Too good to be true, rings true, whether buying or selling in China

When I wrote blogs about protecting yourself while sourcing in China, I got a call from an overseas client who was trying to sell his wine to China.  He told me he would fly to China to sign a contract with his buyer.  The buyer approached the company selling in China and asked to buy seven containers of wine from him.  It seemed like a good thing, however “too good to be true, so he wanted to consult with me after the meeting with his buyer.

A Couple days later, my client came to me with the signed contract, “It seems we are safe, because we will not send over any goods before we are fully paid.” However, no one orders seven containers of wine for the first order, unless wine has sold very well already.  I reviewed the contract with my suspicion. The buyer will pay 30% deposit, and then the balance before the goods are delivered, so my client wouldn’t supposedly suffer any loss.  However, according to the contract, the contract should be notarized by a local notary officer in order to be valid.  Since it’s an international sales contract, both parties must pay for the notary fee fifty/fifty.   The Chinese buyer said, my client doesn’t have to go to the notary office in person, they can let the buyer to do the notary, as long as my client pays his share of the notary fee, which is equal to 6% of the amount involved in the contract.

The Chinese buyer provided a sample of power of attorney together with their bank account.