Hi, I've recently come across Alibaba and see there seems to be quite a focus on products and import/export.  My company provides a business to business service and I wondered whether anyone has experience of trading services on the website and could tell me how it works for them?

Thank you!

Quoting from [TeresaJ]:

Hi, I've recently come across Alibaba and see there seems to be quite a focus on products and import/export.  My company provides a business to business service and I wondered whether anyone has experience of trading services on the website and could tell me how it works for them?

Thank you!

I think you would get a wide income of people, you would have new buyers that want to get better deals and was buying their products from local suppliers and now feel they can import direct and later find they have lost their money. So many come from the phone market sales, but some buyers don't have any background for importing and will not have the capital to do this type of business in the right way.

The type of products wanted would put the buyer into that area of scammers or not, if they want phones, laptops, games, fakes, they would start on a high level risk factor, where if the buyer wants light bulbs the changes are much lower to find scams.

In any case all buyers should follow the right direction, and check details best they can, seek help from a local agent who can direct them, make quality inpections of the supplier and product and production checks all the time, this all cost money, but in the end for any long term business is the right choice.

Buyers must understand that exporting from China is not the same as buying from your local supplier, there are many pit falls, but also many good points too.

Hi

We have been offering services on Alibaba for around 3 months and have yet to secure a deal through it. We get lots of Chinese companies trying to sell us their products, and just one serious enquiry about the services we offer,which came to nothing. I would say it is worth listing, just in case, but I wouldn't rely on it.

Quoting from [TeresaJ]:

Hi, I've recently come across Alibaba and see there seems to be quite a focus on products and import/export.  My company provides a business to business service and I wondered whether anyone has experience of trading services on the website and could tell me how it works for them?

Thank you!

I think what you mean is that you work for a B2B website company, and looking form customer to be your member, and pay money for service.

It would be rather difficult now, as the economic is so bad, people would not easily invest there company on this website. it is rather hard to get a customer even they pay thousands of dollars to be a very high level member.

Anyway good luck to you.