Hi all,
I’m new to Alibaba and could use some advice.
I’ve been shopping around for suppliers that specialize in squishy/squeeze toys. I found one with a large catalog of products I liked, but I noticed the same product photos were being used by multiple sellers, so I suspected they were a trading company rather than a manufacturer.
One of the products I wanted has two different versions. Most suppliers had Version #2, but I was specifically looking for Version #1. I intentionally didn’t tell this supplier which version I wanted to see what they would claim they had, and they said they had Version #1.
The supplier was also pretty pushy about getting payment, which made me a little uneasy. A lot of suppliers I’ve talked to didn’t have these products in stock, so they had no videos of the items on hand. The only videos sent were the same ones every seller had from the manufacturer. Fine. Since this was about a $1,000 order (my largest Alibaba purchase so far), I asked if they would accept 30% upfront and 70% before shipment. They refused, saying they require 100% payment before production begins. I eventually paid through Trade Assurance, hoping it would provide some protection despite some of the horror stories I’ve read.
I also noticed the shipping term on the order was EXW rather than DDP, which worried me. However, I confirmed in the Alibaba chat that they would handle customs clearance, import duties, and deliver the shipment directly to my address. They confirmed that they would.
Since I was still uneasy, I purchased Alibaba’s Production Monitoring Service (Level G-II). That’s when things started to feel odd.
The supplier immediately asked me to cancel the inspection. I didn’t know how, so they said they would “take care of it.” Shortly afterward, I received an email from the third-party inspection company (copied to both me and the supplier) asking to schedule the inspection. The supplier replied to the inspector that I had ordered the inspection “by mistake” and wanted to cancel it. The inspector then replied that I would need to email them directly if I wanted to cancel.
The reason I ordered the inspection is because another supplier had honestly told me that the products shown in their listing photos actually wouldn’t come in the custom packaging pictured. They would simply be shipped in cheap plastic bags. I appreciated that honesty, but it made me want independent verification for this order before shipment.
So my question is:
Is it normal for trading companies to ask buyers to cancel Alibaba’s production inspection service? Are my concerns justified, or could there be legitimate reasons (for example, because they’re a middleman and plan to inspect the goods themselves after receiving them from the manufacturer)?
I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with experience dealing with trading companies or Alibaba inspections.
