Alibaba is without a doubt the best place to look for direct suppliers of nearly any product imaginable. And at importanything.ph, we enable you to purchase from them and import your cargo as quickly and as hassle-free as possible.
Once you’ve found a supplier and you’ve already negotiated a great price, the next thing you have to do is pay the supplier. Most suppliers will require 100% payment upfront. But if it’s a something that is made-to-order (like large machinery), some may ask for 50% downpayment before they begin production, then the remaining 50% upon completion and before they ship to you.
So the question we’re going to answer here is: How do you pay your supplier?
The quick answer is that you can pay through us. But let’s look into why our payment service may be the best option for you by discussing your other options first. We’ll go from worst to best.
Alibaba Trade Assurance
If you found your supplier on Alibaba, chances are you’ve come across this thing called “Trade Assurance”. Trade Assurance is the name of Alibaba’s group of services that ensures the satisfaction of both the buyer and seller. Or so that’s what it says. As far as the buyer is concerned, it’s a way for Alibaba to ensure that the entire transaction stays within their system that generates them money – from payment to shipping (note that “shipping” only pertains to sending it out of the supplier’s country).
But this is problematic because when you use Trade Assurance as your payment gateway, your entire order is routed through the formal processes of export – which basically means everything is going to be done by the book in your supplier’s country – which basically means your cargo is going through the formal entry into the Philippines – which basically means you’re going to have to deal with customs – which basically means you’re going to pay a lot if you don’t have an import license and all the other regulatory requirements for importing your product.
In short, we don’t recommend using Trade Assurance unless you have an import license.
Western Union
Western Union is an Okay way to pay your supplier but they only allow you to send to a person, not a company. This usually poses a trust issue because – would you be really willing to send your funds to an individual? We only recommend you answer Yes if you’ve establish a long track record with the seller.
Not just that, Western Union charges you for every increment of a few thousand pesos – which adds up to be very costly especially if your purchase is sizeable.
You also need to withdraw and carry cold-hard cash into a Western Union branch to be able to send it to your supplier. This is an obvious security risk, especially in times like these.
Bank Transfer
Bank transfer is only a valid option if you have a business dollar account with your bank. This is because bank transfers can only be person-to-person or business-to-business.
Even if you had a business dollar account, you would have to go through the bank’s KYC process in which they’re going to scrutinize your transaction as a security measure. They might ask for documents establishing the identity of your supplier and your relationship with them, and the details of your purchase.
If you don’t have enough USD in your business dollar account, you would have to call your bank a day ahead so you can purchase it the following banking day, and that’s the only time you can transact.
ImportAnything.ph Payment Service
Saving the best for last, our payment service allows you to pay your supplier in the comfort of wherever you are.
- You don’t have to go through the KYC process, so you have total privacy from anyone who doesn’t need to know what you’re buying.
- You don’t have to have a business bank account.
- You don’t even have to have USD on hand.
- You don’t have to carry cash anywhere.
You just need to fill up the form on https://importanything.ph/pay-your-supplier/ to get started.
If you’re sending USD to your supplier, the exact amount that you have to deposit in PHP to our local bank account is computed there. But if your supplier needs your payment in another currency, you just have to indicate it there and we’ll send you the exchange rate within the day.
If you deposit the amount due before 2pm of the current banking day, we can transmit your payment within the day. And you’re done!
Your supplier will need the wire transfer confirmation receipt which has the details needed for them to confirm that it was you who sent them the funds. If we’re sending USD, this receipt will be available during the next banking day. If we’re sending a currency other than USD, it will be available in 2-3 banking days.
It’s that simple.
Once you’re done with the payment, you can ship your cargo with us by filling up the form on https://importanything.ph/ship-now/.
