The Wholesale Forums

[LJS Trading]

I have been using this forum since around December 2005 when I lost money by a joint Italian/UK/USA scammer. If I had found this forum first, I would have saved that hard earned cash but, since I HAVE found this forum, I have saved even more!

I am new to wholesale/trading but not new to business as I started my first business in design, advertising and marketing when I was 18 and succeeded for 12 years until I was 34 when I went on to get a "proper job" due to personal problems. Now I am back and want to trade wholesale to retail online (I will get in touch with various members who may have what I need).

I would like to get something going on this forum to prevent others from being scammed. I do not want to incur the wrath of businesses like Alibaba but it seems that many of our members (including myself) are being scammed by their Free Members.

I subscribed to Alibaba 4 weeks ago to get trade leads and I have had literally hundreds of leads. Out of these, a handful were legitimate but need large wholesale so no good me for me. About 95%+ are scammers. Do a simple search for hot selling items such as mobiles, Nokia, Nano etc and confine the region to UK (I only do this to eliminate the hassle of importing). I have not found 1 single legit UK supplier as yet on Alibaba. Some look OK but they simple hijack details and address and legit UK companies.

At this point I would like to say that I am going on to talk about alleged UK suppliers as I am UK based and can more easily find information, BUT, as this forum is global, any members from any country would be welcome to contribute to how we can check out companies in your country...please.

Alibaba scammers (and many others) most often use a legit company address but use a premium rate number or non-geographic number and Yahoo or free email address…take your money and disappear then start another Alibaba advert under a different hijacked company name. I have seen the same people advertising in several laces and all using the same name but it isn’t real! Before buying from these people, check out their company details, check their number with British Telecom. The companies House (www.companieshouse.co.uk) details will be correct for the REAL company but at least BT will give you the correct telephone number not the usual fly-by-night codes like 0907/0904 etc which can be set up by anyone in a few minutes. Companies House checks may show you that the company makes plastic goods so why are they selling cheap Nanos...because some scammer has picked them out of a hat as a victim to victimise you?

This not only means that you lose your money, it also discredits the actual company whose good name has been taken in the first place.

I would like others to contribute to this thread to help others in any way that you can.

[skipcloudwalker]

Good thread..!!

Some useful info when dealing with wholesalers..Always check their payment methods..

are the secure? Sure about 99% of legit suppliers only accept T/T.. but the scammers have picked up on this and are using this to their advantage..

Fortunately, there are services availible that can protect you as a buyer.

One service being escrow.com..If a wholesaler accepts Escrow, then you have no worries..you are somewhat protected...for a fee..but the fee you pay is nothing compared to what you can lose..

Dealing with online escrow services, only deal with ESCROW.COM. there are a lot of phony escrow services that pop up left and right..also fake banks...

Letters of Credit being business or consumer can be very very safe if your order is large enough..works somewhat the same as escrow..but with banks holding and transfering the funds..Some of the most valuable advice i've recieved on this site: Escrow.com for small orders, L/C for large orders.

Credit Card provides lots of protection...one question...does anyone have a visa check card? Are they really that secure? ..The bank i work at offers them as debit cards...anywho, there are lots of knowledgable people on this board..waiting for the next response..

[walshy69]

Nice info. Yes i aggree any products with great demand on worldwide market that have been posted on alibaba such as ipods, psps, nokia turns out about 98% are scammers! Be careful!

[Galactica]

Yes Yes! Great thread, i know nothing but i am listening! Thanks all.

[CosmikDebris]

Yes, excellent thread! But can you really do a charge back with CC if it is for electronics in bulk?

[BillyA]

Originally Posted by skipcloudwalker

Credit Card provides lots of protection...one question...does anyone have a visa check card? Are they really that secure? ..The bank i work at offers them as debit cards...anywho, there are lots of knowledgable people on this board..waiting for the next response..

Can anyone respond to this? Does a debit card from Visa or MC offer chargeback protection?

[CosmikDebris]

Hey, Not sure on the debit card. I read in other threads that it depends on the bank that issued them. you should probably call your bank.

[DennisN7]

Originally Posted by BillyA

Can anyone respond to this? Does a debit card from Visa or MC offer chargeback protection?

Depends on which bank you're with. The bank I'm with offers a platninum visa check card that incorporate full protection like a credit card. I'm almost positive most debit/check cards from banks in US are protected, but check with your bank specifically.

[Onsomni_tech]

I noticed there isnt anymore Ipod sellers on alibaba have they all be removed?

[LJProducts]

I think this should be come a sticky