Check out this link page........
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fob.asp
not sure whether this answer is accurate one or not.
.........profound :oops:

Really cool, thx

ah i just learned about it last week in class, there are many kinds of fob but its basically where the seller is responsible to pay for the transportation and the goods until the goods are across the side of the ship (which the responsibility is given to the buyer)
there are many three letter international economic terms like that, basically like contracts with clear outlines or who payes for what and who is responsible for what

Thanks for the info, peeps.

I can't commit to the alibaba style of forums. It looks more like a blog.
Mind if i ask a few more questions here?

I know some guy in Kazakhstan (not Borat) who owns a computer shop. He wants to try buying directly from China with my help.

My plan of action is like this:
1. Go to some electronics market and find a shop or two that sell everything that he wants to buy. I understand that dealing with a factory directly would be cheaper, except that he needs different models and brands.
2. Get the shop(s) to deliver everything to the transporting company warehouse here in Beijing. It won't be enough to fill a container, so they'll probably do it by "gray scheme" (without documents). But i dunno.
3. My job is to find a seller, check all the products, check packaging and see it off to Kazakhstan by train.

Does this sound generally correct? Consider that i'm 1 person doing this and not a company.

By comission basis it is ok. They give you a comission & you just act as a middleman. The buyer purchases directly from the seller.
If you want to buy & sell (& add profit), then you need a company.

If you don't have company, I think that the best way is that you charge a comission to your friend, as you'll buy, keep contact, control & inspect for him.

You need to clear the customs in one way or an other.

If the quantity is not too big you can use EMS economic global express service. It is cheap (there is a minimum of kgs, which I don't have in mind rigth now), & it doesn't take too long.
In this case paper work is very small (just fill in the papers & invoice that they give you).
The exporter better that is your seller.
The buyer in Kazakhstan will get an invoice, & will need to clear the customs there & pay duty taxes.
(We use this way for sending big sample orders)

If the quantity is big you need to find a customs agency.
If your seller doesn't have exporting licence, there are some companies that can make the exportation for you. A shop seldom can do this.
But for this reason it is better (easier) that if your orders are big you find a company (or factory) that can handle everything.

Additional questions:

a) Is it possible to send small shipment of electronics (10 PDAs) by regular China Post? Maybe i have 10 brothers who wanted PDAs for christmas, so what?!...

I believe that it is better to send them by EMS courier service.. it is safer, & quicker.. it is not too expensive & PDAs are not too heavy..
Note that depending on the amount that you declear when sending out, maybe they'll need to pay duty taxes in destination.

What about the receipt? Is he not requesting a receipt? that actually is a general question. Will importing foreign companies be satisfied with a chinese receipt? Is that of any use at all?

i have ever learned FOB in my university class. in the international trade class.
But now it has no relation with me, although that is my minor.
If the floorlord are doing this business, u should memory much knowledge,which is a little complicated.
cif,fob,is the common ones, i remmembered.aha

Shizo,

You need to do some more due diligence in order to determine the best wholesale price for the item that you want to order. They shouldn't be giving you retail prices when you are trying to buy wholesale. That doesn't make any sense. I would recommend calling different suppliers and asking them how much they will charge you for your order. After 5 or 6 calls, you will probably figure out the price range you should pay for the quantity(and quality) you are looking for.

After you get a "feel" for the price, you can also try to figure out the input cost for the item that you are ordering, but this will probably be very time consuming (I think). Once you know what the price should be and the input cost, then you can successfully negotiate with a supplier as to how much you should pay for the quantity that you are ordering. It's not easy but as David Lindley(see link below) from Alibaba says, "The more you know, the stronger you will be."

Finally, I strongly recommend that you go to Alibaba.com in regards to getting your import/export related questions answered. You have experts like aussie, ranger, wilhelm, businessmaninchina and others who are experts(smarter than me) and can help you out.

I hope this was helpful.

Negotiation strategies: Just how are prices set by David Lindley (http://resources.alibaba.com/article/3734/Sourcing_Stories_Negotiation_s...)

When buying in bulk, it shouldn't be like this..
But you can allways hv try, in fact they allways do
I guess that it depends on the person..

You always have to negotiate, even if you are dealing in commodities that have a generally accepted price.

Remember, someone is getting paid a commission, even if you deal direct with a factory. How much of that commission are they willing to part with to get your business.

One word about alibaba: While there are some great companies on the site, I have found that 80-90% of the people who post there are agents, most of whom are complete scam artists. Do you're homework, contact the mfgr or factory direct and demand verifiable references.

Even after all that, you still can get scammed. A few years back I was involved in clothing export (never again!) with a "firm" out of Shandong. I told my contact, who claimed to be a part owner of the factory that I did not speak a word of English. On the factory tour, I overheard the factory rep ask my contact if "our" company intended on establishing a long term relationship. Whoa, I then realised that my contact, the part "Owner" of this factory had no official relationship with the supplier at all. So, I asked to meet the CEO or someone of a similar title. Sure enough, not possible.

Thankfully, I walked away from the deal before it got ugly.

Bottom line, be careful and get references.

BTW- Here is a decent listing of shipping terms. (I've never used this company)

http://www.emotrans.com.au/incoterms.htm#cfr/cif

Just make sure that they give you the same for the price that you give them.
Sometimes they just "adapt" the product, & this won't be good..

Shizo are you working through an agency to sell goods? Are you doing his on your own? If you are doing this on your own how are you doing this. I feel you are American and if you are how are you doing it? I have my own export business in China and can answer all your questions for you if you wish without using the uncertainess of this incomplete forum. If you are American I do not believe that you can run the business effectively without Chinese aid. Anyway do not depend on the 'I THINK" or the "GO TO THIS WEBSITE" If you know what I mean.