International Trade Resource Links
Just a few of my favorite sites
International Trade Articles
From time to time I post articles about the import-export business at various writer sites on the Internet. To view a few my current articles, click here.There are thousands of trade sites out there. I'm just
providing a sprinkling but these few will give you some idea of the range of
services and products available.
These are tools you'll need when you're serious about
making a bunch of money as a global trader -- and that includes
ways to use the Internet as both a tool and a money-making resource.
I try to keep this updated, but . . .
In my book, Magic Carpet! (it comes with
many of my trade packages),
I list many, many more of my favorite web sites and descriptions
of why they're valuable. I also have a few longer reviews of some
specialized sites.
I didn't even try to make this list complete. Too many of my
clients say they're flat overwhelmed by all the sites. Instead,
I've selected just a few samples of the best.
Finally, sites come and go all the time. Most of these have been
around for a while but they may have disappeared by the time you
check them out. If you find a bad site,
please
let me know.
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Probably the grandfather of buy and sell sites – especially for the importer – is Alibaba. This was one of the first sites that made the effort to provide some kind of certification on potential business partners. Since there is so much deception and misrepresentation at Internet buy-and-sell sites, this is an important feature. For the most part it seems to work well, at least for importers in the U.S. Recently one of my clients indicated that a Chinese company listed on the site was not what he claimed to be so on this site and most other buy-and-sell sites, demonstrate due diligence.
This is a
Michigan
State University site and it's one of the best jumping off points for other
websites. It has U.S. and foreign periodicals, international marketing journals,
research tools of all kinds, overseas directories, country-specific information
and lots, lots more. I know there may be better resource pages out there but this one is like an old friend.
Check it out.
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Thomas Register is an on line searchable data base of companies contained in the Thomas Register. You must register to use this data base but it's free. You can even list your company for free. If you're looking for suppliers, this is a good place to start.
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This is the International Trade Administration home page. It is the mother lode site for all of the resources, programs and information on U.S.-sponsored export assistance programs. There is also lots of news, trade statistics and market information.
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The Maritime Global Net offers access to a huge list of shippers, freight forwarders, ports, organizations, government resources, vendors and more.
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Free Translation is useful if you need a short translation of an email or letter and don't want to pay for it. You can also opt to have a real, live human being look over your text -- but it'll cost you.
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Trade Show-Advisor.com is a wonderful trade show site. Here's you'll learn everything about planning, marketing and displaying at trade shows -- and lots more. Great resource.
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Strategis is Canada's international trade and business site and it's a real gem. I talk about it in more detail in my book, Magic Carpet! but you can learn a lot about trading and researching just by visiting and clicking around, even if you're not Canadian.
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The International Business Resource Connection is sponsored by the University of Kansas and contains a host of top-notch links and other resources.
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The Federation of International Trade Associations has trade news, resources and a wonderful newsletter that is free and is published every other week. These folks have been around a long time. This site is a great clearinghouse for everything international.
Or you could just try this . . .
You can always just type some key words into a search engine to find what you're looking for. Unfortunately, you'll spend lots of time tracking down bad or suspicious sites. I suggest that new traders bookmark sites that relate directly to their product and a smattering of sites like these that can help fill in the gaps.Remember: international trade is based upon relationships. Try to avoid thinking you're dealing with a website. To make money, you've got to deal with people and you've got to develop a relationship with those people. The Internet with all its resources is a tool -- and a valuable tool -- but to make money in this business you've got to deal with people.
Good luck and good hunting!