Small businesses know there is value in global purchasing, but the idea of doing business with suppliers in another country can be scary. When looking for a global product supplier, there is a lot to consider-- like how to make sure you're dealing with a legit company and avoid being scammed during the purchasing process.  

One well-known global trade facilitator is Alibaba.com, the flagship company of Chinese ecommerce leader, Alibaba Group. Alibaba.com is an international marketplace that helps connect business buyers with suppliers and wholesalers in more than 240 territories and countries worldwide. For U.S.-based businesses, Alibaba Group offers a number of services that are designed to make global purchasing easier and cost-effective.

Taking the Fear Out of Global Purchasing

On Alibaba.com, buyers simply register for a free account and search for the product they are looking to obtain direct from suppliers.  When you locate a product and potential supplier, Alibaba.com provides the means for you to contact the wholesaler directly to do business.

All Alibaba.com members -- the suppliers and wholesalers -- are verified businesses that must have knowledge of how to do international B2B trade in order to be a member of Alibaba.com.  This is one reason that U.S.-based businesses look to services like Alibaba.com.  Suppliers in China who are Alibaba.com members, for example, are required to have the means to conduct business in English.

Alibaba.com also invests in value-added services to help its members improve their abilities to do business in other countries. 

One problem is that U.S.-based businesses may be unfamiliar with the language, and even seeing a phone number to contact the supplier in Shanghai may leave the U.S.-based buyer wondering how to make the call.  

Alibaba.com recently partnered with RingCentral to enable Chinese suppliers to set up U.S. toll-free phone and fax numbers online and connect U.S.-based buyers with offices in China.  The company also offers an instant messenger service that buyers can use to connect directly with a supplier, complete with translation options.

The service also offers a level of security that you simply don’t get when you log on and try to find a supplier yourself.  In addition to requiring paid, verified memberships, Alibaba.com also provides businesses with an on-site Safe Trade Forum and escrow services, said Annie Jie Xu, general manager of Alibaba.com America, who also said that less than one percent of all transactions are fraudulent.

Options for Orders of All Sizes

Even with a proven track record in buyer safety and working with suppliers to make global trade accessible to all businesses, U.S.-based small business owners still may be hesitant.

One trend that Annie Jie Xu has seen is that small businesses tend to source less product more frequently.  She also said that the nature of global trade is still something that a small business owner in the U.S. is hesitant about jumping in to.

Purchasing a container load of product simply may not be in your budget, or you may still be unsure about connecting with a supplier in another country to haggle over quantities and pricing.  Even if you did manage to find a source for $10,000 worth of product, you still need to figure out how to get large quantities of product from China to your business.  These transactions are worked out offline between the buyer and the Alibaba.com supplier member.

For the smaller businesses and even home-based ecommerce shops and entrepreneurs, Alibaba.com also offers a wholesale platform on its global AliExpress website that is geared for smaller buyers seeking fast shipment of small quantities of goods.

The suppliers listed on AliExpress all have agreed to fulfill smaller orders, and on this website the transaction are conducted online, making it an easier, more comfortable process for smaller businesses.  The website offers an interface that makes you feel like you are shopping on any ecommerce website,  and it also helps you choose the right international shipping carrier and deal with customs clearance and tax estimates.

Both Alibaba.com and AliExpress offer free memberships to buyers.  It doesn’t charge a business a fee to browse find product from its members. 

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

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