How to buy on Alibaba: step-by-step instructions

The Internet is a mass of opportunities. With it, you can not only chat and relax, but also make purchases. For example, massive. This operation does not require special knowledge. But there are exceptions. Ordering on the Internet is more difficult when it comes to international trading floors. Today we will find out how to buy on Alibaba. What kind of service is this? What tips and tricks will help you purchase products from this site? With the right approach, the process will not cause much trouble to users.

About the site

What is Alibaba? This is one of the leading wholesale purchasing services in the world. This page is a kind of trading platform. Here, suppliers can offer users their products.

Alibaba is not an online store, although some people call it that. At the service, users ask suppliers questions, form orders, and study the products offered. And manufacturers create a description of the goods, post their photos and answer questions.

At Alibaba you can order both wholesale and retail. The main thing is to know how to make purchases. After all, we will not have to deal with an online store in which everything is extremely simple and clear.

Briefly about orders

How to buy on Alibaba? First you need to understand what actions the whole procedure comes down to. In this case, it does not matter what kind of purchase is involved - piece or wholesale. The action algorithm will be the same in both cases.

How to buy on Alibaba wholesale and retail? The following steps must be followed:

1. Register on the service.
2. Log in to your account using the user-created credentials.
3. Find the right product.
4. Send a request with product specifications.
5. Discuss the terms of the transaction and confirm the purchase.

In other words, the user does not put the goods in the basket. He sends the appropriate request to the manufacturer.

In addition to the proposed algorithm, you can buy on Alibaba in a different way. Namely - to place your request on the site in the form of an announcement and wait. Then the producers themselves will send proposals for the transaction.

Next, we will talk in more detail about all the features of working with the studied trading platform.

check in

The first thing you should pay attention to is registration. Without it, it will not be possible to bring the idea to life. Each user who wants to figure out how to buy on Alibaba must go through this process.

Registering on Alibaba comes down to the following steps:

1. Go to Alibaba.com.
2. In the upper left corner, click on the "Register" button.
3. Fill in the fields of the future profile. Here you need to indicate: Customer’s full name, company name, international phone number, email and password to enter. You must also enter the verification code from the image.
4. Select a profile status. You can become a supplier, customer, or both.
5. Click on the "Submit" button.

Done! All that remains now is to click on the profile activation link. She will come by email.

How to buy on Alibaba at retail or in bulk? Now you can consider in more detail each stage of the formation of the order.

About Search

How to buy on Alibaba? As already mentioned, it is necessary to find goods on the trading floor. It is possible both to search through a special line of the service, and the formation of a personal request. In the first case, the user will view the finished offers, in the second - the suppliers themselves offer products.

The search for products on Alibaba comes down to the algorithm:

1. Open the service website. It is advisable to log in using your username and password.
2. Enter the name of the product of interest in the search bar (it is located at the top of the page).
3. Click on the "Find" button.

No further action is required. A list of ready-made offers will appear on the screen.You can select goods from a specific supplier.

Product Search Tips

Sometimes it happens that the search result is zero. But this does not mean that Alibaba does not have suitable products. You need to use some tips to increase the chances of a successful product search.

Namely:

1. Reduce the number of words in a search query. The more concise and accurate it is, the higher the chances of a successful search.
2. It is advisable not to form too precise and specialized requests.
3. One request - one product. Searching for multiple products at once on Alibaba is not possible. The results of the operation will be inaccurate.
4. Inquiries are not recommended to write the country of origin. For this purpose, you must use a search filter.
5. Words like "supplier", "seller" and so on do not need to be written in the search bar.
6. If you could not find the desired product, you must exclude all quotation marks from the request. Sometimes they interfere with finding the right product.
7. You can exclude all queries with a specific word from the results. To do this, put a “-" before the corresponding inscription. For example, "cosplay costume - Yuna." In this case, all queries that have Yuna will be deleted.

You can increase the chances of a successful product search by creating a purchase request. This is a kind of announcement in which a person indicates the product that he needs, as well as the conditions under which the product will be purchased.

Choose a product

How to buy on Alibaba at retail or in bulk? After the user completes the search, he will be on the page with the results of processing the operation. The selection page is a list of offers from suppliers. All companies working with Alibaba are registered on the service.

To simplify the search for specific products, you can use a special filter. It is located on the left side of the page. With its help, refinement is introduced for a specific product. For example, you can select the country of origin, color and size.

Below the search bar is the provider field. Here you can leave only offers from sellers with one or another status. The following options are possible:

1. Free Member - a provider with a free account. Many recommend not buying from such sellers. Among them, fraudsters are often found.
2. Gold Supplier - sellers with verified data online. Such suppliers can already be considered for further cooperation.
3. Assessed Supplier - Verified sellers who have been verified by Alibaba. These are 100% working organizations.

On the left of the search page, the user can see information about the company. Here you can see the seller’s legal address, responses to applications, the number of transactions.

Product Details

What to do next with Alibaba.com? How to buy individually or in bulk? The next step is to view information about the products found.

Once all the steps listed above have been completed, you can select a specific proposal and study it. To open product information, you must click on the appropriate block in the search results. You can click on the photo.

Product information in expanded form will appear on the screen. Here you can also see photos of the offer.

Supplier Contact

How to buy on Alibaba without intermediaries? The next step is to contact the supplier. This step allows you to clarify the features of the order. For example, find out the exact price of a product or find out the terms of delivery of products. Some suppliers do not work with certain countries. In this case, the order will not be available to the user.

There are several ways to contact the seller:

1. Use the function "Send request". Here you need to write your questions about the product.
2. Start ordering. To do this, click on the appropriate line.
3. Use a third-party program to communicate with sellers. You need to download and install the Trade Manager application. Next, the user finds the right supplier and asks him about the product.

As a rule, it is the first option that is most often used in practice. How to buy on Alibaba?

Request Formation

To do this, the seller must believe in the reliability of the buyer and answer him all the questions. After all, Alibaba is a trading platform with which many serious companies collaborate. Spending time on those who are not really going to buy anything is not desirable. Therefore, you have to adhere to some rules for writing queries.

To contact the seller on Alibaba, you need to:

1. Enter the site with your username and password.
2. Search for products and select a specific product.
3. Click on the "Submit Request" button.
4. In the window that appears, write a letter to the seller.
5. Click on the "Submit" button.
6. Wait for an answer.

This algorithm of actions helps to contact suppliers of a product. But what rules contribute to a quick response?

A user submitting a request to Alibaba sellers must:

1. Write text in English only. It is advisable to use short and clear sentences.
2. Write full information about yourself - personal data, position, which company the user represents, region of residence, field of activity.
3. Describe a specific product (what you need) - color, size, features, estimated purchase volume.
4. Ask questions about the minimum quantity of products for placing an order, as well as about the cost of goods in a particular case.

If the user does not know English, Google Translate or other online translators will help him.

Message Center

Further communication with the supplier will go through the message center. You can get into it by selecting the appropriate line in the "My Profile" menu.

The message center works like an email or messenger. This service is an area of ​​trade formation. Here you can sign a contract online or download a ready-made contract. If this is not a direct delivery, you need to click on "Place an order online".

Order Formation

How to buy on Alibaba? After the person contacts the supplier, you can create an order. To do this, click on the "Order" button in the product window. Or, as already mentioned, click on "Place an order".

The user will see a bidding form with the seller. This field shall indicate the quantity of goods, their value and delivery conditions. All that remains for the user is to click on the "Confirm Order" button. If the seller agrees to the transaction, he will quickly respond to the request.

Delivery

Now it’s more or less clear how to buy on Alibaba. Free shipping takes place here. The fact is that when ordering this feature, special attention needs to be paid.

The buyer must fill out the delivery form. It indicates the date of receipt of the goods and the time allotted to the seller to form the order. Usually on Alibaba use FOB. In this case, the cost of delivery includes all costs of transportation of products.

But free shipping also takes place. Some suppliers in bulk purchases do not require the buyer to pay additional fees for transporting products.

You can use mail delivery or express delivery. Such services are more expensive.

There is no customs fee for shipping if the total cost of the order does not exceed 1,000 euros. It is important to remember that customs services themselves can evaluate products. Therefore, all the features of free delivery must be agreed with the seller.

Choosing a payment method

How to buy on Alibaba? The step-by-step instruction presented earlier implies the completion of the operation by paying for the goods.In Russia today, you can use only 2 ways to deposit funds. The product payment window will open after the user indicates the delivery data.

Residents of the Russian Federation can pay for orders on Alibaba:

• by bank transfer - recommended when using the order for commercial purposes;
• credit card - if the goods are paid individually or are not subject to duties.

As soon as the customer chooses a payment method, he will have to indicate the details of either a bank account or a credit card. All that remains now is to click on the "Confirm Order" button.

Private individuals

That's all. Now it’s clear how Alibaba works. How to buy to an individual here? It is enough to adhere to previously proposed algorithms. Difficulties may arise when registering a new user, but nothing more.

Many users prefer to use the services of intermediaries. These are companies that bulk order with Alibaba and other Chinese services. In this case, you will need:

1. Contact an intermediary.
2. Indicate the goods on Alibaba that you want to buy.
3. Discuss the terms of cooperation.
4. Pay for the services of an intermediary and make money for the order.
5. Wait for the goods and receive it on time.

How to buy on Alibaba without intermediaries and unnecessary problems? Many say that private individuals cannot independently make purchases on this service. A similar site called "AliExpress" was created for them.

Summary

Now it’s clear how Alibaba.com works. How to buy to an individual here? You can register as an individual entrepreneur and regularly make orders. Or simply register on the service and coordinate purchases with suppliers.

Nevertheless, if you want to purchase goods on Alibaba, it is better to use the services of intermediaries. Sellers on the studied trading floor rarely work with individuals. With intermediaries, ordinary people are more likely to buy this or that product.