How to convince gullible buyers that they can trust you ― for only $699.
So you want to be sure that the great supplier you have found can be trusted? What do you look for on B2B sites that will give you that reassurance?
If you can trust a verified supplier more than one that is not verified, you would expect that you can trust a Gold Supplier or a Premium Supplier even more than an ordinary verified supplier. The sad truth is that the trust ratings on almost every popular B2B sourcing site are worthless. I will explain why shortly.
Maybe a verified supplier is more trustworthy than a non-verified supplier??? This is how the verification system works. You be the judge. (Please remember that I am generalizing in order to cover many small variations, but they all work along almost the same lines.)
Did I say “big bucks”?
On some sites they do spend a lot, up to $6,000. Until recently it would cost an Alibaba supplier $2990 to become a Gold Supplier. Then, for most of last year the price was reduced to $299 and thousands more Gold Suppliers suddenly appeared.
This has been such a big money earner for Alibaba that they now have a permanent offer of a discounted version for $699.
Imagine if just by paying $699 you could convince your customers that you were a super rated, highly reliable and trustworthy seller – wow, what a difference that could make to your sales and it would surely be worth the money.
The other sites have not yet moved to match Alibaba’s discounting, but watch this space.
The bad news for buyers is that they are being led to believe that they have some reassurance that these suppliers, whatever B2B site they are on, must be better than the average. But the big question is: Can you trust them?
If you can trust a verified supplier more than one that is not verified, you would expect that you can trust a Gold Supplier or a Premium Supplier even more than an ordinary verified supplier. The sad truth is that the trust ratings on almost every popular B2B sourcing site are worthless. I will explain why shortly.
Maybe a verified supplier is more trustworthy than a non-verified supplier??? This is how the verification system works. You be the judge. (Please remember that I am generalizing in order to cover many small variations, but they all work along almost the same lines.)
- A non-verified supplier registers for free, and could be anyone with a computer. The B2B site operators don’t care and they don’t even check that the business is real.·
- A verified supplier also registers for free but to become verified they must be checked out. On some sites they pay a very small fee for this checking to be done, but on most they pay nothing. The checking involves a visit to their premises, and a look at their business registration papers. Great! This proves that they can afford to rent a serviced office for a day and they have registered a business. It tells you nothing more. Note: Forging of documents is endemic in China. Even business registration documents are often forged.
- To become a Gold or Premium Supplier these verified suppliers have to pay for the badge. They don’t have to undergo more checking. They don’t have to have a proven record of good, reliable, trustworthy service, with satisfied customers. They just have to buy the badge. All you know about them when you see the status badge is that the business exists and that they know that most people are gullible enough to be taken in by a fancy badge of status, so they are willing to pay big bucks for a badge that says “Gold Supplier”.
Did I say “big bucks”?
On some sites they do spend a lot, up to $6,000. Until recently it would cost an Alibaba supplier $2990 to become a Gold Supplier. Then, for most of last year the price was reduced to $299 and thousands more Gold Suppliers suddenly appeared.
This has been such a big money earner for Alibaba that they now have a permanent offer of a discounted version for $699.
Imagine if just by paying $699 you could convince your customers that you were a super rated, highly reliable and trustworthy seller – wow, what a difference that could make to your sales and it would surely be worth the money.
The other sites have not yet moved to match Alibaba’s discounting, but watch this space.
The bad news for buyers is that they are being led to believe that they have some reassurance that these suppliers, whatever B2B site they are on, must be better than the average. But the big question is: Can you trust them?
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