate their registration information, they you should ask them to provide you with a Certificate of Good Standing issued by the company registry office of the particular country. You can also ask a credit agency to track and update you with the business history of the potential company and how they fare in the records of banks and other trade partners.

Be Wary of Extremely Low Prices
If the price sounds too good to be true, then it may very well be! Even though one of the primary objectives of B2B marketplaces is to let you find the most competitive prices, don't let price be the only consideration while choosing potential business partners. If you know your market well, you can often estimate the average costs of the products and services you want to buy. So, if you see suppliers or service providers offering products or services at extremely low rates, then be wary of hiring them. After all, you often getwhat you pay for (i.e. reduced quality for reduced prices).

Keep a Record of your Agreement & Contracts
Make sure you have a proper written agreement that records all your dealings with your business partner. It should include all the details about the product or service being rendered, shipping information, delivery dates along with all the terms and conditions that are liable in case of failure of delivery, damaged or inferior quality of services etc. Also, keep a record of all the emails and faxes that are exchanged during the course of the negotiation and the project implementation. This would be invaluable in case any disputes or unforeseen circumstances come up.

Disclaimer :  Sabra Easterday is the owner and founder of MatchB2B.  Sabra is also a lawyer with a special interest in business issues and e-marketplaces.  Notwithstanding that Sabra Easterday is a lawyer, nothing in this article and no services of MatchB2B or its website are legal services and no attorney-client relationship exists between any reader of this article or user, customer or potential customer of MatchB2B, and MatchB2B, its website or Sabra Easterday.