Import goods
فارسی
العربيةIntroducing the Alibaba website
Head of content
In 1999, the amiable businessman Mr. Jack Ma, together with 18 friends and students, founded Alibaba.com in Hangzhou, China. The site originally started as a B2B marketplace based in China. From the very beginning, Alibaba served small and large businesses exporting Chinese products. This company took 3 years to reach profitability after its establishment. But now, with the passage of time, buying from the Alibaba site has become a favorite of traders and businessmen all over the world and has become one of the profitable businesses.
Today, Alibaba is steadily growing and developing, with more than 200 million active users worldwide. More than 7 million sellers and suppliers have sold their products on this site. Alibaba is the largest online store in the world, which even surpasses Amazon in terms of sales. Currently, although Jack Ma has stepped down from the presidency, he has created a very solid foundation worth more than half a trillion dollars.
Nowadays, many merchants buy from Alibaba website in order to supply their goods and raw materials. Alibaba is one of the largest online wholesale stores in China and one of the most powerful e-commerce companies in the world, which operates both wholesale and retail. Many suppliers and manufacturers around the world sell their products on the Alibaba website. If you can find the right product and the right supplier, who offers the goods with the right quality and price, buying from the Alibaba site can be very affordable and profitable.
Due to international sanctions, buying from Amazon or eBay is associated with many problems because these online stores do not serve Iranian users and must be done through an intermediary country. But the Alibaba site has fewer restrictions for Iranians, which can be one of its positive features. Of course, the use of this feature also requires the use of the experience of experts.
Finding the right supplier, who can provide high-quality goods at an affordable price in a short period of time, requires practical experience. Qoqnous Trading Company has more than 10 years of brilliant history in the field of major imports from China through the Alibaba website. Traders and manufacturers can contact us to buy the goods, products and raw materials they need from the Alibaba site, either wholesale or retail. Qoqnous Trading, through its active office in China, buys the product you want with the best quality and the best price and sends it directly to Iran.
In the following article, stay with us for a detailed review of purchases from the Alibaba website.
Comparison of Alibaba and Amazon site from Qoqnous business point of view
Have you ever asked yourself whether it is better to buy from Alibaba or Amazon? To better answer this question, let’s compare these two companies!
Amazon and Alibaba are the two largest e-commerce giants in the world. These two mega-businesses are always competing with each other for the leadership position in the e-commerce market. The cornerstone of Amazon was laid in 1995 as an online bookstore. But Alibaba started in 1999, almost five years after Amazon was founded.
Today, both Alibaba and Amazon have established a strong brand in their field and there is a tough competition between these two e-commerce giants. Most importantly, both of them are looking to expand their sales markets. Alibaba with increasing value 21. 8 billion dollars by the end of 2014, it became one of the largest and most valuable e-commerce companies in the world.
Features of online business superpowers
A major portion of Amazon’s revenue comes from electronic products and digital media content.
On the other hand, Alibaba acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers through several active sites. Taobao and AliExpress are Alibaba Group’s most profitable marketplaces, accounting for more than 80% of Alibaba’s sales. Although the way both companies operate seems similar at first glance, they are quite different.
Alibaba does not engage in direct sales and does not have any warehouses like Amazon. Rather, it helps small businesses and manufacturers to deliver their goods to consumers. But Amazon is implemented on an online platform and operates like an online store.
Fishing from muddy water
Among them, there are people who have acquired skills in the field of business with various tricks. These people catch big fish from the muddy water and buy them in bulk from Alibaba and sell them on Amazon. Interestingly, both of these companies are aware of this story. But because this story is profitable for them and their goods are sent to the farthest parts of the world, they are silent.
Alibaba and Amazon competition
There is no denying the fact that shopping on Alibaba is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. But now the company faces major hurdles in finding new customers and adapting to the economies of new regions. Amazon had already realized the fact that it had to invest in order to compete with Alibaba and increase sales, for this reason, it started building different branches around the world.
Similarities between Amazon and Alibaba
On the surface, there seems to be a lot in common between the two. They are two e-commerce giants, but their market shares may differ. Amazon accounts for 39% of all e-commerce sales in the United States, while Alibaba owns 58.2% of all e-commerce sales in China. Alibaba and Amazon each in turn dominate the countries in which they have started operating.
Both online stores also have a dedicated payment system. Amazon has Amazon Pay and allows users to purchase items on sites other than Amazon with their Amazon account.
On the other hand, Alibaba launched the Alipay system, which enables shopping on the Alibaba website, and more than 700 million active users use its online and mobile payment system every year.
Differences between Alibaba and Amazon
The similarities between Amazon and Alibaba are almost the same. Leaving aside the similarities between these mega-businesses, I see that Amazon and Alibaba have very different business models.
target audience
The biggest difference between Amazon and Alibaba is their target market and audience. Amazon sells new and used items directly to consumers, while Alibaba acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers.
But that doesn’t mean Alibaba doesn’t have an Amazon-style system. Both AliExpress and Taobao are subsidiaries of Alibaba. These two sites are the largest and most profitable sites under the Alibaba Group. which have about seven million active sellers. More than 75% of the items sold on Alibaba are through these two websites. The business model of Alibaba and its subsidiary sites is primarily B2B or Business to Business Marketing and Amazon’s business model is B2C or Business to Consumer.
Costs
Another major and key difference between these two markets is the costs. In order to list products on the site, Amazon receives different fees from sellers in the form of various plans.
Alibaba, on the other hand, has no additional fees for small business owners and shoppers on its Taobao site. Also, it doesn’t cost to display the best seller products in the top search results. But high-end sellers on this site have to pay fees.
sources of income
Amazon collection is a combination of online and offline stores. whose sources of income are from famous brands, individual sellers, subscription services and advertising.
Meanwhile, Alibaba has established itself by making money from B2B commerce, digital media and entertainment.
Both Alibaba and Amazon are trying to make a profitable source of online streaming services.
Now that we have compared Alibaba and Amazon, it is time to examine the steps and how to buy from the Alibaba site. But before that, we must mention the important terms of buying from the Alibaba site.
Terms of purchase from the Alibaba site
PayPal: is a secure payment gateway that can be used to pay for products. In the PayPal article, we have reviewed it completely.
AliPay: Alibaba’s own payment portal designed to pay for purchases.
MOQ: This term means the minimum order quantity for purchasing from Alibaba website.
RFQ: This phrase means sending a request from the buyer to the seller, to obtain the initial price of goods and products.
Trade Assurance: This term means “trade insurance” on the Alibaba site, and its effectiveness is to support buyers against poor quality products or non-delivery of products by sellers. In case of such problems, trade insurance investigates the problem and provides the necessary solutions.
Transaction Score: The Alibaba site uses a “star” rating system to indicate the quantity and quality of transactions. This rating system displays from half a star to 5 stars.
Steps to buy from Alibaba website
Account creation:
In order to buy from the Alibaba website, you must first register an account. To do this, you must click on the sign up option on the first page of the site and create your account by filling out the appropriate form.
Product search:
After creating an account and entering the site, you can search for the desired product in different ways. You can find the product you want in the product category or search for part of the product name as quickly as possible.
Filter the selected product:
When shopping on the alibaba site, it is possible for users to limit the number of products from the displayed products after searching for the desired product and leave the one that is closest to your needs. Because a large number of the desired product is displayed and may confuse the user, who can find the desired product faster by filtering it.
Search by product manufacturers:
By using this feature, the user will be able to search and select the desired product based on its manufacturer and easily find the manufacturers who have a higher rating.
Finding the right supplier:
Note that the best supplier is the person or company that provides you the products with the best quality and the most suitable price in the shortest possible time. The best supplier should provide all three of these parameters together. For example, a supplier that offers low-priced but low-quality products is not suitable. Also, some suppliers spend a lot of time preparing and delivering the product, which causes the merchant to stay out of the market.
Comparison of manufacturers:
You can compare different manufacturers of a product in terms of price, quality, service, support, etc. in different ways, such as rating and opinions of other buyers.
Checking the credit of the seller:
Another option that should be considered when buying from the Alibaba site is checking the credit of the sellers. The more reliable sellers and suppliers are with Alibaba and users, the easier it is to trust them and order their products.
Complaint review:
Before making any purchase from the Alibaba site, first check whether the manufacturer you have chosen has ever had any complaints from buyers. This will help you avoid scammers.
How to buy wholesale from Alibaba China
Alibaba does both retail and wholesale, but most sellers prefer wholesale, and there are rarely sellers who sell their products individually. In the future, stay with us to briefly discuss how to buy from the Alibaba site.
The first step to buy from Alibaba site is to choose the right product for bulk purchase. The best product is the one whose demand is high and its supply is low in the country. You should choose the best product according to the conditions and time frame. After choosing the product, do the necessary research on the specifications, performance, quality and features of the product.
After choosing the product, it is time to identify suitable suppliers. Find the best suppliers of the desired product on Alibaba and negotiate with them. The most important things that you should negotiate about are: the minimum number of MOQ orders, the price of the product, the quality of the product, the time required for its production and delivery, etc.
It is difficult to find a reliable supplier whose sample goods are the same as the manufactured goods. Do not limit yourself to product photos and receive and check product samples before placing a bulk order.
Pay the cost of purchasing the goods to the Alibaba site itself, because Alibaba does not release the payment amount without expressing consent to receive the products and confirm their quality. If you pay the cost of the products directly to the suppliers, all the responsibilities are on you.
All kinds of suppliers on the Alibaba site
On the Alibaba website, suppliers are divided into two categories:
- Golden suppliers
- Non-gold suppliers
The golden supplier must pay insurance premiums in order to increase his rank and receive marketing services, etc., so part of the validation of these suppliers is determined by Alibaba. It doesn’t even mean that golden suppliers offer quality products, but rather their legitimacy.
There are three different gold membership levels in Alibaba which are:
- Basic base
- Standard Standard
- Special Premium
Each of these three levels have their own access and special facilities are available to them. Suppliers can choose any of these categories according to the size of their business and their sales.
Payment methods in Alibaba
There are several payment methods on the Alibaba site, and we must choose the best payment method for purchasing from the Alibaba site based on the conditions and agreement of the parties.
Bank transfer:
This method has the highest risk for the buyer, where the advance payment is transferred to the supplier through a bank transfer. It is better not to use this method when dealing with a new and unknown supplier.
Western Union:
This method of payment is very risky and is not recommended at all, unless the payment is protected by a security document. Using this method is recommended only when the seller is very reliable and trustworthy.
PayPal:
PayPal is very safe to transfer money, that’s why it is popular and used by most buyers. Of course, this method has disadvantages such as high taxes and lack of support in all countries.
Credentials:
The use of letter of credit is highly secure and can be chosen by both the buyer and the supplier.
Guarantee document:
Using this payment method to buy from Alibaba site has the highest security. Because it supports and protects the buyer’s capital in the best way.
Tips on buying from the Alibaba website ALIBABA
Buying from Alibaba website has many tips that can only be obtained with practical experience. For more than 10 years, Qoqnous Trading has been engaged in bulk purchases from Alibaba China and importing them to Iran. In this section, we would like to share with you the experimental points we have obtained.
- If you buy from Alibaba website, you will be safe if all purchases, negotiations and payments are done on the platform of this website. Usually, most of the suppliers on the Alibaba site are approved, but there are also sellers who intend to cheat & you should be careful not to fall into their trap.
- There are many sellers from all over the world on Alibaba, we recommend that you only buy from reputable and approved Chinese companies.
- When shopping on Alibaba, only buy from suppliers that have the Gold Badge. The Golden supplier symbol is placed right next to the supplier’s name.
- To start trading and buying from the Alibaba site, it is better to first receive the product sample and after checking it, order a limited number and gradually increase the amount of your order.
- Sometimes on the Alibaba website, brand products are sold at a much lower price than expected. Be sure that these goods are fake and seriously avoid buying them.
last word
In this article, we compared shopping from Alibaba and Amazon and mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then we provided explanations about the steps and how to buy from the Alibaba site, types of suppliers and payment methods. As you know, it is a bit difficult to find a suitable and reliable supplier on the Alibaba site, and if you don’t have experience, it will probably bring you losses. Therefore, we recommend that you entrust the entire process of purchasing from Alibaba website and delivery in Iran to Qoqnous Trading. Qoqnous Trading will find the best supplier of the desired product for you in the shortest possible time and enter into negotiations with it. After paying for the goods, shipping to Iran and customs clearance is done. To get more information, contact Qoqnous specialists.