What is a Gold Supplier on Alibaba & Other FAQs for Alibaba.com Buyers

Sim Wan Yong • December 17, 2018

Most of us immediately associate Alibaba.com with Jack Ma, one of the top few richest people in the world. However, there is plenty more that we can actually associate with this platform. Previously, we have discussed why Alibaba.com is a marketplace that businesses around the world should not miss out on.

We have also disclosed our status as an Official Alibaba Channel Partner (we're approaching our 10-year-partnership together !) and how we can help you with that status.

When you're selling on Alibaba.com , you might find yourself looking at unfamiliar terms on the website, which we will be addressing in this blog post.

What is Alibaba.com?

Alibaba.com is the biggest selling and buying platform in the world, originating in China. This platform does not only sell to end users - it is also a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace.

While consumers can directly shop for clothes. electronic gadgets, perishable goods and many other types of products on the website, businesses can also source for the materials they need to build their own products here.

Alibaba.com has hundreds of millions of products listed over 40 major categories, including consumer electronics, machinery and apparels. The buyers for these products are located in more than 190 regions around the world, exchanging over 100K messages each day!

Why Alibaba.com?

Alibaba is more than just a shopping website. It is a B2B search engine connecting buyers and suppliers worldwide. They have a simple mission that they go by - to make it easy to do business everywhere by helping buyers find products and suppliers quickly and efficiently, and giving suppliers a platform and the tools to reach global audiences.

While consumers are actively looking for good and retail purchases online, the sellers source for their own materials and products from manufacturers and distributors worldwide.

How Does Alibaba.com Work?

If you’re Malaysian and have shopped online at least once or twice, you might already understand how Alibaba.com works.

If you have used online shopping websites such as Shopee, Lazada and 11Street, then you definitely already know how Alibaba.com works.

Alibaba.com works in the same way as all of these other shopping platform. You can input your company information, product name, dimensions and descriptions, prices and shipping fees et cetera as a seller.

You can also key in your shipping address and start purchasing on the platform as a buyer and enjoy buyer protection by using the trade assurance, return and refund policies that Alibaba.com has implemented to ensure a good customer experience.

Can You Buy Retail on Alibaba?

Since Alibaba is a B2B marketplace, it is uncommon to purchase a single item from a supplier. This is because most products have a Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ). However, you might be able to do so if you negotiate on Alibaba, since you have the option to contact the manufacturer directly!

Can You Negotiate on Alibaba?

One of the best benefits of Alibaba is that you can work directly with the manufacturers of your choice. When you purchase and sell on Alibaba.com, you can purchase in high volumes and lower prices, thus getting yourself a high volume discount. You can then start to create your own products with all of these materials!

Is Alibaba B2B or B2C?

Alibaba.com itself is a marketplace for B2B sales. However, Alibaba Group provides different platforms to serve different types of users and marketers. As such, they have platforms just for B2B, B2C, or even C2C as well! Taobao is for smaller B2C and C2C sales. Tmall is for B2C sales.

What is Gold Supplier on Alibaba?

A Gold Supplier on Alibaba has a premium membership for suppliers on this B2B platform. These members have a comprehensive range of methods to promote their products, such as a bigger product showcase, higher e-wallet currency exchange rates and several other perks. While the process to be qualified as a Gold Supplier on Alibaba.com is strict, the return of investment is high because buyers prefer to buy from a Gold Supplier or an Assessed Supplier.

Are Alibaba Gold Suppliers Safe?

Alibaba Gold Suppliers need to verify their business license, contact information, business location and ownership, photo of the operations, certifications from their contractors and to verify their main product lines / services. With so many verifications carried out, you can feel safe in the knowledge that your suppliers are legit and not a scam.

There are also trade assurances to protect the buyers and suppliers, further increasing the safety of buying and selling on Alibaba.com.

What does Assessed Supplier Mean on Alibaba?

Anyone can register for a seller account on Alibaba, but that does not mean that they are all verified sellers! This means that individuals can claim to be the person in charge for a business that they in fact, are not.

Assessed Supplier is a service provided by Alibaba.com that verifies your business ownership through the usage of a fully-independent and impartial third-party verification of your potential suppliers. These third party companies include the Bureau Veritas, TÜV Rheinland or other similar companies.

What is Trade Assurance on Alibaba?

Alibaba.com introduced Trade Assurance to help enforce more trust among traders and buyers when using this platform. When you place trade assurance on the products that you purchase, your order is protected until you get them. As such, if the shipment is lost during the air freight or ship freight journey, or perhaps your parcel is lost when going through local delivery, Alibaba.com will take full responsibilities and liabilities for your purchases.

Alibaba.com Membership Package

You can register for free as a buyer or seller on Alibaba.com, but paid memberships as a seller, known as Gold Supplier Membership, will be more valuable for an Alibaba.com seller.

Even for Gold Memberships, there are three different tiers - Basic, Standard and Premium packages.

All three premium packages, basic, standard and premium packages, have unlimited product posting, product showcases, ability to quote buying requests, comes with a verified icon and a customized website.

The premium membership on Alibaba.com also comes with personalized customer service as well, which is a nice perk.

However, the main difference between these 3 premium memberships on Alibaba.com is the number of products you can display in a product showcase. The basic package lets you display 5, while the standard and premium package lets you display 12 and 28 respectively.

What are Product Showcases on Alibaba.com?

You may have over 1000 products that you display on Alibaba.com, but it is impossible for all of these products to be shown on the main page of your website. Alibaba.com product showcase is like the product displays you see in stores, so you can put the products that you are promoting on these slots.

How do I Get a Refund on Alibaba?

If you have already paid for your purchase under a trade assurance order, you can apply for a refund by going to the ‘Order’, then ‘All Orders’ menu. Look for the relevant order and click on ‘view more’ under the descriptions of the order.

At the bottom of the order details, you will see a button that says ‘Apply for Refund’. You can then fill in the dispute form with the details of why you are applying for a refund, and up to 5 pictures serving as evidence where needed.

Then your dispute and refund application is filled. You can check your dispute status on the ‘Order Management’ page.

How do I Cancel a Trade Assurance Order?

You need to check your order status to determine if it is eligible for an order cancellation.

For orders with status ' Waiting for supplier to confirm order' and 'Waiting for your payment', you can just enter the order and click on the 'Cancel order' option.

Orders that you have just paid for and is still being processed cannot be canceled. You will need for the payment to be processed first, and then apply for a refund.

Orders that have status saying 'Waiting for supplier to ship' will require your seller's agreement to cancel the order after you applied for refund, so you might want to communicate with the seller in advance. If no agreement is reached, you can escalate the case and Alibaba will help you to handle the refund process.

Orders with status 'Waiting to Confirm Receipt' will also require your seller's agreement for the refund application.

If your order status is 'closed / completed', then refund is no longer possible.

Can I Pay with a Credit Card on Alibaba?

Alibaba has secure payment options that allows you to pay via credit cards or debit cards as long as they are issued by Mastercard, Maestro or Visa. However, you can only transact up to USDD50,000 via credit cards.

What is the Initial Payment on Alibaba?

When you purchase on Alibaba, you can place your order with a Secure Payment, for which customers are advised to pay the lumpsum at one go. However, if you cover your purchases with Trade Assurance, it is possible that you can pay an initial amount first before you pay the remainder amount. It would benefit both parties if the buyer and seller can communicate regarding the payments first before purchasing.

What is L/C Payment on Alibaba?

L/C on Alibaba refers to a Letter of Credit. This is a document issued by banks, financial institutions or financial suppliers that protects the sellers. The letter of credit assures a seller that the buyer has provided documents to prove that payments have been made. In any case where the documents were not verified properly and the buyer fail to pay, the financial institution verifying these payments will be responsible for the amount.

What is D/A Payment on Alibaba?

D/A Payment refers to the Documents against Acceptance. In simpler terms, this refers to deferred payments or a credit arrangement. D/A transactions utilize term or time drafts. When a buyer accepts a time draft, the documents required for them to receive the goods will be released by the clearing bank.

What is D/P Payment on Alibaba?

D/P Payments refer to Documents against Payment. A sight draft is involved in this form of payment, and payment is done on demand. When the goods have been shipped by a supplier, the exported will send a sight draft to the clearing bank and any other documents required for the importer to obtain the goods from the customs.

In order for the buyers to receive the goods, they need to settle the payment with the clearing bank first before the D/P draft is released, or they might not be able to receive the goods. The exporter will retain the rights to recover and resell the goods in this scenario.

What is T/T Payment on Alibaba?

TT Payment refers to telegraphic transfer, which is a type of bank transfer. You can consider telegraphic transfers or TT Transfers as one of the simplest means of international banking transfers.

What is Western Union Payment on Alibaba?

Western Union Payments allow users to send money to other vendors around the world by phone, through the Western Union website or in person at any of their branches. The fees vary, based on factors such as whether the payment is sent in cash or wired to a bank, where the money is from and where it will be, and of course, the exchange rates.

What is MoneyGram Payment on Alibaba?

MoneyGram is similar to Western Union, although its domestic transfer fees are a little higher as compared to Western Union. The fees may vary greatly depending on where you are sending your payments.

What is FOB on Alibaba?

FOB is short for 'Free On Board' or 'Freight On Board'. This means that the price you see for the goods you are purchasing includes the fees and any or all responsibilities for shipping and loading. Once delivered, the payment for the transportation and insurance of the goods are entirely up to the buyers.

What is MOQ?

MOQ refers to Minimum Order Quantity. This means that unless you order the minimum order quantity stated, the supplier will not be accepting your order. As an example, an instant coffee supplier listing one of his products with the MOQ of 10 boxes means that you will need to purchase at least 10 boxes in 1 order for it to be shipped.

However, you can always initiate a chat with the supplier to see if you can work something out if you want to order in a smaller quantity.