How to order from Alibaba, from first inquiry to your warehouse

What Alibaba.com is built for

Alibaba.com's terms of use describe the site as a wholesale-only business-to-business marketplace platform^[2], and they say it is not intended for end users or consumers^[2]. That shapes everything about ordering there. Prices depend on quantity, listings carry minimum order quantities, and a custom product is priced by negotiation, not by a checkout button. If you are buying stock for your brand, you are the customer the site is built for. If you want a single unit shipped to your door, it is not.

Is Alibaba the same as AliExpress?

No. They belong to the same group, but they are separate sites with separate rules. Alibaba.com's own transaction agreement lists AliExpress with its own terms of use, free membership agreement and product listing policy^[3]. What this guide describes (quotes, samples, negotiated orders and your own freight) is the Alibaba.com process.

How to order from Alibaba, step by step

1. Write down what you are buying before you contact anyone. Material, size range, colors, packaging, labeling, target quantity and target price. For apparel and soft goods, a tech pack does this job. Suppliers quote what you ask for, so a vague request gets a quote for their cheapest version.
2. Shortlist suppliers and ask for quotes. Send an inquiry from a product page, message the supplier directly, or post a Request for Quotation so several suppliers can respond. Ask each the same questions, so the answers compare: unit price at your quantity, the MOQ per color or size, production lead time, and which Incoterm the price is on. Checking who you are dealing with is its own job, covered in is Alibaba legit.
3. Order samples of your exact item. Expect to pay for samples and for express shipping, and expect US import charges on them too (see the section on shipping to the USA below). Approve one sample in writing and keep it as the reference for production.
4. Agree every term in writing. Price, quantity, specification, quality standard, packaging, ship date, the Incoterm, who books freight, and how the goods will be inspected. If a term matters to you, it belongs in the order, not only in the chat.
5. Have the supplier put it into a Trade Assurance order. For a custom product, Alibaba.com's payment page says you settle the details by inquiry, message or Request for Quotation, and the supplier should then draft an order for you to confirm^[1]. Read the draft line by line against the terms you agreed before you accept it.
6. Pay through Alibaba.com. The platform lists credit and debit cards, digital wallets, direct bank account transfers, and wire transfers using the official bank information provided by Alibaba.com^[1] as payment options, and its Trade Assurance page says the payment is held and released to the supplier after the product is received and confirmed^[4]. Paying a supplier's own bank account outside the platform leaves that arrangement behind.
7. Inspect before the goods leave the factory. Book a quality inspection against your approved sample and written spec while the goods can still be reworked. Once a container sails, fixing a defect gets slow and expensive.
8. Book freight and customs clearance. Unless your order says the supplier delivers to you, getting the goods from the factory to your warehouse is your job (see below). A freight forwarder and a licensed customs broker usually handle it together.
9. Check the goods on arrival and raise problems fast. Trade Assurance refund claims have a deadline: within 30 days of the delivery date, or 60 days for Enterprise and Enterprise Pro buyers^[5]. Photograph problems and file inside the order, not by email.

How long does Alibaba take to ship?

Two clocks run one after the other, and a supplier's "delivery time" may mean either one.

• Production time starts when your deposit or payment clears and ends when the goods are packed. It depends on the product, the factory's order book and whether materials are in stock. Get a ship date written into the order, not a range quoted in chat.
• Transit time depends on how the goods travel: express courier for samples and small cartons, air freight for urgent stock, ocean freight for most production orders. Ocean shipments also need time at both ports and for customs.

Ready-to-ship listings skip most of the first clock. Custom products do not, and a first order usually runs longer than a repeat order because of sampling and approvals.

A first custom order, first inquiry to warehouse

Stage	Span in this example
Quotes and supplier shortlist	1 to 2 weeks
Samples made, shipped and approved	2 to 4 weeks
Production	4 to 8 weeks
Inspection and booking freight	1 week
Ocean freight, port handling and customs	4 to 7 weeks
Total	12 to 22 weeks

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

Two platform protections relate to timing. Trade Assurance's money-back page promises a full and immediate refund if your order does not ship as agreed^[5], which is one more reason to get the ship date into the order. And if you ship with Alibaba.com Logistics, the platform's own freight service, on a product that supports it, Trade Assurance's shipping page offers delay compensation of up to US$100 as a coupon for future purchases^[6] when the order misses its scheduled delivery date. That is a courtesy, not a remedy for a missed launch, so build slack into your plan instead of relying on it.

Does Alibaba ship to the USA?

Yes, suppliers on Alibaba.com ship to the United States, but the platform's transaction agreement says buyers and sellers are responsible for arranging for the shipment of the products independently of the Alibaba.com platform^[3], unless something else was arranged. Even when the supplier handles the main leg, buyers are responsible for the last mile delivery once the products have been delivered in accordance with the Incoterms agreed^[3]. So the Incoterm you agree decides where the supplier's job ends and yours begins: on FOB, for example, your costs start once the goods are loaded at the port of export.

You are also the importer, with the costs that come with it. The agreement makes you responsible for taxes (such as VAT), duties or other governmental levies^[3] on what you buy. On the US side, three rules catch first-time buyers:

• Small parcels are no longer duty-free. CBP has suspended the de minimis exemption for merchandise valued at $800 or less arriving via all modes^[7], for products of every country. Samples and small test orders now go through entry and can owe duty.
• Entry type depends on value. Informal entry is generally available for shipments valued at $2,500 or less^[7], but goods that carry an additional duty, such as most goods of China, can need a formal entry well below that limit. Above it, or for goods under quota or antidumping and countervailing duties, formal entry is required. A formal entry needs a customs bond, and most importers have a licensed customs broker file it.
• Ocean freight needs an Importer Security Filing. Most of the ISF data, including the seller and the manufacturer, is due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port^[8]. The filing is the importer's responsibility, and most importers have their customs broker or forwarder submit it. It needs the supplier's details early, so ask for them when you book.

What an order costs beyond the unit price

The quote on Alibaba.com is one line of your cost. This example shows the others for a small first order of a custom product shipped by sea on FOB terms.

What a small custom order costs to land

Line	Amount
Goods, 1,000 units at $4.00 FOB	$4,000
Samples and express shipping of samples	$150
Pre-shipment inspection, one day	$300
Ocean freight and insurance, factory port to US port	$600
US duty, at an assumed rate of 15% (assumed) of the goods value	$600
Customs broker, bond, ISF and port charges	$450
Delivery from the port to your warehouse	$250
Landed cost	$6,350
Landed cost per unit	$6.35

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

In this example the landed cost per unit is more than half as much again as the quoted price. The real duty rate depends on the product's tariff classification and its country of origin, and some origins carry additional duties on top of the general rate; the landed cost guide shows how to work it out. Compare suppliers on landed cost, since a cheaper unit price on EXW terms can cost more by the time it reaches you.

Getting matched instead of searching

On Alibaba.com, finding suppliers, comparing their quotes, negotiating the order and checking the draft are your work. That suits buyers who want direct control and have the time for it. Buying direct from a factory, through a trading company or a sourcing agent, or getting matched with named manufacturers are the main alternatives to Alibaba.

We work differently: you give us the specification, and we introduce you to manufacturers that fit it, each one named. It is free for brands. The manufacturers quote you directly and you agree the order with the one you choose, so the steps above still apply from the quote on, without the platform's payment program: put every term in writing, and, on an FOB quote, freight, customs entry and duties are yours, as they are on an FOB order from Alibaba.com.