Is Alibaba Safe and Reliable? Is Alibaba legit?

There are hundreds of questions on Alibaba. Many buyers ask, is Alibaba legit? Still, this question is pending. There are hundreds of reasons not to believe in Alibaba. Especially the scammers are wandering around to do frauds with buyers.

Based on our 10 years of sourcing experience, we have worked with many Alibaba suppliers and know-how to get the best. Remember, you should try the gold suppliers to prevent any problems.

Moreover, some suppliers offer trade assurance orders that provide the ultimate safety you need. So, you must know different parameters before choosing the right supplier. 

If finding reliable suppliers is hard for you, get in touch with us. Today, we will elaborate on, is Alibaba legit?

What is Alibaba?

Alibaba is, in fact, China’s, or to some extent, the globe’s largest online shopping company. It has three leading websites that are Taobao, Alibaba.com, and Tmall.

These websites contain millions of retail customers. They also treat millions of legit suppliers as well as businesses.

The business model of  Alibaba deals with more businesses. The company focuses on B2B trades. You can check Alibaba reviews for surety.

Suggested reading: How to buy from Alibaba?

Is Alibaba safe and reliable?

The precise answer to “is Alibaba safe and reliable” is yes. Alibaba is, without any doubt, safe. But the more extensive explanation is Alibaba is safe if you learn the signs to consider. It is necessary to opt for the correct merchant.

The riskiest barriers to locating the right supplier are the intermediaries and scammers.

By good luck, it is not hard to ignore these signs.

Is Alibaba Legit?

So is Alibaba legitimate? Alibaba is among the biggest e-commerce sites in China or maybe the world.

Of course, it is legitimate.

Although, the vendors who sell using this site are some other stories. At the same time, many suppliers are on this site for business only.

6 Common Scams When Ordering From Alibaba

Here are all the details for ordering from Alibaba.

1. Get your payment but don’t ship your products.

Most internet users fear the fraud of paying money.

Yet not receiving products when buying online. It is the most common fear and risk people face while shopping from Alibaba.

But, it is, in fact, impossible for such things to occur amongst Chinese vendors selling on Alibaba.

Suggested reading: Alibaba payment

2. Wholesale price to attract you but raise the price before placing an order

When the cost is, of course, lower compared to the market cost for your sample product, please consider it. You will not be notified that your order’s verified price is unavailable.

After you have set up the sample and you are prepared to place the order. But, in an instant, the cost increases. To ignore this risk is not working with suppliers who promote low costs.

 3. Low price to attract you but ripe you off on shipping fees

So you want to learn the truth?

Indeed, there are various low-cost freight agents in China who own transit buses.

Such as firms like DHL. They, in general, need longer times for transit. A Chinese supplier can obtain lower shipping costs from these agencies. The major problem is that Alibaba does not require a business license leading to scams.

After that, report those to you at a greater rate.

4. The sample is good, but send you bulk order mixed with defective and poor quality products

Maybe, the sample they sent to you is in excellent condition.

But defective items often get incorporated in with the Alibaba bulk items. The look of those faulty products may not appear to be a huge issue.

But their performance or lifespan becomes worse over time.

5. Sell fake or intellectual property infringement products

There are many vendors on Alibaba who sell imported items at an affordable rate.

For example, DJI Drone, electronic appliances, and mobile phones. Such types of items contain intellectual property infringement problems. They are hard to go through customs as well.

Kindly do not rely on your luck and become obsessed with the costs if you do not own a particular channel.

6. Agree on Trade Assurance initially, but refuse before placing an order. 

At first, a particular vendor accepts payments through Trade Assurance.

But once you place your order, they may ask you to make the offline installment. Or they use the excuse of lack of installments or charge you other fees.

If this occurs, do not pay outside the Alibaba website. This kind of operation outside risks the security you get from Alibaba of Trade Assurance.

How To Buy From Alibaba Safely

1. Review the Company Profile

All the company profiles contain all the essential information in the free Alibaba accounts of the company.

The information is confirmed and not confirmed by Alibaba. If there is a verified mark on the supplier’s profile, you are good to buy.

If there is not any verified mark, we suggest you research from top to bottom about the company.

2. Pay with Alibaba Trade Assurance

These are the stages for paying by utilizing Trade Assurance as per Alibaba.

1. Place the order with the Trade Assurance vendor
2. Pay the vendor through the steps mentioned on Alibaba
3. Get your delivery
4. Leave your feedback for the order and the vendor.

While you look for a vendor, the one with the Trade Assurance mark.

So place your order the same way you do with all other vendors. There is not so much to do for you since Alibaba secures your order and payment.

But remember: once you pay with your bank card, Alipay, or Paypal, your order is secured. One other method to be sure of Alibaba is to ensure the vendor accepts safe ways of payment.

Suggested reading: Alibaba trade assurance

3. Use safe payment methods to pay on Alibaba

The legit Alibaba manufacturers and suppliers accept the following methods of payment:

• Alipay (entirely secure)
• Paypal (most secure)
• Bank cards (completely safe)

Yes, you may also pay using bank cards. In all honestly, you are 100% secure just by ensuring the payment conditions on Alibaba are secure.

Until the items you receive. If you do not get your own products, Alibaba will give you your money back.

Then, it will file a dispute with the vendor for your sake.

4. Collaborate with reputable suppliers

There are numerous types of suppliers provided by Alibaba. The vendors have to go through some different phases to get verified. There is not a full assurance of excellent quality.

But when you search for vendors with the three main ratings mentioned below.

• Gold Supplier Membership. Verified Gold suppliers pay an expensive cost for being pre-qualified.
• Trade Assurance Supplier. Having this sign means that you can now be sure the goods are verified before shipping. 
• Assessed Alibaba Supplier search. The 3rd-party investigator has visited the supplier. 

You must be aware of vendors who ask for payment before sending you the goods.

One other method is to check quickly if the Alibaba suppliers are okay to operate with. You have to check if the supplier has a verified mark on it.

Also, make sure to check if the supplier is Gold. Check the following factors to be sure of supplier assessment.

Avoid these two types of Chinese suppliers

• 1. Hot-selling-type trading company

These vendors are, by and large, small Alibaba trading companies in mainland China.

Once they view some favorite products, they upload their product images to the Alibaba website.

But they do not have stock accessible for such products.

• 2. Grocery-type trading Supplier’s company 

The con of such Chinese suppliers is that they contain an assortment of products they offer—select suppliers specializing in it.

Suggested reading: Alibaba gold supplier

5. Control the product quality

 While opting for Alibaba China online shopping, quality is the leading risk. If the vendor uses QMS, or Quality Management System, for example, ISO9001, that is great!

ISO agreement is not having a quality check before packing and shipping the products. The vendor must inspect the raw materials along with substances before producing products. Also, they should set up an inspection station for the products. In the end, do a final review of the product.

6. Avoid Brand Name Products

Last but not least, while going through vendors and expecting to get a great one for working. Search for those suppliers who claim to provide original brands.

On the whole, certified goods are unavailable on Alibaba.

Hence, if you come across a vendor purporting to sell brands. Such as Coach, Nike, Louis Vuitton, and so on. There is an excellent chance that they are trying to scam you.

Or in turn, if you export such goods, you might be subject to lawful action. Hence, look out for vendors who purport to provide you with access to famous brands at affordable rates. The possibility is that you can end up in problems.

7. Requesting a Quote 

These are some essential queries to take into account for your e-mail address:

• Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ)

If you see, the minimum order is for 60 pieces. You may negotiate the Minimum Order Quantities with the supplier. Also, the vendor can export some products for free when you ask them.

• Pricing For Samples

Ensure to ask their cost for each unit if they send their samples to you because it is often greater than their overall prices.

• Production Pricing

The production cost may vary, starting from $1 up to infinity. Get discounted prices to rely upon the large order that you have placed.

• Payment Terms 

You may need to ensure that the vendor agrees to the payment terms you are comfortable with. When they disagree, you must find some other supplier who does.

Suggested reading: Alibaba rfq

FAQs About Is Alibaba Legit

What’s Next

Look, Alibaba is quite a safe platform. That’s why hundreds or even thousands of suppliers are working on this platform without a second thought.

If it weren’t safe, you wouldn’t expect such numbers of most suppliers and other buyers.

However, if safe trade is your concern, find verified suppliers. LeeLine Sourcing has more than ten years of experience dealing with Alibaba suppliers.

If you need our sourcing services for finding suppliers, hit us a message right away!