Has anyone used Alibaba

[BetterEatCheese]

Morning all! I am setting up a business hoping to import and personalise baby and toddler clothes and Alibaba has great products at good prices.

Has anyone used it? Any hints and tips? Any holes or pitfalls I need to be aware of?

Thank you in advance

It has its pros and cons. Sometimes it’s the moq needed to purchase to get a good price, shipping can sometimes be a premium depending on wry too but I can imagine with clothes it won’t be too bad. Don’t be scared to negotiate. What kind of baby/toddler clothes are you looking to use? There are some U.K. based wholesalers who offer items at good price.

My experience of alibaba has been that it is slow. 4-8 week lead times of manufacture for my products but components needing to be ordered in at 8 week lead times also. From deposit to delivery for me has been about six months

Thank you both, really helpful. We are looking at China as it is American style baby clothes and they already produce what we need. Do you know of the UK manufacturers? I would feel more comfortable with this from an environmental and regulatory perspective and the items will be high ticket so potentially there is room for manufacturing to be at a higher cost

I'm watching this with interest. There is an item I am interested in purchasing from Alibaba (not worked out whether it is economical inc. postage) but the product itself is good few pounds cheaper than here in the UK. Cash outlay required as you need to buy in bulk which makes me a little nervous. However, the company in question says they will send a free sample.

I've used Alibaba for my online business. Essentially, there are definitely bona fide companies on there, but you need to do your due diligence - see their credentials, order samples etc. Always worth starting small and go from there. Can always use the Alibaba trade assurance feature when paying for peace of mind.

With anything baby/children related, definitely check for conformance to any safety standards, e.g. CE mark/flammability tests, etc. etc. etc.