The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) put together a standard set of internationally used terms, known as Incoterms. They govern who bears the costs, who bears the risk of delivery (loss or damage to the goods) and who is responsible for ensuring that the goods are delivered.
They don’t cover methods of payment, or the point at which ownership of the goods transfers from seller to buyer. You need to specifically mention “Incoterms 2000” in your quotation to get the benefit of the legal framework that Incoterms provides.
As Whitehouse & Associates points out: “For example, a correct price quotation would be $100/ton f.o.b. Shanghai Incoterms 2000.”
Incoterms 2000 covers 13 delivery stages, ranging from a point which carries the minimum cost, risk and responsibility for the exporter to a point of delivery that carries the maximum obligation for the exporter, i.e. from “Ex Works” to “Delivered Duty Paid” respectively.
Once you’ve accepted the order from your seller, you will need to draw up a contract of sale, which is usually subject to the issue of the agreed letter of credit or other payment mechanism.