Replying to [Admin]: when you order product, most want you to pay through bank wire and you have no recourse when you get the product and it is wrong or broken.

My biggest problem is that when a supplier shows you his products and you place an order they don't always understand that the you expect that all the merchandise if of the same quality as the sample they have done for you, in some cases as much as 10 to 20% of the shipment is not up to quality standards.

The problem I have is that more Chinese Suppliers are scamming the buyers with the customs has caught the items and there is nothing we can do about it approach. They have no proof of shipping receipt or any evidence that it was even shipped out. On the other side I paid for the products and receive nothing or the Supplier offers you 4 stinky handbags which isnt even 1/8 of what you paid for. This is horrible and I'm extremely disgusted. Not only that but they were Gold Members and Trustpass Members as well...

Replying to [Admin]: Dear Sir, being a new member to this site, my first experience has been like this,
1. I started talking to a company tha tis a gold supplier, because after reading all forums, about fraud and how buyers are sending money by Western Union upfront and no response is received back and they never received their merchadise, i felt that , OK.....If a supplier is a Gold Supplier and have been cleared by ALibaba, it has to be a legitimate company, Correct? WRONG, my first and only buying experience has been like this:
2. On December 6th 2006, i started talking to a company called Licheng District Zhenhai Ouyu Clothing Private Enterprise
apperantly the "boss" a Ms. Saihua Zhang, we talked for 6 days up until December 11th 2006, where i was asked to send $1450 up front by Western Union, and i was promised a DHL tracking number within 6 hours time, after payment was picked up! PAyment was picked up alright, within half hour, and guess what, it is December 23rd today, and i have been told that i never sent the money which i have proof, and all chat has been recorded within Trade Manager, i was told by Ms. Zhang that she sent me the goods, but lost tracking number on the way back, ???????????? Then she told me that i will have tracking number witihin 12 hours, well guess what.............now he denies receiving money, and now i am against sending any supplier money upfront, so i am not the only one, that has occured these type of losses, if we as a community here in ALibaba are to conduct business, and feel safe and secure, a sacred title like Gold Supplier or Trustpass Member, is to be used according to rules and regulations of ALibaba, yes? If a universal way was to be established in the intial contact between buyer and supplier, for the first few transactions, everyone, would have a safe buying and selling experience to continue a solid and futurable realtionship, without any hesitancy! I feel that we need to crack down, on companies that are not honest, in example, fake or counterfit products, should not be allowed to be traded between buyer and seller, it will never reach my destination, thats for sure for US Customs would seize the merchandise and the buyer also will have problems and questioning of importation of illegal material, i feel that we should implement a payment method to begin of COD (Cash on Delivery) currently provided by all international couriers in the business world (including EMS!) and every supplier should have a legitimate website to verify their authenticity, by changing how buy and sell, all fraudsters would be put out of business and would actually have to work for a living like we do on a daily basis!
Sincerely
Greeksta

PS: I am currently communicating with a company in Shenzen, that understands my fears, and is actually interested in our future together to conduct prosperous business, so if you work hard in finding your supplier and communicate the right way, GUESS WHAT, there would be no more problems with suppliers from CHINA! :)

Replying to [Admin]: I have read all of these replies and it seems like there is a common problem with communication. I am not refering to the Chinese language, I am refering with communicating which of these suppliers are legit, and which ones are scammers.


What we need is a system similar to the one employeed by ebay, where the buyer submits feedback on a supplier after each transaction. (HOW ABOUT DOING THIS FOR US ALIBABA) The scammers would quickly be identified or at least hurt by their low scores. The good companies in China would rise to the top very quickly. This would solve all of the issues of fraud, quality, and late shipments because buyer comments could be read on line before placing the orders.


I am new at this, but having read all of these problems, I am going to ask these companies for references in my country (USA), and if available, the name(s) of their distributors in my country. If I have to pay a little extra to deal with a local distributor, it is probably worth it.


Something like Paypal would also be an excellent way to do business. If we all as a community ban together and refuse to do anymore T/T, they will have no choice but to grant better terms. They seem to think that we do not have a choice, but we can show them that we do. We can go to India or Central or South America for our products. Lowest price is not always the best way to go.

Replying to [Admin]: CUbanProducts, point of feedback as in ebay, make sense, however it is easy to build repore, by being patient and getting your star with 50 or 100 positive feedbacks, * it is easier for a buyer or supplier to trust you that way, i am seller on ebay, and have been scammed through paypal many times, the situtation at hand is problems of suppliers that are in China, NOT USA! So once again to get back to the question at hand, how can we build more confidence in our community between buyer and supplier, it is very simple, WE ALL NEED TO STAND TOGETHER! By making a stand suppliers have no choice to conform to our new terms of payments to begin with, i have been saying in a few topics now about COD (Cash on Delivery) where this type of service is universal throughout the world, where supplier and buyer have a peace of mind upon delivery of shipment to the delivery of shipment into buyers hands, even though suppliers that are "Used" to L/C or T/T or Western Union, and again i stress the word "Use" to being payed that way, i have found through personal experience in whatever country you do business in, that upon sending money upfront, a buyer is powerless, and i say completely powerless until shipment is received, supplier holds all the cards on the table, now we have employees of these suppliers that are becoming more and more knowlgedable of every day business transactions, so it is easy for a simple employee of a reputable company to take advantage of a new buyer, "It has happened to me recently" So how can we build a community of 100% trust in suppliers from China, very simple: Alot of dialogue, communication, negotitations, and setting a first order term of payment by "you ship me the goods, and i will pay them when they arrive" even if someone is dishonest or a fraudster, or scammer, ther eis no possible way of a buyer being scammed, because it is impossible, SO all suppliers and buyers, we are all here for one reason to bring a new profit yet another day, to escalate our revenue, to build new connections, to establish new trade contacts, and get the best possible price to earn our profit, through quality, good grace and perseverance!
Sincerely
Greeksta
Alibaba Member!

Replying to [Admin]:
1)Personal experience(The repuation it has as i have bought goods from china which lasted for juz a short while)
2)Consistency( some can last some cant)
3)Reliability ( some can work some cant)

Replying to [Admin]:MY PROBLEM IS THAT I PAID FOR MY ITEMS, BUT NEVER RECEIVED THEM.It is a terrible way to label a people, but that's the conclusion I came to that they cannot be trusted. I lived in New York for 17 years after coming from my country. We were never taught to discriminate, but I experiened it there also. I moved to Florida 3 years ago and decided that maybe it was the environment. But here I am again, being scammed by the Chinese once again. That is so terrible.

Replying to [Admin]:My problem is no one wants to give their business license number. They definitely do not want to give references for customers to verify their legitmacy. Due deligence suggest to check on own which I try to do. However the organizations they give to check out companies are in Chinese. I do not know any chinese. Companies tell me they have the real thing and then you realize they do not. The price is too high as much as retail here in USA. They will not take paypal or escrow. They do not want to send samples even when you are willing to pay all cost. I read how others have been scammed by gold suppiers and trustpass members. This makes me very leary. I do have one supplier that takes paypal and they have been great. The only thing is I am wanting originals not copies and they just have copies.

Replying to [Admin]: You have a great ideal. Having a feedback would be great. Way to go.