First off Alibaba is not a scam!!!! This is a B2B Marketing web site. China Suppliers and Trust Pass Members pay a fee for the ability to ADVERTISE on this site. This is not Ebay its not Taobao. There are no auctions here.

The scam has been around since man realized that there were greedy, not informed, not schooled, other human beings that were looking for something for nothing. We hear about email scams, lottery scams, and business scams. What is the single most thing that entices people to respond to these scams? MONEY - In the form of something for nothing or almost nothing.

Rule of thumb - If its to good to be true, IT IS.

Every product made has a minimum cost to produce. If you don't have a clue about a product or service you want to buy how can you make an informed decision?

EXAMPLE: Apple has been successful for many years. They come out with the iPod it costs X amount of dollars to produce. However to make money they must mass produce the item. They mark up the item 20-30% for sale on their own sites which becomes the MSRP. However, in order to market them around the world they sell them to authorized distributors for a 50% discount on the MSRP mark-up who in turn sells them to retailers or VAR's (Value Added Re-sellers) for a price around 7-12% of MSRP depending on quantities ordered. If you follow this progression of formula's you would find that a retailer would be making about 7-15USD on each 4GB iPOD they sold. Here again they are not making vast amounts of money from selling 1 or 2 but because they are selling hundreds. Also its a clear fact that most of them oney made in electronic's is on the accessories not the actual products themselves. Like replacement headphones docking stations, iPod surround sound.

This process is followed by all companies with Brand names that have no self distribution. Therefore if you see Name Brand items advertised for more than 10-15% off MSRP price you need to be highly suspect of the seller and exhaust all avenues in completing "Due Diligence".

STOPPING THEM

1.) Eliminate the greed in yourself.
2.) Be informed, know the product.
3.) Exhaust the available resources for confirming trade partners.
4.) Never do first time deals via the internet alone.
5.) Get a pre-shippment inspection done by a reputable service.
6.) Don't pay until you recieve the inspection. If they want 30% in advance tell them you need a factory audit first.

Inspections are honored by real suppliers and manufacturer's it also sends them a signal that you are a serious buyer. Lastly understand that you can not buy a branded product from anyone other than the manufacturer or factory authorized distributors and VAR's

Best regards,
Ranger

Replying to [Ranger]: "There is no such thing as a free lunch." Normal common sense work well, but common sense is uncommon.

Replying to [Ranger]:

I think this site is unorganised and truly flawed in that there is no mechanism desinged to complain about deals where you have been cheated. Recently I was cheated over $1000 usd for ps3's I wnated to buy, and now what can I do the retard I bought them off cheated me?

Replying to [Ranger]:


I agree on your points here. We have to do enough Due Diligence work before we pay our online partners. Seeing is believing!

Replying to [PUtt jattan de]: How many PS3's were you trying to buy and from where?

Replying to [Ranger]:Gr8! I really appreciate your writing and it is meant for good understanding of fellow members. One must think twice / thrice before taking any decision. As it is rightly said "prevention is better then cure".

Replying to [Ranger]:


By the way Alibaba is not just a bunch of Chinese businesses it caters to the world. The world is always going to have bad eggs. Just because a company pays Alibaba for Trust Pass or being a Gold Member does not mean they are a good company.


Until Alibaba takes responsibility for the actions of the businesses who are doing business on their site then you are just as safe as if you deal with a person in a dark alley.


Before you assume your doing a business with a legitmate company I suggest you contact the local Chamber of Commerce where the company is doing business. This way they can confirm their membership or even if that business is in their community.


Always be careful not to fall prey to incredible offers and terms that are way out of line. Another way to protect yourself is inquire at the embassy where the company is located in. This way who better to ask what businesses are actually legit and registered.


Never send any money equivalent to cash. Request product samples and company brochures. (hard copies) Anyone can have a website and show pictures. Make sure you also feel 100% confident in the entire transaction and don't feel pressured to place an order.


To really stop these crooks is simple. Stop being an easy target. Second, report any suspicious behaviour as soon as possible. The authorities will review a company and determine if they are scammers from the start.


Also pay more attention to all your business to avoid many types of scams that plague businesses every day.

Replying to [Ranger]:
yeah ,it is very carefully for that ,and it seem you are adept.hahaha

Replying to [matata]:
Perhaps that isn't very true in aliaba, we pay a lot for alibaba.than we gave some inquiries not about our produces .up to now we can't have a deal,Is anything .wrong??bad luck!

Replying to [PUtt jattan de]:

Not to be offensive, but have you looked in the mirror? If you were scammed by a retard, what would that make you? The whole point of what Ranger was saying is you first have to eliminate the greed in you (that's you plural). Why would you think that you could come on this site and buy 3 PS3's??? Ask yourself that question. Then ask yourself, why couldn't you contact Sony to find an outlet where you could buy PS3's? I know the answer already, I'm wondering if you too will see the answer in you.

regards,
James
WDC Intl Inc

Replying to [Ranger]:

This topic has been discussed, beatup, beat down, and ran over sooo many times, I'm wondering why I'm repling at all...Ok I remember..In addition to individual due dillegence, Alibaba (and other trade boards) has to also hold some of the culpability for fraud because they allow it to happen on their sites, under their names. I say that because when you say that you can 'buy with confidence' from Trust pass and Gold members, that should mean something. Yet there are quite a number of people with these distinctions that are defrauding Alibaba members. In addition, why would a Trustpass and/or Gold member offer dropshipping, air delivery, and/or 3 or 4 pieces for an order?

I know some people will say Alibaba is too big to police everyone, I wholeheartedly disagree. I say they're too small and the labor in China is too cheap, for them not to do a better job of policing.

"With great power, comes great responsibility."
Uncle Ben to Peter Parker

Let me give you an example.

Paypal:
The very things that annoy me about Paypal, are also the same reason that I like using the service to pay for small orders and services globally. I'm an American. All of my business accounts, credit cards, and financial information is US based. Yet I have offices, factories, and live in Asia, and have been for the last 4 years. Yet every time I send what they feel is a large payment (anything over $2000usd) they will hold the payment and call me to confirm it's me. Why? Because I'm usually sending money to the USA from either the Philippines or China, and they track the isp of their users. I have told them no less than 5 times that I actually reside in Asia, yet their response has never changed. 'Sir, we do this to protect you!' Once I hear that, no matter how annoyed I become, It puts my mind at ease. I'm not saying Paypal is perfect, I'm just saying they're larger and do more. For true security and protection I always use the AMEX card. The worlds undisputed best card for business, because it protects you vigorously aganist scam artist.

Paypal is roughly 4 times the size of Alibaba and yet they provide this type of protection to their customers. Do you honestly think that Alibaba or any of the other trade portals can echo that same sentiment??? Nope! Too busy counting the money, and not spending enough to reinvest in security, which in return would make them more money. We call that 'short sided thinkin'

In Intl Trade, when you're doing true Intl Trade, the deals are in the 10's of thousands of dollars when you're a Western World or Government buyer. Don't you think the trade portals owe it to the legitmate Gold and Trust members, as well as the real Intl tradesperson to provide as fraud free as an environment as possible?

regards,
James
WDC Intl Inc