As an international B2B cross-border e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com is primarily designed for bulk purchases between businesses. Individual foreign buyers often encounter numerous issues when shopping here, and the key reasons why it is not recommended to buy from Alibaba are summarized as follows:
1. Unreliable Product Quality and Compliance Risks. A large number of suppliers on the platform are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or trading companies, many of which lack strict quality control processes. Additionally, numerous trading companies falsely pose as manufacturers to secure orders, making it difficult for buyers to verify product origins and quality. Furthermore, many products may lack necessary certifications required by target markets, such as CE certification for Europe or FDA certification for the United States. This not only results in non-compliance with local regulations (rendering products unmarketable) but also poses potential safety hazards due to substandard quality. Moreover, the platform’s large scale and fragmented management make it challenging to eliminate counterfeit and infringing goods. Foreign buyers purchasing such products may become involved in intellectual property disputes and face legal penalties.
2. Prolonged Logistics Cycles and Difficult Returns/Refunds. Most products on the platform are shipped from origins like China. Cross-border transportation inherently involves long lead times, and with customs clearance procedures, regular orders often take weeks to arrive. Delays may be further extended in cases of logistics congestion or customs inspections. More problematically, the return/refund process is cumbersome: shipping goods back to China typically incurs high costs for foreign buyers, sometimes exceeding the product’s value. Some sellers intentionally delay or refuse to cooperate with refunds, while the platform’s dispute resolution process is slow and often favors suppliers, leaving foreign buyers with little recourse for effective rights protection.
3. Prevalent Fake Inquiries and Misleading Information. The platform is plagued by fake traffic and invalid inquiries. Freight forwarders, service providers, and even competitors may pose as buyers to obtain seller contact information or extract quotes, burying genuine procurement needs and making it hard for foreign buyers to quickly find reliable suppliers. Meanwhile, some low-quality suppliers use fake reviews and order manipulation to create the illusion of a reputable store, easily misleading foreign buyers into purchasing products that fail to meet expectations. Additionally, the platform’s RFQ (Request for Quotation) section lacks effective review mechanisms, filled with spam such as fake payment slips or nonsensical content, providing no meaningful reference for buyers.
4. Poor Communication and Customer Service Experience. Many small and medium-sized suppliers on the platform lack professional English-speaking staff. When foreign buyers inquire about product details or customization requirements, communication barriers and information discrepancies often arise, hindering purchasing decisions. The platform’s customer service system relies heavily on AI chatbots, with human agents nearly inaccessible. For issues like order abnormalities or logistics delays, buyers only receive standardized automated responses, and their problems remain unresolved. Disputes over delayed shipments or cost discrepancies frequently stall due to customer service evasion, consuming significant time and effort.
5. Opaque Transaction Costs and Hidden Expenses. On one hand, some suppliers inflate logistics fees, revealing the actual cost only after the buyer confirms the order—resulting in total expenditures far exceeding initial expectations. On the other hand, platform fees have increased, with some cases of double charging (before and after order confirmation). Additional deductions may include regional taxes such as U.S. sales tax or European VAT. Foreign buyers unfamiliar with these pricing rules often incur unexpected costs, eroding procurement profits. Furthermore, suppliers with heavy platform promotion often pass their advertising costs onto product prices, leading to poor cost-effectiveness for buyers.
If you only buy for your personal use stuffs, better to buy in local stores, especially high value goods. Trust us, you wont wast your time and money.