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.