Ali Baba - Not Money Hungry Enough

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I posted a thread a while ago here regarding an ali baba concern.

Well I decided to go for it as I can easily make 10x my current profit if I sell my own physical products.

There is only 2 distributors for said product. I have sent them both a message through ali baba. One hasn't responded at all and one said "we will get back you with price quote".

This was nearly 2 weeks ago. I thought the Chinese would jump on my USD dollars but they haven't.

Is it typical to wait like a month for a response for a quote? Is there anything I can do to speed the process? I'm losing money by waiting on them.
#ali #baba #hungry #money
  • Profile picture of the author Dave Dougherty
    Hi, In answer to your question No its not typical to wait a month, I have made a lot of contacts through alibaba and all of the good ones reply with in a day, I only deal with gold suppliers.

    But end of the day if they have not replied after a month, I don't think they will.
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    • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
      Thats pretty much how it is here in China. Sometimes negotiations take weeks, when they could have been done in minutes. It took me a good 6 months to realize that I couldn't just move to China and conduct business the same way I could in the U.S.

      If I could offer you some advice, is to communicate with them over messenger. Download the international version of QQ. This kind of forces them to get you answers more quickly.

      Also, a supplier not being pro-active about making a deal is kind of a good thing because it means they are busy, which means they are running a steady business. CSR's on Alibaba that respond really quick and are pushy to make a deal are usually middlemen who have no actual affiliation with the supplier, they just want to get your money as fast as possible so that they know youre legitimate and can go out there and find an actual supplier so they can figure out how much money they are going to make. Most manufacturers don't have someone who just sits in front of a computer all day to answer questions on Alibaba.
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      • Profile picture of the author mr shmuel
        Factories get contacted by people hundreds of times a week. They sift through the requests and determine on their own who is a going to buy and who is not. If you are serious about buying, I'd contact them again. Download Trademanager and wait for them to come online. An introductory post such as:

        Hi,
        My name is Alan X and I work with Company Name. I am interested in getting a quote for X Product. I'd like to import Y amount to start and if all goes well, would continue to place bimonthly orders. I'd like to ship this via container where the destination will be Long Beach Port in America. I am ready and motivated to purchase.

        Please send me a quote with FOB pricing. My email is below

        My company website is xyz.com
        My email is alan@xyz.com
        Be sure to include as much information as you can in the first contact. Leave out price no matter how much they ask you for it. You're in the best bargaining position if they give you the price first.

        If they still do not respond to you, feel free to reach out to me and I'll get in contact with them for you and figure out what their problem is. My office is in China and I have a factory sourcing company here so I'm on the phone with guys like this all day.

        Good Luck!
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        • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
          Originally Posted by mr shmuel View Post

          Factories get contacted by people hundreds of times a week. They sift through the requests and determine on their own who is a going to buy and who is not. If you are serious about buying, I'd contact them again. Download Trademanager and wait for them to come online. An introductory post such as:



          Be sure to include as much information as you can in the first contact. Leave out price no matter how much they ask you for it. You're in the best bargaining position if they give you the price first.

          If they still do not respond to you, feel free to reach out to me and I'll get in contact with them for you and figure out what their problem is. My office is in China and I have a factory sourcing company here so I'm on the phone with guys like this all day.

          Good Luck!
          This thought had crossed my mind. My message was just the default "contact seller button". My company is displayed as my "name", because I don't own a company.

          Maybe I should make another account and correct these things.
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          • Profile picture of the author Importexport
            Originally Posted by AffiliatingAlan View Post

            This thought had crossed my mind. My message was just the default "contact seller button". My company is displayed as my "name", because I don't own a company.

            Maybe I should make another account and correct these things.
            Good idea. Make sure you give yourself a business name. Any business name will do and it does not have to be registered. See the last point about "things you should say" in my post.
            Signature
            Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Importexport
    Originally Posted by AffiliatingAlan View Post

    I posted a thread a while ago here regarding an ali baba concern.

    Well I decided to go for it as I can easily make 10x my current profit if I sell my own physical products.

    There is only 2 distributors for said product. I have sent them both a message through ali baba. One hasn't responded at all and one said "we will get back you with price quote".

    This was nearly 2 weeks ago. I thought the Chinese would jump on my USD dollars but they haven't.

    Is it typical to wait like a month for a response for a quote? Is there anything I can do to speed the process? I'm losing money by waiting on them.
    The high profits you refer to are the real magnet that draws people to buy from China.

    Unfortunately for you it draws a huge number of people who have no idea what they are doing when it comes to buying overseas. The result is that suppliers can pick and choose and if your first message to them is not done properly you won't get a reply.

    Here are a few hints on how to get suppliers to respond:
    • Don't mention that you are new to the business.
    • Don't tell them you are a sole trader.
    • Don't offer your business plan like you would to a supplier in the USA.
    • Don't ask what is their MOQ. They will tell you soon enough. That is when you might start working on them to supply a lot less.
    • Don't offer your tax or business registration details.
    • Don't ask for samples early in your communications with them, and don't expect them to be free.
    • Don't haggle. Most "experts" will tell you to do so, but there are good reasons why you should not and I teach why you don't need to. This issue is even more critical in the early stages. If you try to talk the price down early on you will suddenly find no more emails arrive.
    There are a few things you should say:
    • Tell them you are an established importer.
    • Tell them quality is important to you.
    • Ask them for a copy of their catalog, preferably a printed version.
    • Give them your business name. Don't have one? Invent one.
    My last and probably most important hint is don't try to find suppliers on Alibaba or any of the popular sourcing sites usually recommended on the forum.


    There are safe sourcing sites but I don't publish them online because before going to those sites newbies need to learn safe sourcing methods.
    Signature
    Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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