My Alibaba Buyer Contact

 Assignment Part I

 Below are question for you to ask the prospective buyer that you have chosen on Alibaba.com.
Copy This Text To Send To Buyer:

I am a student at ____ High School in Dallas, Texas, America. I have a lesson in my Economics class to learn how to open my own export business. I saw your company's request to buy used ____ . I have chosen your company for my lesson. Can you please answer the questions below: Please give a thorough description of the items that you wish to buy, including any specific traits.

To Translate The Text:

1. go to this page http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html
2. paste the text in to the left side of the translation box.
3. Do not type in A. Maceo Smith in to the blank before High School, or it may translate strangely (you will type this in later).
4. Do replace the blank with the product description.
5. Note how carefully I chose the words to avoid any translation mistakes; I was also very careful not to misspell words.
6. The left box's translation is set to English by default - leave it this way. Above the right hand box, choose the language that your buyer speaks; you may need to research the language for the buyer's country. If the buyer is from China, choose Chinese Simplified. If the buyer is from Taiwan, use Chinese traditional.

Contact The Buyer: Find the buyers post on Alibaba and click the "Contact Now" gold envelope icon. Paste the translated text into the email. Make sure to type in A. Maceo Smith in to the blank. Click the "Send" button.  
To Get Class Credit For This Activity:  
Still in Alibaba,

1. Click My Alibaba
2. Click on Message Center
3. Click on the "Sent" folder
4. Click on and open the email that you sent
5. Make sure that the alibaba window is fairly small (not full screen)
6. With your cursor on the alibaba page, on your keyboard hold down the key and click the button (on the top left side of your keyboard) - you will not see anything happen
7. Open the Paint program (Start - All Programs - Accessories - MS Paint and paste
8. Save the file to your desktop as your name and file type .jpg
9. Log into blogspot
10. Open a new post
11. Click to insert a picture
12. Browse to the .jpg file
13. Title your post "First Inquiry To Buyer of _____ in _______ country."

Assignment Part II

Check your Alibaba inbox. Once you receive your buyer's response, you are to translate the questions below and send them to the buyer.
Questions to ask buyer in a follow up email

1. What will you use this product for?
2. How many of these items do you want to buy each time?
3. How often do you want to purchase these items?
4. How much are you willing to pay for these items? If you have a range of how much you pay, is the difference of low and high prices based on condition or something else?
5. How do you require the items to be packaged? (boxes, wood crates, pallets)
6. Do you require the items to be shipped by air or ocean?
7. Do you require the goods be shipped with a specific freight company?
8. Do your suppliers usually issue you a letter of credit? What terms do you expect on the letter of credit?
9. Are there any import restrictions in your country for that item?
10. Are there any import taxes on this item? If so, will you pay for these?