Anyone ever bought anything from Alibaba?

[greybeard]

They have something I want and can't find anywhere else, but I'm curious how their shipping costs are and how they deal with import duties..

 

[wbvs58]

I'm keen to hear what people say about them GB.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

I think shipping will depend on each individual seller, but it is not really outrageous in my experience. I don't know about duties but be warned, a lot of it is just cheap China manufactured crap. Lot's of knockoff stuff on there.

 

[Mrcopier]

It’s China’s Amazon isn’t it? We were told yesterday that a shipping container used to cost $2500 to ship product over here now it’s $25,000. I’ve been told that by 3 people. Things are going up!

 

[Dusty Britches]

No it is not China's Amazon. Alibaba makes Amazon look like a corner 5 and Dime store. They are hands down the largest retailer in the world. What Amazon is to the family, Alibaba is to entire industries.

Sorry greybeard, but I do not know the answer to your question. I did buy something several years ago from them and did not notice any different buying experience from them that I get from Amazon. But then again, it wasn't anything large.

 

[Mrcopier]

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, also known as Alibaba Group and Alibaba.com, is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999[1]​ in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the company provides consumer-to-consumer (C2C), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business (B2B) sales services via web portals, as well as electronic payment services, shopping search engines and cloud computing services. It owns and operates a diverse portfolio of companies around the world in numerous business sectors.[6]​

 

[Mrcopier]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-biggest-companies-in-the-world-in-2021/
According to this article dated March 31st of 2021. Amazon is the 4th largest company in the world and Alibaba 9th. went checking to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Sorry for the bold print couldn't figure how to turn it off

 

[Nesikep]

I haven't bought from Alibaba, but I have from AliExpress, and I probably won't do it again.. I got a plasma cutter that was supposed to be 60amp and cut 3/4" steel, it puts out 38 amp and manages 1/4" alright.. AliExpress complaint/return department SUCKS, I suggested that since it only cuts 1/3'rd of what it's supposed to I'll be willing to pay 1/3 of the price.. they denied it all, and it was paypal that came through and thought that was a reasonable return.

What are you looking for GB?

 

[Ouachita]

I just had to search Alibaba. I’ve heard the name, but never researched. Wow.

 

[Dusty Britches]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-biggest-companies-in-the-world-in-2021/
According to this article dated March 31st of 2021. Amazon is the 4th largest company in the world and Alibaba 9th. went checking to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Sorry for the bold print couldn't figure how to turn it off

Thank you for the correction.