Alibaba Business Verification

[Jurffy]

Hi,

I am opening a Business Profile on Alibaba. They require at least 3 other businesses on Alibaba to verify my business.

Is this absolutely necessary? If so, will anybody help me do this?

Thanks!

 

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[Vigilante]

Hi,

I am opening a Business Profile on Alibaba. They require at least 3 other businesses on Alibaba to verify my business.

Is this absolutely necessary? If so, will anybody help me do this?

Thanks!

You just joined this forum less than a week ago. Nobody knows you here. We're not your best hope.

 

[Jurffy]

You just joined this forum less than a week ago. Nobody knows you here. We're not your best hope.

Hrm, that is true.

 

[Walter Hay]

Unless you are going to be a big time user of Alibaba for sourcing, establishing a Business Profile is a lot of work for virtually no reward. It just makes it easier for Alibaba to keep track of your activity and if you publish the optional details in your profile it gives suppliers far too much information.

If you don't publish that optional information, your Profile is about as good as the near useless Alibaba verification of suppliers. If you want to get better responses to your inquiries, I suggest you have a look at my AMA where you will find a post on the subject of how to get a good response rate. Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

 

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[Kevin Peter]

These businesses must as well be present on Alibaba. I didn't know that it was mandatory to get the verification. It is a good way to have the genuine companies list and we consumers not get bogged down by fake listings.

 

[Jurffy]

Unless you are going to be a big time user of Alibaba for sourcing, establishing a Business Profile is a lot of work for virtually no reward. It just makes it easier for Alibaba to keep track of your activity and if you publish the optional details in your profile it gives suppliers far too much information.

If you don't publish that optional information, your Profile is about as good as the near useless Alibaba verification of suppliers. If you want to get better responses to your inquiries, I suggest you have a look at my AMA where you will find a post on the subject of how to get a good response rate. Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Thank you, I didn't know that it wasn't mandatory.

 

[Walter Hay]

These businesses must as well be present on Alibaba. I didn't know that it was mandatory to get the verification. It is a good way to have the genuine companies list and we consumers not get bogged down by fake listings.

The business profiles being referred to are for buyers to list, not for sellers. The idea is to provide information for sellers so that they will take you seriously when you make an inquiry. The sellers will be able to see that you really are a functioning business, but if you check out my AMA post that I linked to yesterday, you will see that it is possible to get a good response rate without that hassle.

Sellers can be listed on Alibaba for free, with no verification whatsoever. If they want to be verified, they pay Alibaba a small fee, and they go through a simple verification process. All that is involved is that:

1. Alibaba check their business registration papers to prove that the business is a legally registered.
2. Alibaba staff visit the business premises to see that the business actually exists. NOTE: They might be in an office that is rented by the day, and might not be there the day after Alibaba visit, so if they are scammers they can't be traced, but Alibaba don't do repeat visits to check on that.

This totally inadequate verification process means that fake listings can easily be obtained, and they often are. If the scammers want to fool people into trusting them, they can pay $699 for a Gold Supplier badge without any further verification by Alibaba provided their check for $699 is good. $699 is a small investment if you are going to scoop up thousands in scams.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Thank you, I didn't know that it wasn't mandatory.

It is not mandatory for you to lodge a business profile on Alibaba if you want to buy something. You can make inquiries using the methods I list in the AMA post I linked yesterday and will usually get a good response rate.

 

[Kevin Peter]

Thank you for the information Walter! It definitely is eye opening. We are planning to import steel wire from China and yes, there are many such companies listed on Alibaba. We do not know how to proceed and as well conversate. Sometimes due to the language barrier, it is difficult to negotiate.

 

[Walter Hay]

Thank you for the information Walter! It definitely is eye opening. We are planning to import steel wire from China and yes, there are many such companies listed on Alibaba. We do not know how to proceed and as well conversate. Sometimes due to the language barrier, it is difficult to negotiate.

The language barrier can be reduced by always using very simple English. Don't use industry jargon unless you explain it. Don't use English words that have more than one meaning. Don't use words like buff when you mean polish or shine.

I also suggest you have a look at my AMA for further comments on why I advise avoiding sourcing through Alibaba.

 

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[Kevin Peter]

The language barrier can be reduced by always using very simple English. Don't use industry jargon unless you explain it. Don't use English words that have more than one meaning. Don't use words like buff when you mean polish or shine.

I also suggest you have a look at my AMA for further comments on why I advise avoiding sourcing through Alibaba.

Would you suggest us visiting them in person before finalizing the deals? As we manufacture binding wires here, the source of raw material is abundant in China. We really want to capitalize on this, and grow benefitting both parties.

 

[Walter Hay]

Would you suggest us visiting them in person before finalizing the deals? As we manufacture binding wires here, the source of raw material is abundant in China. We really want to capitalize on this, and grow benefitting both parties.

A face to face visit is hard to beat. Yes, it would be a good idea, but make sure you prepare thoroughly before you go.

You might find it worthwhile to check out my AMA post on TRAVELING TO CHINA TO VISIT FACTORIES Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

 

[Kevin Peter]

Perfect, Thank you! The thread indeed is a true Gold. Am not completely done with it. Need sometime to carefully grasp every post, and I ll ping you back once done with my questions

 

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