Summary of this article：If you want to choose Alibaba for factories, quotes, and mass orders, here are some viable choices to consider, based on where you are located, the category of your product, or the size of your order.
What Exactly “Alibaba Alternatives” Are
Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of Alibaba alternatives: B2B marketplaces, which share the same business approach as Alibaba but incorporate RFQ, mass/OEM orders, etc.; supplier directories of certified companies; and websites that focus on specific regions or categories.
China Based Alternatives that are Worth Your Consideration:
•Global Sources - verified providers of a variety of products.
•Made-in-China - audited providers of industrial goods.
•1688 - the cheapest domestic Alibaba alternative that is available within China. This is more difficult for foreign companies to source from, but there are services to help.
• DHgate - providers of items at much lower MOQs than Alibaba and useful for retail purposes, especially.
• Yiwugo and Chinagoods -both of which are linked to the Yiwu Market, which offers various items for sale.
Alternatives Located outside of China:
* IndiaMART - the primary marketplace for online businesses within India. It’s fantastic for sourcing from India as it offers equipment and materials.
* TradeIndia - a similar India-focused site as above, the two sites complement one another very nicely and covers trade categories.
* Europages - an online directory of businesses within the European Union, that includes European and EU-compliant businesses.
* HKTDC Sourcing - an initiative designed to connect global buyers to Chinese and Asian Manufacturers.
Best Supplier Directory Websites Alternative
•Thomasnet – Ideal for North American-focused industrial and manufacturing companies.
•Kompass - Another good general global search to source various types of companies by country or region.
• EC21 - Like Kompass, EC21 helps global search of suppliers across different regions.
How to use ANY of them. Safely.
No matter where you sourced your products before or are currently sourcing them from, it all comes down to these simple steps:
1. Create a list of ten to twenty suppliers you will contact.
2.Send out a standard Request for Quotation (RFQ) to all of them.
3.Purchase a sample from the two to three most favorable.
4. Make a trial order.
5. Ensure your QC procedures (SKU checks, etc.) Are applied before shipment is made
6. Only Scale up once your selected supplier proves that it can reorder reliably.
Summary
As global coverage is concerned, nobody really beats Alibaba. Regardless, there will be other alternatives that would suit your specific needs much better, based on the region you wish to conduct business in, or your niche. Remember, no matter the website you’re working with, the fundamental process for buying from overseas will stay the same: list, RFQ, sample, trial order, QC, then scale!
