Importer databases
and buyer directories

Choose the evidence you need

Ask what each entry represents. Is it a business listing, an observed customs record or a total for a country and product? Keep that distinction visible when comparing services.

For example, the official Canadian Importers Database provides company lists by product, city and origin country. Its documentation says those lists include customs brokers, their clients and non-resident importers. Even an import-specific directory needs a business-role check.

The USITC’s DataWeb guidance describes trade-statistics searches by trade flow, classification, period and country. Use market totals to investigate trade patterns; ask for named-company evidence when your next task is to investigate potential customers.

Check the actual product, country and period

Give each service the same product definition, destination and dates. Compare the results against that scope. A country on a coverage page does not establish that your product has matching records there during your chosen period.

• Product match: inspect descriptions and relevant HS codes. Check whether a broad category includes goods outside your offer.
• Trade direction: establish which country is importing and what the recorded supplier or export-country fields mean.
• Dates: distinguish the period requested from the dates of the records returned. A search ending today does not demonstrate that yesterday’s activity is available.
• Coverage: ask which sources and fields support your selection, and what may be missing. An empty month does not establish complete coverage or the absence of trade.

Use the research scope worksheet to keep your comparison consistent. If you are still identifying the product category, the HS code finder can help you research candidates after email sign-in. Suggestions still need classification checks.

Inspect a sample record before you buy

Look beyond a screenshot of company names. Ask to see the fields supporting one entry. Here is an observation already included in NosyDock’s public ceramic-tile sample.

This entry supplies names, a product description and a quantity in SQM. It supplies no transport type or B/L reference. A useful deliverable preserves both the original values and those gaps. Do not turn missing fields into zeroes or add unlike units into a single volume total.

For monetary fields, ask which currency and valuation basis apply. A recorded value is not a current supplier quote.

The sample examines the first returned page in each market and restricts the recorded export country to Spain. Acme, its exporter scenario, is fictional; the observations are real third-party records. The current NosyDock order form has no origin-country filter. This narrow example does not predict your own results or prove that the recorded party wants another supplier.

Understand what the company counts mean

A thousand records can describe far fewer than a thousand companies. Several product lines can share a shipment reference; similar company names can appear in different forms. Ask how a service distinguishes records, shipments and importing parties.

Retain original names and source identifiers while you investigate identity. An unverified source-party ID is not a validated tax ID. A broker, freight business, group company or manufacturer buying inputs may need a different assessment from a distributor serving the customers you want to reach.

Also ask what “verified” means. It could refer to a name, a source record, a business role or a contact detail. None of those alone establishes current buying interest. If contacts are part of an offer, check whether they are company-level details or named people, and how their relevance and freshness were established.

Compare subscriptions and one-off reports

Choose an access model around how often you need to repeat the research. Compare the complete cost of doing your task, including the data you can take away.

Subscription access

Consider it when you need ongoing searches across changing products or markets. Ask about renewal, seats, search or credit allowances, export limits and what remains accessible after cancellation.

One-off scoped report

Consider it when you have a defined product, destination and period to investigate. Confirm exactly which criteria and records the purchase covers, the total price, delivery timing, download format and whether later updates are included.

A low headline price is hard to compare without the limits. Ask whether charges depend on records, company names, contact reveals or downloads, and whether repeating or broadening the search costs more. Check the terms for using and retaining the data.

Ask these questions before you buy

Copy this checklist into your notes and use the same questions for each option. The text is not submitted or saved by NosyDock.

Check a download example as well as the online view. Confirm that it retains full descriptions, original units and missing values. Establish whether the file contains the whole purchase or only the rows currently visible in the interface.

What a NosyDock report includes

NosyDock offers scoped reports based on one or more six-digit HS codes, target importing countries and a fixed period of up to 12 calendar months. You can save the selection without attaching a price, then explicitly run a fresh preview when you are ready.

The free preview shows aggregate activity and the current estimated USD total. It does not reveal importer names or individual transactions. When you order, you accept the displayed total; the accepted report price stays fixed. After payment is confirmed, the report is prepared and made available in your dashboard.

• Explore the activity: an overview plus searchable importer and supplier views with supporting customs records.
• Narrow the view: filter the stored activity by destination, HS code or month.
• Take the records with you: download the complete stored report as CSV, regardless of the filters you are viewing. Missing fields remain blank.

Reports do not include importer email addresses or phone numbers. Recorded parties still need commercial qualification, and available records depend on your scope and source coverage.