Bikes From Alibaba
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I do not buy anything from alibaba. I browsed the site before and saw different companies selling their own products on the site. It is hard for me to tell who are the good and the bad guys knowing all too well that they came from all corners of the word. Maybe you can still try alibaba if there is way for you to check on the merchant
Alibaba has always seemed like the poor man's Amazon in my opinion. Therefore I've never bought anything from Alibaba as I'm quite happy with Amazon. However, the last thing I would buy online is a bicycle. I prefer to go down to a specialized bicycle store whenever purchasing a bike. Perhaps the only things I would purchase online are bicycle accessories, but I definitely wouldn't order them from Alibaba either. Maybe I just don't trust them enough yet, however, I'm sure others have had a positive buying experience.
If that Alibaba is that one in China, I guess that is a huge company that would dwarf Amazon in terms of sales. Remember, China is the biggest market, reason enough for Alibaba's bigness. And when it comes to products, no one can beat Chinese made products... in terms of prices although I cannot say the same for the quality and durability.
Alibaba doesn't have a big U.S. presence at this time, but it is essentially China's Amazon. They did an IPO last year through NYSE because U.S. Regulators were more lenient than the Hong Kong ones. Just hired a new American CEO too - be interesting to see how that develops here.
I suspect as with any online marketplace, quality and service vary vendor to vendor, I guess it would be interesting to see what safeguards are built in for the consumer and how they police their vendors to keep out fraud.
I suspect as with any online marketplace, quality and service vary vendor to vendor, I guess it would be interesting to see what safeguards are built in for the consumer and how they police their vendors to keep out fraud.
Several years ago I joined Alibaba to investigate Asian manufacturers, with the idea of starting an importing business and a bicycle equipment brand. At the time it was all business--there was little amateur presence and few sellers marketed to consumers. Alibaba made no warranties, Alibaba did no reference checking. It was simply an online meeting place. There is a bulletin board where members can discuss transactions, but inasmuch as getting satisfaction--getting the stuff you paid for, or getting paid for the stuff you shipped--you were on your own. I haven't been there in a while, so I don't know what's changed.
My assumption would be that anyone there who's marketing to end-user consumers is probably trolling for suckers.
My assumption would be that anyone there who's marketing to end-user consumers is probably trolling for suckers.
Meh. Alibaba is nothing special, and it's definitely a less legitimate version of Amazon, regardless of package volume, as far as US consumers should be concerned. I wouldn't buy a bicycle off of the Internet anyways, though. That's a recipe for disaster unless you know exactly what you're looking for, and that's often not going to be the case with Alibaba.
They work, but I don't trust them. I personally would spend the extra money at other places to make sure that I'm working with a company that I know is reliable and would help me out if anything ever went wrong with the bike. So if you want my advice: avoid them.
When buying from Alibaba (and it's counterpart AliExpress) please be aware of authenticity. There are several counterfeit items made available to buyers all over the world. These items are often "inspired by" items that are less than acceptable replicas. If you insist on buying from the site do your research. Find out where the item you are in search of is originally manufactured and see if these facts match the information that's available on the items page. Always read the sellers feed back and how many items have been sold. There are hundreds of sellers that join daily and may not have trustworthy reputations. Be mindful that anything purchased from Alibaba is from China and will take a few weeks depending on your location. If you live in the states it can take anywhere between 15 and 35 days. Also be aware that customs may charge fees, may reject the shipment if it's counterfeit, or may hold the bike for an extended period of time. Either way, good luck on your bike hunt!
If you are shopping around for cheap and possibly break in the first year of usage, then alibaba is the place to go for those reasons. They got bikes that are really cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if the ebay sellers are buying them in bulk and selling them for a profit. That is the norm now a days, for I too was looking for cheap china products to see on ebay. Anything to make a buck.
I was really looking at purchasing a few part to add to my bike to make it motorized. As long as it is under 50cc, you don't need a motorcycle license and it is still considered a bike in Hawaii.
I was really looking at purchasing a few part to add to my bike to make it motorized. As long as it is under 50cc, you don't need a motorcycle license and it is still considered a bike in Hawaii.
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