How to avoid getting scammed on alibaba.com
Post 1 of 15
Hello guys,
It has been a while since I post the last article. But I do see too many people getting scammed and I do feel obligated to provide some safety tips.
If you are a seller....
1. You do need to get a deposit before you will do anything. Way too many buyer shops around and if you secure goods for the buyer and the buyer disappears you will suffer siginificant financial loss. Even pay pal as deposit is good.
2. Do not accept credit card pay or an escrow company other than www.escrow.com. What if the credit card is a stolen card? You never release goods before getting pay. Of course if it's a big purchase of over $100,000USD and it's a company credit, then it's different because F.B.I. will open investigation for credit card fraud.
3. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably a scam.
4. When you look at the buyer's profile, if it's registered for a few years, you know you are safer. If the buyer is from Afria, South America, Eastern Europe, U.K., Germany, Spain, Signapore, China, and Thailand and Malaysia, you know you need to be more careful.
If you are a buyer...
1. You don't T/T or Western union anyone any money unless you send someone to check out the company. If you cannot afford fly and buy and sending agent oversea, then only use local trading companies as middle man. Otherwise, you are getting scammed close to 10 out of 10 times. Especailly if you are from North America and not chinese while buying from China.
2. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably not true. For example, if some tells you he can supply you PS3 60GB USA version for below $400USD/pc you know it's probably a scam. It's not possible to be that cheap. Same for $200USD/pc for Nokia N93. It's just impossible. The chipset itself cost mroe than that.
3. If you are in doubt, always requires the seller to provide you a third party verification and to obtain the full seller profile. Also requries stock pictures with your company name tag on it.
4. If the red flag is up, i.e. you feel fishy, then don't do it. It's better to lose a business opportunity then getting scammed a big time.
Hope this litle guide is a little bit helpful for everyone la. :)
It has been a while since I post the last article. But I do see too many people getting scammed and I do feel obligated to provide some safety tips.
If you are a seller....
1. You do need to get a deposit before you will do anything. Way too many buyer shops around and if you secure goods for the buyer and the buyer disappears you will suffer siginificant financial loss. Even pay pal as deposit is good.
2. Do not accept credit card pay or an escrow company other than www.escrow.com. What if the credit card is a stolen card? You never release goods before getting pay. Of course if it's a big purchase of over $100,000USD and it's a company credit, then it's different because F.B.I. will open investigation for credit card fraud.
3. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably a scam.
4. When you look at the buyer's profile, if it's registered for a few years, you know you are safer. If the buyer is from Afria, South America, Eastern Europe, U.K., Germany, Spain, Signapore, China, and Thailand and Malaysia, you know you need to be more careful.
If you are a buyer...
1. You don't T/T or Western union anyone any money unless you send someone to check out the company. If you cannot afford fly and buy and sending agent oversea, then only use local trading companies as middle man. Otherwise, you are getting scammed close to 10 out of 10 times. Especailly if you are from North America and not chinese while buying from China.
2. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably not true. For example, if some tells you he can supply you PS3 60GB USA version for below $400USD/pc you know it's probably a scam. It's not possible to be that cheap. Same for $200USD/pc for Nokia N93. It's just impossible. The chipset itself cost mroe than that.
3. If you are in doubt, always requires the seller to provide you a third party verification and to obtain the full seller profile. Also requries stock pictures with your company name tag on it.
4. If the red flag is up, i.e. you feel fishy, then don't do it. It's better to lose a business opportunity then getting scammed a big time.
Hope this litle guide is a little bit helpful for everyone la. :)
11 Jan 2008 10:01
Post 2 of 15
Use your own due delligence to know whether you are talking to the right person or not.
11 Jan 2008 13:50
Post 3 of 15
but u have not talked about L/C the safest way of payment
28 May 2009 03:42
Post 4 of 15
I have found a supplier who has offererd me a good deal on some items...
The company have agreed to send me some samples (at my cost)....however i have asked them to supply me with testimonials of people they have supplied to in the uk...
They said its not possible to do this as there suppliers are secret...They then said they can provide me with company letterhead and official company stamp...and their company bank details for the trading company ....do u think this is ligit?
Im still not sure what to do as i would have to part with about 5000.00 pounds
can anyone help? is their a way thats fool proof?
30 May 2009 10:27
Post 6 of 15
Line of credit= L/c
this is a guarntee from your bank
if you feel your deal is safe but they wont give you more info on backing up who and what they do confirm from their community bank. chamber of commerce, tax office in their area, and your embassy can check into it for you as well in their country. You can also use a private company or yellow book and business directories of the area online. Do your homework before parting with your cash. A few samples costing that much is a scary thought if a scam.
this is a guarntee from your bank
if you feel your deal is safe but they wont give you more info on backing up who and what they do confirm from their community bank. chamber of commerce, tax office in their area, and your embassy can check into it for you as well in their country. You can also use a private company or yellow book and business directories of the area online. Do your homework before parting with your cash. A few samples costing that much is a scary thought if a scam.
31 May 2009 00:44
Post 7 of 15
i am really fed up now!!! every supplier is a scammer here i just dont know who are there bosses...they should take new customers in confidence first and i want to suggest a new system for payment which is suitable for suppliers as well as buyers the COD PAYMENT that means CASH ON DELIVERY simple when the product is delivered to you then you will pay the cash to the person who delivers it to you paying throug money gram/western union is a fake for sure you will never get your payment or your product
31 May 2009 02:20
Post 8 of 15
santahw050 wrote:Hello guys,
It has been a while since I post the last article. But I do see too many people getting scammed and I do feel obligated to provide some safety tips.
If you are a seller....
1. You do need to get a deposit before you will do anything. Way too many buyer shops around and if you secure goods for the buyer and the buyer disappears you will suffer siginificant financial loss. Even pay pal as deposit is good.
2. Do not accept credit card pay or an escrow company other than www.escrow.com. What if the credit card is a stolen card? You never release goods before getting pay. Of course if it's a big purchase of over $100,000USD and it's a company credit, then it's different because F.B.I. will open investigation for credit card fraud.
3. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably a scam.
4. When you look at the buyer's profile, if it's registered for a few years, you know you are safer. If the buyer is from Afria, South America, Eastern Europe, U.K., Germany, Spain, Signapore, China, and Thailand and Malaysia, you know you need to be more careful.
If you are a buyer...
1. You don't T/T or Western union anyone any money unless you send someone to check out the company. If you cannot afford fly and buy and sending agent oversea, then only use local trading companies as middle man. Otherwise, you are getting scammed close to 10 out of 10 times. Especailly if you are from North America and not chinese while buying from China.
2. If an offer is too good to be true, it's probably not true. For example, if some tells you he can supply you PS3 60GB USA version for below $400USD/pc you know it's probably a scam. It's not possible to be that cheap. Same for $200USD/pc for Nokia N93. It's just impossible. The chipset itself cost mroe than that.
3. If you are in doubt, always requires the seller to provide you a third party verification and to obtain the full seller profile. Also requries stock pictures with your company name tag on it.
4. If the red flag is up, i.e. you feel fishy, then don't do it. It's better to lose a business opportunity then getting scammed a big time.
Hope this litle guide is a little bit helpful for everyone la. :)
09 Jul 2009 09:43
Post 10 of 15
Dont send any money tt or western union no mater what documentation they give you! This is a Gold member and he scamed from me
Guizhou Fengwu Trade Co.,...
Business type: Trading Company
Product/Service: lcd tv led tv,laptop and ...
Registered Address: No. 5, 8/F, 67 West Yan'an Road,Guiyang,Guizhou,China,550002
>> View Details
Guizhou Fengwu Trade Co., Ltd.
Guizhou Fengwu Trade Co.,...
Business type: Trading Company
Product/Service: lcd tv led tv,laptop and ...
Registered Address: No. 5, 8/F, 67 West Yan'an Road,Guiyang,Guizhou,China,550002
>> View Details
Guizhou Fengwu Trade Co., Ltd.
13 Sep 2009 14:26
Post 11 of 15
Reading all the posts, I get a feeling that most people trading here or trying to trade are amateurs. Best way to avoid being scammed is payment through Letter of Credit (LC) or bank guarantee.
10 Oct 2009 09:25