Alibaba is the largest global B2B e-commerce platform, connecting buyers and sellers worldwide. It is based in China and was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma Yun.

The company offers various products, including electronics, healthcare, clothing, and other useful items. However, people have reported facing scams on the website.

In this article, we’ll explain whether Alibaba is a scam and how to protect yourself.

Here’s what we will cover:

Is Alibaba a scam?
Types of scams on Alibaba
How to protect yourself from these scams?

Is Alibaba a scam?

No, Alibaba is not a scam; it is a legitimate website catering to the interests of businesses worldwide.

We will head to two of the most well-known customer review websites: Trustpilot and Better Business Bureau.

Trustpilot

To prove this point, let us head to Trustpilot, a website that features customer reviews. Here, Alibaba has a rating of 4.4 out of 10 based on more than 23 thousand reviews.

Out of these reviews, more than 80% are 5-star, and only 20% are 1-star. The customers with 5-star reviews were satisfied with the customer service, reasonable shipping cost, and excellent packaging.

However, the 1-star review discusses how the platform is unable to solve disputes, does not charge return transaction fees, cancels transactions without notice, and has too long a shipping time for the products.

This review by one of the customers summarises the negative points of the platform: “As Customers NEED to avoid buying from sellers on Alibaba. Because clearly Alibaba: 1)is slow to resolve disputes, 2)uses automated replies, 3)ignores the reality of the transaction despite all facts, 4)delays refunding; and 5)seems to pretend to care for customers yet is a seller platform”

Better Business Bureau

Next, we head to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website to see what the customers are talking about Alibaba.

The company is not doing well on the BBB website. Alibaba has a rating of 1.12 out of 5 based on 41 customer reviews.

Customers have complained that they have received defective products, different products, high shipping costs, no customer support, and not receiving a refund.

Also read: Are receipt scanning apps safe?

Types of scams on Alibaba

Here are some scams that people have reported witnessing on Alibaba:

Counterfeit products: These products are fake and cheap imitations of original products. As Alibaba has millions of products, it is quite difficult to ascertain each one of them. Similarly, there are thousands of sellers, and there might be a few black sheep among them.
Non-delivery scams: People have reported another type of scam on Alibabaa: after payment, the seller does not send the item. Customers receive fake tracking numbers and forged documents.
Payment frauds: These scams involve the seller asking for payment outside the secure payment methods such as cash or union transfer.

How to protect yourself from these scams?

Now that we have understood these scams let us know how you can protect yourself from them.

Verify the supplier: Always verify the supplier before ordering anything on Alibaba. Check their ratings, customer reviews, and ratings. You can also contact the supplier via phone or email to verify them.
Use a secure payment method: Always use a secure payment method to order the product. Do not use payment methods such as money transfer or cash.
Check the product details: Always check the product details before ordering. Read the description, specifications, and price. It probably isn’t if the price seems too good to be true.

In conclusion, Alibaba is not a scam but a business-to-business e-commerce website. However, like most other platforms, there are tons of scams happening here. Keep in mind the tips we have given above to protect yourself, and you’ll be good to go.