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In 2014, the Online business Alibaba made a new international after her first public offer (IPO) of $ 21.8 billion, which was the the biggest ever At the time (although it was since dethroned by the IPO of $ 25.6 billion from Saoudie Aramco in 2019). The news has led a lot to ask: is Alibaba legitimate? If you have scratched your head, read the rest to learn everything you need to know about Chinese commercial society, as it is for and how people earn money on it via shipping.

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What is Alibaba?

Alibaba is a Chinese corporate business market (B2B), which means that its buyers and sellers are companies, not consumers. (So, if you are looking for the website for a single pair of flip flops, you will want to turn elsewhere.) It is part of the Alibaba group, which was Founded in 1999 by Jack ma jack ; Other companies under the label include Taobao, Tmall, Alipay and Aliexpress.

Most sellers on Alibaba are manufacturers and wholesalers who sell loose raw materials and manufactured products. The majority of buyers are virtual and brick and mortar retailers. For example, your local jewelry can make a bulk order on Alibaba so that earplugs can sell online or in its store. Or, a restaurant can place a loose order so that the little toys include with the meals of its children.

The company is present in more than 190 countries and sells more than 5,900 product, house and garden categories to toys and hobby to gifts and crafts. About 17.3% of its traffic Comes from the United States, 12.4 comes from China, 3.4 comes from Russia and the United Kingdom, and 3.3% come from Canada, by Similar web . AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

According to Electronic commerce , Alibaba Group made 142.3 billion in 2022 and increased its income by almost a quarter of its initial value each year. In other words: this company has not slowed down a bit since its IPO extraordinary.

Again, you will not shop on Alibaba for personal purchases - so put it in a separate category in your mind typical online stores. "Unlike Amazon and Ebay, the main objective of the customer of which is the main objective, Alibaba works as a business platform for companies around the world who wish to connect with the suppliers of Continental China", explains Jeanel Alvarado ,, retail business and founder of Retailboss. "These companies seek to find loose products on Alibaba.com."

However, you don't need to look far for the places you can buy for yourself. "If customers are looking to buy an item, Alibaba also operates retail sites Aliexpress.com And Taobao.com Said Alvarado.

How does Alibaba work?

Consider Alibaba as a cross between Costco and Etsy - You buy large items via different suppliers who sell on the site.

"Purchases are in bulk, which means that you must respond to the minimum command quantities (MOQ) to place an order, and according to the seller, he could start at a moq of 5 units as low, up to 500 units" , explains Alvarado. "As for most loose control websites, the more you buy, the better the price of each unit or a discount on the total order."

To buy on Alibaba, you will need to create a free account that includes the name of your business, the region, the email address and the telephone number; Then choose if you plan to buy, sell or do both. After that, you will be ready to buy - and you will probably notice that the Alibaba interface looks quite like other giants online like Amazon and Temu.

Use the search bar or reduce the categories to see the available items. For a more precise search, you can even drop a photo of the item you are looking for in the search bar. You will be able to sort your results with a range of filters, such as MOQ, supplier country and the verification status of the Alibaba supplier (more on this subject later!).

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Why is Alibaba so cheap?

Prices on Alibaba are affordable shocking - think of $ 2 for winter gloves, 50 cents and $ 4 lashes for non -stick pots. Because it rations the supply chain through its B2B model, sellers can offer their goods at a much lower price by removing the intermediary. Sellers must also be wary of each other - if a store sells a similar property at a cheaper price, its competitors may need to modify theirs to stay afloat.

Then there are regional advantages. Many Alibaba suppliers are located in regions like China, where manufacturing costs are lower than other countries. Finally, the possibility of selling only in bulk allows manufacturers to reduce costs and offers savings for sellers, because they know that each sale is a large amount of enough to justify the effort.

How do you pass with Alibaba?

Dropshipping is the process of creating an online store but to use an production partner to ship your products. In this way, you don't need space to contain the inventory. Many fall sender use Alibaba, who has a Deleted integration To facilitate the process. All you have to do is integrate the program and choose Alibaba products for your window; Dupified alerts your execution partner when an order will be placed and must be completed. Here are more steps.

Connect to the store

First of all, create an Alibaba account and define yourself in the "buyer" mode, because you will look for items for sale. Create an online showcase using a site like Shopify or Squarespace and integrate your site on Right on Alibaba.

Examine the product lists

Now for the fun part: Decide what to sell! When you are looking for Alibaba products, pay special attention to the MOQ. If the MOQ is high, your order will probably be more expensive (although you can save in the long term). You can pay your products in several ways, including credit card, wire transfer, Apple remuneration and online bank payment.

Ask for a quote

In addition to looking for the market, you can also publish a Quote request . To do this, you describe what you are looking for and the sellers contact you with prices and product options.

Negotiate your conditions

Once you have found an article that interests you via a site search or by asking for a quote, you can either negotiate your offer or buy the product immediately. To negotiate, click on "Contact the supplier" to start an instant message with the seller. You can go back and forth on problems such as samples, MOQ, price and other customizations until you reach an agreement that works for both of you.

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Is Alibaba a safe website?

"Yes, Alibaba is a legitimate site," explains Alvarado. However, depending on your quality standards, you can be dissatisfied with the products you get. You will also want to make sure to use secure payment methods in case something goes through with your order.

To protect buyers, the Alibaba commercial insurance program offers buyers "secure means of paying, protecting from unforeseen circumstances such as product or shipping problems, and meded between buyers and suppliers to resolve everything issue related "He wrote on his website. In other words, if something happens to your order, there is, in theory, an easy way to recover your money.

Another way in which Alibaba confirms its standards is with verified sellers. For the site to consider you a reliable supplier, you must accept to be inspected by a third -party company to make sure that your ads are correct and that you have the installations necessary to make the products you have promised to deliver.

Things to look for when using Alibaba

Alibaba has a F-Rract of the Better Business Office (BBB), which exists to show the degree of confidence in which a company operates in good faith. An F is the lowest note. Some current complaints include:

Payment passes but the product will not be shipped: Several complaints on the BBB involved orders where items have never shipped, but the buyer was billed. "I placed an order with Alibaba after two months of article that never arrived in Alibaba, we told Alibaba to check with the logistics that this also pointed out that no refund of any kind," wrote a customer. The examiners noted that customer service in these cases was often useless.

High shipping costs: The shipping costs of an order depends on the shipping method and the size and weight of the product. You must check them with the seller before making a purchase.

Low quality products: Many complaints on the BBB call for poor quality, which is particularly alarming given the bulk size (and therefore the price!) Of most orders. "They sent us a different color and 100% had enormous manufacturing defects. Each coverage was 100% insane and not possible to use," wrote a critic on the BBB. "Each person of Alibaba and the seller has recognized the enormous errors made by the seller, but here we are still blocked the insensible inventory and they will not send new covers without other payments."

Counterfeit products: In February 2022, the representative of the United States office (USTR) appointed the Alibaba Aliexpress brand "market that would facilitate Branding counterfeiting, "by CNN. Alibaba allows users to report counterfeits, but that does not mean that a lot of progress has been made in the thrust against violation.

What are the safest payment methods to use on Alibaba?

Alipay

According to Checkout.com , Alipay is operated by Ant Group, which is a subsidiary of the Alibaba group. It is extremely popular in China, where it was launched in 2004. The platform allows users to make payments; You can link your bank account, credit card and other payment methods.

Pay Pal

Paypal is another system that allows you to connect your bank account, your credit or your debit card. Use it to make secure payments on online purchase sites, including Alibaba.

Full service

A whole service is when a neutral third party holds funds before being transferred one part to another , according to Investigation . It is often used as a way to make secure online transactions for expensive items. THE Alibaba Trade Assurance is its own entire site on -site.

Credit card

The use of a credit card is useful because you can challenge the costs if your order never arrived or does not arrive in an unsatisfactory state.

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Tips for shopping on Alibaba

Avoid buying brand name products

The site is riddled with counterfeits, and everything that is brand is probably a scam. Instead of what you are looking to find, you will probably find yourself with an imitation that looks like the brand product (or not!) With a much lower level of Quality and manufacture , by Webretailer .

Filter non -veritifiable buyers

Alibaba works with third -party inspection companies that visit suppliers to assess their products, their processes and their production capacities to acquire "verified supplier" status. Use the Alibaba filter tool to find these suppliers. During research, check the "verified" icon. Now you will only see products created by verified sellers.

In general, it is preferable to stick to the verified gold suppliers, who have a paid account with Alibaba and have been verified by the site as a recorded company. This does not mean that everyone with the status of a gold supplier is completely trustworthy, but the more they maintained this status, the more likely it is. Other identification information to be sought include the "search for ALIBABA suppliers evaluated" and commercial insurance provider ".

Check the supplier's criticism and notes

Alibaba allows you to show reasonable diligence on suppliers. "I would recommend buying only sellers who have good grades and criticisms and have been on Alibaba for over two years," said Alvarado. "All this information is displayed on each supplier profile."

Use secure payment methods

Alibaba exploits his Secure payment program Thanks to Alipay where payments are held until the arrival of an order and the buyer and the seller checked that the transaction is finished.

To use it, click buy now and complete the secure payment contract. Then go to command management and click pay now; You can use one of the payment methods mentioned above. Once you are satisfied with your order, click on the order received. Or, click Open Disker if there is an error.

Check shipping options

"In the past, I lived that once you have purchased, some Alibaba suppliers do not have the American or Canadian shipping options that can be listed on their profile," said Alvarado. "So it is always important to chat in advance with the seller and to ensure that everything can be organized with specific shipping prices before clicking on buy now."

Hire an inspection company

Beyond shopping with verified suppliers, you can also add a Third -party inspection service When you order. The inspector will visit the manufacturer and randomly check the products compared to the specifications of the order to consider the compliance of the products and the quality problems.

To add the service, place a commercial insurance order and select the surveillance and production inspection service. The inspection details will be confirmed with you and the seller and an inspection report will be provided within 24 hours.

Conclusion

Overall, Alibaba is a B2B electronic commerce platform which allows companies to obtain affordable prices. As with all electronic commerce websites, there are risks involved that can be reduced by research and use of secure payment platforms. For more news and trade advice, visit Better life again soon.

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