Trump's Tariffs and your Business

There is a story today on how Seegars Fence is seeing both challenges and opportunities with the new tariffs the Trump administration has put into affect.  

What are you seeing?  And, What are you doing?

Question of the Week - Hiring

There is story today from an Australian Radio station,  Fencing industry warns of dire times.  The big
problem is lack of workers.

Are you having similar issues?  Let us know what part of the country you're in, and how bad of problem it is?  Are you turning down work?

-Gene

Possible Scam - Warning Fence Contractors

I received this email from Kurt, who was approched about shipping fence material to Ghana. Kurt passed this on to me and was curious as to if anyone else has been approached. If not, just be warned about this scam.

This is what Kurt said:

Yesterday, I received a relay phone call (which I thought was used only by deaf people to correspond with the hearing public) asking for a price on 6 foot 11 1/2 gauge chain link fabric, looking to see if I had 2500 feet and what the price would be. After giving the person the price, I received another relay call changing the amount to 1750 feet and please send the quote via email. I did, and during the night I received an email with two credit card numbers to charge the amount to. After that transaction was done, I subsequently received an email asking me to ship the materials to Ghana, and to please use a certain freight company that this person wanted. He would be unable to arrange shipment because he was being called away to a meeting. (That rang a bell with me. I had received a email at the end of July asking for a price on a lot of 4 foot by 10 foot panels. After I responded to that email, the person emailed back that the price was fine with them and could I please arrange delivery to a West African country. This gentlemen would not be able to do so because his wife was giving birth to a baby in Australia.)

After sending an email to the shipping company that he wish to use, the person who yesterday would not talk to me in person, called me to say that the shipping company responds to emails very quickly and to please see if I had received a response. This was the same gentleman who was going to be unable to contact the shipping company because he was going to be tied up in meetings. When I read the reply by the shipping company, it requested that I pay the money for the shipping via a Western Union Money Transfer. As I read the reply by the shipping company it struck me that the amount of the charge from our location to Ghana was not enough money, nor had I given them enough information as to the size of the shipment, I had only corresponded regarding the weight, not the dimensions the total number of pieces or any of the other necessary info to actually pick up the shipment. While I am reading this email, the gentleman on the phone is pressuring me to take a new credit card number (not either of the two he originally emailed) and use the money to get the Money Transfer. I very politely, but firmly responded that he would have to take the necessary steps to make the payment directly to the shipping company, but he was extremely insistent that I take his credit card number and convert the charge to a money transfer. I refused, told him I would refund his credit cards with the charges and then said goodbye.

Again I don't know if other fence companies are being contacted by this type of transaction, but it appears that it is a scam.

Anyone else had experinces with this or other scams? Let us know.