Dealing with CNI, payment question

[Roga_Danar]

I really didnt know where to post this so I'm sorry if it's in the wrong forum.

I have been in contact with CNI for several months now and FINALY they have sent me a payment request for the PGL-III >150mW model that I wanted. They sent a proforma invoice and it has all there bank information, numbers, etc... They also said that payment should be done through Western Union. I called western union and they told me I needed some city/state code, even after I told them this was going to a bank account in China.

Does anyone who is on this forum and has dealt with CNI directly before have any information that could help me out?? I am thinking maybe I can do a direct transfer without using western union, and just having my bank wire the money. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DaFiend]

might want to fix your email with some thing like (a) instead of @, the spambots will be all over it.

 

[bootleg2go]

You do not want to be using western union at all. western union is for transferring cash to friends and relatives that you know and trust. Not that CNI is not trustworthy, but western union does not transfer the money into bank accounts, they transfer it to other western union offices and anyone with the info can just show up and get cash from western union; and since I think just about anyone at CNI seems to have access to both their fax machine and their general mailbox which everything goes through, it is just a good idea that the money goes directly into the CNI bank account and not to a western union office that any one of their employees to go to and get the money.
Here is what you need to do; take your proforma invoice down to your bank and have them do an international wire transfer. All the needed information is on the invoice, have them reference the invoice number on the commnets section of the wiretransfer. The bank will then transfer the money from your savings or checking account to CNI. You will have to use your bank as no banks I found will do it with cash, it has to be from your account to theirs. Depending on your bank, the cost will be anywhere from $35 to $50 for an internation wire. After the wire is sent, go ahead and fax or email CNI a copy of the wire so they know it's on the way. It will take about 3 business days to get into their bank account. If they have the laser you want in stock it will go out a day or two after that. It took me just over a week to get mine by fedex as it was stuck in customs for almost 3 days while they asked CNI for more information (you would think as many of these as they have sent, they would know what is needed...but they never send everything I guess)I then got a call from US customs in Anchorage Alaska where they questioned me on what I was using it for and such and as well as addition personal information as DOB, social security number, home address/phone number and drivers license number. I guess I passed their scrutiny as the next day, it was released and arrived the day after that. The last bit of information I have is that I had been warned that the customs duties/taxes would be $35-$65, but it arrived without any charges due...I thought cool, however I have a fedex account and I found out a week or so later that fedex had charged my creditcard on file with them for shipping items, $44. So expect to pay that amount on top of everything else. If you don't have a fedex account, you will probably have to pay that amount to the delivery person before they'll give you your laser.
If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

Jack

 

[Raccoon]

I suspect part of the reason they deal in Western Union, is because they don't typically [want to] handle single orders from end-users.

This may very well be some random employee "doing us a favor" because they're not set up for these kinds of orders.

 

[Roga_Danar]

thanks for the great responses guys, i also got emails and PM's regarding this matter. I will be doing a direct bank to bank wire of the funds tommorow. I am hoping that it will make it through customs without any hassels but I guess you just never know? It would REALLY stink to lose that much money. Thanks very much to everyone who repsonded, I will let you guys know if and when everything arrives and post some pictures!

 

[senecaripple]

good luck!

 

[LaserMod]

Yeah I think that random person is 'Mrs Quian' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

 

[DaFiend]

She answers all the emails /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Roga_Danar]

Yes, Mrs Qian is the lady who has helped me out also. I just completed the wire transfer using my bank, now it turns into a waiting game.....tick..tick...tick...I hate waiting!!
Anyways thanks to everyone who has helped me out, and THANK YOU /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif MRS. QIAN!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

 

[bootleg2go]

Yes, Mrs Qian is one of the names at that email, but I've had two others as will.

M. Ding
General answers from CNITRA with no email names associated
HM. Tan as well, so I know of at least 3 people answering this email. It's no big deal as they all seem very honest; it is best to just wire the fund directly into their corporate account to keep it safe as even western union say not to use their service for business transactions, only for sending cash to friends and family. remember that email is not secure unless it is encrypted and if anyone is watching(sniffing) packets, they could see the information they need to get the western union payment rerouted to their local western union outlet and get the cash without even showing any id...it is that unsecure. That is why all the ebay scammers try and get everyone to pay using western union.

Jack

 

[Shiftlock]

I just want to give my opinion here, since I've paid CNI many times both by Western Union and by bank transfer. For one or two lasers, I would use Western Union. I'm sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with bootleg2go regarding the ease of just anyone picking up a Western Union. The only person who can pick up a Western Union is the person who has the MTCN, is located in the same city you specify the money will be picked up in, and most importantly, they must present a photo identification that shows the exact name that you indicated as the recipient. In fact, I had a problem sending a Western Union payment to CNI, because I mixed up the first and last names. Apparently in China, the last name comes first. So the identification has to match the recipient's information EXACTLY. I think it's very safe to pay CNI by Western Union, and since you can do it online with a credit card, it's by far the easiest was to pay CNI. Of course, if you're buying three or more lasers, a bank transfer is the better option since you can't send that much through their online service.

 

[gecko991]

I agree Western Union is good for small transactions.

 

[Roga_Danar]

Well, my bank only charged me $30 for the transaction, so it wasn't too bad. Thought I would let you guys know that CNI is raising their prices quite a bit. A PGL-III-150mW will now cost you $850 plus shipping fees and a PGL-III-100mW will be $650, plus shipping. Also, these are no longer being rated much lower than they actually are, you can expect that they will come within 10% of the claimed output. They are starting to smarten up as far as realizing how impressive a handheld 150mW+ unit is, and charging accordingly. I am very interested to see what wickedlasers is going to try to do to these models.

 

[DaFiend]

i'd say its because they are sick of selling 1 or 2 units.

 

[senecaripple]

they'll charge about $1000. for the >150mw. if they can get any. mark my word, wl wont begin to sell them til the summer. by then you probably cant import them anywhere. they'll be another laser/pilot incident that will surely stop any shipment of lasers.

 

[Raccoon]

And then we'll be DOOMED.

D O O M E D !!!