Alibaba took the world by storm when it launched in China almost two decades ago. No one would have thought that it will become the world’s number one online hub for sellers and wholesale buyers.
Much like everything else, Alibaba has a lot of pros, but also a few reasons to oppose, so why don’t we have a look at five best Alibaba Alternatives, in case you want a different provider.
1. AliExpress
AliExpress is owned by the same company like Alibaba, but it works slightly differently. Alibaba is mainly a trading platform for businesses to purchase products in bulk from wholesalers to then re-sell, and AliExpress focuses more on the ability to purchase from wholesalers as an individual consumer. The only downside of AliExpress may be, that the shipping can more than 60 days as all the products are from Chine.
2. eBay
This is probably the most well-known website for purchasing and selling products worldwide. What started as an auction-only website for person-to-person item sales, over time became a site where you can sell and buy things at fixed prices. For some items, you can also submit a price offer to a seller and see if they willagree with the item for the amount that you suggested.
3. Amazon
What used to be a bookstore, has now become the largest online marketplace in the United States, and one of the largest e-commerce portals in the world. You can either use it to buy stuff from other Amazon users, much like on eBay, or from Amazon itself, where they often offer their original products. You can sell things you no longer want to other users or trade them to Amazon for store credit. Amazon also features online libraries of movies and music that you can rent or buy.
4. Target.com
Target is a website similarto Alibaba; it offers goods at discounted prices which you can ship to your home or pick up at one of their stores if one is your area. Though Target is not quite as committed to low prices as some other such companies, it does emphasize the stocking of very trendy goods.
5. Doba.com
Doba.com is very similar to Alibaba but works slightly differently as a delivery service. This means that you find products that you want to sell in your store on an e-commerce website, such as eBay or Amazon, you list those products in your e-commerce store, and when someone buys them, you go back to Doba.com and order them. Fill in the shipping addresses of your customers, and Doba.com will deliver those products for you and you get to keep the difference between your listing price and your order price. Doba.com is not free to use, but you can get a free trial for a week to see how it works and if it is worth it.
Conclusion
Alibaba may be the biggest online market place, but there are certainly many other places where you can buy your goods. There are many platforms that work in a similar way than Alibaba, and you are probably already familiar with most of them. You just need to do a little online digging to find the alternative with the most affordable price, and that works best for you.
