Who Gets Blacklisted on Alibaba.com

There are scammers everywhere you buy and sell things online.  There is fraud everywhere, if you use eBay, Craig's List of Alibaba.com

Here's some interesting info on how members get blacklisted on Alibaba.com who don't meet their trust and security standards are banned from the marketplace.  I have taken excerpts from Our Blacklisting Policy: Members who don't meet our trust and security standards will be banned from our marketplace

Alibaba.com is committed to fighting unfair practices such as fraud and intellectual property infringement on our marketplace in order to provide a safe and reputable trading environment for our users. We take issues such as trust and safety very seriously, and have strict policies in place to deal with unfair trade practices.

In response to intellectual property infringement and fraudulent conduct complaints submitted in accordance with our take-down policy, we take down thousands of product listings each year. In addition, we blacklist suppliers that continue to be subject to substantiated take-down notices and fail to live up to the expectations of our member community. We remove all listings of blacklisted companies, terminate their memberships and ban them from our marketplace permanently.

Of the millions of suppliers on our website, only a tiny proportion has been involved in unfair trade practices. Please be assured that the vast majority of our suppliers' online storefronts are used by honest, hard-working entrepreneurs and small businesses to promote their products and services.

Who gets blacklisted?

Alibaba.com members that are the subject of substantiated complaints involving unfair or fraudulent trade practices are considered for the blacklist. We have a dedicated Trust and Security team that works with buyers and suppliers to review and handle these complaints. We blacklist companies based on various factors including the nature, severity, number and frequency of complaints.

Send us your feedback

We welcome reports on unfair or fraudulent trade practices from anyone, and if we become aware that a member is using Alibaba.com in an illegal manner or in a way which violates our Terms of Use, we take prompt action to ensure those activities are stopped. Please send any comments or complaints you may have to our Customer Service team.

Online market for medicines growing

Saw this the other day on China Daily and thought it was pretty interesting. While ordering from online pharmacies has become somewhat commonplace in the U.S. (and remember the whole problem with people in the U.S. ordering drugs from Canada), it's a whole new ball of wax in China.

The whole article is here, but a good quote is:

With the rapid development of the Internet and the consequent changes in lifestyles and shopping habits, Chinese pharmacies are now further tapping into the online business-to-consumer (B2C) sector to raise profits.

ForMe Drugstore, the largest chain drugstore in Shanghai, saw a sharp daily increase of orders from online selling in just two weeks after it entered the Taobao Mall, or tmall.com, a B2C trading platform run by the country's largest online retail website, Taobao, in late June.

Don't Get Scammed on Alibaba.com - Get Smart: Fake Verified Gold Supplier

How can you avoid getting scammed or being a victim of fraud amongst the millions of Alibaba.com buyers?  I can't say it well enough myself, so here is the "Alibaba.com Safety and Security Center" page:


Fake Verified Gold Supplier

Case Study:

I received an email from a supplier called Mike from a company named Happy Electronics Co. He told me he could supply PS3 at a low price. I searched on Alibaba.com and found he was a Gold Supplier, so I was confident about this transaction. I placed an order for 10 pieces of PS3.

After payment, I lost contact with him and didn’t receive any goods. I reported Happy Electronics Co. to the Alibaba.com Service Team. After an investigation, they told me that the person I contacted is not really an employee of Happy Electronics Co.; in fact, he is a scammer posing as a representative of the company. Below is the email I received:

Case Analysis:This is a case of Gold Supplier identity theft. Scammers will pretend to be representatives of legitimate companies with the intent of cheating unsuspecting buyers. Please be aware that you should always:

How do you spot fraud on e-commerce sites like eBay and Alibaba.com? They tell you! So don't get scammed; do your homework first.

Here's content from the Alibaba Safety and Security Center. Pretty helpful stuff:

1. Ask the suppliers to provide you with their Company Website on Alibaba.com. You can also use the company name that they provide to do a simple search online. Once found, compare the contact info that they provide with the information published online. If it’s different, please be very cautious. You can also use TradeManager to contact companies listed on Alibaba.com. Ask them to verify that the person you are in contact with is actually their representative.

2. Be extra cautious if the price quoted is extremely low (50% lower or more than the market price). For instance, the quotation in the case above seems very good: one PS3 costs only US$188 per piece and you get an extra one free if you buy 5 pieces. This deal sounds too good to be true because it is.

3. Use Alipay as your preferred payment method when you want to buy from Chinese Gold Suppliers. Alipay is safe because your money will only be released to the supplier after you confirm satisfactory delivery. If disputes arise, Alibaba.com will help mediate. Learn more about Alipay. Western Union and other direct payment methods are risky, especially for your first transaction with a supplier.

4. Email the Alibaba.com Service Team for help verifying suppliers found on Alibaba.com

List of Banned Members (Scammers?) on Alibaba.com

Everyone,

Admitted Alibaba fan boy.  I spend a lot of time on the site.  You can use the Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund to help get money back, but why not look at the list of scammers to begin with so you don't even get into trouble?

Here's what Alibaba has to say:

The below companies have been removed from Alibaba due to suspected fraudulent 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 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. Our service team will follow up accordingly in order to avoid repeat offences. 

Here's the latest: Banned Paid Members on Alibaba.com.

peace.

Alibaba Message Boards and Compensation

Just saw this today and thought it would be good for anyone on Alibaba with issues.  It comes from one of the message boards:

In an unprecedented step to increase our users’ confidence, Alibaba.com has voluntarily created a Fair Play Fund to help offset losses suffered by a small proportion of buyers who were defrauded by our paid members.
To date, our Fair Play Fund has reimbursed more than 700 buyers worldwide. If you’ve been reimbursed by our Fair Play Fund, we would like to hear your comments.
What do you think of the Fair Play Fund? Are you happy with the way your complaint was processed? Are you satisfied with the outcome? Will you tell your tell your friends about the Fair Play Fund? Are you willing to accept further interviews? Simply post a reply and tell us your comments.
Note: To report a trade dispute on Alibaba.com, please visit
http://resources.alibaba.com/trade_safe/complaint.html
To learn more about our Fair Play Fund, visit http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/500013231/Fair_Play_Fund_Alibaba_com_s_Commitment_to_Buyer_Protection_.htm.

Happy selling.

Dont Get Scammed on Alibaba-Get Fair!

Ok.

As I have mentioned, I am a total Alibaba fan boy.  I admit it.  Like any person out there who has done business on Alibaba, Craig's List or eBay, you don't always know the other person in the transaction.  Most of the time they are honest, but sometimes, you might get ripped off.

It happens.

Crappy companies sit by and watch you get ripped off.  One of the reasons I am such a fan boy of Alibaba is that they set up a pile of money to help you recover what you have lost - it's called the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  Can you still get ripped off by some scam artist in Italy?  Sure.  But if you can't get your money back, here's what the site says:

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.

This means that if you think you got ripped off and someone hosed you for your money, you can log in and make a complaint online.  Sure, just like in a court, you need to prove your case, but dudes, this huge company will listen to what you have to say.

So take it from me.  Don't waste your time calling the FTC or whoever because this company is in China!  Hellloooo!

Most people are legit, but if they are not and you can't do anything about it, at least try to use the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  You might get some money back.

Introduction

Hey everybody,

I'm Fred and I admit it - I am a total Alibaba fan boy.   I leave and breathe e-commerce and have had stores on eBay, Aliababa and I once tried building my own online retail store but it was an #epicfail.

Hope you guys like to blog.  I drive my friends crazy with my e-commerce this and Alibaba that, but there is a way to do online commerce right, a way to get ripped off, and a way to make it right. 


More to come.