Customs data tells you who bought what yesterday. It does not tell you who will buy from you tomorrow, who to write to at that company, or what to say. Buyer research checks each company's fit on its website today, finds the right person and writes the first email. Trade statistics are enough to choose a market; a list of past shipments is not enough for first contact.
Four approaches side by side
| Trade statistics | Customs data platform | Contact database | Outfound | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How current | Past years and months | Shipments from weeks or months ago | Last time the record was updated | The company's website today |
| Coverage | Every country, at country level | Countries that publish records, mostly sea freight | Companies that made it into the database | Any country with companies on the web |
| Company name | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, with a source link |
| Why it fits | No | No; shipment history | No; filters | Written, from the company's website |
| Contact person | No | Depends on the platform | Main product | Yes, verified |
| Email writing | No | Some, as an add-on | Templates and sequences | Made for each company, in the buyer's language |
| Sending setup | No | Some, as an add-on | You connect your own mailbox | Separate domain, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warm-up |
| Who sees the same list | Everyone | Your competitors on the platform | Everyone using the same filters | Researched for your product |
| Best at | Choosing a country | Seeing a competitor's buyers and volumes | Finding people in large markets | Choosing the right buyer and making first contact |
Category features describe the general pattern; each product differs. Check the provider's own page before you buy.
The structural limits of customs data
Customs data platforms do a useful job: they show who imports what, and how much. But used to find new buyers and make first contact, they hit limits that come from how the data is collected. These are not flaws of one platform; they are the nature of customs records, and sales pages rarely mention them.
What it never sees
Countries that do not publish company names. In many markets, the European Union first among them, customs records are not published with company names. There the data is rebuilt from the partner countries' export records, known as mirror data. By Volza's own pricing page, it has detailed import data for 50 countries and mirror data for 158.
Goods that travel by truck, rail or air. Much company-level data comes from ocean bills of lading. In the US, for example, public company-level records cover sea shipments only. Much of the trade between neighbouring countries moves by truck.
Importers that hide their name. In the US, importers can formally request that their name be withheld from the manifest. Large buyers that do not want competitors to see them use it.
Companies that do not import themselves. Many buy from a local wholesaler or distributor and never appear in customs records. A company that does not buy the product yet but wants to add a new line is invisible too. Customs data shows who buys elsewhere today, not who could buy from you tomorrow.
Business that never crosses customs. If you sell a service, or sell inside your own country, there is nothing to look at.
What it can show wrongly
The past. Records are published weeks, often months, after the shipment. The buyer you see may already have a yearly contract with someone else.
Consignees that are not buyers. The consignee is often a freight forwarder, customs broker, consolidator or trading intermediary. The company that sells or uses the goods may not appear at all.
The product, roughly. Only the first six digits of the HS code are the same worldwide; the rest vary by country. Product descriptions are short, free text and often vague, so searches run on keywords and bring everything back: search "olive oil" and you get producers, fairs, machinery sellers and restaurants together.
Half a company. Mirror data shows only some of a company's purchases. A German company's purchases from India appear in India's export records; what the same company buys from a country that does not publish records never appears. You see a small buyer when the company may buy far more elsewhere.
One company in pieces. The same company appears under different spellings, branches or group companies. Volume is split; a company that looks small may be large, or the reverse.
The biggest as the best. Lists are usually sorted by volume, yet the biggest importers have long-standing suppliers and long contracts and are often the least open to a new one. And your competitors look at the same list, so those inboxes fill up every week.
What it leaves to you
The person. Records carry a company name and address; the website, who handles purchasing and an email address are often missing or looked up separately.
The message and delivery. What to write, in which language, and keeping it out of the spam folder is not the platform's job. A list is where the work starts, not a sale.
Outfound works the other way round: you describe who could be your buyer, then each candidate's website is read today and companies that do not fit are dropped. Companies that do not import today but could sell or use your product are found this way too. Each company that remains comes with the reason it fits and the source.
The platforms and what they cost
Prices from each provider's own page on 27 September 2026. They change; check the source before you buy.
Volza (customs data). Yearly plans only: Startup $1,500 (2 users; "premium" countries such as Türkiye, Russia, Brazil and Egypt excluded), SME $4,500, Corporate $9,600. 7-day free trial. Details: Volza pricing and alternatives.
ImportGenius (customs data, mainly US). US data from $229 a month (last 12 months of imports, 25 searches a day) or $2,198 a year. The global plan covering 25+ countries starts at $1,999 a month. Source: importgenius.com/pricing.
TradeAtlas (customs data). One-year data plans at $2,750, $3,780 and $4,860 plus VAT; with AI features $3,300 to $5,610. A separate three-month product with email sending, TradeCalculus, runs $750 to $1,700 plus VAT.
Apollo (contact database and sending). Paid plans at $49, $79 and $119 per user per month billed yearly, excluding taxes. Source: apollo.io/pricing.
Outfound. From $99 a month; no per-seat fees, no yearly commitment, cancel anytime. Details on the pricing page.
Which one when? Three scenarios
"I don't know which country to go to." Start with trade statistics: look up which countries import your HS code, how much, and your country's share. The Trade Map guide walks through it.
"I want to see who my competitor sells to." Where company-level customs records are published, customs data platforms are strong at this.
"I have a list but nobody replies." The problem is usually selection and message: the wrong company, the wrong person, a generic text. Buyer research and a company-specific email help here. See how to find buyers for export.
Where the others are stronger
- Customs data shows shipment volume, date and often the supplier country. Outfound does not.
- Trade statistics are quick and usually free for choosing a market.
- Contact databases are huge; in large markets like the US they list the title you want quickly.
- Consultants bring relationships, fair visits and language support. Software does not replace them.
Using them together
A practical sequence: choose the country with trade statistics, take candidates from customs data if you have it, then use Outfound to check whether each candidate fits you today and send the first email. Across the platform, 98.8% of emails sent between 25 March and 25 September 2026 were delivered.
Method
Category information describes these types of tools in general. Information about named tools was taken only from their own sites, with the date. If you spot an error, write to [email protected] and we will fix it.
Last updated: · By: Tolga Tatar