Buying and selling whether on eBay, Amazon, or some other method is one of the best ways to make money or run your own small business there is. It’s ideal as a part time or home business opportunity. But even once you’ve decided what to sell there can be a snag… finding a good source of whatever you want to sell at the right price.
Fortunately however there is a solution to sourcing almost anything you could ever want to sell at the lowest possible trade prices. It’s a website called Alibaba. In this report, I’ll explain how Alibaba works and how you can use it to source successfully.
What is Alibaba?
Alibaba is an online trading marketplace where suppliers and buyers from right around the world – though mainly low cost suppliers in China – can meet up and do business. Manufacturers and so on can list the products they have for export and buyers can search for what they want.
Alibaba also provides a platform for the whole transaction to take place – from searching, communicating, quoting, ordering and payment processing to shipping. It even vets a lot of the suppliers to try and ensure they’re genuine and weed out scams.
What can you source on Alibaba?
You name it and you can probably buy it at factory gate prices on Alibaba. Here are some of the product areas I think have most potential for buy-sell profit opportunities:
Beauty and personal care. Clothing. Computer hardware. Electrical equipment
Electronic components and supplies. Fashion accessories. Gifts and crafts. Hardware. Health and medical. Home and garden. Lights and lighting. Luggage, bags and cases. Office and school supplies. Security and protection equipment. Shoes and accessories. Sports and entertainment. Textiles and leather products. Timepieces, jewellery and eyewear. Toys and hobbies. Tools.
How to use Alibaba successfully
Alibaba actually comprises two separate marketplaces. Alibaba.com is for you if you want to order larger quantities of goods, or even have things made to order for you.
AliExpress.com is best if you want to order small quantities, from as little as one unit up.
Both sites have a search facility so you can simply search for what you want and find a selection of different manufacturers and suppliers who sell it. You can also post your requirements and ask suppliers to contact you.
The next step is to get a selection of quotes. Another good thing about AliExpress is that prices for different quantities are already shown on the site, together with delivery charges to almost anywhere in the world.
Once you’ve found an acceptable quote you can place your order through the site and pay by credit card. Alibaba has its own protected payments system too. Depending on the shipping service used goods can be received from China in as little as a week. Really, importing couldn’t be more straightforward!
Important to know when sourcing using Alibaba
Easy though Alibaba is to use, you need to remember that it is essentially importing. So you need to add Customs duties and taxes such as VAT onto the price that the manufacturer or supplier quotes you. Typically you can expect to pay 5-9% in taxes but you should find out the actual figure from HM Revenue & Customs before you order.
The great thing is though, even with taxes, the factory gate prices on Alibaba are often so low that after they’re added on you can still make an excellent profit by buying here and then selling in your eBay business, Amazon business or really any kind of small business you like.
You can find Alibaba here and AliExpress here