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I-linternational marketing have curtailed export business plans for many small businesses.

The Internet, however, can help businesses of any size perform low cost, online research into possibilities of selling products abroad. Good trading sites and search engines can lead you to prospective buyers, as well as provide you with details of the companies.

Utilize excellent search engines such as Infoseek, Alta Vista or Web Crawler. Try inputting a combination of words which would lead to information on potential buyers of your products. For example, if you are looking at a specific market such as the Middle East for your building products, then try a combination of words such as "UAE." "Dubai." "building materials," "construction," "trading," etc., and you will get several Web pages of companies, trade bodies, private consultants, and even trading sites connected with your product and target country.

A search might uncover such wonderful sites as www.con-all.com (dedicated to the construction materials business in the Middle East) or www.arabnet.com (focusing on busi-

Good trading sites and

search engines can lead you to prospective buyers. nesses in the Arab world). A similar search targeting Africa might lead you to www.mbendi.com, which features an extensive trading facility for corresponding with thousands of African companies.

General trading sites offering leads on a wide range of products and commodities far outnumber "businessspecific" sites that focus on a particular commodity or a product. There is, however, a tendency among businesses in developed countries to use portals promoted by associations relevant to their trade. Yet, for export, import and third country trading, several "all products" trading sites are at times far more useful than specialized trade sites.

Among the better multi-product trading sites are www.alibaba.com, where thousands of new trade leads get registered daily. There are several product categories, covering almost the entire range of products and services traded globally, and by the second click you can reach your desired product category. Also featured are a search facility incorporating a key word search, a trade lead search, and an "alert" facility, notifying inquiries of your interest by e-mail.

A high number of offers to buy in a wide range of product categories are also registered daily on www.worldbid.com. The site includes a superb "alert" facility.

You will find a large listing of trade inquiries on www.ec2l.com, which additionally has a great search mechanism. Www.eckorea.net has similar features, plus an excellent trade classification system and a systematic leads posting and retrieval system.

Among the dozens of other great sites are www.swissinfo.com, www.allproducts.com, www.tradezone.com, www.netsource-asia.com and www.digilead.com. One can really exploit the advantages of such sites by posting and updating buy and sell offers, regularly utilizing the search and alert facilities, and posting trade leads under all possible business opportunities.

Product- or business-specific sites can similarly be located via a search engine by entering words or phrases such as "tiles," "flooring," "stone," or any other building product, along with a combination of words such as "buy," "sell," "trading," "export," "import," "offers to buy," "offers to sell," etc. Typical results would include www.floorbiz.com, www. ceramic-tile.com, www.constructiononline.com, www.buildonline. com, and www.consource.com.

If the results are too voluminous, narrow down your search to sites pertaining to businesses in specific countries and specific products in the countries of your choice.

In fact, when you register your trade inquiries with some trading sites, often you receive mailers from other trading sites, providing a plethora of opportunities for doing business through the Net.

And as the trading community increasingly embraces such sites, the product listings are certain to grow even longer.