If you own an internet drop shipping business, you have probably heard of Alibaba.? (And if you haven?t heard of it, it?s about time you did.)? Alibaba is a business to business marketplace, where you can buy items for your business in bulk at wholesale prices.? Especially if you have an online store or make a business of selling products on eBay, Alibaba is an invaluable resource, and one that has greatly expanded the global and online market.
Great as Alibaba is, though, it is not without its flaws.? In fact, as Alibaba grows in popularity it also becomes an easier, more vulnerable target for fraud and other scams.? With such a high traffic volume, there is extremely high risk.? In any venture, there will be those people who try to leach off your success and efforts, but in the online arena, it is just that much easier to cheat.
With that in mind, here is a list of precautions you should take when doing business on Alibaba:
- ?Use common sense.? This may seem obvious or even a bit condescending, but sometimes it can be very easy to abandon reason for a good deal.? The problem is, good deals are most often not what they seem.? When a seller is only charging $50 for an iPod, you should be suspicious, no matter how excited you are at the deal.? Conversely, sellers sometimes try to pass imitation products for the real deal and charge you full price.? And worse than outright ripping you off, you might get caught up in a copyright infringement lawsuit if you unknowingly purchase and then sell an imitation product.? If it looks too good to be true, it is.
- Use trusted funds transfer methods.? Western Union is not secure, and scammers take advantage of this.? Almost invariably, if a seller asks you to transfer funds using Western Union, you are being had.? There are exceptions to this rule, but you really don?t want to take that chance.? Similarly, don?t send money to a seller?s personal bank account.? Professionals will have a business account with an established bank, e.g. Bank of China, and won?t try to scam you into sending them money for nothing.
- Don?t take anything at face value.? Essentially, this means double- and triple-check everything about the buyer and the transaction information before it?s made.? Scammers will go to great lengths to get your money, so you have to be vigilant.? Don?t trust a sample image or even a sample product, because these can easily be manipulated?especially photos.? Have sellers take a photo of your item with a piece of paper that has your name (and theirs) written on it.? Sometimes you can?t even trust a company name; check to see if the business? name is the same as the one on their bank account.
- Be willing to visit your suppliers.? Even if it?s an international trip, verifying with your own eyes whether or not your supplier is who they say they are will actually save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.? Once you see the operation, you will be able to decide concretely whether you want to do business with that company or not.
- Learn from others.? One of the best ways to avoid any kind of fraud or scam is to read, contribute to, and follow the Alibaba forum.? Users will post excellent, relevant tips to help guide you to the best vendors, protect you from the worst ones, and offer great business advice.? The great thing about Alibaba is that not everyone is out to get you, and if you seek the counsel of others, you will be surprised at how willing they are to help.
Any internet marketplace will have an inherent risk, just as any real marketplace has its own inherent risk.? Just because there are scammers on Alibaba is not a reason to abandon it altogether.? If you run a wise business and follow these tips, Alibaba can actually be a great income boost to your company.
image: dhl
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Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com. Mariana has written 1 article(s) on this web site.
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Source: http://emoneymakingonline.com/2011/09/20/security-for-alibaba/
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