How to choose a supplier on Alibaba
This isn’t an exact science, but you can certainly increase your
odds of succeeding. The first thing to consider is the different
levels of Alibaba accreditation:
- Most UK buyers choose Gold Suppliers without really knowing what that means. According to Alibaba’s website, “Through the completion of the verification process, Alibaba.com can only check whether the business is registered in its local business administration region. This verification does not verify the integrity of the business, nor does it verify the authenticity or quality of goods listed by the seller..”In other words, they’re Gold Suppliers in name only.
- Trade assurance offers more protection: “The Trade Assurance Limit is assigned by Alibaba.com to those suppliers who agree to join Trade Assurance and promise to abide by the Trade Assurance service requirements. Based on supplier’s qualification status and their transaction volume from the past year, Alibaba.com will grant the supplier a Trade Assurance Limit, which can be used to protect buyers Payment made to suppliers.”
- Assessed suppliers – This is the highest level of standard that a supplier can achieve. Alibaba checks the company actually exists and that it has all the necessary licences for producing and exporting the products they list on the website. (Checking they exist isn’t as absurd as it sounds-fake companies, replete with photos of factories and employees, spring up on a weekly basis.)
Pay carefull attention to their existing products. If you don’t see anything you like, move on fast. If you like their producta range (or certain items within it), consider the following: How much would they hav eto change to meet your needs? Do they
seem of a high standard? Do they meet EU safety standards
(more on that later)?
You should also take note of their MOQ (Minimum Order
Quantity). Some seem to have ridiculously high minimum-
order requirements. Don’t let that completely put you off-
they seem like a good supplier in every other regard, conta
them too. The can only say “no” (or not reply to your enquiry)
Some people also look for ISO-accredited suppliers. ISO (uie
International Organization for Standardization) is an
independent body that helps facilitates world trade by
providing common standards between nations. Companies
that follow these standards should, in theory, On that subject, how
long have they been trading for? Less than two years would make me nervous.
You should now have a long shortlist. This is to whom you
send your initial 10-15 emails, the responses to which will help
you whittle down your list further :
Did they respond in a timely manner?
Did they supply the information you requested?
How was their written English? Remember: you may
have to supply detailed and complex manufacturing
requirements. Are you confident these won’t be lost in
translation?
At this point I’ve found that about 60% of suppliers tend not to
hit the mark, which should leave you with half a dozen or
fewer, thus creating your short shortlist. These are the
companies from whom you should request a quote. Below is
an example of a quote-request email:
Dear Magic
Thank you for your email. I hope we can work together. As promised, this email should provide you with all the details you need.
A-Z of Amazon 