anyone using ali baba?

i've got a nice pile of cash right now and i'm thinking about going into physical products...im has been good to me, but i'm getting a bit bored. anyway, i'm wondering if any of you guys are selling stuff sourced via ali baba, and if so, what has your experience been like?

I used Alibaba mostly selling some export products for my Father in law. The response has been amazing to say the least and managed to bring him around 5 big orders back in 2010, worth $xxx,xxx. One thing to bear in mind is that its a hotbed for scamsters and spammers. So be very careful with whom you deal with.

Also be a bit subtle in leaving your contact details, esp. skype/phone numbers. Not only do you get crazy people/bots adding you, you also start getting unsolicited phone calls from Asian investment companies as well (drove me mad to a point that I had to get rid of my old number that I put up early on).

In terms of exporting, I did manage to find some really good chinese exporters out there... but the EU paperwork involved put me off.

so just to be clear, you're selling through alibaba to others? thanks for the tips about contact details, etc...that's crazy. a close friend of mine is living in shanghai, and i'm thinking about visiting some factories when i go to visit my friend. i have friends from saudi whose father father does quite well for himself by sourcing from alibaba and reselling in his stores in saudi.

i've also given some thought to just moving to china to sell to the new rich, but i have a feeling that only well-known luxury brands will be able to tap that market (maybach, piaget, ferragamo, etc).

i just feel that with every google update, the seo biz is becoming more of a roller coaster than i would like.

just out of curiosity, what does/did your father-in-law sell?

Negative SEO said:

so just to be clear, you're selling through alibaba to others?

i just feel that with every google update, the seo biz is becoming more of a roller coaster than i would like.

just out of curiosity, what does/did your father-in-law sell?

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Yep, sold via Alibaba. Leads-> Actual sales was pathetic but considering FIL had 'strict' criteria that he would deal only with importers from certain countries contributed to it.

Your thread actually took me back to 2010. He used to pay me commissions and boy that was good, but I started getting busy with my projects and my FIL is the kind of guy who is 'happy with the clients he has' so the partnership fizzled out.

I used to sell canned fish exports across Europe.

wow...canned fish, huh? it always seems that those who are making a bundle with this sort of thing never sell stuff that is sexy, but always things like rolls of polyester, bathtubs, pumice stones, canned fish, etc. sounds like you had a good thing going man; so the only reason you didn't go into a similar line of work is because of the regulatory environment? i'm wondering if non-consumable products might be easier in terms of customs, etc....i'm sure it is a pain, but my guess is that you could make more in one sale than what many people in im make in months.

Negative SEO said:

wow...canned fish, huh? it always seems that those who are making a bundle with this sort of thing never sell stuff that is sexy, but always things like rolls of polyester, bathtubs, pumice stones, canned fish, etc. sounds like you had a good thing going man; so the only reason you didn't go into a similar line of work is because of the regulatory environment? i'm wondering if non-consumable products might be easier in terms of customs, etc....i'm sure it is a pain, but my guess is that you could make more in one sale than what many people in im make in months.

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Yes.. which is what I discovered during the process. Stuff like baby diapers/Toilet papers (the things we take for granted) actually generate a lot of demand and thus more $$$'s due to the volumes.

Only reason I stopped was because of my FIL (who is black-hattish when it comes to dealing with $'s) as he wanted to be 'under the radar' and I couldn't go against him and partner with his competitors.

In terms of customs clearance, the laws vary from region to region.. so it was easy to do business with partners within the EU. In my experience, the bottleneck was always customs and logistics. Once you get a hang of it, there's no looking back really.