5 Helpful Tips For Doing How To Integrate Alibaba With Shopify?

Alibaba is a Chinese empire Alibaba Group subsidiary, including another massive online marketplace called AliExpress. In 1999, Alibaba was a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform to link Chinese manufacturers with customers worldwide. 

If you don’t own a Shopify store, you can still start by creating one. Shopify store development can cost around $600-$1000. You can hire a Shopify theme development company to get a theme that reinforces your business ideas.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Ignore How To Integrate Alibaba With Shopify

Alibaba is a marketplace for manufacturers and suppliers, while Shopify is a platform for online stores. There is no direct integration between the two platforms. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use Alibaba and Shopify together. Here are three reasons why you should ignore how to integrate Alibaba with Shopify: 

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1. Shopify Plus is an eCommerce platform, not an online marketplace.
2.  Alibaba is a marketplace for Chinese manufacturers and suppliers, not a shopping platform for consumers.
3. Alibaba is not well known in the West, so there is little demand for integration.

In this article, we will cover all about Alibaba Shopify integration, and you will get step-by-step guidance on how to integrate Alibaba with Shopify.

How to Integrate Alibaba with Shopify? Step By Step Guide

E-commerce site integration between Shopify and Alibaba would be a fantastic option for your business. This way, the order confirmation, and shipment instructions will be sent to the supplier mechanically. You need to keep an eye on things for the time being.

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From locating reliable Alibaba suppliers to integrating those suppliers’ goods into your Shopify store, you’ll find all the information you need here. So let’s find out how to integrate Alibaba with Shopify.

Step 1: Log in to Alibaba.com

Firstly, for Ecommerce site integration between Shopify and Alibaba, you should visit Alibaba online store to create an account and begin shopping on it.

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Step 2: Find Reliable Suppliers

You can search for things you want to sell by typing the supplier name or a keyword into the search bar. After that, you may narrow your search for a reliable provider by using the options in the sidebar to the left.

You should exclude potential vendors by screening them against the following:

• Verified mark.
• Trade Assurance.
• In-stock product and ready to ship.
• Fast delivery.

The suppliers who can meet these requirements are often trustworthy.

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Step 3: Create a Database of Potential Suppliers

Trying to track down reliable vendors is a huge nuisance. It is unlikely to find the ideal provider in one go. Some people, for instance, might fail to satisfy your verification standards or be unable to fulfill large orders due to a lack of stock.

You should build a list of prospective vendors that meets your company’s specifications. If you’re looking for a reliable provider, look for one who:

• Supplies your desired product
• Provides single-item minimums
• Have reasonable rates
• Offers international trade assurance
• Ready for negotiation
• Is highly recommended

Step 4: Get in Touch with Potential Providers

Your first step should be to contact the top 5-10 suppliers on your list. Send your inquiry through email by clicking on “Contact supplier.”

Alternatively, you can use the message box at the bottom of the page to communicate directly with your supplier.

Step 5: Choose a Suitable Payment Method

There are four ways to pay on Alibaba. You can pick one that suits you.

• Transfer to Chinese Banks using Telegraphic Transfer
• Alibaba Trade Assurance (ESCROW)
• Credit/debit cards, including MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.
• You can also do Paypal Shopify integrations, but not all suppliers use it.

Step 6: Use Importify to Bring Alibaba Products into Your Shopify Store

Importing items from Alibaba is the most crucial step for Shopify integration. Importify helps you search for products in wholesale marketplaces and from manufacturers worldwide. You can then add them to your Shopify store and sell them online. Moreover, one can also integrate Shopify into existing websites.

It frees up a lot of your time, allowing you to concentrate on running the business and closing more deals.

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Step 7: Product Selection to Import

Visit Alibaba.com once more to look for an item to sell in your shop. Look for your desired product in the search bar. When the product page loads, click on “ADD tag” in the navigation bar at the top left.

Step 8: Adding Items to Shopify

After tweaking the product description, you can add it to your Shopify store by clicking the “Add to Your Shopify” button.

Step 9: Make Customized Details for Your Product.

Now that the products have been imported to your Shopify store, you can modify them to meet your specific needs. Depending on Shopify Theme Customization, you can edit the title, price, description, minimum order quantity, and more. Your Shopify Theme Development Company will adjust the store theme per your demands.

Now, your Shopify store can accept payments from your Alibaba customers. Moreover, Shopify App Development services enhance your store with new features and specialized integrations.

Top 5 Benefits of Alibaba Shopify Integration

Now you know How to integrate Alibaba with Shopify, let’s look at the benefits of Alibaba Shopify integration. Shopify Alibaba Dropshipping has benefits listed below, making it an excellent option for any dropshipping enterprise.

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Amazing Offers

Lower prices are a hallmark of Chinese manufacturers. This is only one of the many reasons why dropshippers prefer to do business with Alibaba. With lower prices, you can sell more of your goods and still make a profit, giving you an edge over the competition. You can undercut the competition on price without sacrificing quality and still generate a ton of revenue.

Infinite Options

Alibaba offers a vast selection of goods in more than 40 different categories. Numerous subcategories exist for each primary category, with millions of products. Everything is so convenient that you will quickly discover the following big sellers for your store. E-commerce site integration between Shopify and Alibaba exposes one to infinite options that must be discovered.

Reliable Customer Service

Since transactions occur between buyers and sellers on Alibaba, your initial point of contact will be with the seller. You can contact them via the Alibaba site’s in-built messaging system. However, contact via email address, phone number, or zoom/skype is also acceptable. Alibaba’s excellent Help Center is a fantastic resource for any general inquiries.

Payment Safety

Alibaba provides clients with trade assurance. This program aims to ensure the safety of your payments through the payment gateway platform by verifying certain vendors. For the sake of quality control and regulatory conformity, vendors undergo extensive checks as part of the verification process. Alibaba’s “Gold Suppliers” are the ones who have made it through the company’s rigorous verification and authentication processes. By doing so, you can effortlessly navigate the good and the bad.

Multiple Payment Methods

If you place an order on Alibaba, you can choose from several payment methods for shipping and handling. Payment options include Square, Stripe, afterpay, Quadpay, Clover, and more.

How to use Shopify Alibaba integration?

After learning How to integrate Alibaba with Shopify and knowing all about Shopify Alibaba integration, let’s look at the steps to add goods to your Shopify store.

Search for Your Desired Products

Shopping on Alibaba and navigating the directory is similar to other online marketplaces like eBay. You can either look through the many categories or search for your needs.

It is also possible to find producers of specific goods by changing the drop-down menu’s Product selection to Suppliers.

Check Out the Various Product Catalogs

For Shopify Alibaba integration, you should search for an Alibaba supplier on the product listing page. Therefore, there are a few things you should check out and pay attention to. 

Minimum Order Quota Requirement (MOQ)

Manufacturers typically have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) at which they will accept an order. You should know that this is generally open to discussion, though.

Methods of Payment

Next, you’ll want to know how to pay the seller, the pricing, and the minimum order quantity. There are various standard payment methods, each with advantages and disadvantages for both the customer and the seller.

Inquire of Vendors

Now it’s time to get in touch with potential vendors. Email, social media, and messaging apps will likely be your go-to’s for communicating with foreign vendors.

Keep your emails brief, to the point, well-formatted, and error-free to ensure the most explicit possible message. By doing so, you’ll be helping the manufacturer out and getting better answers from them.

Request for a Price Quote

An RFQ (quote request) is a straightforward method for purchasing from Alibaba. The amount and quality of responses you get from an email can be significantly improved by taking a few extra minutes to plan it out.

Try to Strike a Deal

You can start negotiating with suppliers once you’ve understood their rates, minimum order quantities, and payment conditions. Always remember that a successful negotiation creates a win-win situation for both parties.

Finalize Your Selected Items

When buying from Alibaba, carefully consider your selections once you’ve reduced it down to a few potential vendors. Rather than the points mentioned above, think about the quality and speed of each vendor’s response.

Dropshippers can also boost their sales through HubSpot Shopify Integration. It helps to sync products, customers, and Alibaba deals into HubSpot.

FAQs

Is there a possibility of being scammed on Alibaba?

Like other markets, such as eBay and Amazon, Alibaba presents the risk of being defrauded by a provider. Be careful when verifying vendors to avoid being a victim of an Alibaba scam.

How Can I drop ship from Alibaba on Shopify?

1. Create a Shopify account and add a dropshipping app.
2. Pick up products from Alibaba and add them to the import list in the dropshipping app.
3. Later, select the products you want to import.
4. Click “Import selected products” and set your price.
5. Once you receive an order, contact the supplier and provide the customer’s shipping information.
6. The supplier will send the products directly to the customer.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Alibaba Shopify Integration has a lot of benefits for dropshippers. Low-cost products, supportive customer care, payment safety, and multiple modes of payment make Alibaba the best for Shopify.

Shopify store owners can earn a fortune without owning the products. Our step-by-step guide on how to integrate Alibaba with Shopify Plus will make things much easier for you.