Alibaba.com - a manufacturers directory?

www.alibaba.com claims to be a manufacture directory but i am not to sure about this website. Because they do sell alot of g-star clothes that i cannot find in the salehoo directory.
who can give me some advice about this website ? and CAN I trust this WEBSITE?
thanks

Hi Jordi,

Yes, they are a directory of some sort but we don't really recommend using them. Although, in fairness to the legit suppliers who are listed there - there are some legit and fair suppliers in Alibaba.com but you will have to do a lot of extra research to find them.

Salehoo did an expose on Alibaba and I think this might help,

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Also, here are a few threads on Alibaba.com, please have a read:

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Hope this helps :)

- there are some legit and fair suppliers in Alibaba.com but you will have to do a lot of extra research to find them.

Indeed, and to add to that, we suggest that you proceed with caution if you are after brand name goods. Cheap, generic products are relatively safe to be sourced from Chinese suppliers, but not for brand name products.

And here are some simple things you can do to protect yourself when dealing with ANY supplier:

1. Run a whois check on the supplier's website to verify when it was created (it is safest to deal with suppliers who have been online at least a year), who owns the domain, and where the domain was registered (the country should match the contact details on the supplier's website). We recommend using Link hidden: Login to view (replace salehoo.com with the url of the supplier).

2. Search the SaleHoo forum for the supplier's website/company name and see what other members have to say.

3. Call the supplier's telephone numbers to ensure they are genuine.

4. Purchase a sample before bulk ordering to ensure that the item meets your expectations.

5. Watch out for sellers asking you to 'safeguard' your purchase by sending your money transfer in the name of a friend or loved one, or by establishing a 'test question'. These actions will not protect you from a fraudulent seller.

6. Low prices do not necessarily mean fraud, but radically low prices should warrant a closer look. If a price seems to good to be true, it probably is. Ask the seller as many questions about the item's authenticity as you can before you go any further.

7. Always use a safe payment methods that will allow you to claim your money back in case things do not turn out well. Use a credit card or Paypal to purchase goods.

Hope that helps.

The girls have covered all that for you, but I would just say that to save yourself any drama with any of the B2B directories, and there are plenty, with plenty more coming online every week it seems, if it's a branded product from a mainland Chinese supplier, ignore them!

That doesn't mean Honk Kong, only mainland China. Now no matter where a supplier is located you can never just place an order safely without firstly doing your research on them, but where mainland China and branded items are concerned, ignore the research and walk away!

Right again fudjj! It's not just B2B directories popping up on the net but individual suppliers luring in customers with offers of cheaply priced products, the likes of branded mobile phones and brand name clothing/apparel. Many have fallen for these and many still do - China is just not the venue for authentic branded products!

:)