但是，In fact，In the ever-changing world of trade，On the one hand，We cannot look at trade terms in a static way，If there is a micro friend said，It is hooliganism to talk about trade terms without referring to the method of payment;second，Risk actually means more than just damage or loss of goods;Third, many buyers and sellers do not really bind and regulate their behavior through so-called trade terms or even contracts，But even if the other side breaks，And we can't do it anymore，What about us？International trade disputes are difficult to settle by litigation, and everything should be settled on the negotiating table as much as possible。
Therefore, as a seller, we cannot rely on the so-called contract or trade terms, what we have to do is to try to take into account all the potential risks and minimize the possibility of these risks occurring。
Looking back, in the current international trade, which is more risky, CIF or FOB？I don't know, my opinion is, because it has to be combined with the actual situation。Therefore, there is actually no so-called standard answer to this question, it is just to see who can come up with different considerations for more situations。
There are several aspects that FOB risk is high
1.If the payment is made later, the freight forwarder can easily collude with the buyer to lend money to the buyer without the buyer paying the balance。
2.If the customer finally refuses to pick up the goods, the FOB specified payment is not within our control, whether it is returned or resold, the operation is very troublesome, and it is easy to generate late fees。
3.In the case of FOB, the local cost of the customer's designated freight forwarder is often higher than that of the CIF case。
4.In the case of CIF, if the delivery is delayed by several days due to late production, it is possible to apply for LATECOME to meet the delivery requirements of the letter of credit, but in the case of FOB, it is difficult to obtain additional support from the forwarder to the seller。
There are several aspects to CIF high risk
1.The CIF process is complex, and the more complex it is, the more error-prone it is, and errors may occur。For this, we can take a simple example: the buyer asks for shipment before January 15, because the GRI freight will increase after 15 days。Take FOB as an example, if the cargo agent designated by the buyer cannot book the space, the ship will be returned, and the freight will increase by $500 / container, then the responsibility is not with the seller。But in the case of CIF, this responsibility is properly placed on the seller。
CIF will be responsible for the delivery of the goods to the port of destination and will be the responsibility of the buyer until the arrival of the goods。This statement is definitely wrong in theory, even if the CIF goods pass the ship's rail at the loading port, the liability and risk will be passed to the buyer。But the actual situation, of course, this point also depends on different customers。And in case of CIF，Even if there is a loss，Insurance companies get involved，Most afraid of CIF results forget to buy insurance，Or take a chance and not buy insurance，I have a friend who forgot to buy insurance when doing CIF，The ship hit the rocks anyway，And her container fell into the water，The blame fell squarely on the seller。
概括：
First of all, whether FOB, CIF or other, are not static existence, we must be combined with some practical issues to consider, such as payment methods and so on。
FOB and CIF, the transfer of goods ownership is actually based on the invoice, but CIF because the seller has mastered the payment for goods, the ownership of the goods is more firm, especially when the goods are paid after the payment。
Freight forwarding is a very important part of international trade, who has mastered the freight forwarding, who has more initiative, so in general, in fact, I prefer the seller to do as much as possible CIF。In the past, when I was in sales, I would quote CIF prices to the customers for reference before each shipment, and doing CIF would sometimes bring extra profits to the sellers。
Similarly, as a buyer, there is more tendency to FOB. In addition to taking the initiative to consider, more basic services from overseas freight forwarders to imports, from communication to operation, can provide more convenience to buyers。