Common 4 Shipping From Alibaba Ways
Different logistics methods can make a vast difference both in transit time and freight charges. Therefore we always need to determine which method will be the most cost-effective one. If your order is shipped by air, the Alibaba shipping time should be within 3-10 working days. If by sea, the Alibaba shipping time may take 30 to 45 days.
Next, I will talk about the most common 4 shipping methods. You can pick a proper way to save your Alibaba shipping costs.
What Shipping Documents Do I Need To Know About
- Telex release an email sent from the point of origin to the destination port that allows the carrier at destination to release your cargo without presentation of the original bill of lading
- Eliminates the need for an original bill of lading to be presented at the destination for the release of the goods
Stage 1 Do Product Research
We have already analyzed this stage in detail. The important thing to remember is that if your products are similar to others, you will not make higher profit margins. So, look for a product that fills in the gaps in the market. Alibaba is a great place to look for common general merchandise.
When finding the right product and deciding on the items for reselling, also consider the following points:
- Are there any patent rights that may prevent you from offering the goods in the country you want?
- Does the product meet Amazons quality control, occupational safety, and health requirements?
- Does the product fall under the characteristics of dangerous goods for transportation?
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Do Market Research To Find A Product To Sell
I did some research on items selling well online, as well as some inner reflection to see if I could find a product that would help solve a problem I experienced in my day to day as a dog owner, athlete, urban dweller and traveler.
Using Google Trends, I was able to understand search volume and interest in a number of different products.
Google Trends is often a great place to find whether items are trending.
And then one day, that proverbial light bulb went on.
As an avid music fan that attends a number of concerts and music festivals, I noticed a need for lighter, compact bags that would be able to hold festival essentials:
- Sunglasses.
Security restrictions prevented the use of larger backpacks and bags.
Festival attendees were left stranded.
Where theres pain, however, theres opportunity to do something better.
I decided I could fix this. I could be a part of the solution.
Could I Be the Next Bag Guy?
I decided to start my own private label brand of bags and fanny packs: Whos Your Fanny .
Early on, I decided that my business would begin as a private label business.
Id sell via a ecommerce site on BigCommerce and Amazon.
Take This Book With You
This full guide is more than 35,000 words. Thats a lot to read on a screen.
So dont! Download the guide below to print it out, take it with you, and start selling more on Amazon.
Shipping From China Through A Middleman
Reasons for using a middleman:
It is also possible for you to send products to yourself first from China or to a middleman and then be forwarded to the warehouses of Amazon FBA.
- The products that you receive from China are in a combined form.
- It is on you to freely check if the products meet the standards of Amazon.
- Your strategies for sales are not disclosed to suppliers that are Chinese.
- Your shipment has fewer chances of being rejected by the Amazon FBA.
Disadvantages:
- It will cost you extra money to pay someone who is helping you out.
- The process is lengthy hence it takes more time for the shipment to reach the warehouses.
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Is Running A Business With Alibaba Safe
At Alibaba, it is vital to maintain secure transactions. There are a lot of well-known suppliers who have been selling on Alibaba for many years. Choose golden suppliers who have built a positive reputation and trust to avoid fraud. These vendors pay a lot of money to get higher in Alibaba search results.
In addition, the Alibaba trade guarantee program protects buyers orders. This program reduces risks by providing a refund guarantee if suppliers do not comply with the terms of the contract, including inconsistencies in product quality and quantity, as well as delays in delivery.
How To Sell Products: Alibaba To Amazon Fba
You might have heard that its unsafe to order products from Alibaba, but thats simply not true.
If you go about it the right way, using Alibaba can be one of the best ways to start your ecommerce business.
Alibaba to Amazon FBA is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to start an ecommerce business. It comes without the hassle of storing and shipping products.
If you havent heard of it before, FBA stands for Fulfilled by Amazon.
Heres how it works:
- Find a product you want to sell
- Ship your product in bulk directly to an Amazon FBA Warehouse
- When a product sells it will be picked, packed, and delivered to the customer by Amazon
- You pay a small fee for storage and handling, and the rest is your profit
Now that you know how it works, its time to find products to sell.
Whether you are just getting started or are a seasoned entrepreneur, Alibaba can be your best friend.
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Do You Need To Start A Business To Buy From Alibaba
If youâre an individual itâs possible that you donât actually have your own business. If thatâs the case, youâre probably wondering whether youâll be able to purchase items from Alibaba.
While the platform is designed for B2B sales you can still order from them without a company. When you register an account you can just use your own name as your company name. Youâll never be asked to provide a business license.
That being said, there are some tax benefits that come with starting a business so it might be a good idea to create a business if you plan on selling on Amazon.
What’s The Difference Between Alibaba And Aliexpress
If you research dropshipping, you’ll probably find tons of information on AliExpress dropshipping but what about Alibaba?
It’s important to understand that Alibaba and AliExpress are different platforms that have different approaches to ecommerce. Here’s the key difference:
- Alibaba is a business-to-business marketplace
- AliExpress is a retail marketplace
This means that Alibaba is primarily used by businesses looking to source large quantities of products from manufacturers, wholesalers, and traders. For this reason, Alibaba is ideal for finding a manufacturer to produce an original design or source private label products .
On the other hand, AliExpress is used by both consumers and small businesses to purchase existing products individually or in small batches. In addition, many sellers on the platform also offer ePacket shipping fast international shipping. As a result, it’s the ‘go-to’ platform of choice for dropshippers.
The image below illustrates some of the key differences between Alibaba and AliExpress:
So, if you want to hit the ground running, you can start dropshipping with AliExpress using an app like Modalyst. Modalyst makes it dead-simple to find winning dropshipping products and add them to your Shopify store so you can start selling in minutes.
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Check For Trade Assurance
You may find many suppliers on Alibaba who are gold suppliers and ranked on top of page 1 of search results. But some of them do not support trade assurance.
Trade Assurance is a free service by Alibaba.com designed to create trust in trade. Alibaba provides a set of protections to give you assurance that suppliers will honor key terms of your contract. You can read more about trade assurance here.
Sometimes suppliers may ask you to pay via western union, bank wire transfer, or any other method of payment. If you are dealing with your supplier the first time then you are better off paying by Alibaba trade assurance.
How Do I Ship My Goods From China To An Amazon Warehouse
A good place to begin is with the weight of the shipment. These are some of the rules I always stick to:
- For ocean shipments, always use a freight forwarder
- For air shipments, use a freight forwarder if your cargo weighs more than 200 kg
- If your cargo is less than 200 kg, then you can go through your supplier, who will leverage DHL Air Express
- Freight forwarders are too expensive for shipments of less than 200 kg
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Is Alibaba Dropshipping Safe 5 Ways To Vet Suppliers
Although there are plenty of quality suppliers out there, there are also a few unscrupulous ones. So, make sure to do plenty of due diligence before handing over your hard-earned cash.
Here are 5 dropshipping tips to help you vet suppliers before placing an order:
Determine How Your Products Are Going To Be Shipped To You
Before completing your purchase, you will need to determine how your products are going to be shipped to you. In most instances, you will find that the majority of suppliers are pretty accommodating. Your products can be shipped out to you in one of two ways.
The first option is by sea, however, it is going to take a while for your products to reach you. Because of this, it may not be the best option for those who need their products shipped to them as a matter of urgency.
The second option is by air. Although this option tends to be the most expensive, it is going to be the fastest option. Buyers who want fast access to products may be more willing to pay the higher prices.
Your orders can be shipped directly to the Amazon warehouse and they can then be distributed to your customers from here, this is going to cost more as those working in the warehouse will be responsible for packing and shipping your orders out on your behalf.
You will need to update this information on your Amazon account.
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Why Do Amazon Sellers Use Alibaba
Many Amazon sellers use Alibaba to source products because of the simplicity of its user-friendly site and, well, the low prices. Most manufacturers that you come across on the platform will be based in China, where they can produce quality goods at a much more affordable price than, say, in the United States or Canada.
Any seller can go to Alibaba right now and search for the type of product theyre interested in selling and come across thousands of potential suppliers. Finding a manufacturer for your product has never been easier.
The Pros/cons Of Shipping To A Third Party Logistics Company First
Middleman/3PL Pros
- Can inspect the order domestically before it arrives at Amazon
- Can use partnered carriers
- Dividing shipments to multiple Amazon FCs is easy
Middleman/3PL Cons
- More handling of your products
- Slower
Using a 3PL in between is, in fact, advantageous in almost every way except time and money.So more or less, using a middleman will add at least 1-2 weeks in lead time to get to Amazon FBA.receiving feepick/pack feelabeling fees
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Shipping Methods To Ship From China To Amazon Fba
Youll need to choose the shipping method to transport your goods once deciding on the shipping solution from China to Amazon FBA. Here Ill take shipping to the USA as an example to give you a detailed analysis. Usually, there are 4 choices available, they are:
- Express Shipping
- Air Freight
- Air Freight UPS Combined or Sea Freight UPS Combined
In the following, Ill introduce each method in terms of its features, shipping time, and shipping cost to help you choose the best way to ship to Amazon FBA.
Launch Your Brand Using Alibaba
Starting your own private label business doesnt have to be difficult! With the right resources, knowledge, and commitment, you can be on your way to creating your very own branded product.
We hope this article on using Alibaba helps and inspires you to move forward in your ecommerce journey. Have you used Alibaba to source products before? Share your experience with us or ask us your questions in the comments below!
Want to learn more about how you can use Jungle Scout to launch, grow, and run your Amazon business? Click the Learn More button below!
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How To Simplify The Shipping Process
The shipping process can be a little overwhelming. It comes with tons of paperwork, calls, emails, and controlling which we didnt mention in this article. If you want to simplify this process, or if youre new to the game and have little to no experience- its recommendable to get a good freight forwarder. This person will be your helping hand, they will work with many companies on the shipment process, ensuring that your product arrives safely at the destination port. They understand the whole shipping process, know how to label your product, track your shipment and deal with the paperwork.
How Do You Pay Alibaba Suppliers
You can pay suppliers through different payment methods on Alibaba. Alternatively, you can also settle payments outside of Alibaba depending on the terms that your supplier agrees to. Be mindful of the fact that there are several fake suppliers, so paying outside the platform is even more of a risk as it will be all the more difficult to hold anyone accountable. It will also be deemed illegal when you make payments through other portals that do not fall under the international transactions category.
Here are some of the popular payment options that Alibaba offers
- Bank Transfer
This method is the fastest but entails a high level of risk especially when the whole payment is made before the start of the production process. So the best thing to do is pay part of the amount in the beginning and the rest after you receive the shipment. You need to ensure that you have all the correct information related to the supplier, like his name, personal and bank address, bank identifier code, etc. The downside to this type of payment is that there are delays in processing and there is a slim chance of getting your money back in the event of any problems.
- Letter of Credit
- Escrow
If product quality or delivery is unsatisfactory for some reason, then the suppliers will not receive payment from the buyer until an inspection is conducted.
- PayPal
- Trade Assurance
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Which Incoterm Should You Use When Shipping To Amazon Fba
Incoterms 2020
Incoterm spells the obligation of the seller and the importer in the shipping process.
When shipping to Amazon FBA, you should use the FOB incoterm because it gives your freight forwarder more freedom.
They can easily plan for your cargo and improve delivery time.
You can use the EXW incoterm for air express method where the goods are under your care during delivery.
Check The Minimum Order Quantity And Price
Once you’ve found a potential listing, check out the product page and note the minimum order quantity also known as MOQ.
In the example below, the supplier allows buyers to purchase 1 unit at a time:
Sometimes the product’s MOQ is visible front-and-center, and other times, you’ll have to scan the page to find it. To speed up this process, you can hit “Control” and “F” on your keyboard to search the page’s text, then try writing “MOQ,””minimum,” or “order.”
Another key consideration is the unit price. For the listing above, we can see that the price for 1-18 units is $25 notice how the price drops considerably as you order more products. However, this price doesn’t include shipping costs which are “To Be Negotiated.”
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