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HOW TO SELECT AN EXPORTER FROM JAPAN
With hundreds of exporters from Japan it can be hard to find the right one for you.Here's a simple 28 Point Checklist to help you find the best Japanese Exporters of Cars, Trucks, Motorhomes, Motorbikes, Machinery and Parts.
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1. WHEN WAS THE COMPANY ESTABLISHED?
It's a sad fact, but some Japanese exporters will no longer be in business a year from now.
If you've been importing for a while you would already have seen some exporting companies come and go.
It can be a crowded market to compete, especially for companies who don't offer anything different to other exporters.
You may have seen many lookalike exporters. Some even use the same website templates from the same website designers and offer the same services. Only a minority of exporting companies have been exporting for a decade or more.
You may have seen many lookalike exporters. Some even use the same website templates from the same website designers and offer the same services. Only a minority of exporting companies have been exporting for a decade or more.
Now all exporters had to start sometime, so that's not to say that all new companies are bad.
But their chances of long-term survival are less than companies that have established their position in the marketplace, with ongoing clients and high quality niched services. It's good to ask the exporter what year they started trading and how many shipments they have made in that time.
For the record, Tsuchiyama Sangyo, the parent company of TS EXPORT® was established in 1983 and has shipped hundreds of thousands of stock units worldwide.
But their chances of long-term survival are less than companies that have established their position in the marketplace, with ongoing clients and high quality niched services. It's good to ask the exporter what year they started trading and how many shipments they have made in that time.
For the record, Tsuchiyama Sangyo, the parent company of TS EXPORT® was established in 1983 and has shipped hundreds of thousands of stock units worldwide.
2. COMPANY REGISTRATION
The exporter should be properly registered in Japan and be able to quote you their Registered Number, date of approval and copy of their approval. It should give the company status, "Yugen Gaisha", "Kabushiki Gaisha" etc.
If the company cannot give you this basic information it's possible that the company may not exist. For your own protection you should only deal with companies that are properly registered in Japan.
3. COMPANY LICENCES
What licences does the exporter hold? The type of licences that a company holds may vary with the services offered, but basic licences are a Motor Vehicle Dealers Licence and a Second Hand Dealers Licence.
Companies that offer dismantling services should also hold a Metal Dealers Licence, a Recycled Vehicle Handling Licence, a Fluorocarbon Handling Licence, and an Airbag Handling Licence. Their dismantling facility must also meet government requirements and have been inspected and approved. For your own protection you should only deal with companies that are fully licenced. These licences should be listed on their website.
4. COMPANY MEMBERSHIPS
What memberships does the exporter hold?If the exporter provides auction agent services the best practice is for the exporter to hold their own auction memberships. Membership to auctions such as USS Auction require the exporter to have assets such as real estate and to have entered into guarantor agreements.
Some exporters who cannot meet the membership requirements of the auction houses will use the membership of another company to source cars. This is not recommended for 4 reasons:
- Communication. It adds another layer in the communication chain. Auctions happen quickly and you need to have direct communication with the person placing the bids. This may not be possible if the exporter does not have their own auction memberships and is reliant on another company.
- Cost. It adds an additional cost. On top of paying your exporter, you now have to pay another company on top of this.
- Reliability. If the exporter does not control this aspect of their service then the service may be unreliable. If the exporters arrangements with the other company suddenly fall through (payment problems are common) then all of a sudden you lose auction bidding access.
- Credibility and Trustworthiness. The auction houses run financial checks on companies who apply for membership. They require the company to have substantial assets and guarantors to avoid the possibility of payment default. Not being able to satisfy the membership requirements of the auction houses says something about the financial capacity and credibility of the company that was denied membership.
Always ask these questions of the exporter:
- "What auction memberships do you hold?" The more the better, since it gives you maximimum choice. An exporter with a full set of memberships should give you access to over 140 vehicle auctions.
- "Do you hold these memberships yourself or do you place bids through another company". If the exporter has their own memberships they should be able to give you proof such as a screenshot of their bidding portal with their company name showing.
5. COMPANY CONTACT DETAILS
Exporters should have the registered address of their company in Japan and company telephone and fax numbers on their website.
The exporter's telephone and fax numbers should have the international prefix for Japan "81". Be wary of companies that can only provide a mobile phone number and cannot provide a landline phone number. A landline phone number will have a Japan Area Code immediately after the "81" Country Code.
The company should be able to provide you with a contact email address that uses the company's registered domain name. Be wary of exporters that use a free email address from services such as Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail or similar, since there is no link to the company domain name and can easily be faked and impersonated.
6. COMPANY BANKING DETAILS
Check to make sure that the bank that the exporter uses to receive funds is a legitimate Japanese bank. You can check whether the bank is legitimate with an internet search.
Make sure that the name and address for your remittance is the same as the registered name and address of the exporting company. Never send funds to a personal name or to financial institutions that are not genuine Japanese banks.
It's best if the exporter offers you a choice of Japanese banks so you are able to find a bank in Japan that has a direct relationship with one of your local banks. This gives you cheaper, faster remittances, sometimes as quick as one or two hours.
7. WHERE'S THE FOCUS OF THE EXPORTER?
Take a look at the exporter's website. Where's the exporter's focus? Is it about them? How big they are, how great they are? Or is it about you, your needs and how their services and facilities can help you get what you want?
What makes the services that the exporter offers different or better than the services of other exporters?
Does the company let you freely view listings online, get vital price information and give you the tools, services and facilities you need to successfully import?
8. CHOICE
How much choice does the exporter give you? The more choice you have the easier it is to find units that exactly meet your requirements and units at the best prices.
Traditionally, exporters from Japan would buy stock in, add their margin and then offer it for sale. However, the internet has greatly widened choice and now lets you source not just from one or two sources, but from online auctions, dealers, wholesalers, and even end users and private sellers in Japan (even if you can't speak Japanese).
Does the exporter restrict your choice by only offering only from their own stock or do they maximise your choice by open sourcing? Do they offer you this much choice?
- Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. Full coverage will give you access to over 140 weekly auctions with typically between 50,000 and 100,000 new and used vehicles at any time.
- Yahoo! Japan Auction. Usually over 1 million listings available in the Cars, Trucks, Buses, Motorhome, Machinery and Parts categories.
- Japanese Vehicle Dealers. Dealers serving the Japanese domestic market will typically have around a million new and used vehicles available at any time.
- Japanese Machinery Auctions and Dealers. Typically over 1,000 units are available at any time.
The TS EXPORT® service offers you this range and choice. In most stock categories no exporter from Japan will offer you more.
9. DAYS & HOURS OF OPERATION
Check the Days and Hours of Operation of the exporter.- Days of Operation. Can you get support 7 days a week including Public Holidays?
- Time Zone. Can you communicate with the exporter at a convenient time in your time zone?
- Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. Can you get support and translations of listings so you place buy orders on all of the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions?
Most importers from Japan are not in the Japanese time zone.
In the Middle East the time difference with Japan might be something between 4 and 7 hours. In Europe, the UK, Ireland and Africa there's a difference with Japan of between 6 and 9 hours. And in the Americas and the Caribbean there's a time difference with Japan of between 13 hours and 17 hours.
What this means is that if the exporter is only available for traditional office hours such as 9am to 5pm or 8am to 6pm then the opportunities you have to directly communicate with them are limited, and in some cases it will be impossible to communicate with them at a convenient time in your time zone.
In the Middle East the time difference with Japan might be something between 4 and 7 hours. In Europe, the UK, Ireland and Africa there's a difference with Japan of between 6 and 9 hours. And in the Americas and the Caribbean there's a time difference with Japan of between 13 hours and 17 hours.
What this means is that if the exporter is only available for traditional office hours such as 9am to 5pm or 8am to 6pm then the opportunities you have to directly communicate with them are limited, and in some cases it will be impossible to communicate with them at a convenient time in your time zone.
Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions operate from Monday to Saturday in Japan. Auction times for each day are typically available from around 7am on the day of auction. The auctions can start anytime from 8am and finish anytime from around 5pm to late in the evening in peak periods.
What this means is that you need to be able to get support early morning until late evening Japan time on all auction days in order to be able to get inspection sheet translatons and place buy orders on all of the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. You also need to be able to get support on Sundays and Public Holidays so you can get inspection sheet translations, request personal inspections and place buy orders for the following days auctions.
What this means is that you need to be able to get support early morning until late evening Japan time on all auction days in order to be able to get inspection sheet translatons and place buy orders on all of the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. You also need to be able to get support on Sundays and Public Holidays so you can get inspection sheet translations, request personal inspections and place buy orders for the following days auctions.
TS EXPORT® provides client support 7 days a week. Typically client support is available between 7am and 7pm Japan time on the days that the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions are running. This means it's usually possible to get support at a convenient time in your time zone and be able to get translations and place buy orders on all of the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions regardless of the time or day of the week.
10. COMMUNICATION
Communicate with the company representative by Skype. Ask to communicte with the person who you would be dealing with if you were to start working with this exporter.Can you understand what this person is saying? Can they understand you? How knowledgeable and helpful are they about what you are looking for? Are they available at times that suit you and your time zone?
Can the exporter give you a one on one personalised walkthrough of stock listings on your computer if you need help?
11. TRANSLATION
Because you're sourcing from the Japanese Domestic Market all of the written material about what you're sourcing is in the Japanese language. A key task for your exporter is to be able to give you accurate translations of this material into English. Nowhere is this more important than in translating the inspection reports from the Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. This gives you key information on the condition of the vehicle and lists defects. This is crucial in working out whether or not you wish to place a buy order, and if so what bid limit to set.
Inspection Reports are usually hand-written in the Japanese language and contain car slang, abbreviations and jargon. The average Japanese native speaker usually cannot understand all of them because of their specialised nature. There can also be confusion since the Japanese language does not have plurals. For example, if the report shows a defect on a sheet is it one defect or multiple defects?
So while the Inspection Reports can be useful there are times when you need an additional personal inspection of the vehicle to clarify the issues raised by the inspection report. Because of this you need to be able to have the vehicle personally inspected to clarify issues from the translated inspection report.
So while the Inspection Reports can be useful there are times when you need an additional personal inspection of the vehicle to clarify the issues raised by the inspection report. Because of this you need to be able to have the vehicle personally inspected to clarify issues from the translated inspection report.
Does the exporter have a native Japanese speaker specially trained to do the translations?
Can you get personal inspections of vehicles at the auction venue for further information on a vehicle's defects?
Ask to see examples of current translations of the Wholesale Vehicle Auction Inspection Reports. Can you understand the English translation?
Can you get personal inspections of vehicles at the auction venue for further information on a vehicle's defects?
Ask to see examples of current translations of the Wholesale Vehicle Auction Inspection Reports. Can you understand the English translation?
12. AUCTION BIDDING
Check the Auction Bidding System that the exporter uses.There are 2 ways that exporters process your bids in Japanese Wholesale Vehicle Auctions. The first is the old method of pushing a button in real time. This method has been in use for decades.
The second is the newer approach that uses the internet to process your bids in advance of the auction time.
There are 4 reasons to place bids in advance:
To reliably process bids precisely at your bid limit TS EXPORT® processes bids in advance.
- Prevent Overbidding. The "live bidding" (repeatedly pressing the button) option doesn't allow us to accurately specify a bid limit. While this bidding option displays the current price before the button is pressed, with other bidders pressing their buttons at around the same time it's never clear what price your bid increment was added to. This means you can easily end up paying more than your limit. Even seasoned professional buyers get it wrong with this old system.
- Prevent Technology Failure. While technology has improved dramatically over the last decade there can still be issues with real-time connections not being stable, dropouts, power failure etc. making real-time bidding less reliable than bidding in advance.
- Prevent Human Error. With a busy office and the possibility of several auctions taking place at once there's always the chance of human error at the crucial moment the bid needs to be placed with real-time bidding.
- Allow For Changes In Auction Schedules. While the auction houses estimate what time the vehicle will go to auction in reality the schedule will often change continually throughout the day and we don't know exactly when the vehicle will go to auction until it actually happens.
To reliably process bids precisely at your bid limit TS EXPORT® processes bids in advance.
13. INDEPENDENT INSPECTIONS
Can you get indepenent inspections of the vehicles you're interested in?
Independent Vehicle Inspections can be invaluable for learning more about the vehicles you're interested in and for some countries are a requirement before a vehicle can be imported.
14. ONLINE REPUTATION
What does an internet search reveal about the company?
The internet gives very good transparency to a company's reputation.
If you do an internet search to learn more about the reputation of an exporter with words such as "ripoff", "fraud", "scam", "dishonesty", "complaint" or "review" after the company name any bad behaviour will usually be exposed.
If you see any negative reviews ask yourself the following questions:
Sometimes an unethical importer can threaten to smear an exporter's name on the internet if they don't pay them off, so its important to get both sides and make up your own mind. Sometimes a competing service who has never used the service being reviewed may seek to discredit an exporter for their own commercial benefit.
- Has the person making the review actually used the service?
- Does the person making the review have an ulterior motive?
Sometimes an unethical importer can threaten to smear an exporter's name on the internet if they don't pay them off, so its important to get both sides and make up your own mind. Sometimes a competing service who has never used the service being reviewed may seek to discredit an exporter for their own commercial benefit.
15. JUMVEA MEMBERSHIP
JUMVEA is the Japan Motor Vehicle Exporters Association.It's the main industry body for automotive exporters from Japan.
While there may be reputable exporters who are not JUMVEA members, reputable exporters will usually be JUMVEA members. JUMVEA strikes off members who behave unethically.
16. DUN & BRADSTREET
Dun & Bradstreet are a pre-eminent supplier of information on businesses throughout the world.
The D&B research provides company information in 4 areas:
- Corporate Structure Including parent company, sister companies, subsidiary companies. etc.
- Legal Information Registration number, address, legal representatives and executives, Filings, proceedings and any lawsuits.
- Financial Information Financial accounts, balance sheets, statement of income
- Scores & Ratings Assessments of financial performance, credit-worthiness, failure risk and invoice settlement history.
Tsuchiyama Sangyo, the parent company of TS EXPORT® has been registered, investigated and monitored by Dun & Bradstreet.
17. SHIPPING HISTORY
Shipping documents are available in the public domain which means you can find out whether the exportor you're looking at really is an active exporter.
There are companies that aggregate shipping records. They provide a copy of the Bill of Lading and provide information on:
- Consignee Name
- Consignee Address
- Departure Port
- Consignor Name
- Consignor Address
- Destination Port
- Description of Cargo
- Vessel Name
- Voyage Number
- Bill Of Lading Number
While this information doesn’t say whether the service is good or bad it does let you assess whether or not the company is an active exporter from Japan.
TS EXPORT® ships in the name of their parent company Tsuchiyama Sangyo.
18. INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION
Independent verification services authenticate and verify the Japanese exporter and give you a forum to lodge a complaint.Only exporters who are confident of their integrity and services will expose their company to this kind of scrutiny. Check to see whether the exporter offers you this kind of protection, and if not why not.
TS EXPORT® has been approved and is monitored by Site Trust Network and HONESTe Online and is the only exporter from Japan to offer you the protection of triple independent verification and monitoring.
19. EXPORTER BLACKLISTS
Fortunately there are Blacklists that have been compiled from reports by importers of unethical behaviour from exporters.
You can use these lists to check for exporting companies that should be avoided.
Bear in mind that Exporters may operate with more then one company name, so it's worth checking the names of the individual business owners.
And in case you're wondering, yes, exporters also have blacklists of importers:
Assetline Blacklist GUIA Blacklist
Assetline Blacklist GUIA Blacklist
20. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES
Contact the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in your country to see if complaints have been received about the company you're thinking of working with.
Contact the Embassy of your country in Japan to see if complaints have been received about the company you're thinking of working with.
21. CLIENT REVIEWS
Look for exporters who display genuine reviews from users of their service on their website.
Reviews should contain the name and location of the person giving the review and genuine pictures.
Bear in mind that Business to Business importers are often reluctant to give an exporter a testimonial because it will reveal their supply source to their competitors.
Also, an exporter that specializes in B2B will usually do much higher volume per client than those exporters who specialise in B2C. This means that B2B exporters may have fewer clients - and fewer testimonials - even if they are doing greater overall volume than B2C exporters.
Also, an exporter that specializes in B2B will usually do much higher volume per client than those exporters who specialise in B2C. This means that B2B exporters may have fewer clients - and fewer testimonials - even if they are doing greater overall volume than B2C exporters.
Satisfied Business to Consumer clients willingly give testimonials to an exporter without asking.
They will often be so relieved to just receive what they ordered and not be ripped off they will voluntarily give glowing testimonials when their shipment arrives.
If an exporter that specialises in Business to Consumer services doesn't have genuine testimonials displayed on their websites - or worse still display fake ones - this should ring warning bells. Either the exporter is not receiving good feedback from their customers (must be doing something wrong) or can't be bothered getting the consent of the satisfied importer to put their unsolicited testimonial on their website (the importers usually say "yes").
They will often be so relieved to just receive what they ordered and not be ripped off they will voluntarily give glowing testimonials when their shipment arrives.
If an exporter that specialises in Business to Consumer services doesn't have genuine testimonials displayed on their websites - or worse still display fake ones - this should ring warning bells. Either the exporter is not receiving good feedback from their customers (must be doing something wrong) or can't be bothered getting the consent of the satisfied importer to put their unsolicited testimonial on their website (the importers usually say "yes").
22. POPULARITY
Do an internet search for "Japanese Exporter" and you'll see hundreds of results. You'll see claims on exporter websites like "Leading Exporter", "No.1 Exporter" and "Largest Exporter".
Can these all be true? You can find out whether the exporters descriptions of their company are accurate by viewing their website traffic statistics. One service for doing this is SimilarWeb.
Put the website address for any exporter into the search box then Enter to view the result. You'll then see the results for Estimated Visits and other information. If you see "Verified by Google Analytics" then you know that the traffic data has been independently verified as being accurate.
If you see "NOT ENOUGH DATA" then you know that traffic is too low to gather meaningful statistics. If companies like this are using descriptions like "Leading Exporter", "No.1 Exporter" and "Largest Exporter" then it's likely that these claims are incorrect.
Now just because a service is popular our unpopular doesn't necessarily mean it's right or wrong for your requirements. However, by knowing the website traffic you can tell whether the exporters description of the popularity of their service is accurate.
If you see "NOT ENOUGH DATA" then you know that traffic is too low to gather meaningful statistics. If companies like this are using descriptions like "Leading Exporter", "No.1 Exporter" and "Largest Exporter" then it's likely that these claims are incorrect.
Now just because a service is popular our unpopular doesn't necessarily mean it's right or wrong for your requirements. However, by knowing the website traffic you can tell whether the exporters description of the popularity of their service is accurate.
23. UNIT & PRICE VERIFICATION
Be sure to obtain the Chassis & Frame Numbers of the indivdual units that you're interested in.
If the vehicle's a Wholesale Vehicle Auction listing the chassis or frame number will usually be in the listing description and/or the appraisal sheet for that listing.
If it's a Yahoo! Japan Auction listing then the last 3 digits will usually be in the listing description.
Ideally, obtain a photo of the build plate or sticker which can sometimes give additional information about the vehicle.
Ideally, obtain a photo of the build plate or sticker which can sometimes give additional information about the vehicle.
If the vehicle is a dealer listing that has been purchased from auction you can often locate it in the auction sold listings database if you have the chassis number.
You can then verify the condition of the unit at the time it went to auction and find how much the dealer paid for it. You can then be aware of any defects of the unit and know whether the price the dealer is asking is fair relative to the price the dealer paid for it.
You can then verify the condition of the unit at the time it went to auction and find how much the dealer paid for it. You can then be aware of any defects of the unit and know whether the price the dealer is asking is fair relative to the price the dealer paid for it.
24. BILLING
Different exporters will have different ways of billing.
Industry best practice is for the exporter to clearly state what services are being billed at cost and what services the exporter is receiving cost plus margin.
Ask the exporter which services are being billed at Cost and which are being billed at Cost Plus Margin.
Some exporters will quote low service fees but add secret margins to other services like freight forwarding. Ask your exporter for a copy of the freight forwarders account and compare the amount you are charged to the amount shown on the statement.
Some exporters will quote low service fees but add secret margins to other services like freight forwarding. Ask your exporter for a copy of the freight forwarders account and compare the amount you are charged to the amount shown on the statement.
TS EXPORT® supply the supplier or auction house invoice and the freight forwarders account to clients with all shipments, which means you can verify that only the actual cost has been billed.
25. ESCROW
Escrow is a process that protects both buyers and sellers in a transaction.
When importing with an escrow service the importer sends the funds to an independent third party and the exporter is only paid once there is proof that the shipment has been made and the documents have been received by the importer.
While there is no substitute for ethical exporters and importers an escrow service like JUMVEA Safe Trade might be suitable when they exporters and importers haven't yet worked with each other and built trust and mutual understanding. Does the exporter let you use escrow?
TS EXPORT® has been approved as a member of the JUMVEA Safe Trade escrow service.
26. B2B OR B2C SERVICE
Business to Consumer services will usually be shipping only one unit at a time. Pricing will normally be retail pricing.
Business to Business services will usually ship multiple units in commercial quantities. Pricing will normally be wholesale pricing. Importers can often benefit with special benefits in return for the higher volume.
For the best result match the service to your profile, i.e. A B2C service if you're a personal importer and a B2B service if you're a professional importer.
Business to Business services will usually ship multiple units in commercial quantities. Pricing will normally be wholesale pricing. Importers can often benefit with special benefits in return for the higher volume.
For the best result match the service to your profile, i.e. A B2C service if you're a personal importer and a B2B service if you're a professional importer.
TS EXPORT® is a Business to Business specialist with wholesale pricing and special benefits to professional importers.
27. MOBILE FRIENDLY
Sometimes you can't be in the office to check listings and get information from the website.
Does the exporter have a website you can use on your mobile devices?
TS-EXPORT.com users a responsive design, which means the content of the website resizes to match the smaller screens of mobile devices. Some of the web apps within TS-EXPORT.com will also recognise the device that you're using and resize the content to match that particular device.
While a large screen desktop computer will give the best user experience, you are still able to use TS-EXPORT.com on the go.
While a large screen desktop computer will give the best user experience, you are still able to use TS-EXPORT.com on the go.
28. PRIVACY POLICY
Does the exporter have a Privacy Policy?
Make sure the exporter has a Privacy Policy that prevents them disclosing your identity to your competitors. This protects the confidentiality of the supply source to your business.
This is a vital asset for your business which gives your company a competitive advantage.
Use this checklist and you'll be able to find the very best Japanese Exporters