I’ve been talking to a company rep in an foreign country about importing some items. I thought things were going fine until yesterday.
I got an email saying that a lady who both the manufacturer and I know had ordered some products from him directly, was paying him directly, and I would be receiving them with the larger amount I had ordered and paid for. I wrote him to tell him that I certainly didn’t mind doing this, but 1) if I am to be the exclusive US distributor as agreed, all orders like this should come through me, not direct to him, and I set the prices here, and 2) who was going to pay for it to be shipped from me to her?
I write her to let her know when it’s due in (this Friday). She writes back and says she never ordered from him and therefore won’t be paying for it. She is not the type to duck out of an obligation. I believe her.
I am inclined to think that there may be a problem with the translation software the company uses. Sometimes it reads okay, but the majority of the time it looks like it was translated from Arabic to Japanese to Tokien High Elvish before it arrives in English. I know they were in communication. It’s possible that he legitimately didn’t understand that she didn’t want it. It IS quite odd that he would send this without her paying for it.
I tell him she says she didn’t order it.
He says, okay, fine, it’ll be all for you then, please send me the money for it.
Now, I took this as a windfall. I needed more stuff than I had the money to order originally, and I was afraid of running out due to high demand. I offer to pay him for it, but only after I had paid off the loans I took out to buy the original amount, and then I would pay the bulk discounted rate again, not the smaller-amount rate. Buying in larger bulk is cheaper per item than smaller orders, and shipping large amounts also costs less by weight than shipping smaller lots.
He says I should pay the rate he have her, which is $1 more per item than what I ordered. That’s silly. I just got an email back from him that was complete gibberish but the gist I think was that I should pay what he says.
I really want to keep this account. His product is superior to anything I’ve ever tried, and it’s a good price, too. I can see me making this available in lots of different kinds of stores as well as online and turning it into a real source of income for my family. I want to keep good relations with this guy.
But- do I trust someone that sends unordered merchandise then expects me to pay for it?
What’s my best option here? Are there any legal ramifications? I don’t have anything on paper from him as in a contract.
HennaDancer