Definitive Guide: Is DHgate Safe and Legit to Buy from?

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Is DHgate safe to buy from?  Many people have doubts about China’s DHgate website, issued such questions. Foreign customers may be very familiar with Alibaba and AliExpress website, But for DHgate website, many are discouraged. Today we’re going to help you figure that out.

First, we need to be clear, is DHgate safe and legit?

 

 

The Definition: What’s the DHgate and is DHgate Safe?

 

DHgate wholesale website was founded in 2004 with its headquarters in Beijing, China. It Is a leading B2B Cross-Border E-commerce trading platform, committed to helping small and medium-sized businesses through this E-commerce platform to the global market.

DHgate has realized 1.9 million Chinese online suppliers and 13 million kinds of commodities, covering 19 million buyers in 222 countries and regions around the world. By the end of 2010, the number of foreign buyers had exceeded 4 million, and new buyers constantly joined in this platform. 

Many overseas buyers of DHgate website set up shops on eBay and Yahoo. They need a small MOQ, but at the same time, this platform that can be trusted to achieve the handover of procurement. The slogan of DHgate website is: Buy Globally, Sell Globally!

 

The categories of products that DHgate wholesale website include: 

• Cell Phones & Accessories,

• Electronics & Cameras,

• Sports & Outdoors…

 

DHgate seems to have a vast volume of products, but the types are only limited to consumer goods, and there are almost no dealers and factory sellers.

 

 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe To Buy From?

First, the DHgate website is a legit and safe website,  It had been approved by the relevant authorities. Secondly, it is relatively safe to buy from DHgate website, because the platform has provided relevant measures to ensure the rights and interests of buyers.

However, at the same time, you need to carefully check the qualifications of suppliers and communicate with them more. Next, We will discuss the details from the following aspects whether is DHgate safe to buy from?

 

Is safe to buy the brand product from DHgate?

You will get counterfeit and what they call over their products high copy. You can not sell any of the above online.
It looks just like there is a bunch of cheap rebranded stuff. Prices are much lower than AliExpress. Just don’t buy anything that says “Nike” on it or any other well-known brand. You should be okay if you stick to cheap trinkets and don’t care about infringement. So DHgate is not safe to buy brand products.

 

How DHgate Protect Buyers from Fraud?

Seller Feedback: This is how each buyer evaluates each seller. Seller attitude, credibility, execution, as a higher rate means a higher ranking. 

DHgate Managed Services: DHgate managed Services s a third party responsible for collecting and retaining payments until the goods are delivered. If the buyer accepts the item, the DHgate official service releases the payment. 

Dispute resolution: When a dispute occurs, there is a dispute resolution process. Resolve the disputes as quickly as possible with DHgate as a neutral and impartial mediator. 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | DHgate Reviews

On most rating websites, DHgate reviews are not very positive. Although DHgate has measures to protect buyers, the reasons for negative reviews are still not being refunded in time or money lose. Check more DHgate reviews.

Let’s look at the two latest DHgate reviews：

If you want to save a few bucks and are willing to wait forever for delivery (in my case 100 days), then get a defective or inadequate product and be told by their resolution center that they rule against you, then DHgate is the perfect place for you to patronize. I only got ripped off for $13 but you may want to go bigger. Good Luck

 

Please don’t waste your time and money. I Ordered a dress from dress top for my baby’s first birthday, they were communicating well until I placed the order, I reminded them At least 10 times to send me a picture of the dress before shipping, but they didn’t. And left a message saying dress is shipped, and gave me a fake tracking number
I contacted them multiple times and no response
I raised a dispute saying they gave me “fake tracking number”, and then they texted me saying they can process refund, if I change the reason to “package is on the way”
I haven’t yet got the refund
Attaching screenshot of our conversation

 

 

DHgate Common Bad Reviews

Is DHgate safe, according to the DHgate reviews? Let’s take a look at some of the most negative reviews of DHgate as a reference

 

DHgate Complaints

Users often find it challenging to communicate with suppliers and DHgate employees. DHgate is often accused of standing with suppliers without trying to understand the nature of the problem. 

Unlike the items listed

A common complaint is that the items delivered are entirely different from those displayed on the website. The vendor becomes unable to contact and does not respond to queries. But the payments have been released by DHgate.

High shipping costs

Some sellers will charge very high shipping costs to offset the low prices offered. It’s best to check the transportation costs before you place the order. 

Scam

The most common DHgate scam listed on various review sites is the seller’s deliberate sending of empty envelopes to the wrong address. Currently selected, currently delivered to support, service release payments. In fact, the item was never shipped and never received by the customer. 

Fake product

Another type of DHgate scam is counterfeit products. The supplier has sold the product at the price of good quality. As it turns out, these products almost always fake.

 

You may have to read the mountains and mountains of DHgate reviews to come to a reasonable assumption that it is DHgate safe or not before buy from DHgate.

 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | Suppliers’ Entry Requirements?

Both individual sellers and companies can enter the DHgate website. Individual sellers need to provide Id card, the company sellers need to offer business charter.  

In addition, field surveys of suppliers are not available on the site. So when you place the order, you should carefully check the suppliers and research background. You can check the information about suppliers on Google . You can also check their stores, such as transaction volume and instant response rate. These can become you judge supplier basis.

Let’s say it again. DHgate seems to have a vast volume of products, but the types are only limited to consumer goods, and there are almost no dealers and factory sellers.

Is DHgate safe to find a supplier? Yes, There is a high probability that it is safe for you to find a supplier on DHgate. But if you want to create a brand or have a continuous development, DHgate is not the right place. Alibaba would be more appropriate. Otherwise, your supply chain is subject to many uncontrollable challenges. For example, your seller may suddenly stop doing business. So is DHgate safe or legit? Ask yourself if you are willing to cooperate with Soho sellers.

 

According to supplyia experience, generally, there are shops on DHgate, and they will also open store on other platforms. You can go to AliExpress or Alibaba to check the reviews of their shops to avoid being cheated.

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | Payment Security

DHgate website supports the following payment methods:

1. Credit card: VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, etc. Immediate receipt and confirm the order.
2. Bank Transfer: Bank Transfer (Global Collect BV), SEPA, etc. It will be collected and charged to the DHPAY account of the buyer within 3-5 working days. After the payment is received, the buyer needs to pay the order with the balance of the DHPAY account.

 

Is DHgate safe for debit cards?

We use the voices of many forums in the United States as a reference. 

If you insist on buying there. Do not use a debit card.
Make certain your credit card allows chargebacks on International purchases.
Be certain the shipping time does not exceed the time to initiate a chargeback.

 

Is DHgate safe for credit card? Since PayPal is not an option, I’d like to buy from DHgate with a CC(credit card), which has certain purchase protections if you cannot return the maybe counterfeit goods.

 

The DHgate platform handles transactions so that money is exchanged through the site — not directly between buyer and seller — which does add a level of safety and buyer protection.

Is DHgate safe to buy from? Overall, DHgate is safe from monetary fraud. It is safe to use your debit card on DHgate. In terms of quality and physical safety with the items, you have to pay more attention. 

 

The difference between DHgate and Alibaba’s effect is that the customer I met when using Alibaba, if I request offline TT payment, he generally won’t Reject, because Alibaba has shown the strength of the merchants to customers. So if you are a manufacturer and focus on the growth and long-term development of your brand, Alibaba has an advantage.

Never choose offline payment mode when buy from DHgate

 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | Is DHgate good for dropshipping?

The website is fine, and you may find some good suppliers there that didn’t exist at AliExpress. But, DHgate is just a platform. It is the individual sellers that matter. So, does DHgate have good dropshipping sellers (suppliers) on the site? Some, but they are really hard to find. You will need to do test orders from a lot of the dropshipping suppliers on DHgate before you find a few reliable ones.

Overall, your idea is fine and certainly doable, but you will need to do a lot of real test orders before you find a few suppliers you can use as your main source for future order fulfillment. keep watch with the dropshipping fulfilment website like us.

 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | Return & Refund Policy

DHgate has established the “Return Policy”.  The “Returns & Refund Guarantee” is a promise provided by sellers for their products sold on DHgate.com. When item(s) are bought on DHgate.com and are not as described or process any quality issues, the buyers will receive assistance to resolve the problem. DHgate.com will also offer additional assistance if the seller is not cooperative. 

 

There are 2 clauses greatly protect the rights of the buyer:

What types of disputes are on DHgate?

 

1. The goods were not received.

2. The goods received do not match the description.

 

Under these two situations, a buyer initiates an application for a refund or exchange agreement.

 

Returning item(s) for any reason:  Within the time set by the seller, you can apply for a refund. The seller will bear the freight and the buyer will pay in advance before the seller receive the goods

 

Returns or Refunds accepted if the product is not as described:  If the received products are not as described, the buyer can communicate with the seller to apply for the returns or refunds. The seller will bear the freight and the buyer will pay in advance before the seller receive the goods.

 

If you ask from the buyer’s point of view, is DHgate safe to open a dispute? My answer is Yes. Because DHgate is similar to Amazon, it is more biased towards customers. If there is a dispute, the buyer will win more than the seller. And the current platform is strictly banning the sale of imitation brands. According to this rule, DHgate is safe and legit to try to buy small wholesale products. 

 

 

 

Is DHgate Safe? | The Delivery Time (Shipping Time)

DHgate.com settled up the requirements of On-time Delivery. Is DHgate safe to upload the tracking number? Once the seller has uploaded the shipping tracking number to the website, the buyer can always check and submit a “return and refund” request.

 

Is DHgate safe for shipping your goods? Compared with products, DHgate’s transportation is relatively safe and reliable. If the buyer finally got but not within the delivery time, DHgate.com will give you a partial refund or full refund according to whether you keep the parcel.

 

How long does DHgate take to deliver? Not only do you need to consider DHgate shipping time, but you also need to be aware of the processing time. DHgate shipping Processing time is the time that the seller needs to prepare your goods. If your goods are bulky, the DHgate sellers may take a longer time to prepare your products. However, if the product in stock, it will take less time.

 

 

Typically, DHgate shipping takes to deliver time in 3 to 15 business days.

The delivery time of DHgate depends on the inventory status of the item, the method of DHgate shipping, and the buyer’s location. DHgate also will provide a estimate delivery times for you when you make a purchase depending on the type of courier company you choose.

 

 

 

DHgate Alternatives: China Wholesale Website List to Buy Wholesale From China

Which China wholesale website is best and how to increase the value of buy wholesale from China businesses?

Generally, it comes down to ensuring a differentiated and defensible offer. So, Finding a reliable made in China wholesale supplier is a key step in successfully developing an e-commerce business.

Top 20+ Best China Wholesale Website List to Buy Wholesale From China

 

 

Alibaba vs AliExpress vs DHgate
Characteristics	AliExpress	Alibaba	DHgate
Mode of Business	Caters for both business to business and business to consumer setting	Caters for the business to business	Caters for small business
MOQ	There is no minimum to order quantity	Have a minimum order quantity whereby there is a set of requirements on the quantity a buyer can make	No MOQ requirement
Pricing	Product prices are listed with no room for negotiation	Product prices are not fixed	lower price when you buy in bulk
Risk of quality	Customers get what the supplier offers, hence higher quality risk	Buyer product knowledge is provided hence reducing quality concerns	A ton of replicas and fake products
Custom design	Does not custom make products	Provides a platform whereby suppliers offer custom-made products and can even private label products per request	A limit to the options you have when it comes to niche categories
Product availability	The process is not time-consuming since the products are already manufactured	It takes time for the products to reach the customer	on-stock
Mode of shipping	Goods are in most instances shipped by air freight and give you an exact date	The sellers and buyers get to decide the mode of shipping to be used	A more approximate shipping time
Profit model	Demands a certain percentage of commission on the sales made	Charges a certain amount of membership fee for the suppliers	Charges a certain amount of membership

 

 

 

 

DHgate vs AliExpress

As a B2B cross-border e-commerce platform that builds earlier, DHgate is considered an expert in China. Compared with DunHuang, AliExpress still focuses on a different direction. The main markets of AliExpress are in Russia, Brazil, and the United States. Now AliExpress is also very popular in the Middle East market, mainly focusing on retail; DHgate is primarily in Europe and the United States, focusing on wholesale and retail. So is DHgate safe to wholesale? DHgate key point positioning itself is “small amount order.”

 

Price
The price of the AliExpress platform has always been relatively low. For example, the price of a famous fitness bracelet on AliExpress is $30, and you can also use a discount coupon.
Moreover, there are many suppliers on the AliExpress platform, and you can find better prices.
For the same product, the price of DHgate is almost the same as AliExpress.

MOQ
AliExpress does not have any restrictions for MOQ; buyers can purchase a single product or buy products in bulk. DHgate also does not have MOQ, but it may be better for corporate sellers because there will be discounts if you buy many products at once. Moreover, it is easy to bargain.

 

 

 

DHgate vs Alibaba

Although DHgate and Alibaba are both B2B websites, there is a big difference between the two websites. I have summarized the advantages and disadvantages of DHgate and Alibaba. The main points are as follows:

 

Development pattern is different

Alibaba International Station is the world’s leading international trade B2B e-commerce platform, and has been ranked among Alexa.com international trade, e-commerce, trade market, import and export trade websites for many years. Ranked first in the world, it has been rated as the “Best B2B Website in the World” by the American “Forbes” magazine for eight consecutive times.

DHgate has been online since 2004. It has been online for 16 years. Although it has completed 4 rounds of financing during this period, it has not yet been listed. Therefore, DHgate’s influence and popularity are relatively low. This can also be seen from the website traffic. According to the statistics Alexa.com, the average daily traffic of Alibaba  is more than 40 times that of DHgate.

 

Product coverage is different

The products on Alibaba have basically covered all industries, from light industry to heavy industry. All customers can find the products they want on Alibaba International Station.

DHgate mainly focuses on daily consumer goods, while industrial products are relatively rare.

 

Difference in suppliers

Most of the suppliers on Alibaba are distributors and factories. The sellers of DHgate are mostly individual sohos, and they are generally small in scale. DHgate Specialize in small batch orders. It’s very similar to the AliExpress sales model.

 

In terms of customer types, I also mentioned earlier that DHgate uses products as its display unit to attract small and medium-sized customers. Sellers on Alibaba are basically working hard for medium and large customers. 

 

 

 

 

How to Buy from DHgate Safe?

 

Is DHgate legit and safe to buy from? Yes, as long as you do the following points, you will probably avoid buying bad products on DHgate.

1. Check the supplier background

Check the supplier’s background carefully, and if possible, check their stores on other platforms: Alibaba, AliExpress, or Wish. Keep in mind that good suppliers will not only open stores just on DHgate. Is DHgate safe if I finish checking the supplier background? No, the supplier background checking is just a reference.

 

2. Order samples

Many sellers’ product pictures one DHgate are different from samples, so be sure to buy a sample to check the quality and tell them clearly where they need to be improved. Is DHgate safe if I buy a sample and then make the order?

No, I don’t think so. Many sellers often have different quality of samples and products. For example, we will help customers buy several samples, one will be sent to the customer, and the other will be kept by ourselves to compare the quality of large-scale orders.

 

3. Choose a safe payment method

Is DHgate safe to pay offline? Never choose to pay offline when you buy from DHgate, no matter how familiar you are with the seller or how harmonious your relationship is. Keep in mind that a one-time dispute may make you bankrupt if you pay offline. So there must be a safe payment method you should choose when you buy from DHgate.

 

4. Do Inspection for large orders

Many large orders will be different from the quality of the samples. Ask them to take some photos or videos for Inspection or hire a Chinese inspection agency to do the Inspection for you. Although you have the opportunity to refund when the quality of the product is not the same as the sample, But you will waste a lot of time and energy to deal with it.

More importantly, sellers on DHgate are legit and safe, but most of them get goods from different suppliers. This means maybe the first batch of production is good. Once they buy the second batch of goods from another cheap factory, the quality may have dropped. so, is DHgate safe to place a big order? Yes, but you should know how to do pre-shipment inspection.f

Is DHgate safe and legit sourcing place if I do pre-shipment in China?  Yes, as long as you do an excellent job of quality control and then check whether your product is infringing, DHgate is safe and legit to buy from it. 

 

It may take weeks or months to find a good supplier through DHgate for your business. Please keep enough heart and perseverance. If you have any problem finding a reliable supplier in China, please contact us to help.

 

 

 

Is DHgate safe? | Conclusion

So, is DHgate safe and legit to buy from? It depends on whether you are buying items for personal use or resale. The quality controls are still not enough on DHgate, although DHgate takes measure for buyer protection. You still need to pay attention to the quality check.

When buying from DHgate, you need to familiarize yourself with the platform’s rules, filter out good sellers and then use the rules to protect your rights.

Is DHgate safe and legit for start-up company? It is still a good choice for star-ups because it does not require a lot of investment. More importantly, if you purchase products in bulk, the system will automatically calculate the discount. Or, you can negotiate with the supplier to lo lower the price.

I hope this article can help you get to know is DHgate safe to buy from and how to complete the purchasing in China smoothly.

At last, we are product sourcing company and can help to do inspection and shipping from China to you without any risks. Regardless of is DHgate safe or legit, as long as we help you with quality control, you will not be in any danger when you buy from China.

As a conclusion, DHgate is safe and legal, but you should first understand what kind of quality products you need before buying from it.