Justify Payment in Advance

Are they serious?

[Edge]

I get this letter in the mail yesterday from an government organization (so they claim) in India. The letter indicates they wish to purchase one of my products from my on-line store. The letter indicates that I should send the product first ($38.50 USD) plus shipping, and they will pay when the invoice has been received.

Then they say that if I require payment in advance, that I have to send the invoice in "quadruplicate" with a statement justifying that payment in advance is essential.

I believe the request to be from a legitimate government organization within India.

Comments?

[kevinpate]

few (if any) government entities in the usa pay in advance, so it doesn't surprise me much. If it were me, I'd want reasonable verification of the order validity beyond 'it seems to be ok', but of course that's a good idea irrespective of where the order originates.

[CernyM]

It can be difficult at times to get large corporations and government entities to pay in advance. Their purchasing systems just aren't set up to handle it.

If this is a one time purchase, I'd probably tell them its either pay upfront or forget it. If you believe it to be valid and expect future sales from them, its probably worthwhile setting up to ship then bill on net 30 or whatever you work out with them.

In the US, at least, credit cards are more often being issued to purchasers that they can use for small purchases like this without having to go through the whole rigamarole.

[Raymond]

I would be very skeptical about this request claiming to be from the government of India.

How big is the order? If it is just 1 item for $36 dollars, I seriously do not believe any one, including all entities claiming to be a government, would not just pay in advance.

If it is a big order, say 1000 pieces of a certain item, then this would be different. They have to supply you with a LOC from a good internation bank with a list of requirements that you have to fulfill. Then it is either FOB at your country's seaport, or FOB india.

Sorry, it just sounds too much like a lousy scam.

[Edge]

Thanks all for your replies, I have concluded the following: My gross profit is $15.00, after taxes approximately $8.00. I do not need the sale that bad for $8.00 in my pocket. Legitimate or not, this sale is not worth the hassle, I threw the letter in the garbage..

I get happy customers with credit cards all the time, whom are from government and private companies. If this organization contacts me by email, maybe I'll explain (quickly) that a sale this size is not worth the risk or effort to jump through thier hoops.

[sniffer]

I had a very similarly sized order from India, which i also chose not to send. Person seemed nice, and they appeared to be from a government organisation (who also had a website)

Anyway, i hesitated on it, and i have not heard back form them and this was nearly a month ago