Item: Alibaba
Rating: 7.9
Author: Jonathan Kerns

Alibaba Review 2020

Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce company founded in 1999 by Chairman Jack Ma, a former English teacher and martial arts enthusiast. Alibaba began as an online wholesale market for small companies. The company mainly operates in three sites: Taobao, which is China’s biggest shopping site; Tmall, which focuses on online sales of branded goods and caters to China’s fast growing middle class; and Alibaba.com, which links Chinese exporters with companies around the globe. With its hundreds of millions of users, and hosting millions of merchants and businesses, Alibaba is arguably the largest online e-commerce company.

Being the most popular destination for online shopping, Alibaba’s transactions on its online sites totaled $296 billion last year, which is more than eBay and Amazon combined. Unlike Amazon, however, the site does not sell products. It acts as a middleman between the buyers and sellers, and makes its money mostly from advertising and membership fees.

Safeguard Yourself

Although there is no such thing as a perfect method to protect yourself from middlemen, scammers, and low quality products, it is best to practice several safeguards. The following are suggested steps to protect you from getting into unsatisfactory transactions:

Verify Suppliers – Alibaba.com has its own verification program which includes several levels of verification. It also has 3^rd party services in Asia that will visit factories on your behalf to verify the supplier and product quality.

Be vigilant and ask questions – In order to help you identify a legit sellers and suppliers, ask questions about their products and businesses. Do not hesitate to ask for a copy of their business licenses, ask for a telephone number and actually call it. You may also want to have a Skype meeting with your contact.

Too good to be true – If something is too good to be true, it usually is. Be wary of offers and prices that do not seem right or that are way off from that of other suppliers you have contacted. Always be ready to walk away from deals that are too good to be true.

Buy Now, Pay Later

Buyers may also set-up a revolving line of credit (e-Credit Line) to finance purchases on Alibaba.com from Chinese sellers, with no membership or set-up fees. It allows you to bridge the temporary cash flow gap so you could keep up with the demand. As long as you have available credit and your purchase is over USD 5,000, you can draw from your e-Credit Line anytime to finance your purchases. Alibaba.com has teamed up with the leading credit companies (i.e. Ezbob, iwoca, Lending Club) that provide competitive rates, no pre-payment penalty, and allows you to borrow unlimited number of times up to the maximum available credit to meet your purchasing needs with different suppliers. The e-Credit Line, however, is only available in US, UK, and in Spain. But with Alibaba’s fast growing global reach, it is no doubt that e-Credit Line will be available to more countries soon.

Customer Support

Alibaba.com has comprehensive database for its products and services, efficiently categorized for easy access and navigation (i.e. For Buyers, For Suppliers, and Customer Service). The site also has quick guides and tutorials to help new users familiarize themselves with how it works. Tutorials include A Quick Buyer Guide, Contact Suppliers, Payment, Inspection & Logistics, etc.

The company has a 24 hours/7 days a week customer service via Intelligent Robot and Live Chat. Anna, the 24-hour intelligent robot, can help you use Alibaba.com successfully with its smart and quick responses. You may nominate a user name and password for added security in using Live Chat, or you may login as a guest.

What's the Verdict on Alibaba?

Worth It, Some Issues