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I'm looking for the word for retailer or vendor that sells goods abroad. I may be wrong but my understanding is that 'retailer' and 'vendor' are used to denote sellers of goods that you would directly go to in order to buy the goods.

The example sentence for the word I'm looking for is below:

We get a lot of our mangoes here in the UK from ***** in Pakistan and India.

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – tchrist ♦
    Jan 16, 2021 at 20:04

3 Answers 3

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An exporter is a person or business which sells goods abroad.

An importer is a person or business which buys goods from abroad.

Your example sentence would read:

We get a lot of our mangoes here in the U.K. from exporters in Pakistan and India.

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  • Although this is a correct answer, it should be noted that average English speakers (as opposed to lawyers, customs officials, etc.) would use these words only for businesses, and only if they export/import goods fairly regularly. In everyday communication, it would be very odd (although technically correct) to use the word importer for an individual who made an one-off purchase from a retailer in another country.
    – jsw29
    Jan 15, 2021 at 17:00
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    jsw29: I disagree that it would be very odd to use importer/exporter of people. Exporter/importer are commonly be used of an individual who regularly imports or exports goods as their profession, and are also used in customs forms, documents, and regulations to refer to an individual or company bringing goods in or out of a country. The words refer to the role in a transaction. Similarly, someone who ice skates once a year would be called an ice skater while on the rink but not when they left it.
    – Stuart F
    Jan 15, 2021 at 17:47
  • On the Seinfeld TV show, Art Vandelay was an Importer/Exporter
    – Owen Reynolds
    Jan 15, 2021 at 23:41
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We get a lot of our mangoes here in the UK from exporters in Pakistan and India.

An exporter is:

a person, country, or company that sends goods or services to another country for sale. (from Oxford Languages)

Such companies can also be called:

International/overseas/foreign traders (see more synonyms in WordHippo)

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Drop shipping is also another way to send product abroad.

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  • Is "drop shipping" a term applied to the vendor or the process of shipping?
    – KillingTime
    Jan 15, 2021 at 17:36
  • What is the term which would fit the stars in the question? If it's "drop shippers" then a quote from a reputable source recognising and defining the term would also be needed.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Jan 15, 2021 at 20:55
  • Welcome to ELU. You'll need to provide more explanation or evidence for such short answers. You can edit them in.
    – Martin F
    Jan 15, 2021 at 23:47
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    "Drop shippers" is an illogical answer, since there is no reason why the drop shipping company should be in the same country as the supplier of the goods (and often, they would not be).
    – alephzero
    Jan 16, 2021 at 2:15
  • To me, "drop shipping" is where a wholesaler sends items direct to customer, and bills the reseller. The Reseller charges the customer a marked-up price. The goods have a packing slip but no pricing with them. Goods paperwork may come with the reseller's logos, but may also be blank. The reseller does not see or handle the goods. This is done to reduce stock-on-hand for items that are not hot sellers.
    – Criggie
    Jan 16, 2021 at 10:55

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