Does anyone have any experiance on purchasing on Alibaba as i have tried three times in the past and all three times i never received my items.
I would really like to have another go, Can anyone recomend any good reliable suppliers on Alibaba or any other.
Thanls James
Hi,
Some members have given you good responses above. I have made several purchases on Alibaba over the years usually close to the thousand pound mark without any major issues; if you know what your doing its a useful place to connect with real manufacturers. Its not rated highly by economic analysts for nothing. Being a cautious person by nature I usually do the following: (Create an account on alibaba)
- I usually start by posting a buying request specifying exactly what I need asking to receive quotes from manufacturers. Alibaba's support team usually monitor quotes and probably filter them but I can't guarantee that.
- When the quotes start coming in you should look at them and visit their company page on alibaba.
- Check for Gold suppliers (this helps like the active Alibaba member stated above with disputes)
- Check for the Onsite Check usually at the top right corner of their page. This shows the site has been inspected and verified ( might not be a 100% guarantee but it helps)
- Due diligence by checking industrial certification which should be on their page, the product pictures correlate with the company and other checks
- I usually go through the quotes and after doing all the above check i narrow it down to five and contact these five directly by email.
- Like some stated earlier too many yes's is a bad sign, they should engage you with what they can and can't offer. I usually never go for the cheapest quote because I am a strong believer that you get what you pay for.
- Ask as many reasonable questions as possible and the answers usually give you insight. then you can decide to order samples first which I always do. They should be willing to send samples.
- You can decide to pay by escrow for dispute protection or possibly paypal.
I have ordered large quantities of uniforms to be made for my staff in the past from alibaba through a clothing factory in china. I have also ordered large quantities of hair extensions from 2 different manufacturers in china all sending good quality products because of all the due diligence done. I currently have a good working relationship with them and can comfortably pay by western union now to cut down cost if it comes to it.
If you want I can send you the email contacts of these manufacturers, one of them helps me find products and connects me with other manufacturers. Usually best to do yourself though but PM me for more.
Cheers.
