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The World is Not Alibaba

Walter Hay

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To a large extent internet B2C sellers have tunnel vision. Here's all that they can see:
  • China is the world's biggest manufacturer of consumer products.
  • Alibaba is the world's biggest B2B sourcing site.
  • Buying products from suppliers on Alibaba is easy. (Command of ENTRY?)
Here's what they fail to see:
  • There are millions of manufacturers of consumer goods in other countries.
  • Few competitors know that or are willing to get off their butts and find them. Command of ENTRY.
  • There are many legitimate B2B sourcing sites in other countries.
  • Using those sites is not as easy as using Alibaba. Command of ENTRY.
  • Few competitors will make any extra effort to find and use those sites. Command of ENTRY.
Sorry if this seems too much self promotion, but I have made the last of those as easy as is humanly possible. The few who have followed my advice in this regard are like shepherds leading the sheep.

Walter
 
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Mikkel

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I only started reading your first book, Proven Global Sourcing, yesterday. So far it has been very inciteful! I've not reached chapter 8 yet, on sourcing outside of China, but you made a great point about finding and selling products that no one else is selling.

These big websites(Alibaba) have probably thousands upon thousands of potential importers all shopping from the same manufactures. If you are to use these big websites, try and find those unverified manufactures on the last pages of the search engine. They might be selling a product that is unknown to the market! They may be more difficult to get ahold of and that is a barrier to entry that you can exploit.

I just thought I'd rehash a great point that you made in your book that may be relatable to this topic. :)
 

Walter Hay

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Thanks @Mikkel. You have made a good point about the huge numbers of people who are looking on Alibaba to find products to sell.

According to statista.com, Alibaba sellers during the first quarter of 2020 sold to 725 million buyers.

Maybe one or two hundred, maybe one or two thousand, or more, of those were buying exactly the product that others were buying. The flock of sheep is vast.

On my farm I have seen sheep repeatedly trying to get through a hole in the fence to the greener grass. They can't get through but they try again and again and again and again.

They are not all that different from the sheep who try to find a product on Alibaba thinking they can get through to the other side where their greener grass is: Sales and Profits.

Walter
 

MTF

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With the current world situation, there might be a rush to work with non-Chinese manufacturers. It'll be an asset to manufacture in the country where your customers are based.

As for me as a consumer, whenever I can, I prefer to support the local economy and higher quality goods. I also don't understand the allure of Alibaba. I'm probably ignorant but it looks like a marketplace of low-quality mass-produced junk.
 
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Walter Hay

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With the current world situation, there might be a rush to work with non-Chinese manufacturers. It'll be an asset to manufacture in the country where your customers are based.

As for me as a consumer, whenever I can, I prefer to support the local economy and higher quality goods. I also don't understand the allure of Alibaba. I'm probably ignorant but it looks like a marketplace of low-quality mass-produced junk.
I have seen a move to source elsewhere, but I am surprised at how few are doing it.

Sadly, when it comes to buying, consumers tend to think about the price rather than the quality or the country of manufacture.

This is why I would be looking for something that has not previously been imported into the country where the goods are being sold. In browsing B2B sites in many countries I have seen some great products that judging by what I have found in researching those products have until now only sold in the country of manufacture.

The fact that the manufacturers are advertising on their country's B2B site tells me that they have now seen an opportunity to start exporting.

China and Chinese products are currently not so well regarded, so those new exporters stand to do well, as will the importers who decide to make the change.

Those importers will no doubt see others beginning to do the same, and quite likely choosing the same products, but there is always an advantage in being first to market.

Walter
 

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I've started diversifying and sourcing from places like Egypt, but one thing is for sure - the Chinese are work horses. People in other countries don't have the same level of work ethic as the Chinese. You have to adjust your expectations of people working between 9 - 5 instead of from 8AM - 2AM with quick responses.

Could be a biased opinion as I've only worked with a small sample size of suppliers outside of China, but I think this' just a well known fact regardless. Curious to hear your thoughts.
 

RoadTrip

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As for me as a consumer, whenever I can, I prefer to support the local economy and higher quality goods. I also don't understand the allure of Alibaba. I'm probably ignorant but it looks like a marketplace of low-quality mass-produced junk.

While I agree that the vast majority of products from China is junk, there is also a substantial amount of good quality products produced in China. I always search for the latter. The result: all (except 1) of our products have 4-5 star real customer reviews.

These low quality products are often trends and fads and can produce high profits for the short term. Since this doesn't fit my personality I focus on finding the enduring and high quality products. Something can be said for both strategies though.
 
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RoadTrip

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To a large extent internet B2C sellers have tunnel vision. Here's all that they can see:
  • China is the world's biggest manufacturer of consumer products.
  • Alibaba is the world's biggest B2B sourcing site.
  • Buying products from suppliers on Alibaba is easy. (Command of ENTRY?)
Here's what they fail to see:
  • There are millions of manufacturers of consumer goods in other countries.
  • Few competitors know that or are willing to get off their butts and find them. Command of ENTRY.
  • There are many legitimate B2B sourcing sites in other countries.
  • Using those sites is not as easy as using Alibaba. Command of ENTRY.
  • Few competitors will make any extra effort to find and use those sites. Command of ENTRY.
Sorry if this seems too much self promotion, but I have made the last of those as easy as is humanly possible. The few who have followed my advice in this regard are like shepherds leading the sheep.

Walter

I haven't read your book but in the past I have tried searching through other websites including Taiwan Trade. I just can't find the same type of products I am able to find on Alibaba.... selection is a lot smaller and products are often outdated.

It is possible I didn't put in enough effort, but I also haven't had the need so far. It may, however, open new opportunities for me so I'm happy if you prove me wrong.
 

Walter Hay

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I've started diversifying and sourcing from places like Egypt, but one thing is for sure - the Chinese are work horses. People in other countries don't have the same level of work ethic as the Chinese. You have to adjust your expectations of people working between 9 - 5 instead of from 8AM - 2AM with quick responses.

Could be a biased opinion as I've only worked with a small sample size of suppliers outside of China, but I think this' just a well known fact regardless. Curious to hear your thoughts.
Their work ethic is to a large extent a result of the conditioning of Chinese society to follow orders without question.

Many factories have team conditioning sessions every morning with the result that they work as a team. They also provide a lot of perks for their low paid workers, such as creches, and something like health insurance.

Workers in some other countries will also work very hard, long hours, primarily because employment is very hard to find. Loss of a job could mean a struggle to survive.

It is interesting that you have been sourcing from Egypt. Few people know how technically advanced some Egyptian industries are. Much of their production is of very high quality.

For example, people tend to think of China and India as the places to look for pharmaceuticals, but Egypt can easily match their best quality and you can be confident of the safety of their products.

Walter
 

Walter Hay

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I haven't read your book but in the past I have tried searching through other websites including Taiwan Trade. I just can't find the same type of products I am able to find on Alibaba.... selection is a lot smaller and products are often outdated.

It is possible I didn't put in enough effort, but I also haven't had the need so far. It may, however, open new opportunities for me so I'm happy if you prove me wrong.
There is no doubt that Alibaba have the largest number of suppliers and products so if you want a product that you can't find anywhere else then you have no option but to buy there.

Other Chinese sites have a very big selection of suppliers and products, but there are some sites that are notorious for scamming.

Taiwan Trade is a go to site for better quality products, but the numbers are limited.

The Korean site I list in my book has an excellent system to safeguard your money, unlike Alibaba's Trade Assurance scheme that provides a feel good experience until you need to make a claim. They cover purchase by credit card up to $10,000.

As my original post points out, there are many other countries where you can find products worth selling, but few make the effort. You won't find the generic products that are listed on Alibaba, but until more people wake up to the opportunities you won't have the competition either.

Walter
P.S. I should have mentioned that my book contains links to legitimate B2B sourcing sites in 39 countries in addition to China, and I will be adding more in my next revision.
 
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