Someone Has Offered You a Deal. Know What to Ask Before You Pay.
15 questions about the transaction in front of you, read against the protections that decide whether a buyer is exposed. You will get back the specific gaps, what each one exposes you to, and how to close it. This is a checklist to work from, not a verification: it issues no approval and clears nothing.
- Takes about three minutes
- No sign-up, no email
- A checklist, not a verification
- Runs in your browser, nothing is sent or stored
Money
Have you been asked to pay anything at all before seeing and testing the goods?
Including tax, clearance, export fees, documentation, storage or a refundable deposit.
Is payment structured so that funds release only after independent verification?
Escrow, a letter of credit, or payment on assay through a bank.
Testing
Can you commission your own assay, at a laboratory you choose?
Would you or your representative control the sampling?
Watching the sample being taken, sealed and transported to the laboratory.
Documents
Have you confirmed at least one document directly with the authority that issued it?
Contacting the ministry, registry or agency yourself, not through the seller or a number they supplied.
Does every certificate and licence carry a reference number you could check?
Do the names, spellings and entity details match exactly across every document?
The counterparty
Have you confirmed the company is registered and its licence is current?
Does the licence holder match the person or company you are actually dealing with?
The site
Can you locate the mine, warehouse or facility independently?
Finding it on mapping or in a public register, rather than only through directions they gave you.
Would they accept a visit arranged by you, at a time you choose?
Including an inspector or lawyer you instruct, rather than a tour they organise.
How it is being sold
Is there a deadline, an expiring price, or another buyer being mentioned?
Are you free to involve your own lawyer, inspector or bank without resistance?
Has the whole relationship stayed on messaging apps and personal email?
Rather than company domains, registered addresses and formal documentation.
Is the export route lawful and documented end to end?
Export permit, certificate of origin, customs declaration, and a named carrier.
0 of 15 answered. Answer what you can and leave the rest.

