Request to ship Valuable goods to Taiwan

Is Taiwan a hotbed for fraud?

[akmac]

I was contacted via email by someone in Taiwan interested in purchasing (to resell) three items that are small, but have a combined value in the mid 5 figures (USD). I'm curious if anyone here has shipped to Taiwan, and if so, if their experience has been negative or positive. Payment would be via wire transfer.

There are certain countries where a request for valuable items would be immediately dismissed, but I have no experience with Taiwan, and would like to hear the experiences of those who have.

[oliondor]

This is China...

[LifeinAsia]

This is China...

Yes and no- you might say that if you were Chinese, but you most likely would not say that if you were Taiwanese. That's on the political front.

Culturally, it's also a yes and no. China/Taiwan share thousands of years of Chinese culture, but a 60+ year separation by Communism/democracy (at a broad level). Besides the political aspect, there's a huge cultural difference in the ideologies.

There's certainly corruption and crime on both sides of the South China Sea. But I wouldn't write off an order just because it comes from Taiwan. Certainly do your normal due diligence in deciding whether to process the order or not.

[lucy24]

It doesn't have to be a hotbed for fraud. They only have to defraud you. This is obviously easier to achieve if you are in a different country at the opposite end of the planet from a vendor.

Mid five figures? Unless your ordinary products are in the upper six figures so the present purchase is peanuts, don't send anything until the check has cleared.

[votrechien]

I don't think of Taiwan or China as inherent hotbeds for fraud, no more than other Western countries (which isn't exactly saying anything).

If it's a significant order I would qualify this person very heavily. Technical questions related to the product I find do the trick quite well "Do you mind me asking what you're using the products for?". Scammers get scared off pretty easily.

Now with all of that being said, if you're sending something to China/Taiwan/Hong Kong there's a pretty good likelihood they may be ordering it to copy. If they say they want to be resellers of this product that perks my ears even more. They might do a couple of orders do gauge demand but eventually if it's easily copied they likely will.

[akmac]

Thanks-I appreciate the replies! These are items that cannot be copied (they come from the earth), and as such have a high collector value.

I've gotten more information from the buyer, and am going to start with a smaller order, paid for in advance via wire transfer. If that goes OK, we'll fill the rest of the order (one at a time to start with).