Before you proceed with the product sourcing process of your business, it is essential to know about the potential platforms you may be working with.
Contents of the article:
- What is Alibaba?
- How does Alibaba Work?
- Alibaba for Product Sourcing
- Why should you choose Alibaba?
What is Alibaba?
Currently known as the Largest B2B eCommerce marketplace, Alibaba builds bridges between wholesalers based in China and businesses worldwide. Before we have a more in-depth discussion about Alibaba, let us first define a B2B eCommerce marketplace.
In general, business-to-business electronic commerce makes transactions between the buyer and seller more efficient. How? Through online platforms. In this case, Alibaba allows buyers from all around the world to purchase bulk orders from wholesalers primarily based in China.
How does Alibaba Work?
Keep in mind that Alibaba is only the mere platform where customers can directly communicate with the manufacturers. This implies that Alibaba does not produce any products. Instead, manufacturing companies feature their products through Alibaba.
Alibaba for Product Sourcing:
Before going straight into looking for products to sell through your business, you first need to be clear with the following:
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Actual product you have in mind
Obviously, before officially putting up a business, you first need to have a concrete idea of what you plan to sell. This includes knowing the niche and overall purpose of the product. If not, this will only lead to confusion, which will cause you to waste a lot of valuable time.
Moreover, aimlessly going through online platforms as Alibaba will only cost you both time and unnecessary purchases.
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Price of product
You also have to be clear on how much you want to spend on the products you plan on selling. Having an ideal price range is essential in the budgeting process of the business.
Why should you choose Alibaba?
Alibaba is one of China’s largest companies and most well-known marketplaces in the world for a reason. But if you are looking for reasons to choose this platform over the others, here are three.
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Easy to Navigate
Once you type Alibaba onto the search bar, you can instantly access the site. And upon landing on the home page, you can already start going through the website’s listed products.
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Lower Price
If you plan on starting a business with the least amount of capital possible, Alibaba is for you. You can find tons of products on this website that easily fall within your budget. But why are the products in Alibaba so cheap? To simply state it, they are sold at wholesale prices.
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Safety
For one, not just anyone can sell on the platform. Alibaba has strictly put up a set of rules to help with its overall security and reputation. Along with all the information you need to fill up before officially opening an account, you first have to be approved by the site before selling.
Reference:
What is Alibaba? Everything You Need to Know About the World's Largest B2B Ecommerce Marketplace (tinuiti.com)
B2B Ecommerce: Everything You Need to Know (bigcommerce.com)
32 Jack Ma Quotes on Entrepreneurship, Success, Failure and Competition (geckoandfly.com)
Buying From Alibaba: Security, Sourcing, Shipping Costs & More (bigcommerce.com)
Is Alibaba Safe? How to Buy Safely from Alibaba in 2021 (withintheflow.com)