Step 3- What you need to know before ordering from Alibaba

Always negotiate! · MOQ stands for Minimum Order Quantity. · FOB means Freight on board which in plain english means the price per unit of a ... Aboutus Contact FreeAlibabaCourse Menu Aboutus Contact FreeAlibabaCourse NeedHelp? Step3-WhatyouneedtoknowbeforeorderingfromAlibaba Inthislessonyouwilllearn: WhatisAliabab WhatyoushouldknowaboutorderingproductsthroughAlibaba AlibabaistheworldslargestB2BeCommercewebsite.Inanutshell,Alibabaconnectsbuyerswithsuppliers.Ifaproductexists,it’sforsaleonAlibaba.com. Ifyou’rethinkingofimportingproductsfromChina(oranywhereelse)throughAlibaba,here’swhatyouneedtoknow: AlibabaisnottheChineseAmazon   AlibabamovesmoreproductsthanAmazonandeBaycombined!Buthowtheydoitisverydifferent.AmazoninaUS-BasedB2Csitemeaningproductsaresoldinsmallquantitiesdirectlytotheenduser(i.e.thecustomer). AlibabaisbasedinChinaandit’stheworld’slargestB2B(businesstobusiness)eCommercesitemeaningproductsaresoldwholesale(inbulk).Whilethereareexceptions,forthemostpart-youcan’tbuysingleunitsofaproduct. SuppliersandManufacturersaren’tthesamething. Justbecauseasuppliercanshipyouaproduct,doesn’tmakethemamanufacturer.ManycompaniesonAlibabaarejustmiddlemenwhobuyproductsfrommanufacturersandpassthemonastheirown. Infact,someagentsaren’treallyemployeesofthemanufacturertheyrepresent.They’re justintermediaries/freelancerswho’sjobistocommunicatewithcustomers,understandwhattheywantandprovidetheinformationbacktothemanufacturer(s). Havingsaidallthat,ifyou’regoingtoorderaproductfromamanufacturer,verifythattheyreallyarethemanufacturerandnotjustasupplierorfreelancer.Youcandothisinanynumberofways: Askthem. “areyouanagent?doyouworkONLYforthiscompany?” Askforpaperwork“Canyousendme proofthatyouworkforthiscompany?” Askfordetailedcatalogue.Catalogues shouldhaveverydetailedinformation. Askiftheycancustomizetheproduct.Manufacturerswillyes.Agentswillsayno.   ABeginnersGuideToSourcingProductsonAlibaba    Alwaysnegotiate!       ThetwothingsthatbuyersfocusonareMOQandFOB. MOQstandsforMinimumOrderQuantity. FOB meansFreightonboard whichinplainenglishmeans thepriceperunitofaproductincludingallshippingandfees.   Whatmostpeopledon’tknowisthatboththeMOQandFOBarenegotiable,VERYnegotiable. Don’tgetscaredoffbyahighMOQanddon’tgettooexcitedoveralow FOB. Inthepictureabove,itsaystheFOBis$1.5 –$5.2/pcandtheMOQis500. Whatthatactuallymeansisthatthepriceis$5.2/t-shirtifyouorder500pcsBUTyoucangetforaslittleas$1.2/t-shirtIF youincreasethevolumeoftheorder. Nomatterhowmuchthesupplierinsists,theMOQisalwaysnegotiableunlesstheproducthasareallylowmargin.I’veorderedquantitiesof1,3,5 and10fromsupplierswhosepostedMOQwas500-1000.   HowtonegotiatewithAlibabasupplierstogetlowFOBandMOQ: Offerthemlongtermvalue.SupplierswillofferdiscountsandlowMOQiftheythinkyou willbecomeahighvolumeprospect.Iusuallysay“Ineedtoseeafewsamplesandifthey’regood,I’llplacealargeorderinthenearfuture” Flashthecash.Alinethatworksmeis“ifyouagreetothispriceforthismanypcs,IwillpayrightnowbyPayPal“ Pinsuppliersagainstoneanother.Allsupplierswanttoselltoyou,evenifit’sforsmallquantities.Smallordersarebetterthannothing.Createasenseofurgencybylettingyouragentknowthatyou’retalkingwithothersuppliersandwhoevercanmeetyouraskingprice.   Recordkeepingisessential Thereanumberofwaystocommunicatewithsuppliers;messaging,chat,email,skypeandmypersonalfavorite,whatsapp.Negotiatingbyphoneandmessagingisonething,buta purchaseagreementortermsofsaleneedstobemoreofficialandmustbe traceable.Sotalk,discuss,negotiateallyouwantonanydeviceyouwant,butapurchaseagreementortermsofsalesmustbeontheAlibabamessagingservice.Thisway,ifyoueverneedtodisputeatransactionyou’llhaveclearevidencetosupportyourcase. [su_spacersize=”10″] Ripoffsandcopycatsareinevitable AnyproductonAlibabacanbecustomized,tweakedorpersonalized.Theproblemis,anythingyouorderwillbeproducedinbulkandthemanufacturerwillkeepextrastockbehindwhichwillinevitablyfinditswayonaproductcatalogueoraspartofashowcase. Evenifyoursupplieragreesnottore-sellyourproducts(whichmeansnothing)itwon’tpreventothersfromcopyingit. [su_spacersize=”10″] DutyCalls Productsimportedfromanothercountryaresubjectdutyandtaxes.Calculatingimporttaxesisnotverystraightforward.Feesarebasedonanumberoffactorsincludingmaterials,origin,intendeduseandabunchofotherthings. Tolearnmoreaboutimporttaxes,refertothe  UScustomsandborderprotectionwebsite. [su_spacersize=”10″] Conclusion Alibabaischangingthewayproductsareboughtinsold. Today,anyonecanorderproductsdirectlyfromthemanufacturerandcompletelyeliminatethemiddleman.Howeverbeforejumpingin,makesureyouunderstandhowAlibabaworksandhowyoucanuserules(orlackthereof)toyouradvantage.   shaany2016-12-11T19:44:11+00:00 ShareThisStory,ChooseYourPlatform! FacebookTwitterRedditLinkedInEmail eCommerceMVP|Allrightsreserved|PrivacyPolicy MyAccountLogin AlibabaCourseInstructions Menu MyAccountLogin AlibabaCourseInstructions