Alibaba.com and its Chinese Suppliers - review needed

Hello all

because there are also some China suppliers here I would like to ask for some tips to start with an china supplier. Perhaps someone can help or give his experience:

I have contact to the following manufacurs (all via alibaba.com):

Guangzhou Lifang Amusement Equipment Co., Ltd., Lane 2, North Street, Yunxingtingsha Village, Shiqiao St., Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (Mainland)
Jiaxing Well Done Trading Limited; 506, Weijia Business Bldg., No. 12, Jishui Road, Nanhu Dist., Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China (Mainland)
Rastar Group, (North Side Of Xiadao Road, Shanghua Town) Xinghui Industrial Park, Chenghai District, Shantou, Guangdong, China (Mainland)
Shenzhen BBJ Toys Co., Ltd, Rm. 610, Sculpture Homeland, 8 Zhongkang South Rd., Beihuan Avenue, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China (Mainland)

Is alibaba trustul as like as paypal e.g.? Is the alibaba Trade Assurance a really safe way to do business with china suppliers?
Is it enough if the supplier has gold status, onsite check, Assessment Report and accepts alibaba Trade Assurance?
is it usual to get a sample pallet first beside of moq?

Thank you very much for your reponds

Hi Richard,

The thing about Alibaba is that you're not doing business with Alibaba themselves, you're doing business with independent suppliers that are advertising in the Alibaba B2B directory. So my advice is that things like gold member status, while are OK to use as a bit of guide, they don't offer you any sort of protection.

The only way to fully protect yourself is to use a safe payment method, credit card ideally, PayPal if not. DO NOT use wire transfer services, that's the quickest way to wash your money away.

With sample lots. Yes, getting a sample lot is always a good idea. That said, you can never put all your faith in that alone either, so use it as a guide again.

It sounds like you are talking wholesale here, so you may want to consider using a sourcing service like Imex. They can verify legit suppliers for you to deal with and can save a lot of drama when you're talking large purchases.

Cheers