Nunya B.

I am on this website to write a negative review about Alibaba and how they refused to refund my money even after I proved that I did not receive what I paid for. I recommend people use a true escrow service like made-in-china.com (MIC) and here's why.

I was very nervous sending someone in China a lot of money (that I borrowed!) but I had to take the leap and trust. The smaller orders from the manufacturer went well. They at least demonstrated that they could provide the custom manufactured part that I needed. Finally I committed to pay $18,000 and nearly 45 days later I received my order. MIC was notified that the goods were shipped and kept asking if I had received yet. They wanted to make sure that I was happy before they released the funds to the supplier. That is a true escrow service, just like in real estate. Escrow protects both parties but mostly the buyer. The shipment was delayed because of scamdemic stuff but finally arrived. Honestly, I cannot speak to how MIC operates in a refund situation because my goods arrived in an acceptable condition. But I can honestly say that based on my interactions with them, how accessible they are and how concerned they were that I be happy BEFORE giving my money to the supplier all makes me feel 100% comfortable to spend any amount of money now. And the fact that it didn't cost me a dime more for that service was awesome! Especially because I was used to paying alibaba a fee. I have included pictures that verify shipment and invoice paperwork to prove the transaction is legit. Normally I don't take time to write this kind of review but I dislike alibaba so much and like MIC that much more and I don't understand why they have less than 100 reviews while alibaba has thousands.

The only negative thing I have to say about MIC is that for some reason since they changed the messaging function on their website it does not work as well. But I have complained about it and am sure others are too and expect that it will be better soon. Until then, a little frustrating to use but nothing like losing my money on alibaba.

First time order with a new supplier for stickers. I was very clear about needing a split back sticker. Simply means it's easier to peel because the backing is split down the center so that you just slightly bend the sticker and it's easy to remove backing paper and then stick to surface. That's important for my customers because they are often wearing work gloves and it's super easy to open the sticker with a split back. Otherwise, they must remove gloves and use fingernail to try to remove backing paper. Stickers I received did not have the split back. Alibaba only refunded a portion of my money, about 1/3. VERY disappointing but even more frustrating was how they treated me. I tried for a month to get them to see my side but it was like chatting with a bot every time. No willingness to be helpful. Very unprofessional and bad customer service. Next time I will test out product with smaller order and then either use a different third party escrow service who actually cares about that role. A true fiduciary will hold on to the funds until I am 100% satisfied and if the seller deviates from the agreement then I get ALL of my money back. Obviously on larger order I would also enlist the help of an inspection service but definitely someone outside of Alibaba. Do not rely on Alibaba Trade Assurance to provide you with actual relief in the event of you getting scammed by the supplier. Another alternative website that I am having better luck on in made-in-china.com because they provide actual escrow services. I spent nearly $25,000 through them so far and no problems, they held on to my money until I confirmed the purchased goods were in good order. I am starting to take more of my business to MIC for that very reason. AND, even better, their escrow service didn't cost me one more dime! Whereas Alibaba added insult to injury by providing terrible customer service, kept 70% of my money and charged me a hefty fee for the privilege of being screwed. And didn't even offer me breakfast in the morning. My advice, beware dealing through Alibaba.