What Would You Do If You've Found a Wholesaler Selling an Item $0.7 But eBay Sells $15.99?

Chat with the supplier on Alibaba, ask them (and ask others) if they are the actual manufacturer of the product. I've found most will also be honest and tell you if their product is a copy of the original, a fake basically. If it isn't, you may have found something really good.

It may be a scam, it may not be.

Chatting with the suppliers sales people is fine but will not give you a real answer to what is what.
If the MOQ is 100 and the price per item is only 70 cents you got not that much to lose if it turns out to be either fake or nothing at all.

But also consider the legal consequences if it is a fake item and the right holder does have a border confiscation order in place ( more info here would be required as to what and where to be shipped and how etc ). You as the importer are fully responsible.

I would like to know how the supplier will ship and especially for how much.

Selling a 15.99 ebay item for 70 cents and then charging 9.99 to ship it ain't no bargain

Keep us posted on how it goes

Be interested too to see how it goes.

When you speak to them ask if they can get on a Skype video chat with you and show you around their facility and show you some of their items.

This is the first step of my vetting processing and every legitimate supplier I've contacted has been more than happy to do this for me.

Good Luck!

As the others have said, you'll want to verify everything and also get the shipping costs. If it is a heavy item, it may not be worth it. Also, if it is a name brand, be very careful. The price is definitely not "too good to be true" but it won't be your final price either (remember to factor in shipping, duty etc as mentioned above)

Also, I would suggest getting SAMPLES first. Other sellers may be doing well with the product, but you never actually know if an item will sell until you SELL it. Try to get 5 of them item, list them on Ebay. If they sell at a price you're happy with, you know you've found a winner! You will likely have to pay a bit more for the samples, but better to test the market first rather than be stuck with 100 items that won't move! Good luck!

It would be worth spending $35 or $17.50 50 to get 50 or 25 to try out on eBay. Depending on how much the shipping will cost you.

Gold Supplier status is no guarantee of trustworthiness or genuineness. They buy that status - they don't earn it.

I have been offered Gold Supplier status 3 times this year at a discounted price of $299. Not much for me to outlay in order to impress people. The fact that I am no longer exporting is not the point.

The point is that thousands of ordinary "verified" suppliers have taken up the discounted offer, so now there are many more suppliers that buyers think are somehow better than the others.

"Legal Status Verified" sounds impressive, but if you look at Alibaba's own statements you will find that what it means is that the business actually exists.

You say they don't accept PayPal - what payment method do they require? If it is WU, just walk away. If it is T/T, ask what account payment is to go to. If it is an individual's name, just walk away. Even if it is going to a company bank account, unless you know that the business is genuine, there are risks.

Asking them if they are the real manufacturer is pointless, because how do you know if the answer will be honest? If they say "no" it is an honest answer, but if they say "yes", there are ways of checking. If you care to PM their website link I can check for you in about 30 seconds, and let you know.

I have done this for a number of Warriors because I hate to see people get burnt. Mind you, seeing that you found them on Alibaba, it is almost certain that they are not the real manufacturer because the vast majority of "manufacturers" listed on that site are definitely not.

If you want to buy products at absolutely lowest cost, you must go direct to a real manufacturer, and finding them on the average popular sourcing site is extremely difficult.

I would contact the supplier and ask to use Aliexpress.

Alibaba and Aliexpress are offered by the same company. Main difference:
On Aliexpress the supplier carries the risk. Aliexpress only releases the funds
if the customer confirms receipt of good.

If the seller refuses to use Aliexpress you know what you are dealing with.

There's actually a couple different things you could do. First, don't just discredit this seller right now - theres always some wiggle room.

You have to understand that at this point, the sales person you talked to is like a gatekeeper - except they don't know it unlike a secretary for example where being a gatekeeper is their actual job. Most factories in China hire someone with minimal English speaking skills right out of university to be their sales CSR - and you have to get past him/her to get to someone that can actually negotiate. At this point, they probably just have a standard way of doing things. Someone (like you) contacts them and they say "We want $13 per item" and you will either stop the transaction right now by being turned off from their offer which is what they personally want, because they likely don't give a rats ass about their job or making sales for their company and the less work they have to do the better. (If they are fired, within a week they will have another very similar job) All they are doing is what they are told. "We want $13 per item, for $1000" - well guess what, I want to own a space station, we could "want" all we want - it doesn't make it a realistic expectation. If someone on eBay is selling these things for $15.99 - chances are, they aren't paying more than $6 per item in a competitive market. Say "I want to buy 200 pcs for a little less per item" - now he will get his superiors involved, thinking he's made a good sale and he will be praised. If he asks how much, just say whatever 90% of the previous amount based on what they are charging per item multiplied by 200 (since they want you to buy 100), and put it into a big number - even put it in RMB if you want. Say "15,787.00 RMB for 200 pcs" - get past that sales person.

When the person in charge contacts you, ask him if he can give you a better deal. He likely wont because he wants the most out of you. Ask him to confirm his price so you can compare his cost to others (if you can find others selling the item). Give it a couple days (or a week) and if he contacts you first - hes desperate for a sale. If he doesnt, then he either doesnt care or hes not really apart of the company that manufactures the items and is a middleman. Contact him and bluff and say "I have an offer for a lot less from another company, if you can beat their offer then I would like to do business with you" give him a price, say something like 33% of their previous price. For example, say 5209 RMB which is $4.29 per item which is $858.00 USD. And they will either match that price or work with you. If they can't come even close to 33% of their previous price, show them sales on eBay and what they really sell for, if he still doesn't drop down in price - he's a middleman.

If he agrees to it, you could either agree to pay for 200 units, or you could say "Hey, since this is the first time doing business, I want to pay for 100 units, and when I receive them and inspect them, I will complete the rest of my order" - this is the process of creating an inventory reserve. Meanwhile, you've paid for 100 units for a good price, and now you can sell off a couple and buy the other 100 pcs - if you don't, you lose face which isn't good - but if you've done your homework on the sales history of these items or you are willing to take a minimal profit from dropping the price and increasing sales then you can buy the other 100 units, push it back up to your normal asking price and then save face and build a relationship with the manufacturer in the process.

Buying from China 101.

If you know some one in China let to meet him.
Sorry my English bad

It could be a scam or it could be true because the seller might be a manufacturer.

You can ask someone in China to go and meet him in person and check the product and verify the quality of it in detail.

If you do not have someone, ask the seller to send samples to you which I consider is best and safe.

Before you purchase anything, don't go for huge quantity purchase in the beginning. Increase the amount slowly and steadily.

Hope this helps.

You never know if you never Go.....

I think you should do your homework and evaluate the risk but again... if you are willing to do just do it.

Sometimes you win sometimes you learn

What did people do before Alibaba?

I've read a few im/export books and one of the tips involved contacting the local foreign consulate (ie China, Japan, India, etc) to find legitimate manufacturers.

Has anyone tried this?

Ebay has already lower prices than all of those "suppliers" Dropshipers" "wholesalers"
About your $0.70 most certainly it will come bad quality and huge bill for shipping on top of that cost. Shipping from China at least $1 per item (for very light items like iPhone cases) for $50-$100 items.
One just have to calculate right. First you paying for Shipping to supplier, than you paying for shipping again to your customer, + 15% ebay/paypal fee. I think the only
way to profit on ebay is to sell stolen goods

i knew some wholesale site: volumerate.com

you can see that the wholesale price is so amazing.But not for everyone is good, For me, as ordinary customer only want to buy one piece. That is why i like group buy.

It doesn't surprise me. There are many god deals like that everywhere. All the same be cautious.