The future is here. Will you embrace it?

[Klause]

Precisely..... L/C from an international or Canadian bank..... RBC is pretty good



Escrow is another option...

[sumdumguy]

Except if the lawyer is some crooks friend, which you have no way of knowing. Even bank managers have been known to cater to their clients. LOC are not a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination, in my experience. Au contraire!

[bgmb]

One thing is for sure, Agriville will tell you all the reasons it wont work.

[freewheat]

bgmb. I do not think heads up by guys is the equal of saying it won't work. Some of us have been burnt, and do not wish for this to happen to Klause. We want him to succeed. I hope he doesn't take slight warnings as saying there is no way it will work.

[cottonpicken]

Don't think the risk factor is as bad as some think.

Often thought the two way street would be great if you could receive inputs(fert,Chem) to the same guy you export to,but have never been able to find a company like that on those sites.

Jeez to bad we didn't have a Canadian Western Brokerage to handle this sort of stuff.

[LEP]

I have more experience than in this area than you think. I have shipped grain internationally since 1993.

I agree many companies are good, if not great to deal with. But Kijiji is no place to get a contact.

I have seen this in the pulse business many times. I once had a cardiologist from Saskatoon want to buy my lentils. He had a family member in India that wanted a couple containers of reds. Not saying there was any risk there, but wtf did he know about the lentil trade. In fact he nothing. Would have had no problem paying for the product, but wouldn't be able to execute.

If you want to hear some tales I am sure Vicki and Dave could give an endless number of examples.

My only thought is this is an area where you must DYODD. Not saying it is bad at all.

[Klause]

I used that as an example... Our container of wheat went out and we got paid immediately... that deal was facilitated over alibaba... I agree one must do their own due dilligence

[sumdumguy]

Go ahead, don't listen to experience and good will. Have a good day bgmb. After 30 years of international marketing we have met a few foxes in the bushes. SURPRISE

[dave4441]

We don't have to use alibabi or kijiji, we have people call everyday. They will pay upfront first couple times and then wham, you get comfortable and suddenly they have money problems. It's the same offer every time. Many don't know where the market is truly at in destination and don't understand true costs. They have an uncle who has a friend, who drives a taxi. I have stopped telling taxi drivers in saskatoon that I export lentils. They are all in the business and want your card.

LC are not guarantee of payment. They can be created so technically that the buyer has an out. 99 percent of the people on here shouldn't use them, myself included. Trade is made gradually through relationships and AR insurance. I have probably traded about 400 million worth of grain in last 10 years and used AR insurance once. The poison dwarf taught me a powerful lesson.

I am curious if you see additional sales of containers of wheat. Loaded on farm is simply not viable, especially as basis tightens up so much on wheat in last few months. Need a real specialty buyer that sees some story for his customer to pay the extra cost. Vessel frt is half of containers, bulk rail frt is cheaper domestically to port then cost to ship container to Vancouver. To expect any significant volumes traded this way, especially on wheat, is not likely. Can a few do it? For sure and I hope you do. But It costs money to build relationships and doesn't happen overnight.

The simple fact is, for 10 years people have been talking about source loading wheat on the prairies but it doesn't happen because it isn't really cost affective. Some believe it will happen eventually as the world is building lots of container ships and less bulk ships so frt rates could standardize. Time will tell. $5 or $10 higher costs per Mt will make or break a sale in this business. Ocean rate differences on $30 or $50 even are impossible to get around. Again, not discouraging anyone from finding that niche, just go into it with your eyes open.

[dave4441]

Sorry, looked at the kijiji add after i commented.

First thing to note is that the buyer is using a hotmail address and doesn't post a business name. That is the first sign this guy would scare me. Call the guy. I will bet a chunk of cash that he is driving a cab in Calgary.

Real buyers don't say they need 3000 MT per year. They don't tell you their needs upfront like that. For me that is always a sign of concern.