> If you were dealing with any other Asian country other than Korea, I would
> advise you to operate *exactly* this way. However, for some strange
reason,
> *every* Korean supplier I have dealt with has got to step 4 and shipped
> goods to me. They may have known me for years or just one week! And we are
> talking some big dollar orders.

Interesting.  It was Irish guys who ripped me off previously.
I told the Koreans my concerns, and that I had recently been abused, they
understand my caution.
I've spent some time in Taiwan, so I hope I didn't offend.  It was along the
lines of "We have only just met, I have every reason to believe your company
is honorable, however..."
We're still talking anyway :)

> 1. Get on a plane and make a bit of a trip out of it. Visit their
operaion,
> get some ideas, make some suggestions. Go to dinner (watch out for those
> canine dishes), have a few drinks and then have a formal handover of the
> software a day or two later. Have them have a bank cheque prepared (drawn
on
> a US Bank) and hand over a CD-ROM with the code. Have them have the tools
> ready to burn a set of chips and confirm they are satisfied.

Sounds like the best option. I am trying to avoid travel at the moment, for
family reasons though.

> 2. Another option would be to ask for a "Letter of Credit" for the
software.
> This is generally used for containers of goods, but I see no reason why it
> could not be applied to a CD-ROM. They raise an L/C which you take to your
> bank, you send the CD-ROM by FedEx to them, you submit documents to your
> bank (including the FedEx Airwaybill) and you get paid.

This sounds like a reasonable option.

> 3. A Bank guarantee. They simply raise a "Bank Guarantee" (preferably
drawn
> on a bank in your country) guaranteeing that they will pay you X by a
given
> date, provided that you supply X by a given date. The bank simply MUST pay
> your demand for payment unless they can prove that you did not supply what
> you said you would. - Very common in international business, and not as
> expensive as an L/C, but fees vary.

Hmm. Hadn't heard of this one before.
My old company did a lot of international orders, but that was all handled
by the finance guys.


> 4. Could Fedex (or the likes of) offer you a COD service? You send them a
> CD-ROM, and the Fedex guy does not leave it unless he leaves with a
cheque.
> - I would only use this for small amounts of money - if the service is
> available at all - I am not sure.

Not likely, for these amounts.

> I would go with option 1 and tell them you are a vegetarian. :-)

Nah, I've toured snake alley in Taipei, I'll eat anything that's at least
80% dead.

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