The myth of luggage-free sourcing

An excellent post over at the Product Global blog which focuses on the mechanics of sourcing. Blogger Ashton Udall is, unlike many writing on this topic, actually involved in the processes supported by the likes of Alibaba.com and Global Sources.

In this post, he talks about the naivety of many of those attending Alibaba.com's first Open Sesame (ho, ho, that's a rib-tickler lads) Event in Oakland, California. He writes:

My hunches on the lack of education in the Alibaba community were confirmed when I attended the Open Sesame event. I was surprised to find that the preponderance of the audience did not consist of CEOs and purchasing managers of mid to small-size companies, and service providers like myself, doing business overseas. Instead, I would guess that 95% of the audience were complete newcomers to sourcing, offshore manufacturing, and the import-export industry. I met many who were considering a new career as a "trader" or "sourcing agent" in addition to their daytime jobs.

He also talks about those who have placed too much faith in those they've met online through Alibaba. I had not previously been aware of the Alibaba Scam Daily Report, a web site which bills itself as "saving your money from alibaba thieves". Frankly, anybody who sends money to a company they find on Alibaba without doing a lot of serious due diligence has it coming to them....would you like to buy a bridge?