Model Railroading > Competition for Ebay?

I did not see it, but a friend told me the founder of Alibaba was on 60 minutes the other day. Reportedly, it is a rags to richs story with a Chinese man staring it with $1.

Statistically, just before going on the stock market and getting money from Wall Street, Alibaba has far exceeded Ebay in sales and does not do auctions. (I wonder if a lot of those sales are Chinese buying products from around the world via Alibaba.)

Has anyone checked it out or used it? Will it be a market place for things like model trains and books? What about used items? Can one use Paypal or will our money draw interest for Alibaba on a float with Chinese banks?

I just heard that Paypal and Ebay are going to split off, as Paypal is growing faster than Ebay.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

It doesn't do auctions so guess that part is the answer to one question beyond that the market place will prevail.

Alibaba is a direct competitor to Amazon much more than it is to eBay.

Except Alibaba doesn't have large in-house distribution networks like Amazon. Alibaba is just a service (similar to eBay) in which they provide a place for consumers to shop and connect them with a seller of a product, brand of products, or entire warehouses. It is formatted more similarly to Amazon in the regards that most items are there for an indefinite period of time until sold.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/14 16:33 by CSabresXr1.

So does it have potential for our market? Is there just a membership fee and how is payment made and received?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/14 19:10 by wabash2800.

We've used Alibaba before. It's more of a business-to-business site.

For instance, if we want to include some freebies with our models, such as napkins or glasses, Alibaba is a good way to find suppliers in China who can make those.

The Chinese version is much more extensive. Our manager in China, Colin, finds far more suppliers through that than I can see from North America. The people who list on Alibaba in English are usually agents who add a percentage to the price, whereas on Alibaba in China you are often dealing directly with suppliers.

-Jason

Thanks Jason.