Alibaba - why is PayPal no longer available?

When completing an order with Alibaba Express - they announce that they have broken their alliance with Pay Pal - any one know why. It says still covered by Escrow and offer other options. when I try Visa and M/C it says this option is not yet available.
This is all looking a little suspect - I have bought much from alibaba without a concern - any one know what is up and if any of the other payment options are okay - Australian Buyer.
Thank Christine

Hi Christine,

It was PayPal who severed ties with Alibaba Express Link hidden: Login to view
and like you, most of Alibaba members are not happy with this change Link hidden: Login to view

I'd like to share with you our review of Alibaba.com Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps.

Hi Christine,

As of June 30 2011, PayPal and Alibaba ended their partnership but no reason was disclosed by both parties as to why. To read more about the announcement - Link hidden: Login to view

Escrow and PayPal are two different companies and function separately. As stated on their site, all payments are done via Escrow which means that payment will only be released to the supplier once you have confirmed satisfactory delivery. However, if delivery is not confirmed within 30 days of receipt, payment will automatically be released to the supplier.

To do a credit card payment please refer to this, Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps :)

Thank you Irene and Richelle,
Viewing all the links I think Alibaba has been a good learning curve and I have just been lucky with my orders not to have had problems. What the paypal blog has to say is very pertinent and having read it I will feel better placed I think with DHGate and American Suppliers
Very valuable info thank you for your time. Christine AUS

On behalf of Irene, you're welcome Christine :) We are always happy to be of help to our members.

Yes, you have been lucky that all your order came through satisfactorily. Please be cautious when dealing with suppliers be it on Alibaba or DH Gate or any other site. Using a safe payment method is one way you can keep yourself safe from the thousands of online scammers.

If you have any other concerns please let us know.

Cheers!