Alibaba.com
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- nico412
Has anybody had some experience with alibaba.com?
I'm mainly searching for a snapback hats producer for a personal project... Theres a thousand producer from china on there but they all look kinda fake and not really serious.Did anybody ever find a producer through alibaba? Or has any advice to give?
nico
- ntimm0
Fuck.
I asked for a quote once for balaclavas and since then i'm getting spammed daily by them.don't write to them.
- utopian0
another spam website, don't do it...
- Retro0
I dunno about these two, but I got in touch with a factory in China through Alibaba a couple of months ago and it's been amazing. Maybe I was just super lucky and found a great company off the bat, but I've already received a sample of my product and starting full production this week.
Definitely suggest the Online Chat feature they have. You have to catch them on their timezone, but that's how I organized all my shit. I chat regularly with someone there.
- registe0
Retro, care to share your manufacturers link and maybe some vague details as to what you're working on?
- detritus0
Never personally, but I know of peple who use AliBaba all the time.
- Amicus0
I second the online chat... it may take a little bit of working around language barriers.
Retro – who did you use, and what for?
- moldero0
they sell crude oil, awesome, ive been looking for crude for weeks!
http://www.alibaba.com/Crude-Oil…
- mydo0
it's fine, alibaba just helps you find factories and can't help with payment.
just need to stay sharp when doing business, as you would with any small company you're dealing with internationally. language isn't too much of a problem, but just don't leave anything to chance.eg if your sample has sample written on it, you will probably get 10,000 final products with sample written on it.
If it's your first time to outsource to china, stay small. build a relationship with the factory. if your job is big enough, do a factory visit. if not for any reason other than it will blow your mind to see where all the shit you buy every day actually comes from.
Or alternatively, send me an email, i'll sort it out for you ;)
- sebastianfrench0
Most factories are unreliable. You have to check with few factories for price quote. (Approx 15+ if you have time). Don't use the cheap or overpriced ones. Beware most have high MOQ. Also, most of the time your work will be pirated. Lots of these factories are not really factories more like a trade company. They don't own the company, they also outsource it. As for factory visit, many companies rent factory out to show foreigners.
Just my experiences.
- dconstrukt0
awesome site.... you can make bank if you know what you're doing on that site.
- detritus0
I've heard lots of good things about AliBaba—
haven't used them myself, but frends have.Just exercise due dligence before contacting companies.
Use a spam address for first contact too, maybe?
- maikel0
It works, plenty of crooks and face companies as in any directory.
Do not make a judgement based on how the websites/companies look.
If you feel that you want better communication, you may want to try Hong Kong based companies.Although most of the factories are in China, a lot of suppliers/distributors in Hong Kong will have good arrangements with the real manufacturer and will potentially give you a better quote than the one you will get anyway.
- liveforever0
thought this was an awesome idea but didn't think it ever took off in the UK
- Retro0
Company I'm working with is called Skybird Commodity Firm in China. They've been awesome so far.
Not going to mention the product heh :) Its a personal accessory. Not actually something they already manufacture... Mostly a custom job. They've even agreed to do a small quantity for me first up based on the chance I might order a shit load more down the road if all goes well. They're basically breaking even off this first order I think.
If you have any other questions, shoot.