Is Alibaba the only way?

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suigeneris

Free Member
Nov 25, 2010
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  • #1
    Interested in buying stock from Alibaba - are there any alternative international marketplaces?

    Also - how do you go about checking quality of product - is ordering a sample the only way (or is there a review based service or way to find better suppliers from China?)

    Worst case scenario is I order hundreds of something and find its poor quality/poorly made!

    Any suggestions/advice?
     
    E

    ETEK

    Free Member
    Oct 18, 2009
    25
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  • #2
    Alibaba is merely a platform which is used by many Chinese companies to introduce themselves as well as their products for the foreigners.

    As for the quality inspection, unless you find a trustworthy supplier, it will be always tricky. So, if u wanna long-term business, better spend sometime on find/building a good friendship with a right supplier. Having said that, it doesn't mean Chinese firms are bad at all. Just think the best, prepare for the worst.
     
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    RBS

    RBS

    Free Member
    Jul 13, 2009
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    West London
  • #4
    IMO problem lies in what Chinese vs English people understand under "quality". While Chinese manufacturer might believe his product is high quality, in UK that product would be classified as junk.

    There must be some European/British agents in China who could help sourcing products.
     
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    lisa zhu

    lisa zhu

    Free Member
    Jun 11, 2011
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    China
  • #5
    I agree different views on quality; but China agent cannot decide which one is ok; client's approval is a must; and I always believe no absolute "good" and the point is if customer thinks it is "good"; China agent has more information on supplier and this is what British agent cannot achieve.
     
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    B

    BLintl.

  • #6
    Ordering a sample will not ensure that you will receive the product of the same quality when you place the order.

    An independent pre-shipment inspection ordered by the buyer can be a good solution. The buyer informs the inspection company about the quality demands and then the surveyor checks the lot. The costs of the inspection are very reasonable and there are many both Western and Chinese run inspection companies in China.
     
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    D

    davek17

    Free Member
    May 14, 2009
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  • #7
    Alibaba or Global sources are simply portals where Foreign businesses can get in touch with UK ones easily. The fairs are also great to visit if you can as you can do good business in a short amount if time.

    You have to be specific at all times. I think this is just a UK Vs Asia thing. We assume a lot here and we assume that we can be british when dealing with Chinese when in fact this is not how you should be.

    We always get samples before we order. We always then tweak the samples before ordering and we often send over our samples of plastic quality etc when we go through this process for our own products. Even then you must be specific when you buy your main order as we did get stung years ago by assuming it would be the same qaulity!!

    For the price of an agent you can visit yourself if you have the time. This is the best way to do things as the factories are very responsive to you coming over and developing a product over a few days. Its also a experience to have too and is the ponly real way you get what you want wihtout a bit of luck.

    The other tip is to always check the Alibaba forums for dodgy companies and I always try and email the main normal website rather than go through Alibab.
     
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    davek17

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    May 14, 2009
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  • #9
    Red-Source. As well as being useful to the thread, I would be genuinely interested to know what kinds of costs you pay for an agent and what kind of services they give you as it is something we would like to consider. The Issue has been that we have found it as hard to find a good agent as we have the source factory!!

    DaveK
     
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    domobath

    domobath

    Free Member
    Dec 23, 2010
    3
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    Zhejiang
  • #10
    the best way is get everything in your hand, not only in your eyes. you'd better arrange some time to visit China if you are planing trade with China. remark the suppliers who made you felt reliable, then make the factory tour one by one. after the visit, you will got at least four or five reliable supplier during the visiting on China.
    Good luck
     
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    B

    bibido

  • #15
    as far as im concerned ,you should order a sample for reference firstly, then investigate something before making decisions.
    you can find supplier from alibaba or tradekey and dhgate.
    meanwhile ,i also tend to suggest you find supplier from China ,cause China offer more cheaper labor and resources. this can reduce your cost~
     
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    P

    puzzlestudios1

    Free Member
    Feb 28, 2011
    14
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  • #18
    Hello i live in Thailand , i am a 45 yr. old UK citizen , with a verified paypal account.
    I am going to china, to do my own reseach on goods from there and to find rep. drop shippers. i have 3 names already from UK friend whom regulally use these chinese droppers.

    I am asking , would anyone want an agent , for a small fee. i can research your item(s) and report to you , also check out if its a scam or not, and on my report send pics, plus all info .

    All this will be done with a 100% trust, as i will provide you with my full details and checkable docs. also i will use my own paypal on a service payments not gift.

    pls. PM me , i will be going to china in the first week of sept. 2011. a good time to start preparing for the xmas rush...... thx.

    my hot male is my user name. com
     
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    L

    lifeixyff

    Free Member
    Jul 13, 2011
    8
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    china
  • #20
    I worked in a strap company for many years ,last Feb, I met a new customer on the website, it's a dutch company and not small. In Oct, they fly to China and would like to set up business with us. But because of the prices is a bit high and the boss of the dutch company dislike the boss here, unpolite, no sincerity, he even take the customers as the guys who filch the technology.....because they took pictures.

    So when I sent the customers to the hotel and to the airport using my car. My boss is not happy with sending them to the hotel and airport.
    The boss of the dutch company told me he would like me to do purchasing for him, to find 3 factories and dicide which 1-2 to buy.

    It really good to me, this is just my dream job with my enthusiasmand self-discipline.So I cherish this job very much.

    From Oct,2010 to May,2011, I even did not get any salary from the dutch company. In fact I asked for one time, but the purchasing manager ignore that and said this is the beginning and we don't know where will leads....

    During these time , I sourced 8 factories around my province to get best prices and best products.Finally, they chose one factory to make samples.

    This factory is mid-size and their out put is about 20000000-30000000usd every year. so after the sample passed the test , the dutch company placed orders in March..........

    to be continued
     
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    E

    exportchina

  • #22
    there are a lot of native B2B websites which are full of China suppliers, alibaba of course the big one, in terms of factory credit, it's hard to tell.
    I think the best way you can find a reliable supplier is searching on internet then visit them. if you want to purchase a large amount, it's necessary to do so, instead, the supplier can know much more about you, then in the following cooperation days, Both of you will be good partners.
    The other way, you can find an reliable agency or a friend to do this for you. most of time, for a real company or factory which wants to do business for a long time must not cheat you during business.
    Hope my suggestion will help you. if you want to trade with China, our website also can help you.
    cooben (dot )com , you can find much more China reliable suppliers.
    export-to-cn (dot) com, you can find more and more China sincere buyers.
     
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    C

    chinakayak

  • #23
    :D

    If your orders large and continue,then you had better to visit china once time one year, you pointed several factories(should choose quality first factory), at the same time, you look for one person as agent to follow your orders(as factory worker sometime will have mistaken), this one can help you inspect quality, shipment process info etc. also search large info about this area, not only this supplier. if business is more and more, this charger of agent can look for assistant to help, the cost of labor is not much in china, as I ever worked in an American office in Ningbo for 6 years, we help head office much helps, 3 years after opened office, then boss founded factory directly in local!,

    wish you luck!
     
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    kimberling

    kimberling

    Free Member
    Jul 20, 2011
    14
    0
    China
  • #26
    I think Alibaba is the best option, ref quality, you can hire some one in china help you inspect the goods and keep you informed about the quality before shipment.
    Or you can ask a trading company help you inspect the goods and follow the shippment schedule
    Kimber Ling
    Skype:kimber.ling
     
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    O

    Olivia from lanyardtimes

  • #28
    Not exactly. Except alibaba, you can look for professional manufacurer by chinese search engine like baidu and goggle. You can have a good chance there.

    By the way, I am from China. Sample test and visiting factory are good ways to check quality. Or according to your experience with your eye from website and sales. It is the same in the world. Good companies and bad ones exist.
     
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    O

    Olivia from lanyardtimes

  • #29
    Not exactly. Except alibaba, you can look for a professor manufacturer through search engine like badu and goggle.

    Sorry about your bad experence. Sample test and visiting factory are good ways to check quality. Or according to your experence with your eye from website and sales . It is the same in the world. Good company and bad one exist. By the way, I am from China. Nice to meet you.
     
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    T

    trader7775

  • #30
    couple months ago I was looking for pendrives. I had ordered sample.Sample was quite good so I had ordered 200 pcs., but that what I had got was completly different in compering to the sample. Of course it was much worse.
    So sample it is not always a good idea. best is to check opinions about company we are interested in the internet. (google search)
     
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    kimberling

    kimberling

    Free Member
    Jul 20, 2011
    14
    0
    China
  • #31
    :)
    trader7775 said:
    couple months ago I was looking for pendrives. I had ordered sample.Sample was quite good so I had ordered 200 pcs., but that what I had got was completly different in compering to the sample. Of course it was much worse.
    So sample it is not always a good idea. best is to check opinions about company we are interested in the internet. (google search)
    Click to expand...
    Hi Sir,

    Sorry to hear your news, the good way is to find a local guy, which is living in the country you import from. I am working for a Danish company and I am from Chinese, my boss is from Denmark, my responsibility is mainly inspect the goods before loading to container, resolve quality problems, monitor the quality control and rework process if the inspection result not good.

    If your company is small, your factory may only do one time business with you but do not care your cost. and it cost too much higher in Europe than that rework in China.
     
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    J

    JamesDay

  • #33
    Try Global Sources.com. We've been around longer...have 1000s of verified suppliers that we visit to ensure they're real companies...and also publish magazines & research reports...and host China Sourcing Fairs in locations around the world.
     
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