What if you could monitor the goods and raw materials that any company imports the day it crosses customs? At first glance ImportGenius, a startup out of Arizona, doesn’t sound particularly exciting: It’s a website that tracks the import/export activity at America’s shipping docks. But according to ImportGenius’s Managing Director Ryan Petersen, this is the first service of its kind, and one that has no shortage of potential applications.
Every shipping vessel that enters and leaves the United States is required to submit shipping records that document its cargo. Most of these documents are a matter of public record – you could look up the information yourself if you wanted to. But there are millions of such documents submitted each year, with no searchable index, making the data practically useless.
Until now. ImportGenius has licensed import/export data form a number of sources (along with free sources like US Customs), which is added to a database that is updated daily. For a monthly fee ($99 for standard access, $250 for premium) users can search through the data, allowing them to identify criteria including the class of cargo, the company involved, and the point of origin.
When the site first launched six months ago, ImportGenius was primarily a tool for small importer/exporters that wanted to see what their competitors were up to. Rival companies could keep tabs on which factories were being used, or how much demand there was for a given product. While this market has taken off, there are a number of other possible (and more exciting) uses for the data.
Earlier this week ImportGenius analyzed Apple’s current shipping records to deduce that unusually large shipments of “electronic computers” (a classification that Apple has never used) have been arriving this spring. This isn’t exactly surprising, but it serves to make a good point: No matter how secretive a company is about its products, it still has to keep accurate shipping records.
Stock analysts have been keeping a close eye on the data – if they can establish a trend between revenues and imports, they could potentially evaluate a company’s earnings long before its quarterly press release (which could obviously turn the stock market on its head). Other companies have been using it to enforce copyright protection. Rather than simply attacking a criminal merchant of counterfeit goods, these companies can hunt down the factory where the goods originated. The data has also been used in a number of lawsuits.
We should note that this kind of data isn’t going to be useful for security purposes – the US Customs office has invested in a $15 Billion tracking system that (hopefully) leaves this one in the dust.
Cool. But based on previous track records, if a government has spent $15 billion on something, I don’t share your hope that it will be much better.
Import Genius sells garbage. Their data is all made up. Scam scam scam!!!!4
DONT BUY IMPORT GENIUS! THEY SELL GARBAGE AND ITS A SCAM
I tried out Import Genius and stole my money. I can’t believe these horrible people can get away with this. Their website is currently being sued. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM IMPORT GENIUS. THEY ONLY SHOW NEGATIVE REVIEWS.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan Petersen and I’m one of the founders of ImportGenius.com.
None of these three people above have EVER been members of ImportGenius.com. Instead, they are all a single person who was upset that we would not remove his company’s dat from our database of public records.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t even bother replying to these kinds of trolls, however we have been the subject of widespread unfounded accusations in comments section of any blog that mentions us.
While I understand that the data we offer frequently contains sensitive information about a company’s business operations, the fact of the matter is that these records are public documents under U.S. law, and my company has every right to make those public records searchable for the public.
If you have any questions about the attacks made by these or any other commenters, please give me a call at 888-843-0272. I’ll be more than happy to explain exactly how we get our data, what it can be used for, and even provide you with some free samples to help your business.
Best regards,
Ryan Petersen
ImportGenius.com
ryan@importgenius.com
888-843-0272
yeah yeah.. genius.
IMPORT GENIUS IS GARBAGE. THEIR DATA IS WORTHLESS! SCAM SCAM SCAM
Now here’s a way they could make big bucks: create pay-to-use APIs to license their data to developers for their apps.
http://www.z-portal.uni.cc/
DO NOT BUY IMPORT GENIUS. THEIR WEBSITE HAS GIVEN ME VIRUSES. THEY STEEL YOUR MONEY AND THEIR INOFORMATION IS GARBAGE.
If the data is indeed available for free, you can bet there is someone who will reorganize it, and offer a product similar for free. soon.
@e fall
From what I gather most of it is free, but they are using (paid) licenses to access a number of databases that analyze it.
Boy can I think of a lot of things you could do with that data. It’s actually a little frightening if you think about it. For example, how many Russian and Chinese made weapons are coming into the country? Gun control advocates might find this useful. Frankly I think there will be lawsuits about this as it’s business intelligence which could be considered trade secrets.
BTW, are there computers that are not ‘electronic’? Abacuses maybe?
Boy you’re an idiot.
You canot use this information or database to track the number of any illegal arms coming in from anywhere. Would you write “1200 Cartons of Chinese AK-47″ on your papers? Neither do they.
IMPORT GENIUS > SCAM SCAM SCAM. DO NOT BUY!!!!!!
Well one might also look at what this place has a similar market, but covers air, trucking, sea, etc.
http://www.freightdesk.com/
I think best thing ImportGenius could do would be to open up an API and set of web services to set them apart and let developers create mashups. The one I mentioned above has a lock on the data as well and also a lock on the government marketplace so it seems from their front page bolstering.
“No matter how secretive a company is about its products, it still has to keep accurate shipping records.”
So if you really want to be secretive, you don’t manufacture overseas. What a surprising twist that could result in at least some small increase in domestic manufacturing!
This sounds like it could be a superb tool for investigative journalists. Assuming they can afford to pay the $250/mo for database access, that is.
IMPORT GENIUS STOLE MY MONEY!!!!! DO NOT BUY! THEY SELL GARABE AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING SUED!!!!!
I think people should report the case to the authority that “Import Genius” is scam…scam…scam. The Authority should take action against this type of company.
I am a victim of Import Genius myself. I gave them my credit card and all of a sudden I had 3 unauthorized transactions on my card. I understand they are currently being sued. Import Genius reviews are all negative.
sounds a great product for organised crime too. From that apple story you can easily work out where 44 container loads of new i-phones must be sitting. Link it to google maps , hey presto.
This is a great concept, especially for businesses that live and die on margins through their supply chain. If your competitor is sourcing something far cheaper than you, you need to know about it.
I’ll set my self apart from the usual comments here – they doesn’t need to make APIs to let developers mash up the data. It has a very clear value proposition for real businesses. Making money does have it’s benefits.
Mr. Kincaid has more faith in large government IT projects than many. From what we keep reading, billions of dollars in development costs only create lawsuits and reorgs. Your tax dollars at play.
This is the kind of disruptive app that is likely to have high impact. More and more the real action will be in the use of disruptive technologies in industries that having noting directly to do with tech. All knowledge based industries will be disrupted. It is nice to see that TechCrunch is paying attention.
IMPORT GENIUS IS A COMPANY OWNED BY A THEIF. AS A RESULT OF ALL THE LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST THEM, THEY SHOULD GO TO PRISON FOR STEELING MONEY OF HONEST COMPANIES. IMPORT GENIUS SELLS GARBAGE. IMPORT GENIUS SELLS FAKE MADE UP DATA. STAY AWAY!
“the US Customs office has invested in a $15 Billion tracking system that (hopefully) leaves this one in the dust.”
Hehe, key word there is definitely “hopefully”…
Don’t you people know that much of the paperwork for shipments are falsified? Freight forwarders who will turn a blind eye are a dime a dozen…as are corrupt customs officials.
See you at the docks tonight, Mr. Arrington.
Perhaps one street smart founder can add more value with a team of 15 guys than the US Customs office with a $15,000,000,000 budget
Don´t worry, it will be available soon for free.
“We should note that this kind of data isn’t going to be useful for security purposes – the US Customs office has invested in a $15 Billion tracking system that (hopefully) leaves this one in the dust.”
Fascinating news for a data geek like myself but what is it that Customs is tracking that’s any better?
From what I understand, you can only know what somebody’s actually moving if you look inside the boxes via tech or human surveillance.
Self reported data does not lead to a secure system.
US Customs is as pathetically incapable of meeting our security needs as were those clowns who killed New Orleans.
Riffing on the new iPhone is neat marketing gimmick to be sure, but by no means is ImportGenius the only company out there:
“But according to ImportGenius’s Managing Director Ryan Petersen, this is the first service of its kind, and one that has no shortage of potential applications.”
Either he’s being disingenuous or his competitive intel ain’t so good.
Back in June 2005 MinnesotaBusiness Magazine, where I was previously editor, we ran a story on Zepol. Founded in 2002, it offers pretty similar services on a subscription basis. According to their website, Zepol.com, the company’s database contains 58,956,000 total shipments.
Import Genius stole my money and they are one of the biggest scams out there. Import Genius only has negative reviews. I have filed a lawsuit against them. I can’t believe they are still in business.
It’s useful !!
Its nothing but a waste of time and money. Doesn’t tell you anything that i can’t already get for free. Customer service is horrific. This one will be going the way of Lehman pretty soon and I’m glad-after these scam artists took my money.
I’ve used import genius by paying monthly fees and have to say that I am not happy at all. They don’t provide you with any real service or information worth the money. Mostly general information is provided which is of no use at all. I found it was a big waste of money. I didn’t know you can get this info for free so I will definitely be trying that.
Import Genius is neither the first nor the most extensive to provide this kind of service, there are several well established companies in the market. The Datamyne has been accumulating international trade records for more than a decade, at last check they had over 600 million records in their database, tracking imports from 42 countries.
Import genius is a joke. As soon as I signed up I had 3 unauthorized transactions on my credit. They also show fake made up information. They have many lawsuits against them. SCAM SCAM SCAM!
Hi Todd,
I can find no record of you ever being an ImportGenius.com user of any sort and this is the first I’ve ever heard of your wild accusations. If this was real I would have expected to have heard about it directly from you at some point, but I’m taking the time to respond just to show how seriously I take these accusations.
If you are a real person and this is a legitimate complaint, please give me a call at 888-843-0272.
We’ve never had a single problem that even remotely resembles these accusations, so I’m sure you are just another guy with a grudge about his company’s data appearing in our database.
By all means though, if you are serious, please get in touch.
Best regards,
Ryan Petersen
ImportGenius.com
Co-Founder
888-843-072
ryan@importgenius.com
import-genius blows. dont spend your hard earned money on it. Its a rip off and a scam. keep away.
As a business owner in a jurisdiction outside of the US, I take great exception to ImportGenius publishing transactional data that didn’t involved an American company and was not processed by US Customs (which they claim is their focus). I have requested a removal on the basis of privacy outside of the US domain. This is the first mitigation, that may lead to more demonstrative or litiguous action if not respected.
very nice
I thought that this information is private.
How can this be legal?
I did a search of a competitor and it showed me one of their overseas vendors name & address.
I wouldn’t want my competitors to see my private sources. This site and any like it should be shut down immediately.
Who can I complain to?
Although this information is public record, it should not be allowed to be pasted all over the internet. I too googled my competitors name and it came where he buys his products overseas, well I don’t want anybody to know where I buy my products, particularly general public and startup Joe Shmoes who think they can open across the street.
Even though it is public record before it was a deterrent enough that no one really knew where to look or bother with the time to look for it.
This is one service that needs to be shutdown.
Do a good service for your customers and no matter who calls them, they should still be a customer. Only those traders and supply chain managers who basically get a cut for doing some paperwork should be worried. I wouldn’t worry about my company coming up in here at all.
You can submit a request to US Customs to make your imports anonymous to everyone but them. Talk to your import broker about it, they will get you the right docs.
I tried using Import Genius and they suck. They are a start up company and their shipments are all wrong. It’s all a bunch of garbage. They stole my money and their system keeps crashing.
Hi Andrew,
I have no record of anybody named Andrew Williams ever signing up for ImportGenius.com. Did you perhaps sign up for the account under a different name?
I’m sorry to here about your negative experience. I would be more than happy to discuss this matter with you and offer you a refund if you truly feel the way you have expressed in this comment.
Best regards,
Ryan Petersen
ImportGenius.com
Co-Founder
888-843-0272
ryan@importgenius.com
STAY AWAY FROM IMPORT GENIUS. THEY STOLE MY MONEY AND THEIR DATABASE KEEPS CRASHING. THE SHIPMENTS ARE ALL WRONG. ITS ALL A BUNCH OF GARBAGE. WHAT A SCAM. SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!
I understood you can get this kind of data on importer for free on the US Customs website. Can anybody tell me what is the process exactly
IMPORT GENIUS IS A SCAM! STAY AWAY FROM IMPORT GENIUS. “IMPORT GENIUS REVIEWS” SHOW SCAM SCAM SCAM. PLEASE DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY.
Before you give any credence at all to these disgruntled commenters, please give us a call so you can see for yourself.
We provide very sensitive data about the operations of American importers and their suppliers. Not surprisingly, we’ve ruffled a few feathers.
We’ll be happy to provide a live demo of the service so you can understand that we are not a scam.
Best regards,
Ryan Petersen
ImportGenius.com
Co-Founder
888-843-0272
ryan@importgenius.com