Safe Trade — Buyer and Supplier Practices - GoodTradeCenter
Safe Trade on GoodTradeCenter
Cross-border purchasing carries three recurring risks: paying for goods that never ship, receiving goods that do not match the confirmed specification, and losing money to a party who is not who they claim to be. Safe Trade describes the practices we expect on both sides of a transaction and the steps you can take to keep each risk inside acceptable limits.
Before you pay
Confirm the counterparty. Review the supplier profile on the platform — its product range, industry and background — and make sure the bank account details match the company name you are dealing with. A mismatch between the payee name and the counterparty is the single most common warning sign.
Never pay outside the stated channels. Pay only to the account stated in the order confirmation or shown at checkout. Requests to redirect payment to a personal account, a different company, or a messaging app should be treated as a red flag and reported.
Get the specification in writing. Price, quantity, grade, packaging, lead time and Incoterm should all appear in the order confirmation before funds move. Vague confirmations are the root of most later disputes.
Start small. For a first order with a new supplier, buy a sample or a small trial quantity. It costs little and tells you more about the supplier than any certificate.
During the transaction
Keep all communication on the platform where possible, so there is a record of what was agreed.
For higher-value orders, arrange third-party inspection before dispatch rather than after arrival.
Confirm the shipping documents — bill of lading, packing list, certificate of analysis — match the order before the balance payment is released.
If something goes wrong
Raise the issue early, in writing, through the platform. Our complaint procedure requires a clear description of the discrepancy plus supporting evidence such as photographs, packing records or a test report. Claims raised within the agreed window with proper evidence are far easier to resolve than claims raised weeks after arrival with no documentation. Where the dispute turns on whether the goods met specification, an independent test report is usually decisive.
What the platform does and does not do
We provide the matching layer, the supplier information and a documented route for disputes. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, we are not the seller of goods listed by third-party suppliers and we do not hold funds in escrow. That is why the practices above matter: a platform raises the floor on transparency, but the commercial diligence on any individual transaction remains with the buyer and the supplier. We would rather state that plainly than imply a protection we do not provide.