Alibaba is one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in China. The platform boasts of over 50,000 manufacturers and suppliers. If you intend to start an e-commerce business and have been keeping tabs on Alibaba, you should read this post. We’ll walk you through the process of ordering goods from Alibaba.
Ordering goods from the platform has its many advantages. Top of these is the cheap price of products. Another advantage is the availability of multiple options for whatever products you want to purchase. Hence, you can compare and choose the best one.
READ MORE: 7 Lessons From Top E-Commerce Stores That Can Help You Sell Massively
Order Goods From Alibaba
1. Create an account
The first thing you want to do is to create an account. You can do this either on the website or on the mobile app (iOS and Android). You’d be required to provide details like what you want to do on the platform (buy, sell, both), country/region, email address, password, company name, full name, e.t.c.
2. Browse and search for products
After creating an account, you can now start searching for products you’d love to buy. Simply insert keywords in the search box and click on Search. For example, you can search for stuff like kids’ toys or earphones. You can also search by image if you have a photo of the product you’re looking for.
3. Compare products and suppliers
Once you see a list of the products similar to what you want, you can start comparing them based on pricing or on the suppliers. For example, there are Gold suppliers, Verified suppliers, and Trade Assurance suppliers. Also, it’s great to look at supplier reviews to get a sense of how other users like you see them.
4. Contact the seller/place an order
You can decide to place an order right away by clicking the Start Order button. If you want to negotiate deals, or request more information, you can contact the seller via the Contact Supplier or Leave Messages buttons provided. You can chat with the suppliers using the Messenger tool on Alibaba or send an email.
5. Make Payments
Once you place an order, the next thing is to make payment. The Trade Assurance payment platform on Alibaba allows users to pay for goods and protects both the buyer and the supplier. On Trade Assurance, you can pay with either a credit/debit card or via wire transfer. It is not advisable to take payments outside of Alibaba.
Important: Alibaba takes a 2.95% transaction fee on card payments.
6. Receive Goods
Once payment has been made, the supplier gets your shipping address or that of your agent, and ships your goods to you. Shipping on Alibaba can take anywhere from 3 – 90 days, depend on which shipping option you go with.
That’s how you order goods or products from Alibaba. Let us know in the comments section if you get stuck in any process. We’re happy to help out.
Those payment methods are not easy to access in Uganda…. At least try Mobile money, or Western Union… Thanks