Global Wholesale Product Sourcing: Verifying Australian Suppliers

Since the advent of the Internet we have experienced a scale of global trade unlike any before.  You can find a supplier these days for almost every product imaginable and whilst this seemingly unlimited choice has often resulted in a win-win situation for all participants in the trade, this ease of trade has also opened a Pandora’s Box of corruption and dishonesty of sorts.  This may sound daunting, but the trick is to prepare as much as reasonably possible before jumping into the world that is Global Wholesale Product Sourcing and E-Commerce.

For this issue, we will provide you tips and sources to help you verify Australian Wholesalers, Dropshippers, Suppliers and other Business Traders from Australia.  Keep in mind that the following suggestions are by no means a definitive way to ensure success in business between you and any given Australian Company, rather, should be viewed as more of a reference to add to your already diligent pre-dealing research with a potentially new business partner.

Whether you have obtained the business details of your potential business partner through a Wholesale Directory, a professional verification service, or simply via a search engine results page you are usually only given basic information such as the business name, website, and sometimes email and/or telephone number.  Where possible, search the Company’s website and gather as much information on the business as possible, including the actual business name – as many companies trade with other names on the Internet.  Be wary if the only email address available is one from a free email site like Hotmail, Google or Yahoo.  It’s not to say you are certainly dealing with a scammer, but it should raise questions if the legitimate business with the legitimate domain name and E-commerce website doesn’t have an email address of the same domain.

The first and most obvious point of reference when performing background research on an Australian or any Internet Business is to run various Internet searches of the business name and the domain name.  E-commerce businesses operating for any amount of time will invariably leave an impression on its customers.  There are thousands of review sites at which customers can write of their dealings with Companies, particularly if they feel they didn’t get value for money.  Be sure to read everything available and reserve your judgments; a single bad review left by an impatient customer or a jealous competitor shouldn’t be enough to get in the way of a good deal.

Specifically for Australians, there are several business reference sites and agencies that may prove useful in your search to verify your Australian Business:

ABR Website – The Australian Business Registry is an Australian Government Initiative website that allows you to search for business information of a company using their Australian Business Number, Australian Company Number, or the Company Name.  Their online services also include a Government & Business Associations Directory if the Company you’re planning to deal with claims to have direct links with the Government.

ASIC Website – The Australian Securities & Investments Commission, an independent Commonwealth Government body, is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.  You can search the ASIC registers for the company name (or number if available) for free.

Australian Gov Website – The Australian Government website is your link to hundreds of related sites.  In the services section there is a list of handy business related sites to further help in your research.

WhoIs AusRegistry Website – Here you can search for the details of the Australian Website so long as it has a .com.au extension.  Discrepancies with the information you obtain here may raise questions or give you more confidence – depending on the results.


With the information you have obtained about your potential future business partner you should be more confident to proceed with your initial transaction.  Remember that with business, whatever the context, there is always a degree of risk.  Be sure to always proceed with caution and do as much research as possible before committing to an exchange of currency.