Alibaba.com is one of the world’s largest business to business e-commerce platforms which feature marketplaces in English, Japanese and Chinese. This was founded by a man named Jack Ma. This website was created with the purpose or idea to open doors for consumers.
Allow them to reach wholesalers in the global market. In this website the consumer is able to see the different arrays of wholesalers, what they offer and allow them to find the best price for the goods they need to open or maintain their businesses.
You can find everything from electronics to clothing. It’s amazing to see what is out there. You figure with so many wholesalers, there must be competition, allowing a consumer to get the best price ever. It’s something you can’t miss.
Unfortunately, even though the concept of this website is excellent, there is a down side to it. As always, there are those that are only in it to make a quick buck, scammers and plenty of them. This doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of this website, just beware, be cautious, don’t get scammed.
Here are a few tips on how not to get scammed.
NEVER BUY ELECTRONICS OR PHONES
The electronics or phones they sell you are cheap knock offs. First of all, you will be lucky if you receive anything at all. I spent $250 for an iPhone. I was told it’s authentic but I couldn’t prove it for myself, never received it. It was never shipped so I was out of $250. Of course, had it entered the US the chances that I would have received it would be slim. Once it gets into customs, it is gone.
DON’T BUY LARGE QUANTITIES IMMEDIATELY
When you find the wholesaler you want to deal with, no matter what they ask for, never, ever buy large quantities of goods. Most of them will ask you to buy a minimum of 2000 MOQ. DON’T DO IT. Talk with them, bargain with them. Explain to them that you want to see the product first, check them out before you invest so much money with them. If they are not scamming you, they will work with you. If you like the product, buy more but in increments. If they are a legitimate company they will do what they can to earn your trust and business.
PAYMENTS
Many of these companies will ask for payment either by Western Union or wire transfers. Most have made many purchases and have made their payments via Western Union. The way to avoid getting ripped off is to avoid being greedy. Don’t place huge orders from the beginning. Start with small orders. It is better to be out of $100 then a $1,000. Don’t do the wire transfers, they cost much more than payments made via Western Union, plus this doesn't guarantee anything.
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE
When you ask for a picture of the items, ask them to prove it is theirs. How you might ask? Well, have them write your name on a piece of paper and place the item on there, then take the picture. If it’s a professional picture, don’t believe it. You can pull those right off the internet. Of course, that does not mean they really have lots of those but the chance of it is more possible.
EMS TRACKING NUMBERS
When they talk about shipping don't let them ship your items via EMS. One of their scams is they give you a tracking number but it actually is for another persons shipment. No matter how you try, you can't get that shipment diverted to you. Ask them instead to ship your item via UPS or DHL. The package arrives faster, less chance of it being held up in customs, less chance of them creating a fake number.
PRICES THAT ARE JUST TOO GOOD
Do some research first and ask different wholesalers what their price are for the goods you want. Once you have those prices, get an average. When doing business with a wholesaler, keep that average cost in mind (most of them will just give you the cost of the item itself). If the price way too high, just move on. A legitimate wholesaler will give you fair prices and is willing to work with you.
FREE SAMPLES
Some companies to get you to buy their product and trust will offer you free samples. Now mind you, the samples are free but the shipping isn’t. Be very careful because the cost of shipping can be extremely ludicrous. At times, some may actually send you samples and only they are good. This is to get your attention. Even if the items are perfect, the best you ever seen and the price they are offering you is incredible, DO NOT PLACE A LARGE ORDER. Still get smaller quantities. These samples can be used just to fool you and get your money.
CHECK THE COMPANY NAME
The company name may not always be real. This is where the calling comes in good. Look, it is better to spend a few bucks on a calling card (cheaper than regular charges) and giving them a call. Don’t tell them you are doing this, catch them off guard. When they answer the phone they will either use a company name (if it’s real) or just say hello. Right there you know you are being scammed.
ALIBABA FORUM
Alibaba.com has a forum set up to help consumers like me and you. One of the sections on there is to reveal scammers and fraudulent suppliers. BEWARE! These are not always real. Read through these carefully. You will find many people that are upset because they have been ripped off. All of sudden you start seeing comments from someone as to how they too were ripped off but thank God they found a company that was honest and real. They go on and on quite a few times. Well, it turns out they are scammers diverting more business to themselves. Take the time to read through them. You will find that there are people that bust them all the time, give you real info. As they say, take it with a grain of salt. Just be careful, research is the key word here.
TRIPS TO CHINA
If you happen to be traveling and your stop is China, don’t hesitate to stop and visit these wholesalers. Of course, just because you meet with them, it doesn’t mean they are legitimate. There is a case where a group of people went to China to deal with a wholesaler. They met, were impressed with their meeting and with what they saw. Such was the case that they signed the contract. Once they arrived in the US they sent over the money sure they were going to get what they purchased. Why not, they had met in person. Well that’s not what happened, they didn’t get anything, and they were ripped off.
ALIBABA SCAM EMAILS
BEWARE! You will receive emails from suppliers on Alibaba that you never contacted. These are scammers too. Just like any other email that is set up to be a scam, these emails come with a purpose. This email comes with a virus or Trojan to infect your computer and pull your personal information. It’s easy to fall for these; they look legitimate, logo and all but again if you didn’t contact them for this information, just delete it. DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK.
ALIBABA GOLD SUPPLIERS
Supposedly if a supplier has the Gold Supplier emblem on their page it means they are trustworthy and an actual company. According to Alibaba, this supplier has met with all mandatory requirements, even certifications. In doing research, they found this not to be true in all cases. All these suppliers need to do, to receive the Gold Supplier emblem on their page, is pay $2,999 for 12 months. For a scammer this is easy, they have stolen so much money (hopefully not yours) that they can pay anything at this point. For scammers, $2,999 is chump change that we have provided them with. They do this because, face it, there is a sucker born every second and they hope it will be you. Again, this doesn’t mean that all do this, just don’t be fooled by a mere simple image on a page. Still do research and get to know the supplier before actually sending them your money.
Understand this; the purpose of this is not to scare you off but to help you. The best things that are oferred for free are advises, tips, how to, things that can help life be a little easier. Alibaba.com has lots of legitimate business that you can trust but you just have to do research. Start out small; don’t invest too much money too quickly. See that is where you get ripped off, greed, the desire to have more so you can compete more with other businesses. You will find a few companies that will really work with you. They will allow you to buy small quantities, such as 100 pieces. After a few orders you can increase the amount by doubling it each time. By this point you have created a bond with this supplier of trust. You just have to keep working it at it. Remember, if it’s sounds too good to be true, then it isn’t true.