WHO WE ARE
RajaCraft.com is an online arts and crafts trading community managed by indo.com. While our motherhship domain has always been www.indo.com, many people know us on the street by the name Bali Online, our e-travel website. If you're planning a visit to Indonesia, start at indo.com. We've been on the net since 1995 offering Indonesia as an awesome travel destination and fantastic source of high quality arts and crafts products. What we have to offer at RajaCraft.com is online cataloging, messaging and transaction services combined with great content on Indonesian art and craft styles, traditions and techniques. Our trading community is composed of pre-qualified suppliers that are required to undergo our strict evaluation process. To qualify their products must be export quality and their service world-class. At RajaCraft.com our strengths are our team, technology and network. The craft team has been carefully selected and consists of professionals with extensive experience in everything from export trade and fine art to product development and manufacturing. See "craftmaster" profiles for more details on the backgrounds of the team. Our technology development team is one of the best in Indonesia and excellent by the standards of any country in the world. Finally, our craft network is far-reaching which has helped us build a great craft community. Some of our member vendors are Internationally recognized designers and suppliers to high-end retail stores in Europe and the USA (Pier 1 Imports, Habitat, Cost Plus and others).

HOW WE WORK
At RajaCraft.com the buyer does not pay any commissions or fees (for the time being anyway ... this may change). We are a B-2-B (business-to-business) Internet sourcing solution for Indonesian arts and crafts products. We offer the products of our suppliers to qualified business buyers, not to end-users or consumers, with the exception of certain items from our Antique and Fine Art Galleries. With the evolution of the Internet as an important commercial trading platform, our business model is relatively new, but basically an adaptation of the traditional ways of doing business. We are essentially a hybrid breed or cross between an online manufacturers representative and buying agent. Our income is derived from two sources: annual subscription fees and transaction commissions. The annual subscription fee is paid by the vendors listed on our trading community. This fee is to cover design, hosting and maintenance costs. The transaction commission is also paid by the supplier and is based on FOB (port of departure) price terms. This is the manufacturer representative characteristic of the business concept. We also offer the services of a traditional buying agent including product development, sampling, communication support, quality control, logistical coordination and other basic services. Normally, the buyer pays the buying agent a commission for these services ... we are trying something new. RajaCraft.com acts as an intermediary between buyers and suppliers and all transactions will be processed through us. Our philosophy is that while the Internet bridges the gap between buyers and suppliers in many respects, it does not completely bridge the cultural and social gap and the impact it has on communication and business processes. In addition, while the Internet is evolving rapidly in emerging market economies, e-commerce solutions are still relatively limited in Indonesia and our suppliers see us as a relatively low cost Internet marketing strategy and like the marketplace concept.

FULFILLMENT & DISTRIBUTION
Getting the goods to you … that's the hard part! While the Internet has exploded with many solutions that get suppliers and buyers closer together, we are still a few years away from the "beam me down Scotty" transport technology of the Starship Enterprise and cannot yet send 40 foot containers in an e-mail attachment. Until that's possible, we will have to deal with the rather primitive traditional modes of merchandise transport; sea and air cargo. Two alternatives are possible for container cargo: FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than Container Load). FCL is the most economically feasible shipping alternative as the lower cost reduces unit shipping costs. The departure date of the goods is more flexible and can be more closely synchronized with the production schedule as the shipper is not forced to wait for consolidation, as is the case with LCL shipments, when the shipper does not have enough merchandise to fill a container and must wait until the freight forwarder accumulates enough goods of other shippers to fill a container. In fact, in some cases, it's cheaper to ship a half-full (or half-empty depending on your philosophy) container than to ship LCL, as shipping companies make good profit margins on LCL business, due to the high pricing of this container space. However, this must be looked at on a case-by-case basis. Airfreight is also feasible if the items being shipped are small and light weight, or if fast delivery is critical. If necessary, RajaCraft.com will handle packing and arrange shipment for goods sold on FOB (port of departure) price terms. The buyer bears freight, documentation and insurance transaction costs. We have an export trade service alliance with DFDS Transport and can quote very competitive sea and air cargo shipping rates once we understand your order. The main ports of departure are Bali and Java (Semarang and Jakarta). Since we are a trading community composed of many suppliers, we will consider consolidation of orders placed with multiple-vendors on a case-by-case basis. While we would like to offer this service on an unconditional basis, it's not yet feasible to do so. Our suppliers are spread throughout this 17,000-island archipelago, which provides some unique logistical challenges. Please inquire about the consolidation possibility if you are interested.

PRICES
Prices will be furnished upon request and require completion of the online registration form. We will provide price quotations on specific products after we have verified your registration information and determine that you are a bonafide business buyer. We believe that the basic energy fueling the Internet revolution is "consumer empowerment". We are not a trading company that "buys and sells" as an intermediary taking a huge markup. As previously mentioned, we take a commission only from the supplier, which means that our suppliers set their prices. We have wholesale price lists from our suppliers. FOB prices will normally be based on minimum order quantities (i.e. one 40 foot container minimum). While we do not control the pricing of the products offered in our trading community, we do encourage our vendors to offer preferred "Internet" prices in the RajaCraft.com trading community. We reserve the right to change our commission policy without notice. We are considering a buyer commission, but would like to try this new approach first.

LEAD TIMES (Production & Delivery)
Production lead times vary depending on the size of the order, characteristics of the product and time of year. Lead times can range from 2 weeks for small craft items to 2 months for larger items like furniture and even longer for knock-down houses. Stock items obviously do not have any production lead time, but most of our vendors produce to order. If a community vendor maintains stock in a cataloged item, it is indicated as such. Again, we will give you a better idea of the required production lead-time once we understand the composition and requirements of your order.

TRADE FINANCE
No major breakthroughs in Internet-based trade finance solutions yet (i.e. online LC's, etc.). So, the terms of payment are again traditional. In some cases, we will ask that the buyer and supplier settle the financial transaction between themselves. However, if there is a need we may intermediate the process. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis. As LC's are dangerous, cumbersome and a huge administrative burden, we suggest 50% of the payment by TT (Telegraphic Transfer) at the time the order is placed and the balance of 50% when the goods are ready to ship. LC's should only be considered in higher value transactions (i.e. > US$20,000). There are other financing alternatives available, please inquire if these methods do not meet your needs or if you would like additional information.

SPECIAL ORDERS
Anything is possible! We have access to some of the most powerful creative talent in the Indonesian craft scene. If you are interested in developing a new product or an adaptation of an existing one, please contact us and we will help make it happen.