SUP-07Edition 1.0 · November 2026

Buying Through Distributors & Resellers

Getting the evidence when the seller is not the manufacturer

A step-by-step method for non-US companies buying US-origin items through distributors, stockists, marketplaces or group purchasing — to decide which information to believe when it reaches them through several hands, and on what basis they receive and use the items.

A4 PDF · 20 pages · English · 4 templates · regulatory references checked November 2026

Prices excl. VAT · single user · revisions included for 12 months

Cover of Buying Through Distributors & Resellers

What this guide settles

  • An intermediary adds evidentiary distance; it does not change the regulatory question — the item stays what it is, and the seller is a relay unless it is the source
  • A distributor holds whichever party role (§748.5) and movement role it holds in a given transaction; manufacturer-authorized is not export-authorized
  • Every export-control event needs the correct regulatory basis, not necessarily a licence — and a broken chain is a diligence question, not proof of a violation
  • Weigh by exact item match, distance and date; the STA reliance rule is specific, and a marketplace listing is a claim

What you get

  • The guide: explanations, method, conditions and limits
  • Worked examples: one item and its four lines (events, information, party and movement roles), four channel cases, information source by source, a weighing grid, red flags specific to indirect channels, the ITAR §123.9(a) rule, a composite case and ten pitfalls
  • Tools printed in the guide: four templates, including a channel map and a source and relay matrix, and a readiness check
  • Sources with section references and their verification date
  • Revisions included for 12 months

Printed tools: T1 · Channel map · T2 · Source and relay matrix · T3 · Requests by actor · T4 · Receipt and decision record · Readiness check

Contents

  1. Before you start: scope and limits
  2. Why the channel matters
  3. The rule in one page
  4. Information through the channel
  5. The method in six steps
  6. Templates T1 to T4
  7. Ten pitfalls
  8. Case study: the listing and the sheet
  9. Readiness check

What it does not cover

  • Due diligence on the intermediary itself, and diversion red flags
  • Historical authorization that cannot be found at all
  • ITAR brokering under Part 129

Assumed knowledge. How to request classification information from a manufacturer, and what a reexport and a transfer (in-country) are.

Sample pages

Cover
Cover
The rule in one page: one item, four lines
The rule in one page: one item, four lines
Weighing what reaches you
Weighing what reaches you
Template T2: source and relay matrix
Template T2: source and relay matrix
Case study: the listing and the sheet
Case study: the listing and the sheet

Open an image for the full-size page.

Where it connects

Part of a collection

Buying Through Distributors & Resellers is one of the eight guides of Suppliers & Procurement (Manage Transactions), available together at €390 instead of €89 each.

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