Sourcing products is a fundamental part of any ecommerce business. Finding reliable wholesalers, knowing where your items are going to come from, how much they are going to cost and what you are able to sell them for, underpins a huge part of your ecommerce strategy.
In this article, we hear from leading, international payment solution, Worldfirst, who share their thoughts and advice on sourcing products from Alibaba.
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Alibaba has become the leading platform for global wholesale trade and one of the largest ecommerce companies in the world. Alibaba.com has 150+ million registered members, 26 million active buyers and more than 150,000 sellers.
The badges on an Alibaba seller’s profile show the steps they’ve taken to prove they’re a trusted partner. You can also speak directly to sellers on Alibaba to customise your order, negotiate prices or learn more about their business.
For further reassurance you can use Trade Assurance, a free transactional protection service, to secure your purchases made via the alibaba.com payment portal. If either product quality or ship date varies from what you and the supplier agreed to in the Trade Assurance online order, Alibaba will offer you assistance in reaching a satisfactory outcome, including getting your money back.
You should get samples to review and verify consistency and quality. Some suppliers can charge full retail prices for them while others may sell samples at a reduced rate or even for free if they believe you are a serious buyer.
Read WorldFirst’s guide to sourcing products from Alibaba, including the pros and cons of buying from China and the safest ways to pay.
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If you’d like to find out more or chat directly with the experts at Worldfirst themselves, please feel free to contact regional.sales@worldfirst.com
