Alibaba is the most well-known Chinese online B2B marketplace, with millions of users active on this legit and safe website. And sourcing from Alibaba is always the first choice for buyers. They can find manufacturers on it directly with the most competitive price. But many buyers are wondering whether there are any other similar sites to Alibaba, or if they can source products from their local B2B websites like Alibaba.
There are many guides on Google classifying many retail and dropshipping sites like Amazon, eBay, Salehoo, Doba into similar sites to Alibaba. But as we all know, Alibaba is a genuine B2B platform. Suppliers on it are manufacturers and traders, not retailers. So, in my post, I will select the following 22 Alibaba alternative websites. Click to jump to the part you want to read.
1. Sites like Alibaba in China
Global Sources
Compared with Alibaba, it will take Chinese traders and manufacturers a larger membership fee, usually $14700-$29400, to register in the Global Sources. So many small trading companies won’t join the platform because of the high fees. The platform focuses on electronics, auto parts & accessories, gifts, crafts, jewelry. And you can find suppliers around the world. Most products on Global Sources have their prices and MOQ directly written on the product details pages, but some products don’t. So you have to contact the suppliers to get it.
Some suppliers on Global Sources set a higher MOQ than Alibaba, especially for customization. Only when your order reaches the MOQ standard, will suppliers negotiate with you further.
Apart from providing service for buyers and suppliers online, Global Sources also holds export sourcing shows in Hong Kong SAR every April and October. There are eight events every year, including the world’s largest electronics and mobile electronic shows as well as Lifestyle and Fashion shows. They make buyers find suppliers easily in an offline way.
So besides comprehensive trade shows like the Canton Fair, you can also discover some specialized trade shows focusing on a specific industry to attend on Global Sources. These trade shows are worthy of attending.
Made in China
Made in China is another wholesale website like Alibaba. All products on it are manufactured by Chinese suppliers because it focuses on promoting Chinese products. Most businessmen from developed countries prefer to find Chinese suppliers on this platform. Its main products are machinery, auto, motorcycle parts, etc.
The same as MOQ on Alibaba, it is negotiable, even dozens or hundreds are possible. But if you want to customize products, MOQ will be much higher.
Besides, there are many kinds of payment terms available on the platform, like Paypal, L/C, T/T, D/P, Western Union, etc. You can see the supported payment methods of each supplier on the product details page.
My Suggestion
Alibaba VS Global Source VS Made in China. Which Is Better?
For UI & UX, as you can see, Alibaba is the best. There are detailed product introductions and several clear pictures for each product. What’s more, most products also have short videos.
We can’t say which one is good and which one is bad for the following four reasons:
1. In order to attract more clients, Chinese suppliers usually open stores on these three platforms at the same time.
2. These three platforms focus on different product categories. For example, you can give priority to Made in China if you want to buy mechanical equipment.
3. The MOQ and price of one similar material product on these platforms won’t be very different.
Take water bottles for example. If MOQ on Alibaba is 500 pieces, then there must be suppliers of the same MOQ on Global Sources. MOQ must be determined by whether your product needs to be customized or whether the supplier has stock. Also, it’s impossible that the price on Alibaba is $1 while $3 on the other two platforms.
So my suggestion is, never worry too much about which platform is better. No matter which platform, there are many reliable Chinese suppliers to match your needs. Thus, the most important thing you should focus on is supplier selection. Now just start further reading about choosing suppliers:
- How to Find Chinese Suppliers Online?
- Background Check Chinese Suppliers in 8 Aspects.
- 5 Checkpoints to Compare Suppliers.
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DHgate
DHgate focuses on small orders. Many overseas small businessmen like Amazon sellers, eBay sellers, dropshippers will display Dhgate’ product pictures on their online store directly. Usually, they don’t stock any products. Thus, dropshipping service or a small MOQ is needed. The MOQ is smaller, even 10 pieces are allowed.
However, many sites like Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China can hardly provide such service for them, so Dhgate will be definitely a good option for them to import products from China.
Compared with Alibaba, Dhgate provides prices and MOQ in a more direct way. You don’t need to send inquiries to suppliers for the exact MOQ and wholesale price of the product, because they are directly displayed on the product detail page. Also, you can get the price selling to your country by changing the location.
Some buyers may be concerned that DHgate is not so reliable due to many bad reviews on Trustpilot. Don’t worry about that. Maybe some buyers have the terrible experience shopping on DHgate but it is absolutely a legit platform. If you want to buy from DHgate safely, you should make effort to find a reliable supplier.
Aliexpress
Aliexpress is an online retail service platform based in China, which is owned by the Alibaba Group. Strictly speaking, Aliexpress is not a site like Alibaba. Alibaba focuses on wholesale, but Aliexpress focuses on retail.
The reason why I recommend it here is that most sellers on Aliexpress also provide both small wholesale services, like a dozen or dozens. These sellers not only run a store on Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China, but also on Aliexpress. Therefore, you can not only buy in bulk at a lower price on Aliexpress but also find China wholesale suppliers.
If you want to buy products in bulk, you must consult sellers about whether they can provide a discount bulk price. For example, a pearl earring is 6 dollars, and you want to buy 30 pairs for your friends. Then you need to message the seller to negotiate a lower price. Because Aliexpress doesn’t display the bulk price directly on the product page like GHgate.
Caution: Generally, the bulk price can be negotiable, especially for a larger quantity（hundreds of pieces). So you’d better negotiate with suppliers about the price before placing your order.
Related Blogs about Aliexpress
- Is Aliexpress Safe? (10 Truths You Must Know Before You Buy)
- How to buy from AliExpress | Step by Step Guide with Detailed Illustration.
- Alibaba VS AliExpress: Which One is Better for Your Importing Business？
My Suggestion
Dhgate VS Aliexpress, Which Is Good for You?
If you just want to buy one or two for your own use, there is no doubt to choose Aliexpress. It focuses on retailing and is easy to place an order.
If you want to buy tens or dozens of pieces, you can compare the prices of the two platforms and choose the cheaper one to place your order. But the first thing is to make sure that you have already read the product reviews, quantities of order, refund & return policy of the supplier and they look good. All in all, don’t just focus on the lowest price when buying.
1688
Specially designed for Chinese local businessmen, it will be troublesome for overseas businessmen to use the platform, mainly because of language barriers. Many suppliers in 1688 can’t speak English. In addition, 1688 only has a Chinese version. So you need to translate it by third-party tools, like Google Translate.
Although it appears troublesome, 1688 is still an additional source to help you learn about the product price range. But in fact, I don’t recommend you to really buy bulk from 1688 for your business or personal use.
Yiwugo
Different from 1688, Yiwugo has an English version. but there are almost no product listings on Yiwugo. All suppliers on Yiwugo have offline stores in Yiwu International Trade Market. That means Yiwugo is an online Yiwu International Trade Market. It’s like a Yiwu supplier directory to help you find suppliers’ real store addresses.
If you want to contact suppliers, I advise you to install Wechat App, the most popular chat tool in China, on your phone. It will make your communication with suppliers more convenient. Besides, you can contact suppliers by phone, email, or other ways. Although most suppliers on Yiwugo can’t speak native English, they can communicate with you in some simple words.
HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s small to medium businesses.
The following 3 pages on HKTDC will help you a lot,
- HKTDC Online Marketplace
- Small-Order Zone
- Trade Fairs
HKTDC Online Marketplace
HKTDC operates an online marketplace of 30 industries with over 130,000 quality Hong Kong, China, and Asia wholesale suppliers and manufacturers.
The product page on Alibaba can show detailed product information, but the product detailed page is not available on HKTDC. There is just a picture, simple product attributes, and description on HKTDC, which may be not enough for you.
So you have to consult the supplier about the product detail information if you want to learn more. Thus, it is more likely a supplier directory rather than a marketplace.
Small-Order Zone
There are 100,000+ products in the Small-Order Zone available in a quantity of 5 -1,000 pcs. The Small-Order Zone is an online shopping site for global buyers to source and purchase quality products in small quantities from verified sellers at wholesale prices. Buyers can instantly place orders and make payments online via PayPal or credit cards.
The same as the online marketplace, it also just provides a product picture, and you need to consult suppliers about more product details.
Trade Fairs
HKTDC organizes more than 30 fairs every year. Nine of these fairs are the biggest ones in Asia, and three are the world’s largest: the HKTDC Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, and the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition). So apart from Global Sources, HKTDC is also a website for you to find information about trade fairs.
Summary: As HKTDC is established in 1966 and is a statutory body, the web user experience will not be as good as Alibaba. Therefore, for more convenience, you can download the HKTDC app on your mobile phone and transfer it into the English version.
China.cn
Launched by China Internet News Center, it is a relatively authoritative and honest B2B e-commerce online trading platform. You can find real manufacturers and types of trading companies on it. The language barrier is small when using this website, as it has an English version.
Compared with Alibaba, it just lists the products and suppliers but with limited information. Thus, in most cases, if you want to know more information, you need to have more detailed communication with the supplier.
According to my experience, you can get more choices through searching for products than searching for suppliers directly.
ECVV
ECVV is an online B2B platform in Shenzhen, China. Its main product category is machinery, equipment, hardware, building materials, lighting, transport electronics, electrical appliances, etc. Product and supplier information provided by ECVV is quite complete and presented clearly, such as product categories, company profile, etc.
In order to improve the security of procurement, you’d better choose premium suppliers: Diamond Supplier, Platinum Supplier, Gold Supplier. The page layout and information classification of the website are relatively clear and concise, so it is easy to operate, though the product or supplier choices are limited.
Sites like Alibaba in USA
ThomasNet
ThomasNet is an industrial sourcing platform in North America. It’s like a huge database of products and suppliers. You can search suppliers by supplier categories or product catalogs.
A lot of related suppliers are collected under each category. Each company profile contains its own product catalogs, every product detail, services provided, business description and details, etc. Meanwhile, you can jump to the supplier’s website on Google through ThomasNet.
The filtering function of the website is also very good. You can select suppliers according to the distance from you, like searching within 50 miles. Also, you can sort the suppliers by company size, revenue or year founded.
Through Custom Quotes, ThomasNet can help you review your requirements for customization and recommend up to 5 qualified suppliers, without no need to select manufacturers one by one by yourself. And you can download 2D & 3D CAD models from the website for your product customization.
Wholesale Central
Wholesale Central is a B2B platform, and it just supports wholesaling. Retailing is unavailable. It is a wholesale supplier directory without a detailed product page like Alibaba.
You can select wholesale suppliers by category or search for the product name directly to get the corresponding vendor directory and products you want. Like ThomasNet, you can jump directly to the supplier’s webpage on Google when you click the company’s name to get more information.
It collects more than 380,000 items and abundant supplier categories are involved. There is a dedicated section for Asian suppliers and products. But the categories are limited, only shoes & footwear, tools & hardware, toys & hobbies, and watches. And the number of items for sale is also much less, only 1,128.
Notice: There is no strict rule about membership applying on Wholesale Central for suppliers, so you should identify whether the supplier is reliable or not carefully.
Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands provides directories of dropshippers and bulk wholesalers for online sellers. So maybe you can purchase products in small bulk with an MOQ of $500 or less. This is more cost-effective for online retailers that want to make their online business up a notch.
If you can’t find a product that you want to sell, simply submit a product request and the platform will work on tracking down the wholesaler for that product.
But before using Worldwide Brands, you need to become their member first. The member fee is about $299 for lifetime access, usually with a one-time discount offer. That is to say, you just need to pay less than $299.
Supplier Database
Supplier Database is a new Amazon selling tool by Jung Sout. You can find global verified suppliers and get useful information like customer volume and confirmed shipments to validate them. Also, it can help you quickly find a factory that closely matches the product you find on Amazon. It’s worth a try, especially for those Amazon sellers.
As a part of Jung Sout, you have to pay for Jung Sout first before using Database for free. Meanwhile, you can get other support, like Product Database, Niche Hunter, Keyword Lists, etc. All of these are what you need in order to build and grow a successful business on Amazon. There is no free trial. But Jung Sout offers a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Kinnek
Most products on Kinnek are industrial goods, including bakery equipment, cannabis equipment, dairy equipment, cidery equipment, beverage production equipment, etc. And the majority of suppliers on Kinnek are located in the United States.
Kinnek seems a supplier directory. When you click into a supplier’s profile, you’ll be able to see the products they can provide. You can filter a supplier’s products by category or specification.
If you want to know more information from the supplier, you can request a quote or message the supplier directly from their Kinnek profile.
Sites like Alibaba in Europe & UK
Europage
Europage is a large international B2B sourcing platform. It collects more than 3 million companies from Europe, mainly manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and service providers. The website is user-friendly because it is available in 26 languages.
It includes 26 B2B industries and the product classification under each industry is very detailed. Also, many suppliers are listed in each product category with a detailed company profile.
But if you want to know product details or place your order, you have to telephone or message the supplier. Because products here only have a short description, 4-5 lines or less and there is no access to place your order directly.
eSources
As a trade buyer, you can register for a free buyer account to search and contact suppliers. But if you want to access the Internet’s largest directory of verified wholesalers and dropshippers, you have to register a premium account: £30 for a month, £60 for 6 months, and £90 for a year.
Pay attention, if you are a one-year premium membership and you can’t make an extra £30k within the next 12 months, eSources promises to return your money back PLUS an extra £50.
The Wholesaler UK
Established in 1999, it is a UK online wholesale directory of products and suppliers for retailers. It is entirely free for buyers and only verified suppliers are listed. Like other similar sites to Alibaba, you can search for suppliers by category. But actually, it doesn’t cover a wide range.
When you click into the supplier’s profile, you can access the supplier’s website and many other details, including contact information, target market, trading method, customers supplied, delivery minimum order value, etc.
Many buyers want to search Alibaba alternatives in Europe, but only to find some small online B2B marketplaces or wholesale directories. Actually, many European buyers find suppliers on Alibaba or above 10 China Alibaba alternatives.
Sites like Alibaba in India
India MART
IndiaMART is India’s largest online B2B marketplace, occupying 60% of the online B2B market in India. It has abundant product categories, including Industrial Plants & Machinery, Building & Construction, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Electronics, Apparel & Garments, Food, Cosmetics, etc.
You can filter the suppliers according to your location in India, which is very convenient.
Although it doesn’t display many images on the product listing as Alibaba does, the user experience is still good. It has a detailed supplier profile with a short video to introduce suppliers.
Exporters India
Exporters India, established in 1998, is the largest searchable B2B marketplace and exporters directory connecting suppliers and buyers in India.
It’s easy to search on Exporters India. Product categories are clear, with trending categories and popular products recommended. Also, you can find suppliers by region in India or by country.
The product categories are very rich, and a large number of products are collected under each category. For example, there are 174628 items for agriculture and 109153 items for Automobiles.
Trade India
This is also a popular site for trade shows and online B2B marketplace among small businesses in India and other parts of the world. There are more than 1200 product categories on TradeIndia.
The same as Alibaba, the first step is to find the best-matched suppliers of products you want to purchase, then send inquiries to suppliers.
The same as IndiaMART, you can search suppliers by India’s industrial & manufacturing hubs.
go4WorldBusiness
There are only 6 main product categories on go4WorldBusiness. But you can find many suppliers from different countries on it like China, India, Australia, Indonesia, Italy, etc. Besides, it sets offices in New Jersey, USA, and New Delhi, India.
As the product information on go4WorldBusiness is not in detail, you need to inquire suppliers to get product details and the latest price.
To Wrap It Up
In fact, there aren’t many online wholesale websites in other countries. Most of those websites focus on small bulk orders. It’s related to the distribution of the world industrial chain. Thanks for reading, if you have any other ideas about these sites, welcome to leave a comment.
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