Seminars on How to Sell to Consumers in China: Atlanta and Seattle

I am late to the party in discovering this, but Alibaba, in conjunction with ExportNow and Tmall.com, is running a series of seminars in the U.S. this week and next week all about selling products to consumers in China using e-commerce.

The schedule is (was):

• Chicago, Il (July 10)
• Detroit, MI (July 12)
• Atlanta, GA (July 13)
• Seattle, WA (July 16)

If you live in Atlanta or Seattle and are interested in attending, you can get more information and sign up here.

Video about the seminar and some footage is below.  Looks interesting.

Enjoy.

Top Ten Things to Know About the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

Everyone (David Letterman, especially) likes a Top Ten list, right?

Well, I have gone through and compiled the top ten things that you should know about the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  Some of it may be repetitive or already has been mentioned on Alibaba Fair Play Facts, but it never hurts to have a list in one place, especially if you have been scammed or defrauded.

Here does:

Top Ten Things To Know About the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

1. The Alibaba Fair Play Fund was established in 2009 and covers disputes between buyers and Alibaba Gold Suppliers.  If you think that you have been defrauded, you may be eligible to apply for compensation.
2. The Fair Play Fund is a process;  if a buyer feels that she has been defrauded, she can present a claim and start a process - but it involves due process of substantiating a claim.
3. Alibaba helps both buyers and suppliers by providing assistance in compiling documentation and other evidence to resolve business differences, and when necessary, to pursue legal claims.
4. To help avoid complaints, Alibaba provides supplier verification services as well as inspection services.
5. Since it's inception, 2,700 complainants with substantiated claims have benefitted from the Fair Play Fund.
6. There are eleven million registered users on Alibaba.com, and 2,700 substantiated complaints works out to .02% of all transactions. 
7. Less than 0.05% of buyers have reported potentially fraudulent activity.
8. Alibaba has paid out more than US $2,200,000 since the Alibaba Fair Play Fund started in 2009.
9. Pay-outs are not dollar-for-dollar.  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.
10. DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST on potential Alibaba.com Gold Suppliers and perhaps you can avoid scam and fraudsters altogether - and not have to use it.

Hilarious Alibaba "Fail Safe" Video

I think this video shows that someone at Alibaba.com has a really good sense of humor.  This is one of a series of videos called "Fail Safe."  It's topical, timely and funny as well.

Check it out.

 

Why Does the Alibaba Fair Play Fund Have a Process?

I don't know how many transactions take place on Alibaba.com, but one must assume that there are millions.  Pulling numbers out of the air (STRESSING: I am inventing these numbers), if you figure that there are 10,000 transactions on Alibaba.com that take place per day, that's 3,650,000 transactions per year.  According to Alibaba, less than .05 percent of registered users have reported potentially fraudulent activity.  That is a small, small number.

Let's say that the unfortunate ones who get ripped off don't get a response from the supplier, or something else goes wrong and they lose money.  What do they do?  Well, duh, this Web site is all about the Alibaba Fair Play Fund, a program that was set up to help defrauded buyers get some of their money back.  So there is a way to go about it.  But that's just it.  There is a process.

Alibaba is a big company, but if you work with big numbers, you have to assume that there are a large number of claims coming in to the Fair Play Fund.  If you used my made-up numbers and take .05 percent of the total transactions (as approximated by Alibaba.com), that's still 1,825 potential claims for the Fair Play Fund.  What company could easily juggle 2,000 fraud claims at the same time?

That's why there is a process set in place to establish and verify a claim - no company could possibly have the resources to manage thousands of claims without having a way to collect the right information, attempt to communicate with both the buyer and seller, and determine who has been wronged.  I don't know how much time it takes to process a claim, but according to Alibaba, it can take between two weeks and two months depending upon the complexity of the case.

All of this again tells me that Alibaba.com is doing the right thing by providing due process for both the buyer and the seller, and also by providing a compensation fund for harmed buyers.

There's more information laid our in the Alibaba Fair Play Fund FAQ.

Five Steps to Avoiding Fraud on Alibaba.com

Alibaba.com has been in the news a lot lately because of its upcoming vote to go private along with selling back shares to Yahoo!  Behind the news stories are the millions of transactions that go through monthly (daily?) that are successful and leave both the buyer and the seller happy.  When you have millions of transactions, some will go bad.  It's the law of averages.

Like shopping for about anything from a toaster to a car, you need to do some basic research in order to ensure that you'll end up happy with what you have purchased, and this is especially true when dealing with suppliers as far away as China.

So after having been at this blog for a while, I have come up with some tips that I think can help you avoid scams and fraud on Alibaba as well as having to make use of the Fair Play Fund, the turn of last resort if you have been defrauded.

Top Five Steps for Avoiding Fraud on Alibaba.com

1. Check the list of banned suppliers on Alibaba.com.  If a company is investigated and found to have defrauded a buyer, they will be banned from the site and their name will appear in this section, which is usually updated monthly.  So start here.
2. Google the company.  It's sounds simple, but if people are happy, they may say something on on the trade forums or their own blogs, but if they feel that they have been defrauded, you can be almost 100 percent certain that there will be an online trail of unhappy customers.  Conversely, if you find an Enlish-language Web site with information about the company that looks legitimate, all the better. 
3. Try calling the company.  I don't speak a word of Mandarin, but if a supplier is hoping to do business with the English-speaking public, you have to assume that there will be someone there who speaks passable English and who can converse with you.  And make sure you are calling a business, not some guy's cell phone.
4. If you are really serious, investigate the Verified Gold Suppliers on Alibaba.com.  If verified, Gold Suppliers (according to the Safety and Security Center on Alibaba.com) will have had one of these two:  "a) A&V Checked suppliers are Gold Suppliers who have passed authentication and verification inspection by Alibaba.com as well as a third-party verification company. All legal business licenses and contact persons are verified for those who have been A&V Checked, or b) Onsite Check is a verification process for China Gold Suppliers. Personnel from Alibaba.com visit suppliers’ premises to verify ownership of the premises. The suppliers’ legal status and other related information are then confirmed by a third party verification agency."
5. If you are ordering a large quantity of items, ask for a sample.  It's perfectly fine to pay for a sample, but if you are ordering 1,000 widgets, ask the company to send you five and test them out:  see how the process goes and how long it takes to get you what you asked for.

These five tips are not rocket science, but simply represent some simple, quick ways that you can take advantage of services that are available to you. 

Fair Play Fund: When to Blame, and When to Claim

I like reading Alizila, the blog that was created by Alibaba to give a pretty objective view on all things Alibaba.  Read it:  you will see that they do not pull punches and call it like they see it.  It's not a mouthpiece for the company.

This site, however, is dedicated to raising awareness of the Alibaba Fair Play Fund, a fund that helps buyers recoup a portion of their money when they are proven to have been defrauded on the Alibaba platform.

In his Alizila post, "Who is to Blame for E-commerce Fraud?," editor Jim Erickson points out that in a recent court case, Alibaba.com was cleared of liability for the sale of counterfeit products by a Chinese supplier using the website.  More information is here, but the court case reinforces the fact that Alibaba is simply a platform that connects buyers and sellers;  it's like eBay or Craig's List.

Although this court has recognized that Alibaba is not liable for misdeeds carried out by their suppliers, they still take their facilitation role seriously.  If buyers get ripped off or scammed, they can still get compensation through the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  I have written about it extensively, but essentially if you are defrauded, go through the Alibaba arbitration process and can prove fraud, you can get back some of the money that you were scammed out of.

So if you are an Alibaba user, do your homework first to avoid scams and fraud.  And if by chance you fall victim, know the ins and outs of the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  You can get money back.

Avoiding Fraud on Alibaba.com: Alibaba Onsite Check

I am not sure who first said this, but someone once said "you can believe me, or you can believe your lying eyes."  I'd go with the eyes, thanks.

Onsite Check Icon

For people who are lacking experience in sourcing materials from other countries, especially China, it can be intimidating.  Alibaba.com has a wealth of information on how to do your homework and avoid fraud in the Safety and Security Center, but they too believe in "laying eyes" on a vendor's premises through their program, Onsite Check.

What is Onsite Check?

Onsite check is a verification program launched by Alibaba.com for Gold Suppliers in mainland China. Simply put, it means that an Alibaba.com representative has visited a supplier's place of business and many important aspects that prove that it is a legitimate business.  They check out the supplier's:

• Business license
• Main product lines/services  (up to five product lines/services)
• Business type (trading company, manufacturer or both)
• Company location
• Head of the department responsible for their company website on Alibaba.com
• Contact information  (e.g. telephone number, address, etc.)
• Certifications   (e.g. product certificates, export/import license, etc.)
• Bank account
• Factory location
• Premise size
• Number of employees
• Certifications of subsidiares, partners, and contractors

I am not in a position to offer advice (nor would I ever) on whom to source from on Alibaba.com, but if it were me, I would be much more inclined to trust a supplier whose business had been validated and verified.

More on Avoiding Scams on Alibaba.com

You don't buy something from someone who comes to your house with a sales pitch, do you (except maybe Girl Scout cookies, and those are just irresistible).  So if you would not buy something from someone who comes to your door, why would you buy an item (or thousands or items) from someone in China without doing your due diligence?

Alibaba.com is the world's largest e-commerce trading platform, but the key word in that sentence is "platform," as in "we build it and they come."  They have build a technology that connects buyers and sellers.  It's like eBay or any other web site that connects buyers and sellers.

Avoid fraud on Alibaba.com by trading safely

Fraud happens.  Online fraud happens.  Fraud from China happens.  With millions of customers, even if a small percent are scammers, you have a chance of being defrauded on Alibaba.com - if you don't do your homework and TRADE SAFELY.

The information on Alibaba.com changes frequently, but they have a new service whereby you can do some research and find out if you have encountered one of the bad guys:  their Alibaba Safe Trading Guide.   And understand that Alibaba is a company that metes out justice, but they have an investigation first.  So when a buyer complains and the claim is substantiated, the seller could be banned from the site and the fraud victim may in fact be eligible for a payout from the Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund.  A good FAQ on the Alibaba Fair Play Fund is on my other site.

Doing your homework and research first step in your fraud protection plan.

Top Ten Signs of Online Scams

Build it, and they will come.  Scammers, that is.

When you have a platform as big as Alibaba.com, as I have mentioned before, if even one percent of one percent are fraudsters, someone is going to get scammed.  Alibaba.com is a platform that connects people, not a store.  Note:  as I have said, if you have a dispute that cannot be resolved through normal means, you can always apply to the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

From time to time, I'll hit the Alibaba.com Safety and Security Center to see what's new.  Recently, they posted their Top Ten Signs of Online Scams.  

The whole list is here, but it includes things like promises that seem too good to be true (they often are), agreements in which you have to pay up front, or someone being overtly friendly the first time they correspond with you ("Dearest Ernest...").

Have a read here.  It's worth getting smart knowing how to spot online fraud if you are on the Alibaba.com platform.

Alibaba's Next Scam Catcher Could Be... YOU!

The world's largest e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com does not cease to amaze me.  It hard - really hard -when you are simply a platform that connects buyers and sellers, yet your feet are held to the fire regarding millions of users.  Even if a small portion of them commit fraud or scams, it can come back to bite you.

Now they are looking for additional forum monitors.  I think it's cool, because few people know the forums better than the people who are on them constantly. Check this out:

2012 is coming, wish everybody in our forums Happy New Year!

Due to the rapid growth of our forums, we're looking for more moderators. We want to hear from members who have the expertise and time to ensure posting activities meet world-class business standards. The valid date is from 2012 to 2013) If you have such experience is better:

• More than 1 year business experience

• Familiar with our forums and your answers to other members is more than 6 and the quality is high

• Happy to help forum members out of their problems

If you're interested and qualified, please tell us a little bit about yourself and what sense of oversight you can bring to our discussion forums by clicking reply below. Suitable applicants will be contacted directly by Administrator (Carol). Alibaba.com Forum.

This is a really interesting development, and one that could help keep buyers and sellers informed as well as avoid fraud, scams and the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

About the Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund

Cross-posted from Facts About the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

I have said many times in this space that information can be hard to find on Alibaba.com.  For this reason, when I pluck out a few interesting nuggets, I like to share them, and sometimes, make them a little more intelligible. Let me stress a couple of things that will help simplify this:

• Alibaba.com is a platform.  It's software that like eBay, connects buyers and sellers.  In the grand scheme of things, it's zeros and ones in cyberspace.  That's it. When buyers and sellers get connected, if one percent of one percent of the suppliers are fraudsters, that's still a lot of people that can get ripped off.
• They are trying to do the right thing. Recognizing their responsibility (yet still acting as a platform), Alibaba has put in place procedures on the front end and back end to help ensure that people don't get ripped off.  On the front end, they have their Inspection Service to help verify that suppliers are legitimate, and on the back end, the Alibaba Fair Play Fund, that helps victims recover money when it has been proven that they have been defrauded.

A couple of points:

1. Pre-purchase: It's hard to weed through the Inspection Service page because it reads like a legal document, but here are some good links to the Alibaba.com Transaction Services Agreement and the Escrow Services Agreement.  They are long, boring legal documents but are worth reading if you are curious about how you may be impacted in the buyer-seller process.What's easier to understand is what Linda Kozlowski, Alibaba.com's director of global marketing and customer experience said September 2011, : "...Next month, Alibaba.com employees will begin visiting some 112,000 of the e-commerce platform's paid China Gold Suppliers in person to physically confirm that the factories exist and conform with members' registration documents, a process that is expected to take up to a year, Kozlowski said. A third-party inspection service will also conduct random, unannounced checks on an ongoing basis to make sure the manufacturers remain compliant."
2. Post purchase.  It's important to remember that like many successful companies, Alibaba presents vendors and suppliers with due process.  On their Alibaba Fair Play Fund page, it reads: "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."

First, remember that it is a platform. Second, do your homework. Third, know your rights and responsibilities under the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

Alibaba Plays Fairly: Checking Out Potential trade Partners

If you are looking to do business with - investor your hard-earned money with - partner on the other side of the world, you need to check this person out.  If one buyer is defrauded and has to use the Alibaba.com Fair Play Fund, it's one too many.

Here are some good tips for verifying potential partners from Alibaba.com:

How best to verify new trade partners is something many businesses involved in e-commerce ask us every day. Although it is safe to trade with most businesses online, it is important to avoid the “Low Price” or “Big Purchase Order” traps. Below are some useful tips to help you verify potential trade partners:

1. Ask potential trade partners to provide you with as much company information as possible, such as company profile, business license, export/import documents, contact details, etc. Beware of companies that have incomplete details or who only use mobile phones to contact you. If a potential trade partner’s business is registered in Country A, but their contact details are for Country B, it is important to ask them serious questions. 
2. Use a search engine such as Google to verify their company information and contact details. Beware of businesses with a lot of complaints recorded against them. You should also use your potential trade partner’s local government website to verify their registration number and other contact details. 
3. Ask your bank to verify your potential trade partner’s bank. If your potential trade partner’s bank is not trustworthy, ask them to change it. 
4. Ask for a credit report company from your potential trade partner. It is important to confirm that they are not in financial trouble and have never conducted any fraudulent activities. When conducting credit verification, it is essential to first verify their identity to prevent fraud caused by identity theft. 
5. Ask your potential trade partner’s local embassy or Chamber of Commerce to help verify their company. 
6. Post questions on foreign trade forums, such as Alibaba.com Safe Trading Forums, to ask for help from forum members. They may be able to help you verify your potential trade partners. 
7. If you are a buyer, you are highly advised to travel to your potential trade partner’s place of business to inspect their factory, production, products, etc. If travel is not possible, it is worth hiring a third-party Inspection Company to check the factory and goods. 8. Take a lot of time to discuss orders with your potential trade partner about the product, payment, shipping, etc. If they are unclear about their company and products, or the deal sounds too good to be true, you are strongly advised to stop all business with them.

Repost: Alibaba.com Member Advice on How to Avoid Fraud

This comes directly from the Alibaba.com Trade Forums: "How to check your Supplier before ordering."   I don't think that it comes from the company, rather from a member because of the detailed advice and links provided. It's good advice on how to verify suppliers, avoid fraud and scams, and NOT have to resort to the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. The English is not perfect, but no matter, it is good solid advice from someone who has clearly been there. Happy reading: =================================================

How do I get help to check a particular Supplier?

First, DO NOT BE LAZY ... please read the Tips further below and also look at this link to see what members say about being lazy ... http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/18839/STOP_BEING_LAZY_handle_your_own_due_diligence.htm

Second, DO NOT OPEN A NEW TOPIC. Post your query in this Topic after you read the below Tips.

Third, STATE WHAT CHECKS YOU HAVE DONE. Merely asking if Seller XYZ is okay is an invitation to howls of protest. Tell us what you yourself have done to check out your seller and then ask your question. Members are very generous if you are seen to be trying hard. Otherwise, your post will be deleted or you will receive little response if you show you are lazy.

Tips to Check out Chinese suppliers by yourself ...

The focus of this topic is to empower you to do an informal check of your potential supplier in China. The stated steps are by no means a "guarantee" that your supplier will be a legitimate business. However, by following the steps here you should be able to eliminate the majority of common techniques used for fraudulent activity. Education and information are your best protection against fraud.

This topic is not a substitute for physical inspection of the manufacturing site. The purpose is to provide buyers with a "first line of defense" against fraud and/or shoddy goods. If you've posted a buying lead you no doubt have received many replies to your inquiry. This discussion is about knowing your potential supplier before you get too deep into negotiations.

100's of frustrated potential buyers can be seen on this link ...

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/122/How_to_verify_if_a_seller_is_serious_any_tips_.htm?va=0

Carefully do your Due Diligence before you get into serius negotiations in order to avoid frustrations and/or fraud and;or shoody goods.

Your initial sales enquiry ...

Every case is different, but broadly say little in your first communication. You don't want to arm potential scammers with too much information to play you like a hooked fish on a line. Stay in control from the very outset with something like this:

Dear Sales Manager,

We are interested in your Widgets, product numbers X, Y and Z plus more information about your good company. 

In the first instance we may look at a small trial shipment to test our home market.

Kindly provide both FOB MOQ price and price for larger volumes at your earliest convenience.   

Concerning your good company, please indicate if References or copy of any recent Factory Audit, or similar, can be provided if we proceed to serious discussions.

Yours sincerely, 

Accordingly from the outset, you reserve enough control to make firm due diligence requests, if necessary, as talks progress.

Alibaba company profile ...

Look at their profile on Alibaba. Remember, many scammers simply sign on as sellers with false profiles. You or I could do the the same in 10 minutes. Ask yourself, does this make sense?

• Are a manufacturer's products in the same category? (ie does a shoe company sell electronics or vice versa?)
• Is there a separate phone number for the fax and land line?
• Is there a separate website listed off Alibaba that you can check?
• How long have they been a member of Alibaba?
• Are they a Gold Supplier, Trust Pass or Free Member?
• Look at the Company profile. Does the paragraph look generic or copied? You can highlight all or part of the paragraph and place it in the google engine around quotes ("xx"). This allows you to search the web to see if it is original or copied?
• Search the forum to check this supplier. Are there any negative postings? Use both the contact name and the company name.

The initial profile check should give you a general overview of your potential supplier. Decide now if it's appropriate to continue verifying. If the answer is "yes" then it's time to dig a little deeper. Website & Domain Verification ... Do a google or yahoo search. Look for any information that looks out of place. First, try the company name and the word "scam" or "fraud" in quotations. For example "shanghai shoes scam". Then search the name alone but always in quotes like "shanghai shoes". Websites in China are not unlike the ones in the Western part of the world. Don't be distracted by grammar or non-English. Carefully check the website "about us" section and then cross match that information with all other. Check their domain information using the following links. Pay close attention to the registration date, Registrar name, phone number, and contact info including email. www.whois.org www.dnsstuff.com Verify the phone listing ... Remember a free member Alibaba profile stating the supplier is in China is meaningless until you verify it. The person behind it might reside in any country merely using China as a shield. Check country and geographic codes. A fraudulent western person could even raise a Chinese supplier profile (and use a Chinese based party to collect T/Ts). Some western scammers use a forwarding number or a VOIP number to disguise their location. Numbers beginning with the prefix +4470 or +4487 are forwarding numbers that are rarely used by legitimate companies and not used by Chinese either. Some numbers can be checked here .... http://www.numberingplans.com//?page=analysis&sub=phonenr Once again the goal should be to find a "geographic number" which means they have a physical land line. Eventually you want to call the number and speak with your contact and at least one other employee of the company. Receiving product listing and price quotes ... After you post your buying lead you will undoubtedly receive mass information from many companies. Look at the detail for the products and again ask yourself some questions.

• Are the prices overly high or low?
• Do they only accept Western Union or 100% TT?
• Is there an appropriate amount of contact information?
• Are they overly pushy for payment?
• Is there a sensation of being "rushed"?
• Are the stated lead times reasonable?
• Is the MOQ too high or too low for the particular circumstance?

Pick up your phone ... Finally, pick up your phone and ring China. Dial the supplier's number/s. Sure, Chinese language will answer, but just keep repeating the word "English" ... they will find somebody who can talk in broken English. These days it costs next to nothing to call China from most Western countries. Buy an applicable $10 phone card from a local shop for use on your land line ... it will give heaps of talking time. And, dial their fax number too ... did it give a fax ring tone? Remember you are doing Due Diligence ... avoiding the loss of precious money. Your TM is a surveillance weapon ... Add your potential supplier to your "Contacts" list. You know how it "flashes" when a contact comes on or goes off line:

• Work out Chinese business days / hours against your local time.
• Is the Chinese party "online" mostly during Chinese business hours, as should be the case?
• Or, does the party spend too much time online during USA or UK business hours?
• Does the Chinese party work the TM too much on Chinese Sundays?

Any Questions and/or Further Tips? Please post in this Topic and do not open a new Topic for enquiries about a particular Supplier company.

Whoa! Alibaba.com is Looking for Forum Monitors to Help Spot Fraud!

The world's largest e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com does not cease to amaze me.  It hard - really hard -when you are simply a platform that connects buyers and sellers, yet your feet are held to the fire regarding millions of users.  Even if a small portion of them commit fraud or scams, it can come back to bite you.

Now they are looking for additional forum monitors.  I think it's cool, because few people know the forums better than the people who are on them constantly. Check this out:

2012 is coming, wish everybody in our forums Happy New Year!  

Due to the rapid growth of our forums, we're looking for more moderators. We want to hear from members who have the expertise and time to ensure posting activities meet world-class business standards.
The valid date is from 2012 to 2013) If you have such experience is better: 

• More than 1 year business experience  

• Familiar with our forums and your answers to other members is more than 6 and the quality is high  

• Happy to help forum members out of their problems 

If you're interested and qualified, please tell us a little bit about yourself and what sense of oversight you can bring to our discussion forums by clicking reply below. Suitable applicants will be contacted directly by Administrator (Carol). Alibaba.com Forum.

This is a really interesting development, and one that could help keep buyers and sellers informed as well as avoid fraud, scams and the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.

Intellectual Property and Alibaba.com

I found some cool information on the Alizila site, the blog that covers all things Alibaba.  Intellectual property is a huge issue between the United States and China right now and the post addresses the rights of small business owners who think that their products have been infringed upon.  Not only is the post interesting, but there is a cool slide show courtesy of Alibaba Australia. Have a look:

Small business owners usually can't afford to keep a high-powered law firm on retainer, but when their intellectual property has been hijacked, there are steps they can take to protect themselves, according to Alibaba.com. The B2B website, a global online marketplace for tens of thousands buyers and sellers, finds itself occasionally mediating cases where a small, creative company selling online discovers photos of its designs have been appropriated by another vendor.

Like all major online marketplaces, Alibaba.com has an established process by which content owners can assert their intellectual property (IP) rights.  AliProtect is the platform’s IP protection system.  It allows an individual rights owner to file a claim for an alleged IP infringement on the site.  As soon as the claim is verified, any illegitimate listings are immediately pulled down.  All visitors to the site can claim infringement, regardless of registration, via AliProtect. (For more information on Alibaba.com’s reporting policies and procedures, click here:

http://legal.alibaba.com/complaintRule_en_US.html) The platform also provides an email to address these concerns (pic-copy@service.alibaba.com).

Fast Facts on the Alibaba Fair Play Fund

Updated information from Alibaba.com on the Alibaba Fair Play Fund.  God stuff to know if you find yourself in a jam in which a dispute cannot be resolved.

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.

Avoiding Scams on Alibaba.com Through Fake Gold Suppliers

I took a little break for the holidays. Hope you all either used Alibaba safely or spent some some learning about how to avoid scams and fraud on the world's largest e-commerce platform. I'm picking up where I left off. Below, I've provided some information from Alibaba.com that relates to spotting a fake verified gold supplier. Again, with millions of users on a platform, if even .001 percent of the users are frauds, you may end up being scammed - and hopefully not have to resort to the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. Anyway, here are some good tips on how to spot fake Alibaba.com suppliers.

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:

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.