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FOB Commodity Trading: How a Sell Offer Works

A sell offer is a public notice that you have a commodity ready to ship. On Comdity every sell offer is on FOB terms, and you can open it to other terms if you wish.

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What a sell offer contains

A sell offer names the product (for example urea, wheat or steel billets), the quantity, the origin country, the loading port, the delivery period and the terms you accept. The more exact the details, the better the offers you receive. Quality details such as grade, size or protein content should be given in the text.

Why FOB

FOB is the usual starting point for sellers because the sale ends when the goods are on board at your port. You do not need to arrange the ship, and the buyer carries the freight cost. Read FOB vs CFR vs CIF for the full comparison.

Opening the offer to CFR and CIF

If you also want to quote delivered prices, you can mark that you are open to CFR and CIF offers. A buyer can then offer on those terms, and you will need to book the ship or have a freight partner. If you leave it unmarked, only FOB offers are possible.

What buyers send back

Buyers respond with an offer: a price and terms that fit the listing. You can accept it, decline it or answer with a counteroffer that changes the price or other terms. A deal is agreed only when both sides have accepted the same terms in writing on the platform.

After you agree

When both sides accept, they receive each other's contact details and finalise the sales contract directly. Comdity is not a party to the contract and does not hold the goods or the payment. Check the documents you will need on the export and import documents page.

Tips for a good sell offer

Give an exact loading port and a realistic shipment window. State the minimum and maximum quantity you can load. Name the inspection company you accept. If the product is seasonal, say which crop or batch it comes from. Answer offers quickly: buyers compare many sellers.

Example of a sell offer

Here is how a clear sell offer reads: "25,000 tonnes of urea, granular, origin Egypt, FOB loading port, shipment within 30 days, minimum 20,000 tonnes, inspection by an independent company at loading, open to CFR and CIF offers." Every buyer who reads it knows the product, the quantity range, the port and the time. A vague offer such as "urea available, contact us" receives few serious answers.

Quality and inspection

Write the quality terms the way the trade uses them: the nitrogen content of urea, the protein and moisture of wheat, the iron percentage of iron ore. Name the inspection company that will check quality and quantity at loading, and say whether its certificate is final. Buyers trust offers with a clear quality standard more, and disputes later are rarer.

What happens at the loading port

The buyer, or the seller under CFR and CIF, names the ship. The ship arrives and gives a notice of readiness, and the loading time starts to count. The cargo is loaded and an inspector checks the quantity, often with a draft survey, which measures the weight by how deep the ship sits in the water. When the goods are on board, the risk passes to the buyer and the bill of lading is issued. Read notice of readiness and laytime to understand the time rules.

Common mistakes of sellers

Naming a port that cannot take the size of ship the buyer will use. Promising a shipment window that the harvest, the factory or the railway cannot meet. Not stating whether the quantity can vary by a few percent. Forgetting to tell which documents the buyer will receive. A short check of these four points before posting avoids most later disputes.

Ready to trade?

Post a sell offer or a buy request, or look at the active listings of the product you need.

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