The secret on how Alibaba.com works

We were a gold supplier at Alibaba. I would like to disclose some secrets of Alibaba.com.

I will answer the following:

Usually a company care about it's customers the most so who are really the customers of Alibaba.com?

Why the buyers at Alibaba will receive a lot of spam emails?

Who should use Alibaba?


If you are a buyer at Alibaba.com, the truth is: Once you post on the buying thread on Alibaba, all the gold suppliers can see your email address.

And once you send a inquiry to one supplier, it will be sent to all the suppliers that have the same kind of product.

So usually once you post a thread there, you will receive over 30 replies in the first day.

Due to the intensive competition caused by Alibaba spam, suppliers will give you extremely low price. However they won't tell you the hidden fee there since they want to convince you that their price is the lowest.

And finally when you decide to order, they will ask you pay 30% in advance, usually via bank wire transfer or western union. The risk is there though.

When they tell you your order is ready to ship, at this time, they will tell you the hidden fee and you have no choice since you already paid 30%.

The ordering process is very complicated.

That's true, since Alibaba is not good for buyers, since Alibaba only concerns on how to gain expensive membership fee from the supplier and can't get a penny from buyer. Sending buyer's info to suppliers will make supplier happy and would like to pay for the membership fee.

The membership fee they charge for golden members starts from $8000 USD a year. The highest membership fee is $24,0000 USD.

So the suppliers at Alibaba are their real customers. Buyers pay nothing to Alibaba so they don't care about buyers. That's why it's useless to complain to Alibaba if you were cheated.

Who should use Alibaba.com?

Only if you want to purchase very big order. For example, over $300,000 USD once. At this point, Alibaba is your best choice.

And also please note that the profile of a supplier at Alibaba.com is not real! Alibaba allows suppliers to change their English business name and company type any time! Most 'manufacturers' there are trading companies. If you want to order a lot, you'd better do a lot of search to make sure you are buying from a manufacturer or a trading company.

However, most manufacturers there are only good at production, not selling.

So I can't say if it's good for you to buy from a manufacturer or a trading company. Many manufacturers don't like to sell directly since they would like to focus on production only. That's why many real manufacturers don't accept orders lower than 1 million.

So if you are not running a big company, and you don't hope to get in trouble, you can just order from online wholesalers based in China, especially based in Shenzhen, where most manufacturers locate.

Hmmm.

it's seems this topic is not interesting, although it's original

I learned a lot! Thank you!

Thank you. I have noticed while on Alibaba (I am still hurting by being scammed) that once you send an inquiry, these scam sellers start sending you emails with their websites. Be wary that Putian seller is a big no. Being listed as Gold Supplier is no guarantee. Those from Putian are (I guess) paying those fees as a group to pose as one reputable company. They are all over the place.

It proves my point though, deal wit China just then when you have some real money in order to make more money. Otherwise be smart, and if you must buy small, test, and test some more. And this is only for non-brand items. There aren't any iPods or Nokia phones or Designer Clothing from China that are legit for you to buy in order to resell.

im going to make this a sticky as this is very valuable information and will help alot of members. Thanks

Well,
What could you expect when they have that name.

Only, it does not sem that that this Alibaba needs 40 thieves.

But, have they forgotten what happens in the end?

I have to say, chinawholesaler is correct, i got scammed, about 3 times
using a website called Link hidden: Login to view alibaba and other china B2B tradewebsites.. thinking i was purchasing iphones, playstations, etc.. and dell laptops..

my first scam, i ordered original 8gb the supplier sent me fake iphone
luckily their is a market for the fake iphone, its called the iphone clone..and i was able to resell and break even..

2nd deal i was supposed to recieve a macbook air laptop
got sent a white playstation 3 instead.. i was able to retrive about 80% of my money

the first 2 scams are known as bait and switch..
they bait you in with a hot selling product, then
send you a product of lower value..

the last scam again i sent for an original iphone this was
from an alibaba gold supplier.. this was a total lost/bust


the only smart thing i did, was place small orders, all of these were for only 1 unit, none the less i was still mad cause my average order was $200 usd, any amount of money scam is a lost and it hurts.. let me tell you all they are very convincing.. they get on msn messenger or yahoo, and will be as nice as possible, like chinawholesaler said, they offer you to good to be true pricing,, and they will hunt you down everyday wanting to know when you will place this order.. its very easy to fall for this.. even the best of them.. because they are very subtle in how they do it.. all i could think of was the profit i would make, so my greed in the end is what blinded me.

and as chinawholesaler mentioned.. all of the goods they do actually have are fake anyway. a valuable lesson to be learned..
stay away from Alibaba, and other China B2b websites, alibaba is not the only one.. their is tradekey, ecvv, ec2, and hundreds of others..

also last but not least.. they will always get you to send payment thru western union, moneygram, moneybookers, or bank wire.. all 100% high risk payment options to the buyer.. if you want to test a real overseas supplier
ask him if he will accept Link hidden: Login to view , or cod.. i don't know how effective the international credit card chargeback policies are.. maybe one of you can give me some insight on that..

Link hidden: Login to view is probably the safest way to do business
especially internationally.. because the funds are put into a secure place
and let me mention only use Link hidden: Login to view cause their hundreds of other fake fraudulent escrow services..

jimmy also mentioned Link hidden: Login to view as being the only approved
escrow service with ebay..

FYI CHINA WHOLESALER , i could have used this advice about 2 months ago!!
thanks anyway

i have to add something positiv: i did 3 times cooperation with 3 different alibaba companies and all of them where real and they delivered what they promised. But I got many scam mails too.. dont worry...

First I check their website with an WhoIs Website to look, when they did register the site... if they are new.. then let the finger away from them...

If they exists for about 2-5 years - then probably they are Ok.
Also the data and under which name they registered their homepage is very important.

What I will do next is to go to china and attent a china trade fair to get their real contacts - also can test their products by myself their..

maybe u should consider this also.

One more thing.. dont expect or trust anyone on alibaba who tell you, that they can sell you 'brand' items!

my experience is almost the same, but i can tell you 3 different steps to avoid the bloody cheaters. First of all the only good way to good business with chines company is go there.
On the other hand to get back to the topic, the majority of the alibaba electronics suppliers are frauders. They just want to scam money. THats funny. Every time when i bought on alibaba something else than original playstation laptops or mp3-4 whatever, i never ever been cheated. Ok thats true i have bought trough alibaba only 9 times (scooters, and clothes) and those supplier all the time have normal website with normal address not xeun18938474793.com or Link hidden: Login to view email that they using. So the lession is
How the alibaba site looks like are they selling those products that they wrote to you into the email
Do they have real website, with real email address. Real means normal name website and related email not yahoo msn or whatever.
If yes how it is looks like. If it is some kind of free flash engine one, thats suspicious. But ive seen scam site with really massive flash design and engine.
Do they have phone? Can they answer when you are calling them?
And finally i think the trusthpass members are ok. But if you just receive email from trustpass memer who starting his letter with 'please email me to the Link hidden: Login to view or hotmail.com whatever, than delete that message. That alibaba acc has been stolen. Report it. Ive got 1000 letters from trustpass members with saying hey man we can supply nokia n95 black edition for 4 dollars seventy 3 cents. Please place your order at Link hidden: Login to view ( he is a real scammer from UK by the way) when i cchecked the alibaba message senders profile i realized they are selling diesel engines not cell phones and they were honest company. when i called them they changed their password to alibaba instantly and they were so sorry. So they are trustpass members and they are honset ones, but someone used their alibaba acc, and sending the fake offers. By the way alibaba really doesnt care about the buyers. Thats true. forget about the complain. really. THey dont care at all. I have lost 3 laptops already. And i learned the lession. Alibaba sux and the real good wholesallers and manufacturers are somewhere else, i dont know yet where:)

take care guys, and never never never never never never send money to funjian province. Everything that far away from honkong is shit over there. Sorry for the term....

Cheers
adam

I have a problem with posters who are obviously sporting Chinese as their original
language and are saying its ok to buy from Alibaba.

Something smells funny to me. I rarely hear from someone from the US who has a good experience with them.

I have a problem with posters who are obviously sporting Chinese as their original
language and are saying its ok to buy from Alibaba.

Something smells funny to me. I rarely hear from someone from the US who has a good experience with them.

Are you talking about me?:) I hope not . Especially because i did not write it is good to buy from alibaba... But maybe my language problem if that is what you got from my post... sorry about it. I was going to write. Dont use alibaba, if you are not prepared for the cheater fraud idiots... And im not chines im european just im living in australia for a while.
:?

Alibaba is a joke. And so are all the other similar B2B sites like Tradekey etc.

Gold Suppliers are actually the worst scammers on Alibaba. And It's easy to see why, a scammer pays $8000 for a trustpass, and is able to scam people out of $150,000 or more because they have a trust pass. Talk about a return on your investment.

i have to add something positiv: i did 3 times cooperation with 3 different alibaba companies and all of them where real and they delivered what they promised. But I got many scam mails too.. dont worry...

First I check their website with an WhoIs Website to look, when they did register the site... if they are new.. then let the finger away from them...

If they exists for about 2-5 years - then probably they are Ok.
Also the data and under which name they registered their homepage is very important.

What I will do next is to go to china and attent a china trade fair to get their real contacts - also can test their products by myself their..

maybe u should consider this also.

One more thing.. dont expect or trust anyone on alibaba who tell you, that they can sell you 'brand' items!

pls can you share your legit supplier.i hope its not asking too much.cheers

any one know if any of these suppliers are legit??

Link hidden: Login to view

Link hidden: Login to view


or does anyone else know of any wii sellers, that are definately not scams?? looking to buy some at a wholesale value (I am in the united states)

thanks Link hidden: Login to view

powderhound100 . You don't buy to XINGFUTRADE, IS SCAM!!!!

And another this: Link hidden: Login to view. I have lost $800!!!!!

powderhound:


regarding the

Link hidden: Login to view

Scam. not maybe, not likely. SURELY SCAM. by the way all of the electrical 'brand name' suppliers are scams . stay away form them. ANd you save a lot of money.

Thank you very much, very valueable information.

let me know if i am wrong, but alibab.com seems like a giant pyramid scheme

Be very carefull with alibaba. I almost got scamed from one company that was a gold supplier and had trust pass. If you can't trust a company with trust past then who can we trust???

Hello,

Anyone here at salehoo that can give (any) feedback about this company?

Link hidden: Login to view

They have really good prices and seems like a serious company?
Any respons would be much appriciated since I am thinking of ordering from them, I have just been scammed on alibaba and don´t wanna go that road again!

Thanks :)

I have purchased items from 2 different suppliers on alibaba. Both of them have been honest and fast to ship. They claim them to be 'authentic quality'. You cant find any 'authentic' products from china. There is some quality knock offs. Can you sell them or not is the sellers call. I still continue to buy from the 2 suppliers i found on alibaba.

They have really good prices and seems like a serious company?
Any respons would be much appriciated since I am thinking of ordering from them, I have just been scammed on alibaba and don´t wanna go that road again!

Thanks :)

i donno. but the website doesnt work so it means something wrong with them. I wouldnt recommend for u to deal with them.

Most Gold and trusted sellers are scammers. Alibaba doesn't verify these sellers. I have a friend in china that deals with importing/exporting for major companies. When I used Alibaba in the past, I would have her or her colleague do background checks on companies. 9 out of 10 were fraud. You couldn't even call their company or talk to anyone.

There are some companies that are legit but you have to do a lot of research. Search alibaba's forum or make a post asking about the company you wish to purchase from. There's a lot of people there that can tell you if the company is a cheat.

DONT TRUST ALIBABA...You go with a western company in china that checks company for you.They have companies in china that will check companies for you..YES you pay for the service.
And if you come across any company in china and they call you my friend..RUN the other way!!!!
Honestly best way is to go to china and meet face to face.

I think you bought phone or ipod.They all are not good quality.

Link hidden: Login to view

any advice
:) trace

BBB accredited business, always a good thing : )

You can check out their history and rating here;

Link hidden: Login to view

No issues about this company that I can see, quite a clean name outside of the BBB as well.

Alibaba y los ladrones 2000 es alcalde de El Portal de estafadores de la Red no verifican los mienbros slo una Paga Con Cantidad te conviertes en vendedor de oro y si te engañan o Estafan se lavan las manos y no sancionan o penalizan al vendedor o retiran el articulo Igual Que tradetang otra web que es una estafa casi en su Totalidad

I lost $20k dealing through Alibaba, having said that all of that loss was my own fault. I didn't do the research.

Last summer (in a much better market economy) we made over $40k from the pool markets, so to say Alibaba is a scam is a little unfair.

We have met and developed 3 good relationships out of China, all of which started with emails from Alibaba, including our lady on the ground over there.

Do it right and it's there. 80% of what you buy in Australia (and probably globally) is made in China, think about it, someones making the right calls :-)

Invest a few bucks and get someone on YOUR side over there. Trouble is you got to stump up the cash, these suppliers get a thousand emails a week from people all going to make millions with their idea but none are prepared to put up the dollars to make it happen.

As i said in another post, invest some bucks and find someone to fight your case and control the environment if you want to deal over there and soon after you get going, make the trip, meet the people involved, its your insurance policy

My contention is to do business in China you have to go to China. Start at an Asian Embassy in the states. There are channels for buying.
How do you think US businesses get the big boxes of sunglasses for example.

I saw a US seller selling a knock-off brand of digicam and selling the heck out of them on eBay.

If you do business on Alibaba, get an international VOIP service and start calling them up. Make a list of the companies that would or could talk to you and generate leads/ Start relationships with them and then plan a trip. It only costs about 2000 to generate the trip and would be paid for with purchases made and you can write it off your taxes.

I sold an item not on the internet over ten years ago. They were purchased directly from Asia. I didn't do the buying but knew the person who did. They probably purchased two to three hundred thousand per year from this company.
So it can be done and is being done in the billions every year.

But as an earlier poster wrote, you probably have to visit. And quite honestly, if you don't have the funds to do it than you shouldn't be in the import business.

Buying from Alibaba without research is very stupid. If your going to throw away the money why not send it to me.

-powderhound100@yahoo.com[/email]

hello
i am offering wholesale for game console, if you can give me your delivery address, and amount of units, i can check up the price and shipping charge.

please let me know

j

Very empowering information here fellow salehoo members. but, where exactly am i to turn now from this point? So, it may seem like the debate is centered around the country of china itself, is this correct? As well, does this notion apply the same way it does but in the case of a US supplier, or perhaps someone from the UK or India? What are the other remarks regarding this?

Thank you all.....

Very empowering information here fellow salehoo members. but, where exactly am i to turn now from this point? So, it may seem like the debate is centered around the country of china itself, is this correct? As well, does this notion apply the same way it does but in the case of a US supplier, or perhaps someone from the UK or India? What are the other remarks regarding this?

Thank you all.....

Regarding fakes, no doubt that China is the centre of the universe. Great place to source anything off-branded, but buyers are simply asking to be taken to the cleaners if they are expecting to buy genuine branded products.

India does also have a reputation for it, as do other parts of Asia, but Hong Kong itself is seen as a good place in Asia to source. Yes, part of China of of course, however when we talk about buying from China, we are talking about mainland China.

Very stiff penalties for manufacturing fakes in countries like the USA and the UK, as in Australia, NZ and so on, so your chances of being fakes manufactured in these countries are very remote indeed.

Of course that is offset by the prices, and those cheap fakes in China are just too good for a lot of people to resist : )

I got robbed at alibaba 2000 dollars so please no one use it

I had a very bad experience with alibaba. I like several other people who got scammed was very excited about the numbers of products they had and the super low prices too. I ordered over 1600 worth of products from two different sellers and of course I was stupid enough to send wester union and a bank draft as well.

I never did get the products and I was given a couple of fake tracking #'s as well. The Gold Supplier label is a complete fraud which can be bought for a price. Alibaba claims that the companies are checked out thoroughly by a process but that is a bunch of bull.

DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM ALIBABA UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR MONEY GO DOWN THE TOILET!!!!!!!

anyone know of a legit company that sell genuine iphones?

I can agree I just joined salehoo today.I am seeking for real suppliers and would like to run online business but it is not easy.I was trying to make some purchases through alibaba recently I ordered games for ps3 and ps2 and I think I have been scammed-400$.I am just wondering is there any way I can get my money back?Did any of you ever tried to do anything after being scammed.do you know how to find trusthworthy video games suppliers with pal format.

Hi beny, how did you make the payment?

If you paid through PayPal then you can file a dispute, or if you paid by credit card you can file a charge back if you act quickly.

If you used a wire service, no chance at all unfortunately!

Can anyone tell me if Escrow payment is good?

Yes Link hidden: Login to view is an excellent service and very safe payment method. Just be careful with other online escrow services - not all are as reputable.

Hmmm.

it's seems this topic is not interesting, although it's original

LOL, i must admit, I scimmed through it too. My mind staRTED WONDERING AFTER THE FIRST FEW SENTENCES.

has anybody bought anything from www.bestapplwholesale.com are they legit?

has anybody bought anything from www.bestapplwholesale.com are they legit?

Welcome to SaleHoo rodrigo09,

Sorry but you'll have to look for another supplier and drop this one. They maybe a legit business but they are certainly not selling authentic brand name electronic products - iPhones are a bit hard to get by and China should be the place for you to source them.

Another thing, they only accept money gram, western union and wire transfer - these are 3 sure fire ways of losing your money.

Hope this helps :)

thank you very much

You're welcome rodrigo09 - I'm pleased to know I was able to help you avoid another possible scam site.

Cheers!

PS - Do add a photo to your profile when get the chance to - thanks!

hi all well?

this is my first post and I apologize and guidance if I'm doing something wrong!

Well, I researched some companies SaleHoo on PS3 consoles, cell phones, Camera, among other things, and realized that the prices are too high, they charge very expensive!

not seem to be wholesale price, retail price seems!

I have a few companies in China, which seem to be trusted ..

and I would very much appreciate the SaleHoo team could contact them and verify that are really reliable!

the prices they charge are very good!

320 gb ps3 $ 350.00 for example.

in companies that have the SaleHoo, a 320 gb ps3 costs more than $ 550.00 ...

this is absurd. is more expensive than the stores in Paraguay.

could please check the following companies:

I can pay via bank deposit for them?

CELL PHONES:

1 Link hidden: Login to view

2 Link hidden: Login to view

3 Link hidden: Login to view

4 Link hidden: Login to view

5 Link hidden: Login to view

GAMES CONSOLES:

1 Link hidden: Login to view

2 Link hidden: Login to view

3 Link hidden: Login to view

4 Link hidden: Login to view

5 Link hidden: Login to view

You Can Check These companies please?

They Have a very good price for mobile phones and consoles. I am looking to buy Them, But I Doubt Whether They Are reliable.

i waiting your help!

this is very important to me! please help me, and make these companies!

Rogerio Faria
rogerioimportacao@hotmail.com
Natal-RN,Brasil.

I am new and I want to succed, all good information is welcome. I take note of it and I will not fall in their trap. Good Info and Thank you

I am new and I want to succed, all good information is welcome. I take note of it and I will not fall in their trap. Good Info and Thank you

Very simple rule when dealing with brand names and mainland Chinese suppliers, excluding Hong Kong, NEVER BUY THEM!

You'll find all sorts of suppliers will tell you all sorts of things, everything from the products being a perfect replica, right through to the products being genuine. I've been in this a very long time now, and I'm yet to see any genuine branded product come from a Chinese supplier!

If it's branded, stay well clear, unless of course you are specifically looking for fake branded products lol, plenty of people do take that risk, but make no mistake, it is a risk, and can be a very costly one as well when customs get hold of a load!

Thank you.

I am a newbie and have been looking into dealing with a company called Guangzhou Dingding Information & Technology Co., Ltd. located on Alibaba.com I've been speaking to a "Daniel", I tried to google the company name for info but can't find any solid reviews on the company. Can some one please help! I can afford to get scammed!!

I am interested in drop shipping and want to sell womens bandage dresses on ebay. Once I get things up and running I will then be looking to expand and start buying in bulk. Can someone please help me!

Hi BiancaC30,

Glad to have you with us!

I'll do my best to help - could you kindly share with me the link to their website and I'll have a look?

I will try to find drop shippers for bandage dresses for you. I'll be back as soon as possible. :)

Hi again BiancaC30,

Not sure if these can qualify as bandage dresses, but these two drop shippers might have the products you need -

Link hidden: Login to view
Link hidden: Login to view

Cheers!

I guess it is time to delete Alibaba, before I get into trouble.

Hey guys,

I've gathered and put together the various tips and ways to help you avoid being scammed in this post - Link hidden: Login to view so do check it out. Cheers!