Finding the right supplier is the first step that will make a huge difference in the way your brand or store will succeed. Finding the right supplier can be difficult but if you follow the tips below, it’ll make your journey a whole lot easier.
What Makes A Good Supplier?
There are a couple factors that play a role in what makes a good supplier. Think about where you shop: are you more likely to shop and depend on a well-established brand like Wal-mart and Target compared to the new grocery store that just opened last week with no reviews and a low transaction level? Would you put all your trust into this new store without knowing anything about where they come from or where they get their produce? What about their online presence? Do they respond to their customers quickly or leave them confused for weeks? These are just a couple of things that are important when you put your trust into a brand, and the same is true when you are finding the right supplier.
What To Look For When Finding the Right Supplier
When finding the right supplier on Aliexpress & Alibaba, there are a couple of things to focus on:
Gold Supplier
If a supplier is a ‘gold supplier’ this means they purchased a membership and they are a high level supplier. Not only did they take the extra step to pay for it, they have more credentials than other suppliers. This will also help your search. It will narrow down your list of suppliers tremendously to the specific person who is selling exactly what you need.
Experience Level
In finding the right supplier, you should look for one who has been in the game for years. These people typically have been through the ins and outs of being a supplier, know how to offer the best products, know what it takes to stay at the top, and obviously know what they are doing if they are still in business 6+ years later!
Response Rate
Finding a supplier who is responsive will always come in handy. You want to make sure you find a supplier who responds to you in a reasonable amount of time. Imagine if your product had an issue that was severely hurting your return rate on Amazon and the supplier wasn’t responding quick enough. This could possibly result to Amazon suspending your account until you get the problem fixed.
Transaction Level
Suppliers with a very low transaction level is one of the red flags for scammers. Scammers are successful because people searching the website don’t take transaction level into consideration when finding the right supplier, which is an important aspect of the process. Looking for a supplier who has an accumulated score awarded for total online transaction volume and amount of orders will narrow your search to suppliers who are popular. It’s similar to Amazon: when people search for a product, they’re going to buy from the person who has 100+ reviews over the other seller who only has 3 reviews. Why? People trust what others have to say.
Trade Assurance
This is specifically for Alibaba: it is basically coverage from Alibaba if you have problems with your supplier. If you run into any problems, this is definite coverage for your product and money being spent. Just file a dispute with Alibaba and they will take care of it.
How To Spot A Scammer When Finding the Right Supplier
Scammers are everywhere on Alibaba & Aliexpress, but by using the tips above you can prevent running into one. Here is a little more information on how to spot a scammer when finding the right supplier:
Branded Goods
It is common for scammers to sell fake replicas of famous brands. But sadly, a lot of people don’t realize that it is fake. Not only is it fake, but it can also get you into a lot of trouble with Amazon. Amazon will suspend or even delete your account if you are caught selling knock offs. Why? A lot of brands don’t allow people to resell their products, and since you are doing it through a service like Amazon, they are not willing to take fault for something they have told sellers is not allowed.
If It Looks To Good To Be True, It Is.
Most of the time scammers will list extremely good deals to get people who are trying to save money when searching for a product. Don’t be the person to fall for it! If it is really, really cheap compared to their competitor, chances are it is a scam and they will take your money and run with it!
Payment Method
If you are unable to use Paypal and they specifically tell you to use your debit or credit card or it is the only option, it’s a scam. Paypal is common to use on these sites because it is easier to get your money back if something goes wrong. You get at least some kind of coverage or help with the situation, but if you sent the money via Western Union, Moneygram or using your card, and something happens you most likely won’t ever being seeing that money again.
Refusing To Send Samples
If you found a supplier and want to try out the product and they refuse sending you a sample, they probably don’t have the product to start off with. This is an obvious sign of a scam. Why buy something you can’t test out first?
Now that you know what to look for when finding the right supplier, you also know how to spot a scammer. Alibaba and Aliexpress have great things to sell on Amazon, it all comes down to finding the right supplier, and now you know how too. Good luck!
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Check out our most recent post on Finding Suppliers for your Amazon Business here.