Alibaba can be a great place to find products for your store.
The prices are cheap, and if you look out for your supplier, you can get great deals and high quality products.
However, it is important to make the right first steps before ordering the goods.
Overall, Alibaba is best suited for those who want to brand their products and get the best possible price.
As with any sourcing website, there are pros and cons to shopping with Alibaba.
Think them through carefully before proceeding so you have an idea of what to expect.
Advantages of Alibaba
Low costs:
A supplier from Asia can offer you low product prices, and Alibaba offers you access to wholesale product prices that, even with transport, can be lower than the prices of the same products that are produced, for example, here.
A wide selection of products:
Anything you can imagine is probably available on Alibaba. There are millions of products from almost every niche.
You can probably find a manufacturer that offers what you want.
Adaptability:
Customize your product. Maybe you just want your branding added to the product. Or maybe you want something specific, new.
You can customize your products without major problems.
Product packaging:
Just as you can customize your products, so can you customize your packaging. You have the ability to make sure everything is to your specifications
Monitor your products:
Using dropshipping, you don't actually get to see the product before it goes to customers. You have no idea what its quality is.
On the other hand, Alibaba products come to you first, so you can review and resell them.
Working with suppliers:
You can work directly with manufacturers.
Follow the suppliers carefully to make sure if you are working with the middlemen or the manufacturer. Being able to work directly with manufacturers can be a big deal.
Identify quality suppliers:
Due to Alibaba's increasingly strict supplier qualification methods, there is a good chance you will find good quality suppliers.
That way you have less chance of running into problems later.
Flaws of Alibaba
Waiting time
One of the biggest disadvantages is that you have to wait a long time to receive your products.
Most suppliers send goods in containers by ship that can travel for more than a month.
In addition, if there are no products in stock you must wait for your products to be made.
You have to be careful in your supply chain
Due to the long waiting time for the products, you cannot start selling until you actually have them in hand. Something can always get complicated!
Plus, you have to pay attention and order more goods so that they always have enough in stock.
Minimum orders can be expensive
You may need to order a large quantity to get started and get good purchase prices.
As a result, it can be expensive, and if sales don't take off, you could be in trouble.
Asian products may be different
When it comes to, for example, wardrobe dimensions, Asian sizes are different from American and European sizes, so you may encounter problems when purchasing clothes from Alibaba.
There are other differences that can lead to misunderstandings. So be careful what you do.
Quality may not be as promised
Watch out for the photos. Sometimes what arrives does not look like what you saw in the photo on the seller's website.
You may receive lower quality items than you expected.
Also, it is important to note that there are cases where the second or third shipment may be of lower quality than the first.
Products may break or be damaged
You may also find some defective items.
After delivery to you in transit, some items may be broken or otherwise damaged.
Pre-shipment inspection cannot inspect 100% of all products.
