Mrs C has a side gig of making home decorator items and now she wants to monetise this by selling them online. However, she's finding stock from distributors here in Australia is not spectacular value (high minimum orders, expensive, costly freight, etc). She's had a look at Alibaba where many of the same things she's been buying domestically can be had for vastly cheaper, so even factoring in freight she can get a lot more for the same investment.
However, buying on Alibaba looks a bit confusing as it's not strictly a 'click & pay' platform. Has anyone here bought on the platform? Can you provide any advice? What are some of the advantages and pitfalls? Any alternatives you can suggest?
I've read a couple of online guides but I'm still none the wiser. I'd rather connect with someone who's actually done this before, and who would be willing ask what are likely to be dumb-sounding questions.
Might take you 4 months to get your item. Read the international postage thread. Don't believe things will arrive on time, the go missing etc. So you might have to hold some inventory.