In cross-border e-commerce, there are two basic ways of transaction negotiation: oral negotiation and written negotiation. Oral negotiation is when the two parties use the Internet to negotiate transactions. The main methods include: Internet online services (for example, Skype), cross-border telephone, WeChat voice, etc. Written negotiation is when the two parties negotiate transactions through email, fax, telex, letter, telegram, etc. Sometimes oral and written forms can also be used in combination.
At present, the following communication channels are commonly used in cross-border e-commerce:
1. Email
At present, the use of email for business contact is widely used in international trade. Sending email is not only easy to operate, but also suitable for the needs of trade: it is not restricted by time and place, and can be sent and received at any time; extremely low communication cost; can send and receive files with diversified information carriers, such as photos (pictures), links, PDF format files, etc. It is the main way to communicate business in writing.
2. Instant messaging software Skype software is an online instant voice communication tool. There is a computer version, and it supports Android mobile phone version, etc.
Skype has functions such as video chat, multi-person voice conference, multi-person chat, file transfer, and text chat. Skype Internet phone software allows people who use Skype to make free calls and free video calls. Skype is the preferred communication method for traders to communicate verbally under the current cross-border e-commerce mode.
3. Fax and network fax
Fax is the fastest growing non-telephone telecommunications service in the past two decades. The communication method of converting text, charts, photos, etc. recorded on paper into electrical signals through scanning and photoelectric conversion, and transmitting them to the destination through various channels. At the receiving end, a series of inverse conversion processes are performed to obtain a copy of the record similar to the original manuscript sent. This is called fax. Fax is a telecommunication signal based on PSTN that relays fax signals through equipment. Due to the rapid development of communication technology, electronic network fax has gradually become a new generation of communication tools that replace fax machines.
Network fax is a fax storage and forwarding based on PSTN (telephone exchange network) and the Internet, also known as electronic fax. It integrates telephone network, intelligent network and Internet technology. Its principle is to transmit files to fax servers through the Internet, convert them into universal graphic formats received by fax machines by the server, and then send them to ordinary fax machines around the world through PSTN. Internet fax uses three common methods to send faxes: client, web browser, and email.
Online transaction negotiation does not mean abandoning various effective forms of trade contact under face-to-face communication between the two parties, such as participating in various trade fairs, negotiation meetings, trade group visits, inviting customers to visit, etc. These are still important ways to negotiate transactions in international trade. Under different conditions, different negotiation methods can be used, or a combination of multiple methods can be used.