My supplier stopped responding. What now?
Silence after a payment or purchase order is frightening, but it has a short list of real causes: holiday seasons, an overloaded factory, a changed sales contact, a company in trouble, or a scam. The sequence below sorts out which one you are dealing with, in order of effort: escalate properly, check whether the company is even alive, protect your money, and start the replacement search in parallel rather than after.
Rule out the boring explanations first
Before assuming the worst, check the calendar and the channel. National holidays stop factories for a week or more in many countries. Your contact may have left the company, so write to the general address from the official website, not only to the person. Send one message with a clear subject line stating the PO number and a specific question. Give it three to five business days across at least two channels: email plus phone, or email plus a messenger the supplier actually uses.
Check whether the company is still alive
A company can go out of business without telling its customers. The public record answers this in minutes and for free: is the company still registered and active in its national business registry, does its website still respond, is the tax or VAT number still valid. If the registry shows liquidation or the domain is dead, stop waiting and move to protecting your money and replacing the supplier.
Protect the money you already sent
If you paid by card or bank transfer recently, contact your bank about a dispute or recall as early as possible: most schemes have hard deadlines measured in weeks, not months. If you paid through a platform, open its dispute process now, because those windows also expire. Collect the evidence into one folder: contract or PO, invoices, payment confirmations, the full message history with dates. Do not keep sending money to restart the relationship.
Set a deadline in writing
Send one final message that is easy to answer: state what you ordered, what you paid, what is missing, and a concrete date after which you will treat the order as failed and act accordingly. Keep the tone factual, not threatening. Real companies in temporary trouble usually respond to a clear deadline; scammers do not, which is itself the answer.
Start the replacement search in parallel, not after
Every week spent waiting is a week of stock you are not receiving. Shortlist two or three alternative makers in your category while the deadline runs, and verify each against the public record before you talk to them. If the silent supplier comes back, you have gained a warm backup; if not, you have not lost the lead time.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should I wait before escalating?
- Three to five business days for a first reply on a routine question, shorter if a shipment deadline is at risk. Escalate faster when the silence starts immediately after a payment, because dispute windows at banks and platforms expire.
- Is a silent supplier always a scam?
- No. Holidays, overload, staff turnover and simple disorganization explain most silences. The difference shows in the public record and in reaction to a written deadline: a real company that wants your business eventually answers; a shell does not.
- Can I get my money back?
- Sometimes, and speed matters more than anything else. Card disputes and bank recalls have deadlines; platform protections expire. If the amount is large, a lawyer or a debt-collection agency in the supplier's country is the next step, and the company's registry record tells you whether there is still an entity to pursue.
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