Frequently Asked Questions

I am an exporter. What can I do to promote my company and market my products?
There are many opportunities to promote and market your products or services on Foreign Trade Online. Simply follow these steps:

1. Firstly, register your company and introduce your company to the global trade community. Membership and services are completely free.
2. Once you become a member, your company can participate in the largest global B2B community. New customers can now easily find your products and services.
3. Add all your products and services to the Showcase and start promoting and marketing to the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
4. Create and manage sub-accounts for sales rep in your company.
5. Research your market and competitions with access to vast reference library with import export resources, market information and statistics.
6. Receive inquiries and communicate directly with potential customers on-site.
7. Access to database of buyers and importers.
8. Access to buy trade leads database.
9. Pro-actively contact potential customers directly.
10. Network and share with companies in the B2B community.
11. Access to additional special service options to promote and market your business.

Are there Gold membership? What are the services for free members?
There are no Gold membership or Premium membership at Foreign Trade Online.

We believe every company around the world should have an equal opportunity to freely access the world market and promote their products or services and not spending thousands of dollars on Gold or Premium membership.

As a member at Foreign Trade Online you can enjoy all services for FREE:

1. Post products and trade shows pages
2. Set up a company products and services showcase
3. Send and receive unlimited inquiries
4. Send and receive unblocked messages
5. Set up free company web site
6. Set up and manage sub-accounts for salesmen or regional offices
7. Send quotations to buyer's requests
8. Search and contact importers directly
9. Post buy requests
10. Request a freight quote for shipment
11. Receive direct contact from customers via Skype

And more...

If you require special services, you will have access to the special service Options to market and promote your business.

You are encouraged to join as a Lifetime member where you will able to try out some of our most popular optional services for free and at the same time help support Foreign Trade Online's operation.

How can I move my products and services to the top of the search list or its category?
You can set up keywords for your products, services or events you want to rank higher and display on top of the list when users search for the keywords or the category.

(Please note that this is for exporters and event organizers only. If you are a freight forwarder, broker or other service company, you can use the Marketing Option for ranking.)

Here are the steps:

1. Sign into the member area.
2. Select Marketing & Promotions
3. Select Options
4. Select Keyword Ranking Option
5. Choose one of the Options packages listed.
6. Go to Keyword Bidding
7. Find out the current bid for your desired keyword.
8. Apply the keyword to your product or event.
9. Your product or event will now move to the top on search of the keyword.
10. Your products or event will also move to the top of its category if your keyword has higher bid than other keywords in the same category.
11. You pay nothing to move to top of the list and category, until someone click on your link.

How do I add a product to the showcase?
1. Sign into the member area.
2. Select Display New Products under Business Central.
3. Enter all the information for the product.
4. Click Preview.
5. Click on Browse to select a product photo from your computer.
6. Click Upload Photos to upload the photo.

Once you see the uploaded photo displayed, you have successfully added the product to your Showcase.

How do I join Foreign Trade Online? Is the membership free?
You can join Foreign Trade Online by registering your company at https://www.foreign-trade.com/register.htm The membership and services are completely FREE.

How to find the HS Code for my product?
You can find the HS Code (Harmonized System Code) for your product from the HS Code Database

If you are unable to find the precise match for your product, you can sign up for the HS Codes Option to access the country-specific 8-10 digits HS Codes, which will provide a more detailed breakdown of the product categories as well as additional information such as tariff/duty rates for the product, etc.

I am not able to sign in or send inquiry even when I entered my ID and password.
There is a known issue with Chrome. When you have problem signing in or sending inquiry please clear your browser's cache by following the steps:

1. Go to Chrome browser Settings
2. Find "Privacy" under the Settings
3. Click "Clear browsing data"
4. Select "Cookies and other site and plugin data" and "Cached images and files"
5. Click "Clear browsing data"
6. Close the Chrome browser
7. Restart the Chrome browser

You should be able to login or send inquiries after the above steps. If you are still having problem, please contact our webmaster

I did not receive my activation email
There can be a few reasons why you did not receive the activation email:

1. You have provided a wrong email address - In this case, please contact the Webmaster and provide your ID and password and we will look into it.
2. The mail has gone into your spam folder - Check your spam folder for the activation email. Be sure to white-list emails coming from foreign-trade.com
3. Your email box is full - Your email provider gives you a limited amount of space and you have reached the limit. All subsequent emails will be rejected. Be sure you have enough space in your account to receive emails.

Once you have confirmed it's not any of the above, you can request the activation email again at http://www.foreign-trade.com/request.htm

I forgot my password. How do I retrieve it?
You can reset your password by going to http://www.foreign-trade.com/members/forgot.htm An email will be sent to you. Follow the link provided in the email to reset your password.

What is a Lifetime Membership?
By enrolling in our LIFETIME membership, you will help to ensure that Foreign Trade Online will continue to offer quality free services to the entire trade community.

We have been serving the global trade community since 1999 on a non-profit basis. Thanks to the growing community, we need your support to help to move to the next level.

As a token of our appreciation, you will receive a FREE Welcome Package (value over $120) with our most popular Option services:

1. Upload permanent company logo.
2. Receive buy requests/trade leads automatically (Export/Import/Others).
3. Company certificates for credibility score.
4. One year Marketing Option service.
5. $5 credit on Keyword Ranking Option (Export/Import/Trade Shows/Others)
6. Contact Option 5, for 10 days
7. HS Codes Option unlimited for 10 days

These are in addition to all the services that we offer to our members.