The content of commodity trade negotiations is commodity-centered. It mainly includes terms such as the quality, quantity, packaging, transportation, price, settlement and payment methods of goods, insurance, commodity inspection and claims, arbitration and force majeure. Product quality refers to the intrinsic quality and appearance of the product. It is often the issue that both parties to the transaction are most concerned about and is also the main issue in negotiations. The quality of a commodity depends on the natural attributes of the commodity itself. Its intrinsic quality is embodied in the chemical composition, biological characteristics, and physical and mechanical properties of the commodity; its external form is embodied in the shape, structure, color, taste, etc. of the commodity. Technical indicators or characteristics.

These features have a variety of representation methods, and the commonly used representation methods are as follows:

1) Sample representation. Samples refer to a small amount of physical objects that are initially designed and processed or extracted from a batch of goods and can represent the quality of trade goods. Samples can be submitted by either party to the sale. As long as both parties confirm, the seller should supply goods that are consistent with the samples, and the buyer should receive goods that are consistent with the samples. In order to avoid disputes, samples should generally be made in triplicate, with each buyer and seller holding one copy, and the other copy sent to the commodity inspection agency or other notary agency specified in the contract for preservation, in case of disputes between the buyer and seller, for quality verification. In the practice of commodity trading, generally when confirming samples, quality indicators of one or more aspects of the commodity should be specified as a basis.

2) Specification representation. Product specifications are technical indicators that reflect the quality of the product such as composition, content, purity, size, length, thickness, etc. Since the quality characteristics of various products are different, the specifications also vary. If both parties to the transaction use specifications to express the quality of the goods and use them as a condition for negotiation, it is called "buying and selling based on specifications." Generally speaking, buying and selling based on specifications is more accurate, and this method is mostly used in daily commodity trading activities.

3) Level representation. Commodity grade is a classification of the quality differences of similar commodities. It is one of the methods to express the quality of commodities. This representation is based on the specification representation. Similar products have different specifications due to different manufacturers, so the quality connotation of the grade represented by the same number, text, and symbol is different. Negotiations between buyers and sellers on product quality can be expressed with the help of established product grades.

4) Standard representation. Product quality standards refer to specifications or grades uniformly formulated and announced by government agencies or relevant groups. Different standards reflect different characteristics and differences in product quality. Commonly seen in commodity trade are the universal standards recognized by various countries in the world, namely "international standards"; my country has "national standards" formulated by the State Bureau of Technical Supervision and "ministerial standards" formulated by relevant national departments; in addition, there are also negotiations between supply and demand parties "protocol standard". Clarify product quality standards to express the requirements and recognition of product quality by both supply and demand parties.

5) Brand name or trademark representation. The brand name is the name of the product, and the trademark is the mark of the product. Some products are famous among users due to their high quality, stable quality, high popularity and reputation, and are familiar and praised by the majority of users. As long as the brand name or trademark is stated during the negotiation, both parties can clarify the quality of the product. However, when negotiating, you should pay attention to whether the goods with the same brand name or trademark come from different manufacturers, and whether these goods have been damaged or deteriorated due to some reasons. Pay more attention to goods with counterfeit trademarks.

In actual transactions, the above methods of expressing product quality can be combined and used. For example, some transactions use both brand names and specifications; some transactions use both specifications and reference samples. In addition, you should also pay attention to:

First, when multiple methods of expressing product quality are used at the same time, conflicts and confusion should be avoided. Sometimes the terms should indicate which method is used. Which method is the baseline and which method is the supplement.

Second, when the quality of the traded goods is prone to changes, you should try your best to collect the reasons for the changes to prevent problems before they occur. For the quality tolerance that allows the supplier to deliver goods that are higher or lower than the quality clause, the quality tolerance recognized by the same industry can be used, or the limit can be agreed upon during the negotiation, that is, the upper and lower difference range.

Third, product quality standards will change with the development of technology. During the negotiation, attention should be paid to the latest regulations on commodity quality standards. The terms should clarify which, which country (region), when, and which version of the quality standards of the traded commodities are based on by both parties, so as to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in the future. dispute.

Fourth, negotiations on other main indicators of product quality, such as product life, reliability, safety, economy and other terms, should strive to be clear to facilitate testing and identification.

Fifth, the negotiation of product quality terms should be closely linked to the product price terms and restrict each other. The quantity of commodity transactions is the main content of business negotiations. The number of goods traded is not only related to whether the seller's sales plan and the buyer's purchasing plan can be completed, but also related to the price of the goods. The greater the quantity of goods purchased after paying in the same currency, the cheaper the goods are. Therefore, the number of commodity transactions directly affects the economic interests of both parties to the transaction.

To determine the quantity of goods for sale, you must first clarify the measurement unit used based on the nature of the goods.