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Paying by check

by anton433
5 replies
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I have a furniture eCommerce store and I just found a supplier in the US that would fit well in my store and they are interested to work with me. The problem is they only offer me one method to pay them: by check. I don't really know anything about checks since they are not really used in my country.

Does anyone know if there is an easy way for me to pay this American supplier by check? I live in Europe and I don't have an American bank account. I guess I could ask my local bank for a check and send it to the US but I think the expenses would be outrageous and it would be very slow and a little bit risky too. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
#check #paying
  • Profile picture of the author Canadianajones
    Pay by check in these days?

    Well it could be done, but do they understand that you are in Europe? Most companies these days have moved into electronic versions of payment. Consider asking them if they have the capability of E-check. This way it is similar to a paper cheque but is converted to an electronic payment and processed through the typical Automatic Clearing House (ACH for short) network. This is a secure, fast and efficient way to process checks. Sending a paper check across the pond would be a nightmare both in terms of time, and currency fluctuation if you did not have a $US account and pay in USD.

    If they are a decent supplier, they should either have this capability, or be in the process of getting it. Hope this helps,
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    That seems awfully suspicious they would want to be paid by a foreign check - out of all of the suppliers I've worked with, in the United States and Internationally, I haven't found any that were worth doing business with that didn't prefer (or require) wire transfer or ACH.

    How much do you actually know about this company? I'd be looking for another supplier.
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  • Profile picture of the author rodsav
    Paying by check with all the technology - doesn't sound right. I would do some more investigating - doesn't sound right.
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    • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
      Well hold on a second folks, before we just to conclusions let's consider a few things.

      1. Are they a small artisan business?
      2. Have they ever drop shipped before?
      3. Have they every dealt outside of retail customer or local wholesale?

      You would be surprised at the number of small businesses that work in cash and check and nothing else. I had a web design client that paid me in cash the other day. Talk about screwing me up!

      If they are small and you have nice fat margins, then consider if this is the case. If this is the case, then maybe they just don't know about all of this and like the new retail outlet. Instead of just poo pooing it, talk to them about being paid via PayPal. If they are worried about the fees, then walk them through setting it up. Offer to cover the fee (if you have 50% Margins what is a loss of 5% to sell something unique).

      That is just my take. Remember there are tons of people that never work with technology, are scared of it and don't know how it works. That to me, while a bit of a warning sign, is also an opportunity not to be missed.
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  • Profile picture of the author anton433
    OP here. I'm pretty sure they are a legit company. I see their products for sale on a couple of other online stores and all communication from them has been very professional.

    Also these aren't very high ticket items so I won't go bankrupt even if this was a scam.

    They are just a quite small artesan business like someone mentioned. They are drop shipping for others but I don't know if they have ever had a foreign customer before.

    There was actually a very easy solution to my problem. Banks here offer a payment method called SWIFT-check. It works like this: I go to my local bank and buy the check. They have a cooperative bank in the US that actually writes the check and sends it to the recipient. Fees are quite reasonable too. I was very surprised that this kind of option exists.
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