Alibaba.com rating is based upon following reviews
Best for wholesalers
By: Thomas anderson
5.0/5.0
2023-02-13 15:02:41
I own a parts store. I buy most of my parts from Alibaba. Very secure and authentic website if you follow a few rules such as checking for reviews and store age before placing an order.
Online Shopping Experience with Alibaba as a reseller
By: Zubair Ahmad
4.0/5.0
2022-09-24 20:09:01
For me, Alibaba is the best website to shop online but keep in mind that it is for wholesale purchases. If you are looking for just one of are few pieces of anything then may be you should consider aliexpress or Amazon. Also you need to lookout for seller reviews before buying anything to avoid being scammed by scam sellers on alibaba which is the only thing I dont l like with them. A good website indeed for resellers.
A trustworthy website
By: Gery
5.0/5.0
2022-07-22 19:07:51
Alibaba is a very good and trustworthy marketplace however you must check the seller before buying your stuff. Alibaba has provided a all the tools, you just have to learn how to use them. I have a parts shop and I order many items from Alibaba and i am very happy.
Payment Rejected
By: Mohsin
2.0/5.0
2022-07-05 18:07:10
Strangly my payment was rejected for a purchase i made. Although it was refunded to my account but i still feel a bit hurt as Alibaba support was unable to give any valid reason to reject my payment. Very much disappointed.
Long Shipment delays
By: Donald M.
3.0/5.0
2022-05-29 17:05:24
Alibaba is a legitimate platform but the shipment delays can sometimes be long enough to hurt you. My last order with Alibaba took more than six months and despite of using alibaba assurance, i still had no clue of my ordered items location. Finally i had to locate my stuff myself using my own resources which was then found to be stuck at the port. I really doubt that there trade assurance has any actual benefit.
Alibaba Trade Assurance Sucks
By: Eddi
2.0/5.0
2021-12-09 10:12:27
I used to buy small items from Alibaba and Aliexpress which build my trust on Alibaba. It is actually a need of the day as most of the appliances we use are Chinese made so in order to get parts one must have to consider Alibaba for it. I am not new on these websites so I definitely know the importance of checking the buyers’ feedbacks and reputations before ordering. This time I needed some decoration related stuff which was over $1K so I was a bit hesitant but when I contact the buyer, who assured me and also the buyer was a repeatable seller on Alibaba so I decided to go on with my purchase. When I received my order and later checked it, I was shocked as two third of the items were completely broken and out of remaining the half of them were wrong. I immediately took some pictures as proof and sent them to the seller, the shippers and Alibaba. The Alibaba support team instead of supporting me sided with the seller and said that it is difficult to say who caused the damage. Probably they wanted to say that I am mad enough to break my items myself. I then shown them proof of the stuff that was never ordered by received in place of original ordered items, then the Alibaba team itself concluded that the stuff was close enough to the items I ordered so they will only refund half of the amount. They also threatened me that if I don’t accept their half refund offer, they won’t give me any refund at all and will close the dispute. This their Trade Assurance which they offer. Beware, don’t spend anything above $50 on Alibaba that too if you really need the item you are ordering.
I still use Alibaba to date but not because I trust them, it’s just because I have no other option yet.
They side with the seller most of the times, they do refund for small items but for expensive items, they probably wont take your side.
After this incident, I now no longer believe the seller ratings given by Alibaba, No mater how good a seller rating is, always assume that you have at least 50% risk of losing your money with Alibaba so only order the items you cannot find elsewhere like Chinese parts, gadgets etc.
Alibaba or Aliexpress? Which one to Use?
By: Matt
4.0/5.0
2021-10-05 18:10:15
Alibaba as you already know is a well-known multi-store website owned by Jack Ma who is a Chinese entrepreneur. Alibaba has a very good repute; in fact, this website also laid the foundations for Aliexpress which is a similar website but more targeted for end user rather than wholesale suppliers. I am not a Chinese brand ambassador to praise them, its just that I have seen so many reviews against Alibaba which actually should be against individual sellers on it.
I mostly use Aliexpress however when I need items in quantity then I use Alibaba which is how it works. Most of the negative reviews you see online are from those people who try to buy one or two items from Alibaba and then end up getting scammed. REMEMBER, Alibaba is not a retail business website, if someone is willing to sell you one, two or even 5 pieces of an item, then you should already be alarmed, most of the legit sellers on Alibaba wont send you anything bellow 10 pieces unless it’s the product sample which obviously is something else. If you want to buy one or two items then go ahead and use Aliexpress which is built for this purpose.
For those who are actually wiling to use Alibaba for their wholesale business, be-aware that although Alibaba is not a scam itself, some of the sellers on it actually ARE! Unless you have already done business for a seller, you should never trust him and should always do complete investigation by looking at the seller’s reviews not only on Alibaba but also on the websites like notscam or trustpilot.
One more thing, always do complete research about the product you are buying and if you are buying in large quantity, may be ask for a sample first or at least demand actual photos of the items being sent from multiple angles so that you may not end up in paying for something you don’t want altogether.
AliBaba is probably the largest wholesale online market therefore I almost always find everything I need, in some cases I even didn’t find the parts from the real manufacturers but I found them on Alibaba which certainly gives them an edge.
It is probably not a direct fault of Alibaba but there are a lot of scam sellers on Alibaba and they DO rip off many newbies so may be Alibaba should make strict policies against such sellers to protect its repute and goodwill. This is the mean reason why I have deducted one star from their rating.
Never ever trust a seller on Alibaba unless you have successfully done business with him at least a few times. I buy many things from Aliexpress and Alibaba and even I have lost money to such sellers so be prepared.
It is better to use Credit Card or Paypal so that you have an extra opportunity to try for a refund in case anything goes wrong.