Vet first, quote later — it saves more than freight
Key points
- Confirm the entity exists
- Assess scale and fit
- Use customs data for real volume
- Cross-check website and social
- Read the risk flags
The most expensive cost in going global is not sampling; it is three months spent on a buyer who will never order. CNTOSEA's rule: spend 15 minutes on six checks before any quotation goes out.
1. Confirm the entity exists
Verify full legal name, registration number and address against the destination country's register (Companies House in the UK, US state Secretary of State sites, and similar). Whether the email domain matches the company website is the fastest signal — a "European procurement manager" writing from a free mailbox deserves a question mark.
2. Assess scale and fit
Read their product line: own brand, distribution, or project supply? Staff size and rough revenue (estimable from LinkedIn) tell you whether your MOQ and lead time fit. A retailer asking for 100,000 units is a mismatch worth probing.
3. Use customs data for real volume
Public or paid customs records show the last 12 months of imports: categories, frequency, and source countries. A buyer with steady import history converts far better than one who has sent a single inquiry.
4. Cross-check website and social
Does the site show real cases, a team, contact details and a physical address? Are people actually in those roles on LinkedIn? Both matching raises confidence sharply; a site with no people, or people with no site, warrants caution.
5. Read the risk flags
Common red flags: demanding free samples while refusing freight, showing no interest in specifications and only chasing a number, asking for shipment to a third country unrelated to registration, or requesting payment to an atypical personal account. Any one of them should tighten your terms.
A real buyer answers your technical questions; someone fishing for a price only chases the number.
6. Turn the verdict into a quoting strategy
Strong buyers get the full treatment: detailed proposal, cases, tiered pricing and proactive sampling. Thin-information buyers get paid samples and a small trial order first, moving risk earlier. The verdict also sets payment terms — new accounts ship against payment or a small deposit.
One extra habit: keep the notes
Log every verdict in a CRM or sheet. After fifty entries your target-market buyer profile becomes clear — more valuable than another ad budget, and the simplest real step in foreign-trade digitalization.
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How long should vetting take?
Ten to fifteen minutes once you are practised. Focus on entity, scale and customs records; the rest can be light.
Is a free email address always bad?
No — many small buyers use Gmail. But a self-described European sourcing manager using a free mailbox whose domain does not match the site deserves caution.
Middleman or end buyer?
Look at the product line, customs import records and LinkedIn roles. Distributors carry many brands; end buyers usually show only their own.
Should I send free samples?
Charge for the sample and let the buyer pay freight on first contact. Buyers willing to pay convert markedly better.