Alibaba or a China Buyer: What Each One Is For

Alibaba is useful. It is also not a person in the workshop. I use the platform the way a buyer uses a directory: to see who claims to make a product, and what the going picture looks like. I do not use a listing as proof that this factory will make your bulk.

What the platform is good at

A simple stock item, a small test, and a first look at price bands belong on a marketplace. You can message ten suppliers in an afternoon. Trade Assurance covers some cases of non-shipment and serious defect. It does not cover a color that drifted, a logo that rubs off, or a specification you described loosely in chat.

If the order is under a size you can afford to lose, and the product is already on the shelf with no custom work, staying on the platform can be the cheaper path. I will say that. My job is not to insert myself into every carton.

What I do when the goods will carry your name

A production run with your logo, your packing, or your quality bar needs someone who can walk the line. I pin the product to the cluster that already makes it, which is the map in the industrial hub guide. I compare factories, not booth photos. I hold the signed sample against the packed goods, and I read the invoice before the truck leaves.

• You pay the factory on the factory invoice. My work is agreed with you. It is not a quiet addition inside the unit price, and I do not take a factory rebate for steering the order.
• The sample you sign is the standard for the bulk. A chat photo is not.
• The balance waits for the inspection. A message that says the goods are ready is not the inspection.
• The export papers describe the same goods as the cartons.

How those papers should read is in the document note.

Send the product, the quantity, and whether your name goes on it. I will tell you if this is a platform order or a factory order before anyone pays a deposit.

Keep reading

• Factory or Trading Company: How I Tell Them Apart
• Samples, the Deposit, and When the Balance Moves
• What a Pre-Shipment Inspection Covers on Standard Goods