Friday, December 16, 2011

FAQ on Alibaba Fair Play Fund

I found (finally) an FAQ on the Alibaba Fair Play Fund - it's in the Safety and Security Center. Here it is:

As part of our continuing mission to help businesses around the world become more profitable and entrepreneurs more successful by harnessing the power of e-commerce, Alibaba.com, a global e-commerce pioneer and the world’s leading business-to-business e-commerce company, is taking a critically important step to foster even greater confidence in our platform. During the last year, we saw tremendous growth in small business buyer usage on the international site. In order to further educate users on safe trading, while also helping offset a portion of losses suffered by a handful of small business buyers defrauded by suppliers who paid to list on the Alibaba.com platform, Alibaba.com has created the Fair Play Fund.

While the vast majority of transactions conducted between parties who meet on Alibaba.com are completed successfully, there unfortunately remains a very small minority of people who try to take advantage of small business buyers as they would in the off-line business world. The Alibaba.com international site has more than 11 million registered users, and, thanks in part to our efforts to foster an environment of safe trading, less than 0.05 percent of them have reported potentially fraudulent activity. As we continue to attract new small businesses to Alibaba.com, we are redoubling our efforts to maintain a trustworthy environment and to allow buyers and suppliers to engage in international trade confidently.

The development of a trustworthy platform is of great importance to Alibaba.com and has been our mission from the beginning. Over the years, we have taken a number of proactive steps to ensure fair trade between our users, including the third-party authentication and verification of paid members and providing guides to aid safe and fair trading.

We also continue to assist buyers and suppliers in attempting to settle business disputes. In cases where a complaint of fraud against a supplier is substantiated, that supplier is immediately removed and banned from our platform. If the supplier was a paying member, the supplier forfeits their subscription fee. Forfeited fees are the source of our new Fair Play Fund, which aims to help buyers recover some of their financial losses given that they can demonstrate they were defrauded by a supplier using our platform.

FACTS:
Established in 2009, the Fair Play Fund initially covered fraud disputes between buyers and China-based Gold Suppliers. As of January 2011, the Fair Play Fund also covers claims filed against Global Gold Suppliers.

Guidelines for Fair Play Fund:

1. To be eligible for the Fair Play Fund payout, claimants must have presented a substantiated complaint before the Gold Supplier was removed from the site. Please note that Gold Suppliers are only removed from Alibaba.com after a complaint has been investigated and substantiated."

2. Claimants with losses of US $1,400 or less are eligible for 70 percent of amount lost. Claimants with losses greater than US $1,400 will receive a maximum of US$1,000. Two-thirds of complainants lost less than US $1,000 to fraud.

From January 2009 to March 2010, 715 complainants reported being defrauded by China Gold Suppliers and substantiated their claims, becoming the first group to benefit from the Fair Play Fund. After completing the application process, the complainants received a total of about US $400, 000 in reimbursements.

As of December 2010, more than 2,000 complainants have benefitted from the Fair Play Fund and have received compensation totaling more than US $1,500,000.

Like all other e-commerce B2B platforms, Alibaba.com acts as a marketplace and bears no financial or legal responsibility for transactions conducted between companies that connect outside our sourcing platform, but we do provide buyers and suppliers with assistance in compiling documentation and other evidence to resolve business differences, and when necessary, to pursue legal claims. Notwithstanding the new Fair Play Fund program, buyers still retain the right to pursue legal action against suppliers who don’t perform as expected and our assistance in those rare instances will continue to be available.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tools that Alibaba.com Provides to Help Avoid Fraud

Alibaba.com has various ways to help ensure that you can avoid scams and fraud. Let's face it. When you have a site with millions of suppliers, if you have one tenth of one percent of bad actors, that can still produce a significant amount of harmed buyers. And Alibaba.com is A PLATFORM for people to buy and sell. They don't do the buying and selling. It's important to do the following to ensure that you have a good (and hopefully profitable) experience using Alibaba.com. This includes:

Doing your research
Learning the ins and outs of using the site
Conducting your transaction
If you think you have been ripped off, going through the appeals process, and
As a last resort, using the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

So start here. It's a all about the Alibaba.com Inspection Service. It lists inspector type, inspector background as well as (and this may be the most important information of all), Inspection History and Reviews.

Have a read: an ounce of inspection prevention is worth a pound of Alibaba Fair Play Fund cure.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Good Alternative to the Fair Play Fund: Alibaba Rates Suppliers

As I have mentioned before, Alibaba.com has a great site (Alizila) that presents news and information, about the company - in a pretty impartial manner. That's unusual for a company to have a site that offers the unvarnished truth.

I found a good article this morning "Alibaba.com Adds Ratings for Inspectors." This is valuable information because, as I have said in this space before, if you do your homework on the front end, so can find reliable, quality suppliers. You can avoid scams and fraud. And you can then avoid the path of last resort, the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. And the Fair Play Fund is not a bad thing - it helps compensate users who have lost money - but avoiding it is critical.

So have a read:

Ensuring that products shipped from Chinese suppliers are of good quality and as advertised is an important consideration for businesses using Alibaba.com. To allow international buyers to hire on-the-ground shipping inspectors in China easily over the Internet, the B2B website four months ago added 38 Chinese inspection services to the platform. Through the site's Inspection Service, buyers can choose among these independent contractors and, at relatively low cost, hire one to physically visit suppliers all over China to confirm they are getting what they paid for before their orders are shipped overseas.

But who watches the watchers?

How can buyers be confident that the inspectors, who they are hiring sight unseen, are competent and trustworthy? That issue has been addressed with the addition of a customer feedback and rating system, which is live on the website. From now on buyers who have used the services of an inspector can leave behind a review and rank their inspector on a scale of one to five stars. Those ratings and reviews are displayed on the site so others can decide which services are reliable. Buyers who feel their inspection was conducted improperly have up to three months to dispute a transaction, and can receive up to 20 times the cost of the service if they win their case. Payments can also be protected by escrow. The feedback system was just launched so there aren't many reviews on the site yet, but to take a look at a typical feedback page for one of the top inspection services, click here.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fraud and Scam Prevention on Alibaba.com

Just doing some basic research can help you avoid fraud. Would you buy a watch from a guy on the street? A car without doing some due diligence? So that's why it's important to check out who is legit and who is not by periodically reviewing the Alibaba.com Banned Paid Member List.

An ounce of research prevention is worth a pound of Alibaba Fair Play Fund cure. Trust me.

Here's the latest list of the Banned Paid Members on Alibaba.com (October, 2011) - from Alibaba.com Safety and Security Center:

On October, below companies have been removed from Alibaba.com due to suspected fraudulent or other illegal activities reported by our members. Alibaba is always contributing to a trustworthy and safe business platform. Due to our constant efforts and the help of our members, suspected fraudulent or other illegal activities are closely monitored and dealt with.

However, we advise you to Online Security Department of Alibaba.com immediately if you encounter any suspected fraudulent activity on Alibaba.com. Our service team will follow up accordingly in order to avoid repeat offences.

Company Name	Registered Country/Region	Membership Type
ANHUI HUACHENG HEALTH EQUIPMENT CO LTD	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
BRADIMIRA SILV SRL	Romania	Gold Supplier
Changchun Yuan Chang Economic And Trade Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
CND Technology Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Dongguan Ganzda Metals Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Fujian Yuansheng Foods Industry Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Hangzhou Holypharm Biotech Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
K-Top International Ltd.	Hongkong	Gold Supplier
PRINTMAX IMAGE CO LTD	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
QFMEAT OU	Estonia	Gold Supplier
Shanghai Jinnuo Superbike Parts Company Limited	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Shenzhen B.C.T Computer Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
SHENZHEN ELINK TECHNOLOGY CO LTD	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Shijiazhuang Jinghua Magnesium Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Taizhou Luqiao Xinnuo Plastic Firm	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Wudi Long Teng Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Xiamen Zhenglan Glass Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Xian Avatar International Trade Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier
Zhejiang Fuwo Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.	China (Mainland)	Gold Supplier

Banned Paid Members

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Reputation Matters When Buying from Online Chinese Merchants

Found this interesting article on Alizila today, laying out survey data on people's level of comfort in buying from China-based suppliers.

Interesting read.

More than 85 percent of Chinese consumers cite price as the main reason they shop online but a merchant's reputation is the most important factor consumers consider when they choose a website to buy from, according to a survey by U.S. digital marketing company Acquity Group.

The survey, which provided a glimpse of Chinese e-shoppers attitudes, found 45 percent bought something online at least weekly, and 44 percent did so between once and three times a month. Acquity Group polled more than 1,000 consumers in 150 cities. (Download the survey results here.)

Consumers continue to depend heavily on services run by Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company, when shopping on the Web. More than 40 percent of online shoppers said they discovered e-tailers through Alibaba's Taobao, the country's largest B2C and C2C website.

More about buying attitudes in China
That compared with 27.5 percent who said they discovered retailers through web advertising; 18 percent who relied upon recommendations from friends; and 7.8 percent who used search giant Baidu to find merchants.

Nearly 70 percent cited online payment service Alipay, also owned by Alibaba Group, as their preferred e-payment method.

The paradox of the Chinese consumer
Nearly two out of three consumers are concerned about customer service and getting stuck with fake goods when shopping on the web, which helps explain why merchant reputation is important to online shoppers. Those surveyed also said product quality and price were important determinants in where they shop online.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Alibaba.com Safe Trading Guide - Don't Get to the Fair Play Fund Phase!

Good advice from Alibaba.com on how to trade safely. Again an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when:

Doing your homework before trading;
Making safe trades;
When necessary, use the Alibaba dispute process; and
Using the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

Here's a "how to" from the Alibaba.com Safe Trading Guide:

	Verifying a Company's Registration
	It is important to verify the company registration of the buyer/supplier that you want to trade with. This is to ensure that they are real and legitimate in the country/region that they operate in. Learn more
	Verifying IP Addresses
	Email IP addresses can be verified to make sure that the buyer/supplier is really from the country/region that they claimed to be from. Learn more
	Verifying Phone Numbers
	You should always check that the phone number of the buyer/supplier you intend to trade with is real. Learn more To learn how to make international phone calls, click here
	Verifying Zip Codes
	Check your buyer/supplier's postal/zip codes to make sure the address provided is correct. Learn more

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Checking Out Alibaba Sellers: Their A+ Program

As I have mentioned before, as I see it, Alibaba takes user concerns, complaints and fraud seriously. To do otherwise would be a disastrous business model.

I troll the Alizila site from time to time - it's a site about Alibaba and by Alibaba but that does not sugarcoat any of the news. Seriously.

Today, I found an interesting piece. It's entitled "AliExpress Rolls out A+ Seller Plan." It details how the company is getting tougher on quality inspection. Better inspections mean less fraud. Less fraud means less use of the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

Have a read:

Chinese exporters selling products overseas on Alibaba.com's AliExpress platform can boost their visibility through a new program that spotlights vendors who meet tough product quality and service standards.

AliExpress is recruiting merchants to join its A+ Seller Plan, whose members will be able to brand their online stores with special icons identifying them to buyers as premium vendors. Products offered by A+ members will also get priority search ranking.

To earn the A+ badge, vendors must have positive ratings from buyers and a low number of disputes. A+ sellers also must meet service standards set by AliExpress, such as guaranteed fast delivery (shipment within 48 hours of payment for merchandise not delivered by boat) and customer-friendly return policies. If products do not match their descriptions on the website, buyers can return purchases within 15 days and sellers must pay all shipping costs.
The A+ program is Alibaba.com's latest initiative to boost the trustworthiness and professionalism of merchants on its websites. Chinese e-commerce companies have been plagued by high numbers of scammers and counterfeiters who circumvent standard verification checks to cheat buyers. "The purpose of the A+ Seller Plan is to offer higher quality products and suppliers in order to speed up the development of AliExpress," said an official with the company.

AliExpress is a transaction-based platform that allows buyers to purchase goods in smaller quantities than are typically available through wholesalers on Alibaba.com. AliExpress is ranked No.1 by Alexa.com among international B2B websites in terms of traffic.
To encourage more vendors to join the A+ plan, AliExpress is charging qualifying members a 3% transaction fee, lower than the rate paid by standard vendors, the company said.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Use Your Research Skills, Not the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

I found this on the Alibaba U.K. International Trade Guide. It's interesting in that it lays out of the steps for getting the quality that you expect, being prepared, avoiding fraud and ensuring that you don't end up having to use the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. And once again, it's all about doing your homework. Have a read:

For business owners, there are plenty of compelling reasons to source products from overseas. Not only are items generally provided at a lower cost, but in many cases, an international supplier may be the only option available.

While the positive aspects of working in the international market can be very attractive, it's crucial to remember that there are a variety of problems that can be encountered.

But for smart buyers, careful planning and taking the time to do careful research can help you avoid the majority of difficulties entirely. In most cases, simply by confronting these issues early on, you will prevent them from becoming permanent barriers to success.

3 ways to ensure you're getting the quality you expect

As a retailer, the quality of the products you provide to your customers is of utmost importance. It doesn't matter if what you're selling costs 拢500 or 50p: if the product does not match client expectations, you will struggle to build a lucrative business.

Therefore, if you're going to source your inventory from a global wholesaler, it's essential that you take steps to ensure the items you order are exactly what you and your customers will be expecting.

1. Get specific information

Once you find a wholesaler that interests you, begin asking for descriptive information about the products you want to source. This can give you a very good idea of what the company is offering and if it's the sort of product you will want to sell.

For example, you might want to find out what the product is made from, how it is assembled, what the dimensions are, what materials are used to decorate it and how it is packaged, as well as its weight.

The questions you ask will depend on the particular item that you are ordering, but you should endeavour to be as thorough as possible, helping to ensure you don't get any unpleasant surprises when the first shipment arrives.

If it's appropriate, you can also ask for samples to be sent. Having the physical item in front of you can give you much more confidence in the quality of the product that you're going to be selling.

2. Check out the company's supply chain

Finding out where a company sources its raw materials from can also be beneficial, as it can help you ensure that the products are exactly what you're looking for.

Depending on the products that you want to sell, it may be a good idea to do a bit of research into the supply chain to make sure that the materials they provide are consistent and fit for purpose.

You should also confirm that the company will actually be the one making your product. Sometimes, one manufacturer will subcontract orders to another company. This could be due to a high workload, or the difficulty of the project. Whatever the case, this is something you should try to avoid, as it could result in unexpected delays, an inconsistent product or other similar difficulties.

3. Check their accreditations

Currently, there are a number of internationally recognised accreditations that companies can get. These have been designed to give you peace of mind that the organisation you choose to work with is trustworthy and follows a set code of conduct, both in house and when working with customers.

ISO 9001 is one such recognition. This is an indicator of good quality management and those who earn this accreditation have shown that they provide consistent products that meet customer expectations.

In some cases, it might also be appropriate to seek out companies that have achieved Fair Trade certification, which means that they offer reasonable payment to producers and workers, as well as considering issues such as sustainability and community development.

Consider the language and cultural differences

When dealing with people from other countries, our first concern is probably the language barrier. And it's true that this can lead to confusion or other such problems.

If you don't speak the local language, don't assume that somebody at the company will speak English - although it's likely they will. Always look into the language situation early on and keep this in mind when making a final decision.

Additionally, it's important to remember that business practices around the world vary significantly and it can sometimes cause difficulties. Before starting communications with a company, be sure to do a bit of research to find out a bit more about their culture, and try to be both patient and flexible when you do encounter differences.

Establishing trust

While the majority of companies that you come across will be legitimate firms working hard to earn your business, it's an unfortunate fact that there are also people out there trying to scam you. Therefore, it's important to do what you can to ensure that the organisation you are dealing with is genuine before you send them any money.

There are a number of different ways you can approach this matter, and it's recommended that you undertake various checks to make sure the company is legitimate. Reverse-telephone look-ups can be an advisable way to start and it is good practice to avoid companies that only use mobile numbers or free email addresses as contact information, due to their disposable nature.

It might useful to ask the company for bank information or business certificates, or perhaps request the details of some of their other clients to get recommendations. If you're dealing with an overseas firm, you may also want to get in touch with your embassy in that country: they should have access to a list of registered businesses.

And don't forget to trust your own judgement and instinct. If something doesn't seem right about the company, do more research, or find another firm that you do trust.

Find an overseas supplier with help from Alibaba.com

Here at Alibaba.com, we have been providing an international sourcing solution for over ten years. Whether you are a seller on eBay or Amazon, an owner of a small enterprise or are a buyer for a high-street chain our site offers the perfect resource to find new products.

Our database includes more than 53 million registered users from throughout the UK and Europe, as well as much further afield in countries like the US, China and Japan. They range from wholesale suppliers, manufacturers to importers and exporters, as well as B2B traders, and they operate in just about every sector you can think of - including fashion, automotive, consumer electrics, food and chemicals.

To begin finding overseas suppliers with help from Alibaba.com, simply search or browse our listings. If you're thinking of starting a business and don't know what to sell, our site can also provide some great inspiration. Once you find a product or supplier that matches your requirements, you can get in touch with them to request further information.

If you'd like to get even more from Alibaba.com, why not register today? It's free and you'll get complete access to our entire database, as well as a variety of useful tools. And be sure to find us on Facebook, where we'll keep you up to date with the latest news, and more hints and tips for working at an international level.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Find black listed exporters, audited suppliers in Alibaba

Information on how to find blacklisted and
Gold Suppliers on Alibaba.com

I'm always looking for new nuggets of information about the Alibaba Fair Play Fund as well as tips for how to avoid scams and fraud on Alibaba.com, so I came across this blog post on Tragazine entitled "Find black listed exporters, audited suppliers in Alibaba."

The article lists:

In parallel to black listing its gold supplier members who are believed to be engaged in fraudulent cases or selling faked or counterfeit products regularly, Alibaba.com (HKSE1688) also updated her list of audited suppliers to international buyers as part of reference in selecting qualified suppliers.

Audited suppliers are required to be tested, inspected and certified by independent organizations i.e. Bureau Veritas and Intertek. They will provide buyers with audited reports and key facts relating to audited suppliers. Those audit reports are additional tool to let buyers compare suppliers.

It's worth a read.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Alibaba Fair Play Fund Works!

Not everyone (in fact, I suspect the majority of Alibaba.com users) are not English speakers, but I found something of interest today. It is located in the Alibaba Report and Verify Fraud Forums and it is testimonial from someone who used the Fair Play Fund.

When you read things online about large companies, I am reminded of the phrase that "if it bleeds, it leads," meaning that it's whole lot easier to find negative information than positive information. So again, the English is not perfect, but here is a commentary from an Alibaba user who sought and got Fair Play Fund help from Alibaba and had a satifactory outcome:

Mr. Carl from The Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund Policy has done a really a great job and help to me. I wish to tell that 2 months ago I was scammed/very badly cheated by a china company from Chongqing city. I sent 300 US$ advance payment by a bank T/T to buy laptops but after receipt money by the supplier there is no response from the them and no goods I did receive. I did complaint to alibaba.com and sent all my evidences, which alibaba.com found true and applied my case for Fair Play fund Policy. And I really appreciate that they sent me my money back within a month. great ! Once again I really thankful and appreciate to Mr. Carl from Alibaba.com who helped me in this matter. I may write here that this is good step by alibaba.com to gain confidence and trust of buyers in their site. I definitely trust in this site now and would like to say for buyers to be careful in sending advance payments to suppliers. (Antony)

Monday, October 31, 2011

Video: Interview (and Transcript) About the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

Remember this video?

In this Sept. 9, 2011 interview with Alizila editor Jim Erickson, Alibaba.com Global Marketing Director Linda Kozlowski explains the e-commerce company's Fair Play Fund, which helps compensate members who have been defrauded online by suppliers using the B2B website. The following is a transcript of the video interview:

To make it easier for people to find (and get to the right information), I have posted the transcript of the interview below. Hopefully, it will help folks learn more about how to avoid scams, fraud and use the Fair Play Fund.

The video is eight minutes, but if you buy or sell on Alibaba.com, this is worth every second.

Transcript:

Alizila: The Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund was started about a year and a half ago, what was the purpose of the fund when it began?

Linda Kozlowski: When we started the fund, our goal was really to be as fair as possible to the buyers. Because Alibaba is not a part of the transactions that happen on our platform, we can’t actually help a buyer get a refund if they’ve been scammed or defrauded by a supplier. But what we can do is we can redistribute the revenue that we’ve gotten from the membership of that supplier to the buyers, so that Alibaba does not profit off any type of fraud. So, we designed a program where the Gold Supplier fees of any member that has committed fraud are put into a fund, and then redistributed to any buyers that have been victims of scams.

Alizila: How many members have benefited since the fund was started, and did they benefit exclusively monetarily or there are other benefits as a result of them seeking compensation from the fund?

Linda: Well, first of all, the thing you should know is as soon as somebody has a verified claim against them that enables pay-out from the Fair Play Fund, that means they get removed from the site. So some of the other benefits are the fact that we do take action upon that particular person who committed the fraud, and in addition to that we are protecting other buyers from experiencing the same problems. So by just being a part of the Fair Play Fund, you are automatically taking action and removing somebody who could scam other buyers. We’ve helped thousands of people since we actually started the program, and we’ve paid out more than 2.17 million US dollars.

Alizila: It's a way of policing the site. The fund encourages members to report some of the suppliers that may be involved in activities that we don’t approve of.

Linda: Exactly, and in addition to that, we learn from each one of these cases, so we can start to identify potential fraud cases even earlier. By reporting things, buyers are actually helping us to make the entire platform safer.

Alizila: How easy is the process in terms of applying? If I’ve purchased a product over Alibaba.com, and my supplier in China hasn’t delivered, how difficult is it for me to actually receive compensation? How long does the process take, is it all transacted over e-mail or phone calls, how does it work?

Linda: Well, it varies depending on the complexity of the case of course, but the important thing to remember is that, Alibaba.com is a platform, so we have to be fair to all parties. We want to make sure we have substantial evidence to indicate that someone has committed fraud before making a final decision on the Fair Play Fund. That being said, we have experts who understand exactly what evidence they need to gather from the supplier and from the buyer, in order to verify exactly what’s happened. Cases can be handled in as little as a couple of weeks, or maybe a couple of months for more complex cases.

Alizila: So buyers need to understand that it’s not a simple matter of saying “hey, I was cheated, give me my money”, there is a process involved and they will be required to provide evidence of the transaction and make a case.

Linda: Absolutely, and just as they would want us to be fair to them, we need to be fair to the supplier and make sure we have in fact examined all the evidence properly, so they will need to present the correct evidence of fraud.

Alizila: How is the program been evolving over the year-and-a-half or so of its existence?

Linda: The program has been evolving in a rather interesting direction. At first we focused only on China suppliers, but we have now opened the program to global Gold Suppliers We’ve also expanded the way that we make payments, and we’ve changed the systems to process the claims a lot faster now. I think most importantly, one of the interesting things that we’ve seen about the evolution of the program is the decreasing number of claims. The fair play fund was implemented alongside a lot of other trust and safety initiatives to help try to reduce frauds. We’ve seen a 40% decrease in the number of claims submitted to the Fair Play Fund just in the last 6 months.

Alizila: That’s terrific. What are some of the other anti-fraud measures? How are you working to assure that people aren’t having to apply for the Fair Play Fund in the first place?

Linda: The Fair Play Fund is actually something that happens after fraud has already occurred, so in our mind, the less people that need to apply for this, the better. We are trying to help prevent fraud before they even get to that point. The No.1 way that we can do that is through customer education. We try to teach traders how they can take advantage of trust and safety tools that are on the platform, looking to see how long someone has been a member, are they a Gold Supplier, do they have a factory audit that demonstrates that we’ve done deeper research on their factory to determine their capacity and their financial situation, or are there other references out on the web that they can check and find out if this supplier has a bad reputation. We are trying to put a lot of education in place, so that customers know to look for these resources, and think about this carefully before they make a transaction, in order to make sure they are safe.

In addition to that, we are looking at some other programs like payment options, including extending the Escrow payment service that we have on our Aliexpress site to Alibaba.com, so the first time that you work with a new supplier, you are able to conduct a transaction over Escrow. If for some reason you have any problems, you can get your money back from Alibaba as opposed to having to rely on the refund from the supplier.

Alizila: There have been some criticisms about Alibaba.com that we are somehow benefiting from illicit activities that take place on the site. How important is it that Alibaba.com continue to push programs that try to make it a safe, secure and completely trustworthy trading platform?

Linda: Because we don’t take a portion of the transaction, because we are membership and subscription-based site, any transaction that happens on the site, we are not taking a portion of that. The only revenue coming from the suppliers are their membership fees. That’s why we developed the Fair Play Fund, so that we can actually return those fees to the buyers that have experienced fraud, and remove any potential profit from Alibaba. Alibaba does not benefit from this at all, it’s damage to our reputation, it’s damage to our honest suppliers’ reputations and it creates a lot more work for the company to try to manage these cases. So we want try to make sure that customers are as safe as possible, they understand safe trading practices, they understand the key things to look for, and know how to protect themselves, so that we don’t actually have to make these pay-outs.

Alizila: Great. Linda, thanks for your time today.

Linda: Thank you.

Alibaba.com and Audited Suppliers

On any e-commerce platform like eBay or Alibaba, there is going to be the potential of fraud and scams. Even if .01 percent of the sellers are scam artists, with millions of them, this is still a big number.

Alibaba has put significant resources into auditing suppliers to make sure they are legit. China is a big country, so this is no small undertaking. So knowing how to find this information, where it appears and how to use it is critical.

I have posted screen shots below of how to find audited suppliers and give yourself an extra level of protection.

You can find this information on Alibaba.com here. A factory audited company is sort of like the U.S. version of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (archaic reference), but here goes:

Hope this helps.

All Factory Audited Gold Suppliers have

Factory Audit displayed on Alibaba.com.
These logos are displayed in 3 areas online:

	Search results listing

	Product details page

	Company Website

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Alibaba Fair Play Fund: Proactive Efforts

Below are some pretty useful links about Alibaba's approach to trust and safety on their platform, what you can do to protect yourself, under what circumstances then ban members, and how to use the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

I've bookmarked this page and you might want to as well.

Alibaba.com’s Safety and Security Center homepage
Measures that Alibaba.com has in place to ensure the safety and integrity of its platform for users
Statement on Alibaba.com’s policy for banning members, whether paid or free, if they have engaged in activities that undermine the integrity and safety of the online business community
Cumulative list of Gold Suppliers (paid members) that have been banned due to a violation of company policy such as engaging in fraudulent activity or repeated IPR infringement
Where to report online security issues

And here is a list of user-generated content; information that comes mainly from users (except for the information about the Fair Play Fund) that is user-to-user communication on how to be successful and avoid frauds and scams.

Safe Trading Basics Forum - users can share tips on self-protection while doing business online.
Find Reliable Partners Forum - users share and solicit insight on prospective business partners they have encountered on Alibaba.com.
Report & Verify Fraud Forum - users notify other members about suspicious activity and raise awareness about potentially bad business partners.
Alibaba Fair Play Fund - how and when to seek compensation via the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Avoiding Use of the Alibaba Fair Play Fund: Prevention

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Buying and selling online is complex, especially when you take into account different cultures, languages and time zones.

Alibaba.com offers a lot of advice (that is scattered all over their web site), so from time to time, I'll offer some information that appears in different parts of the site.

Advice on how to prevent fraud
on Alibaba.com

And just to be clear: use of the Alibaba Fair Play Fund should be a last resort. Doing your homework, knowing your suppliers and having a true understanding about how the process works are your best protection against suffering from fraud or scams.

So here's a case study on fraudsters who provide false information. I have taken this from the Alibaba Fraud Case study web site section.

Case Description:

"I didn't receive the products. The supplier said the goods were detained in the Customs Office because Customs didn't find the original invoice attached to the goods. The supplier explained that it's his company's policy was to issue original invoices only when quantities are above 5 units. He told me to pay for another 2 units for another $150 USD, but I have refused. I paid by Western Union. He registered on your website as a US company, but actually it is a Chinese Company. All his information is fraudulent. His is a fraudulent company!"

Case Analysis:

1. It is a sign of potential fraud if the seller requests you to send payment to another country instead of his registered country showed on the website. e.g., the company claims to be a UK company and requests you to send payment to Nigeria, or other African countries.

2. If you think their price is very attractive and want to deal with them, it is necessary for you to verify that they are legitimate company and their contact information is correct. In this case, the fraudster is pretending to be a US company, but all his registered information is false. This can be judged easily by calling his company telephone number or by searching the company name on related state government websites.

3. The fraudulent company will always find some excuses, such as their products are detained by Customs Office for some reasons, and ask buyer add more payment to release the products. Be cautious and make your own decision when your seller tells you such things.

4. Western Union is a dangerous payment method, it can be picked up anywhere in the recipient's country, with no way of tracing the person who picked it up. The criminal remains anonymous. So it is a commonly used payment method for con-artists. So try to avoid adopting this payment method and consider other more secure payment methods like escrow.

FAQ About the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

FAQ Regarding Alibaba's Fraud and Dispute Procedure and the Fair Play Fund

Here's a good "how to" for report fraud and make a complaint to the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

How do I report a fraud case?

1. Go to http://channel.alibaba.com/complaint/home.htm
2. Sign in with your registered Alibaba.com email and password
3. Complete the necessary information and submit

If you do not have an Alibaba.com account yet, please click here to register with the email address you used to contact the party you wish to complain about.

You can view updates or provide further information after successfully submitting your complaint on our Complaint Center.

Case handling procedure:
1. Collect evidence from the buyer.
Depending on case type, different evidence may be required such as below:
a) Payment document (bank slip, etc.)
i. Payment via bank transfer (T/T): Must have bank stamp/chop
ii. Payment via Western Union: Must include MTCN
iii. Payment via online banking: Screenshot of the entire transaction page. Must include URL and payment status
iv. Complete correspondence between both parties
b) Delivery documents
c) Contract or Proforma Invoice
d) Third-party inspection documents
e) Photos of products received including delivery package

2. Case substantiated.
a) Alibaba.com will request the supplier to submit evidence to counter the complaint within 2-3 working days.

3. Solution.
a) If we consider the complaint to be a normal trade dispute, we will inform supplier of the dispute and ask them to contact you within 3-5 days.
b) If we consider the complaint to be valid (the supplier is suspected of fraudulent activities), we will suspend the supplier's account for 15 days.
c) If the complaint is not resolved within the suspension period; the supplier's account will be terminated and blacklisted. Buyers who filed complaints resulting in the removal of a Gold Supplier from Alibaba.com will be eligible for a payout from our Fair Play Fund.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Another Way to Avoid Fraud: Use the Alibaba Factory Audit Service

I've said it a lot before, but there is so much good information on Alibaba.com on how to prepare yourself on how to avoid scams and fraud - and not end up using the Alibaba Fair Play Fund - that it sometimes gets lost in the clutter. I found an awesome graphic that shows how to find Alibaba Factory Audited Suppliers. Check it out below: All Factory Audited Gold Suppliers have

Factory Audit displayed on Alibaba.com. These logos are displayed in 3 areas online:

	Search results listing

	Product details page

	Company Website

Monday, October 24, 2011

Alibaba.com User Advice on How to Avoid Fraud

Avoid scams and fraud
on Alibaba.com

Some of the best advice for how to avoid fraud and scams - and not have to file a claim under the Alibaba Fair Play Fund - comes from suppliers themselves. I have re-posted some solid advice from an Alibaba user, but without his permission, had omitted his name and contact information. You can certainly go to the Alibaba Safe Trading Forums if you'd like to look this up. Anyway, solid points from an Alibaba user:

First of all, I do Google search with the name of the company and the word scam. Normally, there should be no page with the company listed with the word scam next to them but if you see at least one, maybe it is a scam. No need to have several pages, only one is neccessary. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Secondly, I go on a very good website, www.fraudwatchers.org who have a lsit of all website and company listed as scam. They just saved me from sending sample to a scam company. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And thirdly, just ask people around on forums just like this one. I saw a mate who've done that. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Fourth steps is that you can verify the address they gave you and find out what's really on this. Go on www.whitepages.com and enter the address they gave you to find out if the address is really registered as their business address or at least at their names. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Fifth test is to ask them to phone you. Normally scammers won't do this but beware, some also tries to call you. Please be aware that some scammers uses call redirection which is call callback (I'm not sure of that) or they can use fax to email. Using this, they get number that are listed in U.S.A., U.K. or any European country where in reality, they are located elsewhere. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sixth, alway inquire about the mail address. This is a mistake scammers often made. Try to see whether the email address comes from a free mail server. Suppose you get a mail from economicdevelopment@mail2cameroon.cc, be sure this is a scam. The mail address (it truely exist and they tried to scam me) is not from the Cameroon government, but from a free mail server. This is how I caught my first scammer. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Seventh and last advice for the time being; JUST COME AND ASK ME. Yes, you can come and ask me and I'll help you. I've been for so much time victim of scammer, who fortunately failed in their attempts, that I've got some pretty much experience.

Good stuff.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Video: Alibaba.com - How to be Successful

The main focus of this blog has been to make the best use you can from Alibaba.com, but mainly to avoid fraud and scams on the part of suppliers so you DON'T have to use the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. But let's be positive today. I found a video on Alizila.com that offers business tips on how to be successful on Alibaba.

Video is below.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Trade Dispute Procedures for the Alibaba.com Website

(Updated Nov 11, 2010)

Another helpful nugget that I dug up on Alibaba.com. I especially like the fact that the have provided a graph that takes people through how the process works. You can read this here as well.

Based on the principles of good faith and safe transactions, Alibaba.com has always committed itself to providing a safe-trading environment for buyers and suppliers. If a trade dispute arises with another party, please follow the following procedures to settle the matter. Alibaba.com will always do its utmost to aid you in your dispute. However, please be aware that all information on the other party's company/products posted on the Alibaba.com website is confirmed and published by them. They are solely responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, completeness, and legality of such information. Alibaba.com does not represent Seller or Buyer in any transaction between users of the website, and is unable to make any judgment as to the performance of users in transactions. Therefore, these procedures only allow users to lodge their complaints. Alibaba.com neither guarantees nor undertakes that any dispute will be settled or that the results of the settlement will be appropriate.
If your complaint is related to your intellectual property rights, please refer to our Intellectual Property Protection Policy and Infringement Claims.

If your complaint is related to an online transaction processed on the www.AliExpress.com transaction platform, please submit your complaint or refund request directly through the transaction platform.

I. Trade Dispute Procedures

If complaints are repeatedly received about a member and such member is found in breach of the Terms of Use of our website, Alibaba.com will take appropriate measures, including the issuing a warning; suspending their Product Listings; or terminating their service.

If you would like to report dispute now, please click here.

If you would like to learn how to submit qualified evidence, please click here.

Click here to download the Counter Notification - Trade Dispute Form

II. Alibaba.com's Suggestions
We suggest that you contact the other party as soon as possible to help resolve the dispute. Many disputes can often be resolved after direct communication between the 2 parties. If you do not receive responses from the other party after attempting to contact them, you may also try to find out their telephone number to contact them by phone. If our dispute procedures do not meet your requirements, you may also protect your rights and interests using the following means:

Lodge legal proceedings with a court of competent jurisdiction Report your complaint to the relevant public security authority/police force If a written arbitration agreement has been reached between you and the other party before or after the dispute arises, the parties may refer the dispute to the relevant arbitration commission for arbitration.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Avoiding Gold Supplier Scams and the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

This is cross-posted from my other blog, Alibaba Fair Play Fund Facts. Many times, the best advice on how to avoid fraud and scams on Alibaba comes from those who are on the front lines: the Gold Suppliers and buyers themselves. These individuals have the experience to spot rip-offs and scams as well as how to know how to build a successful business on the Alibaba.com platforms. And if you do get scammed, you can file a claim using the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

This piece of very good advice comes from one of the Alibaba Gold Suppliers (I have omitted the name because I do not have his/her permission), but pardon the pun, it's gold for knowing which Gold Suppliers to trust. You can find out more on the Alibaba Trade Forums. The English is not perfect, but the advice is good.

Avoid scams and use the Alibaba
Fair Play Fund!

Some of the companies, even the Gold members of Alibaba turned out to be a business scammerin China... it's very important to verify your business partner as there are more and more business frauds coming forth in China. Here are my tips for you to verify a Chinese company:Generally speaking, there are some links online for you to check out companies in China: ...If you don't know Chinese, still you can pre-verify your business partners from following aspects:

1. Contact information Please note that whether their contact information is right or not, most of the scammers don't offer a right address, tel and fax number online. Some of the tel numbers are empty and some add and tel don't exist at all, they don't offer a company tel number, a private number or mobile phone number instead.

2. Registered corporate number Every legal company in China has to register itself with Chinese government authortities and obtain an unique company number. If your business partner cannot offer you a unique registered corporate number, definitely he is a scammer, of course, he may submit you a fake number, so you have to check it out with local administrative government organs with the number he offered. There is a Chinese organ called Bureau of Industry & Commerce ( have branches at all levels ), which is the only government organ responsible for the registration of legitimate companies or enterprises in China.

3. Incredibly low prices, esp for international brands Most of Chinese scammers usually entice foreigners with a very low price. If the prices they offered is too low to believe, you may have a further investigation on your partner to know why their prices are so low. Most of the scammers in China profit a lot by selling replicas or fakes of some branded goods to the overseas market, this is very risky because the goods shall be confiscated or detained by Chinese customs houses in case it considered illegal in China. By the way, please remember that the price for authentic /original brands like Sony, Apple, Nokia, Dell etc should be almost the same at anywhere on the globe. You cannot import from the unthorized [sic] brands distributors with cheaper price in China. They must be selling relicas, refurbished ones or copies of brands etc ! Please simply forget such suppliers in China !

4. Payment and shipment terms The scammers never accept L/C as their payment terms, they prefer Western Union, Paypal and T/T etc. Also they never deliver goods through formal channels in China, they prefer to deliver samples by Express like Fedex, TNT, EMS to avoid more examinations from Chinese customs house. Most of the scammers use Private Bank Accounts in China!

5. Warranty and after sale services Scammers never take some measures to guarantee their quality and after-sale services after your payment, they may promise you a lot before payment. It's lip-services [sic] only!!! Be careful with some of the Chinese suppliers! By the way, I have to mention that, it does not mean the manufacturer has the right to sell or buy in case he has obtained a legitimate unique company number from local BIC in China. In China, all the enterprises with the right to import and export has to apply and obtain a certificate called Certificate of Import & Export from Ministry of Commerce of PRC and its authorized local organs in China after their registration at local BIC.

Also a formal trade company has to register with Chinese Customs House and its branches before his formal business with foreign counterparts in China. Then he has to register himself with local Bureau of Inspection & Quarantine in case his products are in need of quality control. Without the registration from above local government authorities from China, no company can deal with you in formal channels in China.

So again: do you homework, look for red flags concerning fraud or scams on Alibaba.com and if you think that you have been scammed, educate yourself about the Alibaba Fair Play Fund and seek restitution.