spondishy

Just wondering if anyone on the forum has bought from alibaba and flogged their wares on the internet. I'm looking to buy a specific fairly generic item and then put on an exact match.

I'm just wondering how the process of ordering etc works, how you don't get ripped off, know the quality of the items etc.

Ta

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wb

Payment methods vary, think many are happy with using Western Union still or bank transfers. Build up trust with a supplier and do your background research, make sure you try out samples first to check the quality of goods. You may even be allowed to pay after you receive a test order.

What's the value of the item? I have never used them, but you will find there are UK buying agents offering services over in China etc too if visiting is out of the question.

Systreg

Be very careful who you deal with on Alibaba and other similar sites, they are literally swamped with advance fee fraudsters (419), I've reported a hell of a lot of the business profiles to the Alibaba abuse department whilst I was heavily involved in fighting online fraud.

Always make sure you check the full email headers of anyone who contacts you, it's surprising just how many Chinese businesses are actually sending their emails from West African IP addresses Not to mention the 419ers actually based in China, so are harder to spot, personally, I wouldn't touch any business listed on there with a barge pole.

You would be better to do your own research in to businesses in the area you wish to purchase in, and contact known companies direct, also do a thorough Google search on any company and include the words "scam" or "fraud" in any search term you perform.

[edit]

Just to add some reading for you

http://alibabascam.com

And some further reading along with sites listed dedicated to Alibaba scammers:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...=&oq=&gs_rfai=

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namealot

Have done quite a lot of business through it I find it a good start for finding companies but not used it beyond that ie actually ordered through it but do use the company details to start phone calls etc a lot of it is common sense simple things like there phone number and address can work wonder’s g maps helps to see if it’s a factory or a house? Ask and check reference of companies/people who have purchased items in Europe, USA (UK if buying the same item can be a little harder) Hire Private detectives over there helps prior to flying out there, cost depends on how much info you want them to get?
Research the product the more you know the harder for a scammer

E.g. if it were a bucket

The height, width, depth, thickness of bucket , Handle size, Materials used, Weight of bucket and handle separately, colors, How quick they can produce the item, What the discount rates are 1000, 10000,100000, Can you have logo on it what the manufactures will stamp be on it.

Shipping times to what port find out about custom charges duty etc ask in the uk what you need see if the Chinese company knows what it needs to ship here, if it has before it should do, how much will it cost, how they ship in Crate/container size, who do they ship with, (if they have shipped here before you can check with the shipping companies if there shipping price is real or if they have a record of them.) say this is simple for you to know what you need at this end to unload distribute it if asked why .

When you call ask there name and there superior name, owner name how you spell it get a reference number, Who else deals with international orders what times the company is open call out of hours see if there is an answer message etc ask to speak to another sales person call a few times often scammers are just one man band’s and the same person answer all the time?

How do you pay what’s there bank were is it phone and check, (just say you want to make sure you bank deals with them ?and you would be surprsed how much info some bamks have about companies to ?)

Ask if you were to fly out were the nearest airport is a local taxi firm number nearly everyone knows there nearest airport and a taxi number if they don’t it’s a good indicator? Ask what the weather’s like there that day and also what its like in another month of the year which is the best worst month check with local weather sources, Are they a party member (they nearly all are ?) check with the local party offices,

This might sound like a lot to ask but companies would expect many of these questions it and should have much of the information to hand Chinese are a lot different many are happy to practice there English with English speakers? They want export orders too?

Note there answer's down call a few times ask to clarify the question check against original answers

If you’re ordering many or high cost items then there is no real alternative than going there, A fixer is essential (bribes are the norm) and check what you buy is what they ship to the docks your items can be waiting to be shipped from the docks for a long time if you or they don’t grease the right palms Once you have done it a few times its pretty easy. Yes I did buy a bucket ?

mat

The first thing to do is copy and paste their company name into google. Make sure they have an official site atleast... You will be suprised how many of them dont even have a website which obviously rings alarm bells.

Once I have found their site and had a quick look at it I then copy and paste the website address into google. There is either going to be a history of people calling them out as scammers, or people talking about dealings with them.

Also be very wary of the companies that dont accept paypal as they normaly have something to hide.

You then find that even when you find a legit company, they will still try and send you used items or the wrong colour etc, they love to get one over on westerners and shift their faulty, hard to sell products in a way they can normaly get away with it. For example you order 1000 blue phone cases, they will allways try and chuck in a few green ones or broken ones in the batch, after all its going to be expensive to send them back so most people put up with it

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ebiz4india

Be careful while dealing with on that site.

stender

sorry post duped. I have quality broadband!

stender

I've bought from china using Dhgate.com The site keep the money in escrow until you say you've got the item then release it to the seller(at least they used to i've not used for a long while) they also had a rating system like ebay.
I did have one issue where i placed an order and the seller came back saying they couldn't fill it fo some reason. But i got the money refunded right away.

The only problem is Postage isn't cheap, and don't buy any branded items as as you know why they are cheap. I would recommend placing sample orders first wherever you buy as quality varies greatly.

khalid

I bought via bank transfer from a reputable firm no bother.

I then bought from another firm via aliexpress and used their paypal escrow service - quality was shite and now fighting for refund!

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