# Manufacturers on Alibaba - Do's & Dont's



## SayWord (Feb 19, 2015)

Hey Everyone,

I have used Alibaba in the past with good experience but i'd like to confirm something with anyone here who has had good/bad experiences.

My biggest question thus far is if it is OK to discuss the project/manufacturing with the supplier via email instead of the Alibaba "chat". I find that the back and forth on Alibaba is hard to follow and that the site is filled with useless features that just complicate the process and make it harder to keep track of everything, especially when receiving quotes from multiple suppliers at once. By email everything seems more structured and easier to keep track of. My main concern is that by dealing via email, since it is not directly on the Alibaba site, that if anything were to go wrong that it would be harder and longer to make a dispute through Alibaba. They have some Trade Assurance and other services like that and I'd like to know if anyone has ever had a similar issue and how it worked out (or didn't work out).

Thanks!


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## sunsetwaves (Mar 26, 2016)

hi there, 
I hope to see any replies to your post at any point..because I am curious about the same thing.. Did you wind up having a good experience on Alibaba, and did you wind up ordering anything?


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## ApparelSourcing (Jul 24, 2015)

well if the official way is that you communicate and agreement with the suppluer via personal company email. otherwise if you do everything via chat and any dispute arrived then damn sure you will be stucked and will be at supplier mercy if you paid some amount already. so my openional no chat for commitments. only for quick follow up


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## sunsetwaves (Mar 26, 2016)

thank you ApparelSourcing for your response. I appreciate it.


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## pshawny (Feb 27, 2008)

I've found that a mixture of email and Skype work great for communicating with overseas suppliers. I've places 3 orders with 2 different suppliers without any problems.


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