Finding a good supplier is very important to start an e-commerce business. But, when we talk about suppliers, Alibaba automatically comes to our mind. If you are thinking of sourcing your next product from Alibaba for selling marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, or eBay then you are doing wrong.
Because Alibaba has become very common around the world it is very difficult to find anything unique here. If a seller wants to offer something unique to the customer he should follow another e-commerce platform like Alibaba. Because if a seller chooses a product on Alibaba, this product might be already sold by thousands of sellers.
Now, if your competitors source the same products and offer a lower price, then you will lose before starting the game. And like this, there are many more reasons.
In this blog, we will introduce 7 Alternatives of Alibaba, from where you can source products with great quality and prices, and also we will explain how you can find suppliers from the JungleScout Supplier Database.
Table of Contents:
- Why You Should Leave Alibaba?
- Alternatives of Alibaba
- How to find suppliers from the JungleScout Supplier Database
Why You Should Leave Alibaba?
So right now, We are in Aliababa and we are going to search for a random product. Let’s say — glass candle holders.
Here, we can see there are a lot of suppliers on Alibaba and prices are really good.
Also, most of them are verified suppliers, so all looks good.
Now, let’s go to Amazon and search for the same product glass candle holders. Now, we can see there are a lot of sellers who are selling different types of glass candle holders at different prices.
Now we need to find out a specific design so that we can compare the price. We selected this one- Votive CandleHolder from Amazon to identify and we can see some sellers on the first page.
All the sellers are selling the same 24-piece votive candle holders but the prices are different. They might want to make more profit than others, or might the sourcing cost be higher, or something else.
Also, if we have a quick look at the entire first page, we can see there are a lot of different types of candle holders but some of them are almost the same or similar.
Now, if we’re planning on selling the same stuff, like votive candle holders, we have to compete with established sellers who are already selling on Amazon. And, somehow, we’re buying from the same suppliers as our competition, but at a higher cost, we’re gonna fail from the start.
But, If we take a look at other alternatives besides Alibaba, we might stumble upon some unique products from suppliers who are offering good quality, lower minimums, or cheaper prices.
Let’s take DHgate.com for example, which is a different wholesale marketplace.
So, now we are on DHgate.com which is a good wholesale marketplace where sellers can source products with good prices and quality. Here, we will search for the same keywords glass candle holders.
Here you can see, there are a lot of candle holders from different prices. From here, We would go for the last one – a set of 3 Hurricane design candle holders. Because this candle holder seems unique.
Now, let’s move to Amazon again and see if anyone is selling this or not. On the first page, we found only one seller is selling this specific design item, so the competition is too low.
If we can source the product with great quality and price there is a huge opportunity to generate more sales.
Though selling items is not only about sourcing great products, there are still a lot of things that need to be done like SEO, PPC, GRAPHICS, MARKETING, AND MORE.
We have more resources on, SEO strategies, PPC advertisements, and graphics on our Blog section and our YouTube channel. If you need to know the best practices or strategies to generate more sales, go to the video section of our YouTube channel and check them out.
However, Sourcing a product that has a bit of uniqueness is so important. Otherwise, you’re just selling the same thing as everyone else, and competing on price alone is stressful and risky.
Another important thing is that on Alibaba, it’s really hard to find out the real manufacturer. Because Alibaba represents a mix of manufacturers and traders, for this, you need to differentiate who is the manufacturer and who is the trader.
This is because when dealing directly with a manufacturer, you are sourcing products from the real manufacturer not from the ‘middleman’ or trader. But if you source products from traders they might not be given the full focus on you, and attention to detail about the product, and service that you are looking for.
The product price might be more expensive than the manufacturer’s because traders will also make some money from you, even from the manufacturer. So it’s really important to find out the real supplier.
By looking at alternatives to Alibaba, you can choose a supplier-based marketplace that only represents manufacturers and not traders. You might get unique products to your niche, find products of great quality, and source products with lower prices and lower shipping costs.
Okay, now, I’m going to tell you 7 alternative wholesale marketplaces to Alibaba, where you will find your best products to sell online.
Alternatives of Alibaba:
There are several alternative options available for Alibaba. We will mention here the best 7 alternatives of Alibaba.
- Global Source: Global Source is one of the prominent e-commerce platforms. It is considered one of Alibaba’s main competitors, which specializes in electronics and accessories. It’s a Hong Kong-based online marketplace with over 1.5 million suppliers. They claim to have over 1.5 million suppliers and cater to 95 of the world’s top 100 retailers.
One of the perks of using Global Sources is the vast pool of suppliers. There are over 500 companies that use it to hunt for products and link up with manufacturers. They also offer extra services like product sourcing, market research, and logistics to make your sourcing experience easier.
But there is a drawback, which is the minimum order quantity is kind of high, so it’s not the best option for beginners. The suppliers on Global Sources are more established and offer higher quality products than Alibaba, which is the reason of minimum order quantities tend to be higher.
To cite an example, here you can see the minimum quantity is 2000. This means the minimum order quantity is often high compared to Alibaba.
So, If you are a beginner and looking to just order around $3000 or $5000 worth of products, it might not be easy on Global Sources. But we do like Global Sources as an alternative to Alibaba. Let us know in the comment section what your opinion is about it.
- DHgate: DHgate is another closest or equivalent to Alibaba. It caters to both businesses and consumers. It has a massive selection of products from health and beauty to electronics and sports equipment.
However, DHgate is a great place to source a variety of products at low minimum order quantities to test the market and product.
For example, Here you can order one pair of sandals which is the minimum quantity.
So, it would be a great option for beginners who have a lower budget to source items. Even the minimum order quantity allows you to check and test the product quality.
But the biggest downside of the DHgate is the product quality and Merchandise is a bit cheap. So, we advise you better to order one item for a testing purpose to check product quality. If you source products by checking only the product price it might cost you a lot.
The next one is not a specific supplier website or network but, it’s a way to find out what your competitors are selling, and where they are getting their products from – it is JungleScout Supplier Database. As we mentioned earlier we will explain how can we research on the JungleScout Supplier Database, you can find suppliers easily based on your niche.
How to Research JungleScout Supplier Database:
We would like to take you over the JungleScout Supplier Database and show you, how useful this tool is.
From the JungleScout Supplier Database page, here we need to search for a product. We can search with the company, supplier, or ASIN. The JungleScout Supplier Database will provide data on what companies are importing and what companies are exporting.
To show you the interesting result, We searched the product Dog Harness. Here, you will find so much data based on your search.
When we searched for the product, we found the top supplier was “Fuzhou Unique Home Decor Co Ltd”. When we searched for the same product on Alibaba we found “Fuzhou Unique Home Decor Co Ltd” at the top.
That means this will offer something amazing to all sellers. If you want to contact this supplier, just click on the search for contact info and you will get the address and phone number.
It’s one of the most useful tools of JungleScout and sellers would love this feature. Because, within some easy steps, they can find a lot of suppliers, competitor’s names, and shipping info, as well as supplier details.
- eWorldTrade: This B2B marketplace has been around for about ten years. It has 500,000 users and a solid representation of Chinese suppliers. The platforms connect with international manufacturers, and worldwide wholesale suppliers quickly. So, sellers from around the world working under different niches can join eWorldTrade.
Most of the suppliers are verified, and the purchase process is integrated. This means it aims to standardize purchasing procedures, leading to cost savings, better vendor relationships, compliance with regulations, and strategic procurement management.
We searched for one beauty and personal care item on this platform to provide you with more details. Based on our selected category, it’s giving us 172+ products with the supplier or manufacturer name. From this page, we can view the price, and contact the supplier through this Contact Now button.
There is one drawback we found on this platform. This one is there are fewer suppliers available compared to other platforms.
- Canton Fair: If you want to find the best products from real suppliers with great prices then the Canton Fair is the best. But Canton Fair is a bit different from others that we mentioned earlier. Because it is one of the largest trade shows in the world, held in China.
By joining the Canton Fair, you can touch and see actual product samples, you can meet the factories face to face, unique factories that are not present in Alibaba, and importantly you will work with the manufacturer directly not from any middleman.
It is the best option to find the real manufacturer and best quality products with price. It’s an excellent way to meet potential suppliers and manufacturers directly and negotiate deals.
The fair is split into 3-phases, with each phase featuring a different range of products. Phase 1 is electronics and machinery, phase 2 is building materials and home furnishings, and phase 3 is gifts and toys.
The notable thing is you need to travel to China to attend the fair.
To inform you that the transportation cost and hotel rent are a bit expensive. Another important fact is, you might have to learn Chinese but if you know English you can communicate with a few suppliers also.
- ThomasNet: ThomasNet is pretty important because it offers US-based American Manufacturers. You can find suppliers inside the United States.
Its website includes a search engine that allows users to search for specific products and services, as well as a directory of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors.
ThomasNet also includes a forum, where users can ask questions and share information about their experiences with various suppliers. It’s wonderful to gather information about the supplier’s behaviors.
- Made in China: Made-in-China is another good option to source products for your online business. This platform has over 40 million products from 27 countries. There are 6 million registered suppliers and over 14 million registered buyer members.
So, it’s safe to say that no matter what you are looking for or where you are from you’ll find exactly what you need.
Compared to Alibaba and Global Sources, Made In China is the 3rd largest B2B platform in China. However, they offer more industrial and construction-based products than any other supplier directory.
All of the suppliers on Made In China are verified for quality. You can view a full supplier audit report to get more information about every vendor.
Everything is great but the product price is expensive compared to Alibaba. Whatever, you will find a lot of different items here that are missing on Alibaba.
- SaleHoo: SaleHoo is an online platform that specializes in sourcing products and dropshipping. It gives you access to verified suppliers including US-based. But you need to subscribe to the pricing plan. The pricing plan is not too much it is only $67 per year.
SaleHoo provides a vast range of profitable products from AliExpress. If you have any problem regarding a product or other things, their excellent 1-on-1 customer service is available to you.
SaleHoo has many pros such as offering thousands of suppliers, you can filter out suppliers, can easily integrating with Shopify, including a 60-day money-back guarantee.
We didn’t find many negative things against its effective impact. The main drawback is you need to take the monthly subscription fee for the dropshipping features, and SaleHoo Dropship only offers dropshipping products from AliExpress.
Apart from the above-mentioned platforms, still there are a lot of wholesaler websites where you can find your best products such as HKTDC, EC21, LightInTheBox, Gearbest, SHEIN, EC Plaza, Temu, Banggood, etc.
We are not promoting any specific website here. We just share with you our personal experience. Also, if you are only looking for Suppliers from the USA or Europe you can check out Wholesale Central, eSources, The Wholesaler, Wholesale Deals, etc.
Final Thoughts,
As you can see, there are many suppliers except Alibaba where sellers can source the best supplier and product. If you want to sustain an e-commerce business and want to make more profit, you should not depend on one platform. Ultimately, the choice of platform depends on various factors such as target market, product type, and other strategies. By carefully evaluating these mentioned alternatives, you should source suppliers based on proper research, and compare suppliers and products to grow your business.
If you need any help with product sourcing, feel free to let us know in the comment box or email us at the following email address: info@ecomclips.com
To know more about Amazon, eBay, Walmart, or any other specific marketplace or platform, please check out our other blog as well. Also, you can check our YouTube videos.
Amazon Product Opportunity Explorer
ALIBABA Product Sourcing Guide
What or Not to Ship From Alibaba To Amazon FBA
Why Millions Are Leaving Amazon!
