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A Veteran's Blood-and-Tears Warning in Foreign Trade: Stop Competing Unhealthily and Falling into the "Credit Sales Trap"
By Ben LeeFebruary 25th, 2026548 views
Hello, I'm Ben from GorgeousBen Fashion. I started in foreign trade right after middle school and have been in the garment industry for over 20+ years, a bit of an old hand in this field. Recently, you've all probably seen that shocking news story – a scammer from Jordan cheated suppliers in Yiwu out of 17 containers of goods, worth tens of millions of RMB! Some reports say 23 containers.
Anyway, it's another lesson costing tens of millions. The scammer's playbook wasn't new: smooth cooperation and timely payments for the first few orders to build trust, then place large orders and negotiate credit terms, finally disappearing with the goods, leaving a mess behind. I've heard and seen too many stories like this. It doesn't just happen in Yiwu, or only with people from a certain country; it happens everywhere business is done, every single day, just on different scales. While the scammers are despicable.
I want to speak from the heart: Often, we are the ones who hand the knife to the other party. Chinese in business face a persistent "curse": cut-throat price competition to snatch customers. To win orders, prices are slashed again and again, until profit margins are razor-thin. When there's no advantage left in conventional terms, what happens? We start competing on payment terms – "Others ask for a 30% deposit? Then I'll do 10%!" "Others demand balance against copy of Bill of Lading? Then I'll agree to payment 30 days after goods arrive!" This isn't doing business; this is gambling. You're betting on the customer's integrity, betting on your own luck. But have you considered that for many buyers, the profit from one successful scam might be enough for them to live comfortably for years? When the temptation is great enough, so-called "integrity" is easily discarded. Over these twenty-plus years, I've seen countless factories and trading companies slide from being "owed money" into the abyss of being "defrauded." The debt piles up, and then the customer vanishes – phone calls unanswered, emails ignored. Isn't that being cheated?
And it's not just foreigners cheating Chinese; Chinese do it to each other too. The deadliest is that "gambler's trap": A new customer places a few small initial orders, pays promptly, building preliminary trust. Then, they place a large order with a tiny deposit, or even none at all. You invest costs, arrange production. When the goods are almost finished, all printed with their exclusive logo, they say: "Cash flow is a bit tight recently, can the balance be paid later? Go ahead and ship." What do you do? Ship the goods? You're gambling, betting they'll pay after receiving them. But once the goods are gone, you've lost all your bargaining chips. Don't ship? That pile of custom-made products with someone else's logo is now scrap.
You can't even sell it as regular stock. The loss is devastating. So many peers get trapped exactly like this! On the surface, the factory seems bustling and prosperous, machines humming, busy as can be. But behind the scenes, they're operating on tens of millions owed by customers, walking on thin ice, surrounded by risks. How do we break this vicious cycle? Based on over twenty years of hard lessons and reflection, the core principle is this: Business is not about who grows bigger or faster, but about who operates more steadily and survives longer. Let go of the blind worship of "volume." When your strength is still limited, why force a grand scale? Keep your team lean, your overhead controlled. Start small, solid, and steady. Expansion should come after you have accumulated sufficient capital, developed a mature risk-control system, and gained a thorough understanding of your customers. My team and I now adhere to these "ironclad rules."
Sharing them here, hoping they might offer some insight: Firewall #1: Charge for samples. For new customers, charge for samples without exception. A customer unwilling to pay for sampling likely lacks sincerity or is just shopping around for quotes and free samples. This small fee is a litmus test for filtering clients. Firewall #2: Credit checks and deposit thresholds. Conduct basic due diligence on any new customer. For customers from regions with better reputations, consider Letters of Credit (LC). For all others, a minimum 30% deposit is non-negotiable. For special custom items, low minimum order quantities, or niche market products, increase the deposit to 50%. Don't be afraid of losing an order; be afraid of accepting an order that could ruin you. Firewall #3: Monitor the process, adjust dynamically. A customer's behavior during the production process is a mirror. Do they reply to emails and messages promptly? Is their communication professional? Do they provide feedback (like approvals, test reports) on time? If we sense delays, unprofessionalism, or unreliability during the process, we immediately heighten our vigilance and firmly switch to "payment in full before shipment." Cooperation is a two-way street. Their reliability determines our level of trust. Firewall #4: Specialize deeply, prioritize value. Don't accept every order that comes your way. Don't get sucked into endless price wars. Identify the product categories where you have an advantage, dig deep, focus on quality and stability.
Adhere to "slow work yields fine products." Attract truly good customers with your products and professional service. When you offer value that isn't easily replaced, you have the leverage to negotiate terms. Peers, compatriots, the market is vast, but our hard-earned money and livelihoods are singular. Let's not allow the tragedy of "low-price bidding -> credit sales trap -> loss of goods and payment" to repeat itself generation after generation. Let's start with ourselves to break this curse. Pursue healthy profits, establish strict rules, serve quality customers. Business is a marathon. Steady, consistent progress is what gets you to the finish line smiling. May we all travel far and steady on the path of foreign trade, and sleep soundly at night. — Your friend, Ben, the foreign trade veteran.
