Alibaba Agent

The Alibaba agent brings together professional sourcing experience from various industries to provide buyers with one-to-one professional buying services, saving buyers time and cost of procurement from Alibaba.

1.Do market research

You can roam around Google to find trends and their search volume and people’s interest in various products, and this will help buyers to establish more successful businesses.

2.Endorse the Business Idea

You have to conduct market research with focus groups from the target audiences. The people’s responses will help you in determining the success rate of your business idea. The conventional way we do to endorse the business idea is we design a product, take good pictures, use Facebook ads to promote the test product fast for one week. Within 7 days, you can see the result of whether people like your products or not. Trust me, this is important, it seems like you are wasting your money, but in reality, you are not because when you see the success of your products, you will get all the money back.

An essential point to consider is where to source the products from? For a sensible decision of product sourcing, the buyers should follow the following conditions:

1. Select the product which is easy to ship
2. Do the available product sourcing
3. The availability of the product must have cost-effective rates for earning more profit.
4. The quality of the product should be maintained.
5. The manufacturer must be capable of scaling up the supply with the growth of the business.

Price of Product and FOB

While buying from Alibaba, the first thing you need to check is the product price and the Free On Board (FOB) option. FOB means: the seller will ship the package to the marine port for free, and the buyer will have to pay only for the transport charges from port to the final destination.

Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) of products

Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) refers to the least amount of order a supplier at Alibaba can deliver. MOQ varies for every available product.

What is the safest way to pay on Alibaba?

After dealing with the MOQ and the price of the product, the next crucial step is to select the payment method to further proceed with the Alibaba order. Buyers should be aware of all the payment methods available and also their level of risk.

Upfront TT (Bank Transfer) Method

This is a risky payment method and is not obliged when dealing with a new or unknown seller at Alibaba.

Letter of Credit (LOC)

This payment option is sophisticated but is safe. LOC can be used by both buyers and sellers and is suitable for large payments, such as more than $20,000.

Western Union

This method of payment is highly risky, usually for the buyers, and is not recommended. Western Union must be used only for reliable suppliers.

PayPal

The most popular payment method is used by most international buyers because the level of risk is a bit safe. However, PayPal also has some drawbacks like high tax charging and is not available in some of the countries.

Escrow

The Escrow service is the safest method for Alibaba customers because it provides a high level of buyer protection. The payment remains withheld by the 3rd party, and after the buyer’s final approval for delivery, the amount is transferred to the supplier.

Buyer Beware

Alibaba greatly facilitates its users and offers their buyer awareness about it.

The Middlemen

Alibaba has thousands of suppliers, and all of them are not real manufacturers. Some are middlemen who charge high prices and miscommunicate between the actual manufacturers and buyers.

Can you get scammed on Alibaba?

There are scammers as well as dishonest buyers on Alibaba who are a total fraud. Although Alibaba is doing hard to eliminate these scammers, buyers still need to be cautious.

Quality of Product

Quality of product is also a primary concern for the buyers while importing goods from china. It is possible that the suppliers do not ship the exact Quality which they have marketed on the

Gold Suppliers

Gold Supplier also called a verified seller. They have a premium membership to Alibaba, and they are authorized to use the company badge. There is another level of Gold Suppliers mentioned as ‘Assessed Supplier,’ which is the highest-grade supplier.

Verified Suppliers

A supplier has a verification icon telling us that a third-party agency has authenticated the seller.

Specialized product portfolios of sellers

If the buyer receives a good quote from a seller and decides to purchase, he should review the dealer’s product category before he proceeds further. If the required product is not their area of expertise, then order capacity will become a significant concern in the future.

Excellent communication shows the supplier’s proficiency.

Suppliers that are good at communication are likely to demonstrate their responsibility in the inquiry mail and talk about all product aspects like their cost, their packaging, and shipping cost.

Expert knowledge of suppliers in international trading

A professional seller will be a great source while dealing with international shipments, especially for those buyers who are new in dealing with international trading. Such sellers always support the buyers in solving their issues like packaging, shipping, or any other concerns.

What is ODM?

ODM refers to the abbreviation for Original Design Manufacturing and directs to a finished product which the manufacturer developed by itself. ODM products are labeled ‘private label products,’ and they are ready to sell items after they label them as branded.

What is OEM?

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturing and refers to a condition when the buyers requested the products to be manufactured with their desired requirements. For instance, a buyer will share his artwork and the specifications with the seller and ask him to do the same for a t-shirt of their brand, which he wants to sell.

How to Buy from Alibaba For Product Samples and Ensure Quality?

After having a list of vendors, the next step is to ask for product samples from suppliers. Buyers should inspect the Quality of the product before placing an order in bulk quantity. After receiving the product sample, buyers should check for a ‘quality control checklist’ which will be used for inspecting the actual shipment of goods and inform the seller of any defect or discrepancy.

What is Trade Assurance at Alibaba?

Trade assurance is an order protection service which is a free-of-cost service. Alibaba offers the service to the buyers where the 3rd party like ‘Escrow Company’ is involved.

When a seller prepares products for shipment, the buyer is asked to deposit the payment in the account, which is dominated by Alibaba.

After the order gets approved by the buyer, the money is then successfully transferred to the seller’s account.

In this way, Alibaba provides trade assurance to their clients by offering a money-back guarantee to avoid any scam and some other order processing issues. Also, the Alibaba agent will be responsible for the after-sale services.

How would you Pay for Your Order?

To avail of the service of trade assurance, buyers are required to payments through Alibaba.com by these five available methods: payment through credit cards (Visa or Mastercard), Western Union, Online Bank Transfers (in case of bulk orders), Letter of Credit and Telegraphic Transfer (T/T). PayPal offers 180-days refund protection to avoid fraud, but this method cannot be used for orders in bulk. Or you can hire a Alibaba agent to pay the order for you because they can sing a conract with the supplier.

How to find and select Alibaba freight forwarder?

There are two ways to search for an Alibaba agent or freight forwarder, either the buyer has to find one for themselves, or they may request their seller on Alibaba to arrange it for them. The main problem associated with freight forwarder service is that the providers attract clients with low prices, but they charge extra fees for some unwanted things later on.

Find on Google: The most reliable way to hunt for a freight forwarder is to make a search on Google by simply typing ‘Freight Forwarder in XYZ country’ and then choose one from the list (after complete research).

Involve Your Social Links And contacts to Find you a Freight Forwarder: The other recommended method is to make use of your social network links to find and ask them to find you a reliable freight forwarder.

The buyers who still find it challenging to hire a reliable and reasonable freight forwarder can also search on Suppylia Sourcing.

Hire a 3rd reliable Party to Inspect the Product Quality

The last step to consider before finalizing your order is to ensure that your product quality is inspected before the final delivery.

After dealing with the hectic purchasing and shipping procedures, buyers should have checked for the product quality to avoid any further hassle.

The international buyers who buy goods from China or other foreign countries cannot come and personally check the shipment, so they are required to hire an Alibaba agent(3rd quality inspection company).

Alibaba Inspection Service

The buyers who select sellers under trade insurance have already opted for Alibaba inspection service before making any initial payments. Now, buyers can choose from two quality inspection services at Alibaba: BV and China & Inspection Group.

Hire A professional third-party inspection team

Buyers also get the choice of opting for professional inspection services offered by many others. But these inspection companies usually charge a higher inspection fee like almost $300 per person for a day.

Sourcing company

The Buyers’ best choice is to find an Alibaba agent to do the shipment inspection job. But that Alibaba’s agent should be reliable. Some leading Alibaba agents like Suppylia sourcing offers excellent inspection services.

If buyers decide to use the quality inspection services of Supplyia sourcing as your Alibaba agent, they can also enjoy some exclusive benefits that include detailed shipment examinations, and even negotiate with the suppliers if the shipment quality does not match with the sample, at an economical rate.

In my opinion, Alibaba agent is really imported to avoid future potential risks.

Alibaba is one of the safest websites for sourcing products and only requires the clients to possess detailed knowledge about choosing the right supplier and secure payment methods, and also shipping actions.

To avoid Alibaba scams, Alibaba Trade Assurance is the best way to order products safely on Alibaba.

How does Alibaba handle control?

Alibaba works day and night to track and remove the middlemen and scammers from their network of suppliers. Buyers are also provided with full support and guidelines to keep them protected from any fraud or scam.

What could be the estimated time for the shipping of my products?

The distance of the destination country calculates the shipping time. Buyers should expect a minimum time of almost six weeks. To save price, Alibaba shipped to distant destination countries via the sea route. If the buyer wants his goods to send urgently, it is recommended to place the order with a closer manufacturer.

What are the main points for the buyer to import duties, taxes, and customs clearance for the items bough from Alibaba?

The best way to refrain from customs issues when purchasing products from different countries is to find a broker like PCB. Clients can do an online search for these custom brokers in the required region and review their available information on their website to make the right decision. The custom fee depends upon the product type, size, weight, and destination, and to calculate it, consumers must use DutyCalculator.com. Some sellers also provide warehouses in destination countries, which help in saving import duties and customs clearance issues, so it will be better to discuss all the aspects with the supplier.

Does Alibaba’s supplier support more languages?

Alibaba has its translation software, which helps the website to be translated into many international languages.

Is Alibaba Legit?

Yes, Alibaba is the most reliable and legit company for both the sellers and the buyers.

As one of the best Alibaba sourcing agents, Supplyia will be your purchase agent in China through Taobao, 1688, and Alibaba with best service and fastest shipping ways.