Have you Purchased Anything on Alibaba? - Need help | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Msands

Hey guys,

I wanted to buy something on Alibaba.com, however every supplier I contact want me send money via a money wire or bank transfer.

To be honest I don't trust this form of payment one bit because they could literally run away with my money and scam me...

So I'm asking you....

Have you ever found a legitimate supplier on Alibaba.com? If so How did you find them?

Alibaba is made up of mostly 3rd world sellers hence their need to collect via wire transfer...

Thanks

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HatKing

12 years ago

Do some research yourself first though. Try visiting their website and calling them to see if they respond. Typically, large china companies on alibaba respond very fast and are very professional. Good luck.

Thanks

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noangel

12 years ago

Whatever you do, don't ever consider using Western Union.

Thanks

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jideofor

12 years ago

But I thought it was possible to use paypal . If it is not, then go for escrow and at most, use ESCROW! Any other option might just be like a kid playing with fire.

Thanks

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Danny10

12 years ago

Hi Msands,

I couldn't add a link because I don't have enough post counts. Do a Google search for:
How to check alibaba sellers

The first few results are quite informative.

Thanks

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ErikNilsson

12 years ago

First of all two-third of Alibaba is filled with scammers even some of the gold members are also scammers never pay money upfront don't use bank transfers and western union use only ESCROW pay only when the goods reached on your land.

Thanks

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grandstar

12 years ago

If ylou want to buy and you feel wary, I'd advise you go for "gold sellers". These apparently have been verified and hence you are quite safe.

Thanks
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chad12 12 years ago

Alibaba is a very old company and its trustable ...
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- 1 reply
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- Rachel Incoll 12 years ago
  
  I've purchased several times through suppliers I've found on Alibaba, personally I haven't had any problems and they've been great to deal with...however I know this isn't the case with everyone.
  
  There are a lot of scammers on Alibaba, but there's also a lot of genuine businesses...it's just a matter of going through them all and finding the good ones.
  
  Here's a few pointers that should help:
  
  Only ever pay for the product by Letter of Credit, Term Draft, Site Draft or Escrow...if they won't accept any of these methods I won't buy from them.
  
  PayPal isn't a safe payment method...PayPal's 'buyer protection' isn't worth much.
  
  You will probably find more genuine businesses as Gold Members, but that still doesn't mean that you're safe. Even with the Gold Members, make sure you only use the payment methods in point 1.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  Cheers
  
  Rach
  
  Thanks
  
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blueston

12 years ago

Alibaba is a basically for B2B trading. Most of the sellers from Alibaba are factories. They are targeting buyers who would like to by big quantity with containers. So a lot of them like to use bank wire transfer and L/C. Not many companies in China are using stuff like paypal to get paid.

Thanks

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Eddie Titan

12 years ago

I have used Alibaba, in the past, on more than one occasion.

Alibaba is a legitimate company. However, that is not what you should be looking for. Alibaba is like a directory. It gives you a way to get connected with suppliers. It is up to you to decide whether or not the providers are legitimate.

I have been scammed by providers on Alibaba before. However, I have also found some legitimate suppliers that have saved me a lot of money in the past.

Thanks
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vinorayen 12 years ago

Eddie Titan is telling correctly. There are lot of genuine suppliers in alibaba. Don't send advance payment to unknown suppliers.

L/C will be advisable and safer to both the buyers and suppliers. What product would you like to buy from Alibaba, may I know please? So that, perhaps I may help you.

Vino Rayen.
- Thanks
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AymanGham

12 years ago

Hey, let me add on some important key factors that you can use to find if the supplier is legit. Yes there is some gold member but it doesn't mean that they aren't scammer. In fact when you are looking for supplier go for "Factory Audit" They are verified by alibaba and there is a full report about the company to download. Then if you want to be more sure about the supplier there are some Inspector that are ready to go and inspect the quality of the product, the shipping boxing, etc... everything yu will need to be sure that you will get a 100% what you are requesting for. They are cheap and varies from 160$ to 250$ which I find really cheap for the guarentee of your money will be safe.

Thanks

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paulie123

12 years ago

Both times I purchased from alibaba I got scammed and both were gold members. If there are legitimate sellers it is difficult to distinguish them from the rip-off artists and therein lies the risk you take. If you feel you must order from an alibaba supplier, make it a small order.

Thanks

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Richard Tunnah

12 years ago

I have used Alibaba a few times although not recently (probably 5/6 years ago I regularly used companies off there). I agree with the posters above in that of the 10's of million's of companies that post on the site there are many honest good companies to deal with. These companies will be happy to accept industry standard payment terms like L/C. Normally. Scammers normally want western union or bank wire.
I'd say do your due dilligence on any company on there by way of google search, checking for local business bodies and asking for references from current/past customers that you can verify and lastly ask if you can have a sample (you may have to pay for it!). No honest company will be offended by these questions as it's part of forming a new business relationship.

Rich

Thanks

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owenlee

12 years ago

They should have a reviews of their company right? what i always do is google the company names...if im not wrong alibaba have one small website that they cater to smaller orders. is alixpress.com

I have some success and some uses paypal too which is good for me..

one tip is to order a small quantity first and test it out..

Thanks

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