The Wholesale Forums

[leo_g_n]

Hi there,

We all know that Gold suppliers on Alibaba and their equivalents on the various other mainstream sourcing websites have just paid an extra bit of cash for the title, in many cases. Naturally this means that these "Gold Members" are no less likely to be scammers/fraudsters than any of the regular advertisers.

However, some of the companies listed on Alibaba seem to have introductory videos about themselves. Does anybody here know whether these videos are verified fully by Alibaba and whether they are a good indicator of trustworthiness? I know it may seem like a stupid question but I'm pretty sure if people are desperate enough to scam they're desperate enough to steal video footage or whatever.

Thanks in advance
Leo

[drivel2787]

Beware of www.alibaba.com I have been searching for a wholesaler on there for months. I would just stay off of there to be honest, it is nothing but scammer's.

[leo_g_n]

Thanks, I've found good suppliers on there in the past, I'm just not interested in the usual things (I'm not interested in games consoles, ipods, branded clothing, laptops or digital cameras).

[ian.cross]

I've been looking on Alibaba for months also. It seems that unless you live in china, or are an expert at due diligence, your extremely likely to get scammed. Even so, China is the place to end up as its the best for price.
I've found 4 suppliers, both in this country and america. Gonna start with this country and when i've educated myself on importing i'll move to yankee land.
The products I'm looking at are xbox stuff, sony sp stuff, ipods, mp3 mp4, mobile phones and accessories, hand held games machines etc.

I will be offering a dropship service, and I wont be charging for it.

Watch these boards, give me a month and i'll hopefully be ready. initially it'll be mobile phones, then i'll branch out.

[leo_g_n]

I would argue that Alibaba isn't "nothing but scammers". In my experience it's just that scammers tend to flood the categories that MOST new sellers look at, such as high value consumer electronics (phones, ipods, consoles) and branded clothing. If you were a scammer do you think you'd make more money pretending to sell games consoles or doorhandles? I'd bet games consoles - there are fewer around, the demand outstrips the supply and they're higher value. Now, door handles, that's an idea...

I reitterate my original question:

Do Alibaba introductory videos indicate trustworthiness?

[drivel2787]

leo_g_n. I understand what you mean. But that seems to be where all the scammers are. Because the products are so hot there are so many individuals trying to scam people out there. I have been searching for the same type of products and haven't found a "GOOD" source yet. Everyone is either way over priced or it is a scam. ian.cross Did the suppliers come from alibaba.com? Have you order any products from them. BEWARE because even though they say United States, etc.. Doesn't mean they are. I know there are around 3 so far that were listed as the United States that I tried to get hooked up with and they were all scammers form Nigeria.

[leo_g_n]

Yeah, but what nobody so far seems to have realised is that I really don't want "hot" goods. I have no interest in selling "hot" goods. So I don't look in those categories on alibaba. So I'd really appreciate it if the next person who posts bears that in mind and momentarily forgets that some categories are full of scammers. I've previously used three or four suppliers I've found through Alibaba, I'm good at the due diligence, and I've not been scammed.

[drivel2787]

Do Alibaba introductory videos indicate trustworthiness?


My answer to that would be no.. Anyone can make a video or steal a video from another company. I have heard stories of scammers stealing letter head faxes, faxing it to huge corporations for money, etc...

[ian.cross]

yes your right they may still be scams, but one of the uk ones isn't for sure. They have a national chain of shops and sell wholesale price for bulk. Going down to the shop on saturday to see what sort of deal i can get out of them. I'll keep you posted they may tell me to sling my hook lol.