Hi BLF. Every now and then I find interesting stuff on Alibaba that is even not listed on Aliexpress. It appears that many things are for sale over there in small enough quantities, and even though in general shipping costs spoil the deal, some stuff is worthwhile enough to buy anyway.
Anyone has good or bad stories shopping there?
One specific question: yesterday I tried to order a quantity of 26350 batteries, and I just could not get it payed without a credit card (I don’t have one). Aliexpress supports IDeal, which is a dutch shopping payment system, but Alibaba does not. I’m considering getting myself a credit card for these kind of payments, but is anyone knowledgable enough about this to know if it is safe to use your credit card for shady chinese purchases on Alibaba?
Hey mate just get a prepaid credit card its safer but i have bought heaps from aliexpress with my credit card i like there paying system its like Paypal but better alipay i think its called.
Ali.com and Aliexpress are all under the same umbrella. You are not giving any individual Ali store your credit card. That number goes to alibaba, who do not share it with the vendor. They pay the vendor. Works the same way as PayPal.
I made one purchase on Alibaba paid with my normal credit card, no problems at all. I don’t think it’s more “shady” than any other online marketplace.
They have their own escrow service, so the money isn’t transferred to the seller before you receive your order.
A couple of downsides is as you say shipping cost, language barrier and they are more B2B orientated.
When I’ve dealt with Ali.com, they usually quote a high shipping cost via DHL or Fedex . If I ask about regular post, they’ll usually give me a price of $5-$7. Since it’s a wholesale site, most orders are hundreds of pieces, so the buyer doesn’t sweat the cost of couriers.
Yea I bought 50 pieces of hugsby lights 25 each XP1 and XP2 it was through aliexpress but they processed through alibaba and gave me free express shipping…
Only experiences I have is communication about products
Shipping always kills it
but we are talking about a couple of kilos of oils or special stuff my wife wants so no flashlights
And communication is always swift and good
But when calculating the price per gram it always is cheaper in total to order from Europe (even rge €25 shipping from Holland to here makes ordering at Van Gelder for example cheaper (and gives me an excuse to add some brewing stuff as well .)
Maybe set something up as a group in Europe
Holland is pretty nice priced for shipping to other countries
La Poste is good for France (€7 to ship the almost 700gr S50) but expensive when it crosses a border (€14 for a 55gr Jacobs to Germany)
I dont personally like alibaba too many vultures and I get spammed from then for a Galaxy 5 phone screen from 3 years ago still.When you enter what you looking for they openly show vendor related to your search and the bomb spam you trying to sell you whatever you may be looking for by the cases,i still get spam from 3 years ago when I was looking for batteries and they won’t sell less than a case ,any how that’s my .02
I have been dealing with Alibaba since 2004. It was originally the "only" platform (other than "Made In China") to reach Asian manufacturers. It by no means is or was intended to be like Aliexpress which is why shipping often kills things in small quantities. It is more for manufacturers than it is for small vendors.
Most international sales here have received good education,majored in English, International Economic and Trade, or relative majors,and the ones who operating Alibaba account usually have been trained for internet marketing and customer service. Enjoy your happy shopping with Alibaba from China.
Here are various carriers with different channels for the international shipments, the shipping costs are quite different, but the shipping time and customs could be different as well, especially for the battery or devices with battery, which is quite sensitive, regulated strictly by the international airlines, and also expensive handling fees for each battery shipment by the carriers.
For the shipments to Canada, FedEx is usually the first choice, even if for battery shipment.
That’s right, all the battery cells and battery packs manufactured here are very cheap, thanks to our much lower labor cost, material cost, and convenience to source the main materials from our local market, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
No, not yet. Our battery packs are usually applied for various industrial applications, mainly customized for each project according to the detailed requirements, which not showed on Aliexpress. However, for any query or request you may have about the battery, you can feel free to contact us by e-mail, telephone, skype, or the site massage here.
Do you know a Chinese Website that sells OSRAM 4715AS LED?
I don’t know why they don’t sell it, I asked Fasttech to bring it, but still no response :cry:
Thanks
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