From post on Auctiva by Brad and Debra Schepp - Dec 02, 2008  

We know that as you read this you are likely taking a brief and much-deserved break from listing, selling, processing and shipping your holiday inventory. You most likely sourced everything you're selling now eons ago, in e-commerce time, and you're way too busy to think about your next sourcing dilemma. But we're here to remind you that January is just around the corner, and the holiday rush of 2008 will pass as surely as all the holiday rushes before it. Perhaps a brief distraction to consider your next great product source is just the sauce you need for your holiday goose.

Fortunately, we've spoken with sellers about where they've found international sources of products and how they've worked with those sources to create product lines that are consistent and reliable in quality and delivery. That's pretty much what anyone wants in a new product source. You want to be assured the manufacturer you're working with will provide the product you want according to your specifications, and you also want to be assured the manufacturer will do what is promised and fulfill your sourcing needs as seamlessly as possible.

That's why it's best to work with a reliable partner, especially when you're going overseas to find sources. We'll look at several companies that fit the bill.

The largest b2b marketplace

Let's start with the giant in the industry: Alibaba.com. Simply put, Alibaba.com is the largest business-to-business marketplace in the world. When you visit the Web site, you gain access to 25 million manufacturers, distributors and retailers who come together to buy and sell just about anything you can think of. You'll find everything from furniture to handbags, from solar cells to firewood. Products come from virtually every corner of the world. And, in the end, whether you purchase inventory from a supplier in Turkey or Toronto, you'll have Alibaba's guidance and support. Also, Alibaba.com is a bit of a media darling. Forbes Magazine included it in its annual "Best of the Web" roundup for seven years in a row.

But now let's see what some successful sellers have told us about international sourcing in general and working with Alibaba.com more specifically.

Jane Ivanov of Eve Alexander Maternity/Nursing Apparel says the information she gathers through Alibaba.com is unparalleled in online merchandising. "I never had the need to look elsewhere after our initial search," she notes. "We've been pleased from day one. The site is easy to navigate, and all the contacts for prospective manufacturers are well-vetted and researched."

Elena Neitlech of MomsonEdge.com agrees Alibaba.com has proven to be home base in an international arena. Working with Alibaba.com, Neitlech has built a Web-based business right from her kitchen table. She is the mother of two young children, and her inventory includes products she's designed and identified to make parenting easier and family life more enjoyable.

“Suppliers who come to Alibaba.com are eager to see their own businesses grow”

"It would have been impossible to create Moms on Edge LLC without Alibaba," she says. "Manufacturing in the U.S. was cost prohibitive, so I took a deep breath and jumped in feet first. My experience with Alibaba has been nothing but positive."

Neitlech had specific design issues in mind when she started building her family-friendly product line. "Every company that I've worked with has delivered what I have asked of them," she reports. Neitlech even notes that communicating internationally has been simple. Rarely has miscommunication occurred.

"The one mistake that a manufacturer made was immediately corrected and delivered quickly to my warehouse," she says.

Invanov found some real advantages to working with the manufacturers on Alibaba.com. First is the large pool of potential suppliers who offer competitive pricing. Most interestingly, however, Invanov notes that suppliers who come to Alibaba.com are eager to see their own businesses grow. "They are willing to send samples and answer questions promptly," she says.

Due diligence

But both women say there are some pitfalls to avoid. According to Invanov:

• Personal relationships are more difficult to build across many time zones.
• Personally checking out a company requires a trip overseas.
• Quality control must be in place—and there is an element of risk in receiving the order of what you expected from the samples. You never know until you get the order.

So be sure to check the manufacturer's references. Talk to current and former clients to see what their experiences were and what types of issues they may have had with the company.

Neitlech agrees that the advantages of sourcing through Alibaba outweigh the disadvantages—plus she's found a real willingness among the manufacturers she's worked with to accommodate her schedule and needs.

"I understand that I have to make accommodations when working with businesses in China, like getting up early to e-mail manufacturers, but they often stay late in their offices to accommodate me, too," she notes. "Very rarely has language been an issue, but e-mailing directions clearly and concisely and inserting diagrams and pictures clears up confusion easily. I have felt that my manufacturers want a long lasting relationship and value my business."

“It takes a leap of faith to look offshore for your product sources”

Other sites of interest

Of course, Alibaba.com isn't the only alternative for international sourcing. Made-in-China.com is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It is the online trade platform of Focus Technology Co., Ltd., a pioneer in electronic business in China. Focus's goal is to help small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises compete in international trade. Buyers and manufacturers can use Made-in-China's Web site to search for products and sourcing opportunities throughout China. Products from agricultural items through toys and transportation are available for sourcing on the site. Global suppliers and buyers use the Offer Board to promote their work. Although Made-in-China is much smaller than Alibaba.com, you'll find several interesting items available through this site.

Global Sources is another company working to link Chinese manufacturers with the rest of the world. This business-to-business media company builds trade bridges between manufacturers in China and their international customers. These are supported and facilitated in English. The company is also working on an initiative to promote trade within China. That part of the company is supported by Chinese-language media. According to the company, suppliers receive more than 36 million sales leads annually through Global Sources. The company helps more than 725,000 buyers source items. Global Sources is an established company with more than 37 years of experience in global trade. So, you can be sure that working with it means the company has helped someone like you at sometime in the past.

It takes a leap of faith to look offshore for your product sources. It's certainly isn't the purview of the newbie, although Neitlech says she was a total newbie when she started. Still, once you've cut your e-commerce teeth, you may just find some juicy deals waiting for you.

But what if you end up having to take a trip to China just to be sure your manufacturers are doing everything right? Well, that's what happened to Brandon Dupsky of the eCommerce Merchants Trade Association. Stop by his blog to see that this would not be such a bad way to start 2009 after all.

Now, back to finishing up the details of holiday 2008, and we'll see you in 2009.

Our Q3 earnings results were released earlier this week. EPS was up 57%, profit up 49%, and the company was authorized to buy HK$2 billion of its owns shares. For the full report on Q3 results, click here.

Written by Eric Watkinson, Customer Relations Manager.

By writing a clear and concise product description, a supplier can greatly increase their chances for a buyer to contact them, and ask for a price quote on their product.  

 

Too often a supplier can be faced with the difficult choice of, running a small business, or posting products on the internet.  With a limited amount of available time on hand, suppliers may often feel as though they are in a rush when posting their product information, and as a result, their product description may suffer somewhat.  However, writing a product description need not be an arduous task, if the writer is willing to keep the below guidelines in mind. 

 

• Features

Example: Stainless steel construction to resist corrosion and discoloring, heavy duty rollers with roller bearings for extra long life, holds up to 125 lbs, fully assembled for easy installation, and no power source required.

 

• Functions

Example: An under the counter trash can trolley suitable for use in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and designer homes.

 

• Benefits

Example: Eliminates the need for use to bend and stoop when removing trash can receptacle from cabinet located below kitchen counter.

 

By including the above information within a product description, the writer can help a potential buyer quickly visualize the product, and understand its purpose.  Below is an example of what a complete product description might look like.

 

• Trash Can Caddy eliminates the need for user to bend and stoop, when removing, and replacing, under the counter trash can receptacles.  Constructed from sturdy stainless steel material to resist corrosion and discoloration, Trash Can Caddy fits in any below counter cabinet with an opening of, 16”x28.” Simply place Trash Can Caddy inside cabinet and position the pedal mechanism outside of cabinet door.  When not in use Trash Can Caddy stays out of the way inside cabinet.  However, when access to trash receptacle is required, simply use foot activated pedal, and Trash Can Caddy will emerge from cabinet, guided along by its heavy duty rollers, which are capable of supporting up to 125 lbs.  Simply remove your foot from the pedal, and Trash Can Caddy returns to its normal position, within the cabinet.  Trash Can Caddy is suitable for use in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and even the home.  Trash Can Caddy is essential for reducing work place injuries.  Please feel free to contact for more information.

Your product description doesn’t necessarily need to be this lengthy, but is should help the potential buyer understand the features, functions, and benefits of your product.

 

 

Want more information on product descriptions and selling secrets? Go to Alibaba.com's Seller Channel.

Two initiatives have been launched this week to make buying and supplying safer and easier. They are:

1. Quality Supplier Program: new partnership with VeriSign

2. Gold Supplier Starter Pack: new product for Chinese manufacturers for $2,900 per year

For the official press release, click here.

We've recently taken steps to blacklist companies that are engaged in fraudulent activity on Alibaba.com. Members who don't meet our trust and security standards will be banned from our marketplace. Since January 1, 2008, over 3,000 companies have been blacklisted and taken down from the marketplace. Go to Alibaba.com for more information on regarding our blacklisted companies.

Written by Eric Watkinson, Customer Relations Manager.

 

One of the very first decisions facing a new comer to internet commerce is the type of product, (or service) which they will buy and sell on the internet. 

 

Many new comers to internet commerce may be looking to score a quick killing by dealing in high demand consumer electronic products.  While it may seem reasonable to assume that a product in high demand is a good basis for any business plan, many new startup internet business fail to recognize the innate risk often associated with buying and selling consumer electronics.  (Discussed in greater detail in an earlier blog.)

 

Another possible pitfall for a small start up internet business is commodities.  Like consumer electronics, products such as; cement, urea, jet fuel, and diesel are often very problematic, and a new internet entrepreneur may become frustrated with the difficulty in closing a successful deal, due to stiff requirements on the part of other players (large deposits, letters of intent, and so on).

 

Here are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when selecting a product line for a new startup internet business.

 

• Select an industry and product line that you are familiar with, and interested in.

(If you’re into cats, then it’s probably not a good idea to start an internet business specializing off-road racing equipment.  A product line based on custom cat toys may be more appropriate.)

 

• While it is a good idea to select a product line you are familiar with, do not select a category that is too small of a niche, or has too much competition.

(Of course the internet may be an excellent tool to do some general market research on your product selection.  Are there any chat forums or associations dedicated to this particular interest?  Are there other online business offering similar products?)

 

• Contact several suppliers, carefully comparing payment terms, lead time, and warranty information, before agreeing to buy.  (Don’t let anyone push you.)

 

• If you are planning on offering drop shipping to your customers, make sure that your supplier will ship your products in timely and accurate manner. 

(Consider placing several small sample orders, before placing your business reputation at-risk with an unknown drop shipper.)

 

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with one of our members who runs a successful small internet business.  In this particular case our member operates a website where their customers can place an order for customized product, (sorry I cannot give away their plan) while at the same time, the member uses Alibaba.com to source unfinished product for their production needs.

 

An important thing to keep in mind is that there are many viable internet business opportunities outside of consumer electronics and jet fuel, and a new comer to internet commerce should not focus too much on making a quick over night killing.

I recently received an alert about a phisching scam from one of our USA TrustPass members. He told me about an email that was disguised as an email from Alibaba.com that asked to confirm his member ID and password. Our company policy is to never ask for a member's password as that is sensitive information to our individual members.

If you ever receive an email like this, please report it to our Customer Service Department immediately for investigation. For more information on avoiding phisching scams, go to Alibaba.com: http://resources.alibaba.com/article/231143/About_Phishing_Scam_.htm

Example of phisching email:

TrustPass Profile Verify !   ************************************** Dear Alibaba Member , ********************************** The all-new Alibaba.com is here.      We worked up here at Alibaba to bring you the latest security systems to protect your business and your account. We included new hardware systems that make Alibaba better, stronger, faster. We moved our central database to a new, better location. We want to make Alibaba..com a safer place for transactions and for that we deci! ded to close all those inactive accounts.      You received this e-mail because you need to confirm you are using your account. According to the Alibaba.com Terms of Use Agreement Alibaba reserves the right to limit, deny or create different access to the Site and its features with respect to different Users, or to change any o f the features or! introduce new features without prior notice. Also, each User hereby agrees that in no event shall Alibaba be liable to the User or any third parties for any inability to use the Site (whether due to disruption, limited access, changes to or termination of any features on the Site or otherwise), any delays, errors or omissions with respect to any communications or transmission, or any damage! (direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise) arising from t! he use o f or inability to use the Site or any of its features.      If you ignore this email your Alibaba.com account will be deleted and you will not be able to register a new account or to sing up for the service.      Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you ma! y owe to Alibaba. According to our site policy you will have t! o confir m that you are the real owner of the Alibaba.com account or else your account will be deleted.   Please complete the information and reply us back :     Member ID: Password:   Gain buyer confidence. TrustPass membership gives your company something extra. Your customers know your business values credibility.             TrustPass membership benefits include:  Gain buyer confidence. TrustPass membership gives your company something extra. Your customers know your business values credibility.             TrustPass membership benefits include:        Unrestricted access to all buyers       Increased buyer confidence       Your own website on Alibaba.com and other selling tools Cherry Lee Alibaba Trade Shows Lee Young   www.Alibaba.com Global trade starts here. This email has been sent to: Alibaba Member To unsubscribe from Alibaba Trade Show communications, click here. To manage your Trade Alert preferences, click here. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. © 2006 Alibaba.com Corporation The sender of this email, Alibaba.com E-Commerce Corp., can be contacted at: c/o Alibaba.com Hong Kong Limited, 2403-05 Jubilee Centre, 18 Fenwick Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong Attention: Legal Department

By PR Director, Christina Splinder:

Will e-commerce marketplaces one day overtake search engines?

I was interested to see the latest comScore Asia-Pacific search rankings for July 2008. Alibaba Group websites, mainly covering the B2B and C2C marketplaces of Alibaba.com and Taobao, ranked collectively as the 5th biggest search destination in Asia-Pacific. Most people think of Alibaba.com as a website where small and medium buyers and suppliers from around the world meet and conduct business, but it’s really a place where people search and find stuff.

 

---------------------
 
Press release (latest release for July 2008 rankings + the April 2008 rankings)

comScore Releases Asia-Pacific Search Rankings for July 2008; More than 27 Billion Searches Conducted in July
17 September 2008
PR Newswire (U.S.)
 
TOKYO, Sept. 17 -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its ranking of the top search properties in the Asia-Pacific region based on data from the comScore qSearch 2.0 service, revealing that Google Sites continued to lead the region with 33.5 percent of the more than 27 billion searches conducted in July. Baidu.com Inc. ranked second with 27.4 percent search share, followed by Yahoo! Sites in third with 19.7 percent share.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO[http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO])
"Although Google leads the Asia-Pacific search market, powerhouse Chinese search engine Baidu.com follows closely on its heels with only a 6-percent difference separating the two," said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. "It will be interesting to watch Google and Baidu compete for the top spot in the region and the loyalty of the growing Asian population."
Google Leads Search Market in Asia Pacific
Google Sites led the search ranking with more than 9 billion searches conducted during July, followed by Baidu.com Inc. with 7.4 billion searches and Yahoo! Sites with 5.3 billion searches. Korea's NHN Corporation captured the #4 ranking with 1.2 billion searches (4.6 percent market share), while China's Alibaba.com Corporation ranked fifth with 823 million searches (3 percent market share).

    Top 10 Asia-Pacific Search Properties
    July 2008
    Total Asia-Pacific Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work
    Locations
    Source: comScore qSearch
                                                     Searches       Share of
    Top 10 Properties                                  (MM)         Searches
    Total Internet**                                  27,059          100.0
    Google Sites                                       9,073           33.5
    Baidu.com Inc.                                     7,406           27.4
    Yahoo! Sites                                       5,342           19.7
    NHN Corporation                                    1,239            4.6
    Alibaba.com Corporation                              823            3.0
    TENCENT Inc.                                         513            1.9
    Microsoft Sites                                      457            1.7
    Lycos Sites                                          418            1.5
    Sohu.com Inc.                                        305            1.1

    *  Excludes searches from public computers such as Internet cafes or
       access from mobile phones or PDAs.
    ** Improvements to universe estimates in certain Internet markets have
       recently been made. We caution against trending with data prior to
       July 2008.

Official release from Alibaba.com PR Team:

Alipay, China’s leading online payment service, announced on Sunday that as of 31 August 2008 it had passed 100 million registered users. The company achieved this milestone in less than five years and has nearly doubled in size since the end of 2007 when it had 58 million registered users. Industry research firms in China had earlier predicted that Alipay would exceed the 100 million user mark by the end of 2008.

Alipay enables individuals and businesses in China to execute payments online in an easy, safe and secure manner. At the end of August 2008, it was facilitating 2 million transactions each day and had a daily payment volume of RMB450 million.

Alipay is the second largest online payment service in the world and achieving 100 million registered users within such a short time shows the growing demand for a safe and convenient online payment service in the world’s most populous nation. Thanks to its escrow-based system and broad accessibility, Alipay has become an important supplement to mainstream payment methods in China, a country where credit cards are not widely used. But more importantly, it is becoming part of people’s everyday lives. 

While Alipay is the designated online payment service on Taobao’s consumer e-commerce marketplace, which has 80 million registered users, it has also become an accepted payment method for an increasing number of online retail websites and service providers outside the Taobao ecosystem. Large corporations such as Giant, Shenzhen Airlines, Joyo.com (part of Amazon.com) and Dell use Alipay as their preferred online payment method in China.

At the same time, Alipay has been adopted by some Chinese government departments and public utilities to enable people to pay for everyday expenses, ranging from medical insurance in Guangdong province to telephone bills in Jiangsu province.

In August 2007, Alipay launched an online payment solution to allow merchants worldwide to sell directly to consumers in China. Today, Alipay cooperates with over 300 global retail brands from Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States and Australia, and supports transactions in 12 major foreign currencies.

Alipay partners with domestic PRC banks to provide an escrow service for payments, which reduces the settlement risks faced by Alipay's customers in their e-commerce transactions. Alibaba Group founded Alipay, headquartered in Hangzhou, in 2004.

We recently held our Open Sesame event in New Delhi, India. With recent expansion into India by partnering with Infomedia, the event was a huge success. Watch the 2-minute video of the highlights of the event and comments from members who attended.

Alibaba.com Open Sesame India Opens to a Full House @ Yahoo! Video

From South China Morning Post, Classified Post.

Written by Wilson Lau.

Andy Lau, who works in the dynamic and competitive online business matching sector as head of sales at Alibaba.com Hong Kong, believes he can train staff more effectively by involving team members in events where buyers and sellers meet face-to-face to discuss business.

The company's Buyer Event is a customer-only event, organised for buyers and sellers of its platform to meet face-to-face for business.

When this event took place in Hong Kong several months ago, Mr Lau took the opportunity to involve his sales team.

"The objective was to let them see for themselves the interaction between buyers and sellers and get customer feedback directly," he said.

The success of having his team participate in this event also reflected the importance of using the company's resources to enhance the effectiveness of coaching.

This was an even bigger challenge when a manager worked in a local office of a multinational corporation. To get buy-in from top management, managers needed to make the head office understand the local situation and be sensitive through constant communication, Mr Lau said.

Since he joined Alibaba.com Hong Kong as head of sales earlier this year, Mr Lau has been managing and coaching more than 30 staff members who look after all aspects of sales and related activities.

His areas of responsibility include direct sales, marketing and programme management. Previously he was at web search giant Google from 2005.

Coaching involves two-way communication that aligns management strategy with the daily work of team members. Effective coaching starts with fostering a workplace infused with candour that encourages honest feedback. In this working environment managers and team members work to achieve mutually agreed goals. Members also rely on managers to take into account their sensitivity when managers address their concerns and needs.

Another crucial element in effective coaching was the setting of aggressive but realistic short-term milestones with specific timelines, Mr Lau said. "Look for quick wins that lead to the final goal so members will be motivated along the process. It is also important to receive feedback from the team constantly."

It was not easy for managers to communicate suggestions to address weaknesses of members. It helped when managers stressed that coaching was about improving an individual's performance and taking them to the next level rather than scrutinising their performance, he added.

Mr Lau recommends that managers take a hands-off approach with team members who have been coached on specific jobs. With a timeline established for the regular review of progress, managers can ensure each step of the job is on the right track. "Be ready to provide advice and direction to further improve efficiency," he said.

Alibaba.com Hong Kong is a subsidiary of Alibaba.com which is a leading global business-to-business e-commerce enterprise. The company provides a platform connecting small- and medium-sized buyers and suppliers around the world. While the head office of Alibaba.com is based in Hangzhou in the mainland, its shares are traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Alibaba.com was ranked third on the recent BusinessWeek Asia 50 List.

Despite challenging global economic conditions, Alibaba.com found success in Q2 and exceeded investor expectations with a 136% jump in second-quarter earnings. Alibaba.com has also been actively expanding to other foreign markets with recent moves in India and Japan.

Check out the full interactive scoreboard for the BusinessWeek Asia 50 List.

*Photo courtesy of BusinessWeek.com.

Jack Ma recently wrote a letter to his employees about the upcoming winter season for the company and the e-commerce industry. Here in this video he talks about some of his thoughts and how Export to China will play a vital role in getting out of this winter period.

Click here for the article and video of Jack Ma, courtesy of South China Morning Post's James Moore.

*Guest post by David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com, courtesy of Livemint.com.

The world of global sourcing is even flatter and growing smaller by the day thanks to the advent of online marketplaces.

Since the global economic downturn set in, people have been asking me about its impact on e-commerce and Alibaba.com. While it is true that some businesses have become wary and have held back from international trade, it is equally true that many others are turning to more efficient and cost-effective ways of doing business—one of which is e-commerce.

Believe it or not, e-commerce is even more important in difficult times as it is a low-cost and efficient channel to promote and source products. Buyers using e-commerce platforms for sourcing can obtain goods or services at lower-than-market prices and translate this into better value for money for their end customers. In fact, our US members, which are most hard-hit by the recession, are actually more active this year than they were last year.

Bamko Promotional Items, Inc. is one of these US members who have experienced cost savings through sourcing online. Bamko is a provider of high-quality gifts and premium items ranging from clocks to calculators, bags and hats. Using Alibaba.com, Bamko has gained exposure to numerous suppliers that they could not have found any other way, and with so many potential suppliers at its service, the company can foster competition among them, to get the best price and bring attractive products to its clients all over the world.

Thanks to e-commerce, Bamko grew from a small local US distributor with one office to an international distributor with more than 50 employees in eight offices worldwide in just three years. Its competitive product pricing and high quality has won it over 200 loyal, repeat customers including big names such as Reebok International Ltd, Pfizer Inc., Boeing Co. and Revlon Inc.

Pricing is also a crucial business factor for Paul Greenberg from Australia, who operates an online department store, DealsDirect.com.au. Guided by the slogan “Love a Bargain”, Paul strives very hard to offer exciting new products, unbeatable prices and exceptional value to DealsDirect customers. He has a dedicated team of buyers who hunt for quality products with guaranteed low prices through a diversified sourcing strategy, which includes using online marketplaces, sourcing offices and trade shows. When DealsDirect was first launched in 2004, it had only four product lines. Today, the online shopping site offers 29 shopping categories, stocks more than 4,000 products, and sells at 30-80% less than recommended retail prices.

I have also heard about one of our Indian members who turned to the Internet for low-cost sourcing. Mardia Metals and Polymers, a Chennai-based importer and trader of raw plastics, is constantly in need of new vendors to sustain its supply chain and explore more products to expand its revenue streams. The company was started by Vivek Mardia and his father early last year. Although his father had 20 years of experience in the raw plastic materials industry, he only used old-fashioned business channels such as telephone and face-to-face meetings and merely had deals with regular suppliers in Malaysia. Vivek changed all that by introducing the Internet to his business. In just over one year, the company has expanded its supplier base to other countries and discovered new plastic products to add to its portfolio. Mardia Metals is now the sole supplier of a kind of recycled plastics originated in South Korea and is identifying opportunities to become the exclusive distributor for certain European suppliers in India.

A number of vertical and horizontal online marketplaces exist today, allowing buyers in India or abroad to find any product or service they want. By leveraging the myriad of tools provided by these online marketplaces, Indian companies can reduce costs, increase their supplier selection and accelerate their sourcing cycles in order to meet the ever-growing demands of their customers. Thomas L. Friedman put forth his famous view that “the world is flat” due to globalization. I would say that the world of global sourcing is even flatter and growing smaller by the day thanks to the advent of online marketplaces.

David Wei is chief executive officer of Alibaba.com.

Here's a new commercial that's currently running on CNBC. The customer is one our eBusiness Champions, Phil Weil of Decobreeze.com.

http://news.alibaba.com/134306_Alibaba_in_the_news/337860/Alibaba_Com_Launched_Global_Advertising.htm

David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com, recently spoke with James Moore from the South China Morning Post in a podcast about Alibaba.com's plans to go global. David Wei explains why Alibaba.com can adapt to any economic environment, talks about the new Export-to-China product, and comments on other topics like Google and the Beijing Olympics.

For the blog post and the approximately 10 minute podcast, click here.

Video interviews of our eBusiness Champions for North America have recently been posted to our website. See the 3.5 minute interview highlight clips here: http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/327004/How_I_Did_It_Alibaba_com_members_share_their_success_stories.htm

Also on Alibaba.com is the 3 minute highlight reel of the eBusiness Awards Ceremony in Chicago. View it here: http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/322999/Alibaba_com_e_Business_Champions_of_the_Year_2008_North_America.htm

Some new developments in and around Alibaba.com:

1. Alibaba.com opens office in Taiwan (Reported by Reuters): http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSTP1082220080724

2. Local Hangzhou government to start investment fund for growing tech sector and the "next Alibaba.com" (Reported by Forbes via Reuters): http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/07/24/2008-07-24T071117Z_01_SHA263634_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-CITY-FUNDS-ANALYSIS.html

The faster, cheaper iPhone will be available in stores starting tomorrow at 8am. Get out and go get 'em.

Asian fans will also be joining the fun and have already started lining up for the prized possession. Check out the story on our News Channel: http://news.alibaba.com/135294_IT/318998/Fans_Stop_Nothing_Get_New.htm

The inaugural Alibaba.com e-Business Champion Awards Reception for North America was a huge success. Those who attended got a chance to network with University of Chicago MBA students, entrepreneurs, eBay Powersellers, trade association representatives, Alibaba.com staff and senior management, and other Alibaba.com members.

Everyone also got a chance to meet our 5 winners and hear their inspirational entrepreneurial stories. The 5 winners are: Gene Rumley of BellPerformance.net, Jane Ivanov of EveAlexander.com, Elena Neitlich of MomsOnEdge.com, Phil Weil of DecoBreeze.com, and Brandon Dupsky of OnFair.com.

Prizes were given away to 5 lucky attendees, including a Canon Powershot digital camera, a Garmin GPS, 2 Apple store gift certificates for $300 each, and a Playstation 3 (40GB).

Check out the Flickr photo album of the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25276791@N07/sets/72157605811627550/

Congratulations to our Grand Award finalists, Gene Rumley and Brandon Dupsky, who are eligible to win a chance to participate in the Alifest Grand Awards Ceremony in Hangzhou, China on August 2nd and 3rd. Vote for them online at Alibaba.com: http://resources.alibaba.com/promotion/alifest/vote.htm

Our European team also had a great event in London. For the full summary and photos, go to Alibaba.com: http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/311043/Alibaba_com_holds_first_EMEA_e_Business_Champions_Award_in_2008.htm

We had some fantastic events in Chicago, including our e-Business Champion Awards Reception as well as our Arabian Nights with Alibaba.com party. We had the chance to meet with a lot of our members and eBay powersellers to get some great feedback on how Alibaba.com can help buyers and sellers in America.

Ina Steiner attended our e-Business Champion Awards Reception and wrote about our event on her blog, AuctionBytes. (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m06/i19/s03) She also got a chance to interview our VP of Global Sales, Arthur Chang. Check out the podcast here: http://podcast.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/podcast/pod.pl?eBay_Live_2008

Skip McGrath attended our Arabian Nights with Alibaba.com party and wrote a blog post about his experience as well as the love-hate saga between eBay and Alibaba.com. It's a great read and gives some background of the history between eBay and Alibaba.com. (http://blog.skipmcgrath.com/public/item/207285)

Our photo gallery for the events will be coming soon...

"Alibaba.com has proven to be the best resource for quick and e_ective sourcing of factory contacts for a myriad of product types."

Phil Weil, DecoBreeze.com, Alibaba.com member since 2005

DecoBreeze.com

Before Phil Weil decided to go into the fan business, he went to Alibaba.com to find the right manufacturers. Three years later, he's still there.

VITAL STATS: Phil Weil, Co-Owner and Vice President of Decobreeze.com and Global Product Resources in San Diego, California; Alibaba.com member since 2005

COMPANY: Manufacturer and distributor of decorative, home décor products, including fans and heaters

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 7

PROJECTED 2008 SALES: Approximately $6 million online and retail

TIPS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

"Be tenacious. Be bold. Don't be afraid to dream those dreams. Alibaba.com is a perfect example of a tool that takes us mere mortals and transforms us into superheroes by the click of the mouse," says Phil.

FIRST STEP: START AT ALIBABA.COM

During the planning stages of Deco- Breeze.com, Phil started at Alibaba.com to find his sourcing partners. “We utilized Alibaba.com to search out and contact factories capable of producing a new collection of portable fans we wanted to create for the marketplace," notes Phil. "Alibaba.com enabled us to quickly locate and pre-qualify potential factory candidates by region, size and type of product produced. This process was very easy and the site was amazingly simple to navigate. Plus, the database of potential factory resources was quite vast." Phil describes, "Our story is in its simplicity. We went to the site, found our product category, found our region where we needed to produce, created our candidate listing from the comprehensive store fronts, and five months later we debuted a 50-style product collection. Two-and-a-half years later, we have shipped almost a half a million fan units."

SECOND STEP: GROW AT ALIBABA.COM

After a successful launch of his first collection of fans, Phil needed to grow his business by adapting to his customers' specific needs. Much of his new business has been generated through his ability to custom develop new items for his retailers and distributors. "We are constantly developing new products and Alibaba.com has proven to be the best resource for quick and effective sourcing of factory contacts for a myriad of product types," says Phil. Currently, DecoBreeze features a broad range of styles from taller floor-standing

models to tabletop and desktop sizes. Designs range from colored metallic and rattan weaves to resin and wood sculpted bases that incorporate traditional to tropical themes. As their marketing campaign for these fans says, "Feeling COOL has never looked so HOT!"

"With Alibaba.com, I was able to develop new supplier relationships globally, creating direct relationships with first-tier manufacturers."

Brandon Dupsky, OnFair.com, Alibaba.com member since 2006

OnFair.com

Increased competition and low profit margins drove Brandon Dupsky to Alibaba.com's international suppliers directory. He found more than bargains.

VITAL STATS: Brandon Dupsky, Owner and CEO of OnFair.com in Lincoln, Nebraska; Alibaba.com member since 2006

COMPANY: Online retailer across many marketplaces specializing in consumer electronics and surplus inventory

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 1

PROJECTED 2008 REVENUE: Approximately $1 million online

CUTTING COSTS & PRICES

Brandon sources directly from manufacturers in order to give the savings back to the consumers. As his site's tagline says, "deals so low, it's funny!" On his website, there are closeout specials on numerous items including consumer electronics, toys, tools, sporting goods and even car parts. "My previous company, Sell2All grew into one of the largest sellers on eBay in 2004. At that time, we sourced most of our merchandise domestically in the US. With increased competition globally, our supply channels were no longer competitive, ultimately driving the company out of business," explains Brandon. "With the use of Alibaba, I was able to develop new supplier relationships globally, creating direct relationships with first-tier manufacturers. These relationships offer a more competitive and profitable supply channel for my new website, OnFair.com."

STAYING COMPETITIVE

Brandon has used the power of technology and e-business to take his business global. He has created relationships with international suppliers and buyers and maintained those relationships so it is a win-win situation for both sides. "In addition to buying wholesale, I have drop ship relationships in Hong Kong that will deliver directly to my customers around the world,"  explains Brandon. Without having to pay for extra warehousing and shipping expenses by drop shipping, he's able to save on costs and remain competitive in the e-business industry. For Brandon, the secret's in the relationship. "The best relationships you can build are the personal ones where you know your supplier very well. You can call them anytime to discuss topics and you can work together to build additional value for both parties," says Brandon.  "Find a niche that interests you and then find the best suppliers for those products, but keep in mind that it will take some effort to find the really good suppliers. These relationships become your competitive advantage over time."

For the full story on Brandon's success with Alibaba.com and OnFair.com, go to Alibaba.com.

"Alibaba.com gave us access to a worldwide base of qualified leads through the internet, saving our company valuable time."

Gene Rumley, BellPeformance.net, Alibaba.com member since 2006

BellPerformance.net

Faced with the challenge of creating new leads via international markets, Gene Rumley turned to Alibaba.com and hasn't looked back since.

VITAL STATS: Gene Rumley, International Marketing Manager for Bell Performance, Inc. in Lake Mary, Florida; Alibaba.com member since 2006

COMPANY: Manufacturer of fuel and oil treatment products for cars, trucks, boats, and industrial use for power plants; specialize in private labeling for other companies

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 17

PROJECTED 2008 SALES: Undisclosed

HISTORY

R.J. Bell developed the first fuel additive in 1909 when Henry Ford began massproducing

the Model T. Bell Performance's comprehensive product line has faithfully served consumers and businesses for nearly 100 years.

SMART TRADING WITH

TRUSTPASS

Bell Performance was originally a company with all of its buyers from the domestic market in the US. In the course of its development, Gene looked beyond American boundaries with the help of Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com gave us access to a worldwide base of qualified leads through the internet, saving our company valuable time."  Gene adds, “We could also focus on TrustPass members, which eliminated the time and energy working through non-qualified leads. Alibaba.com provides an endless source of leads to keep us growing and going." As a Trust- Pass member with third-party verification and authentication, Gene has been able to market his company and his products as reliable and trustworthy. "We have received genuine, qualified leads from over 30 countries through Alibaba," notes Gene. "Another amazing and interesting aspect of working with Alibaba.com is that we have received leads from right here in the US, where we are located. This shows the power and impact of the web and having an effective presence on

Alibaba."

FROM SELLER TO BUYER

Alibaba.com is a two-way street where sellers can be buyers and buyers can be sellers. After getting really high quotes from domestic translation service providers, Gene turned to Alibaba.com to help him find a cheaper, more effective solution. “We were pleasantly surprised when we found a translation service quickly through Alibaba. We had 12-14 technical pages in Chinese that needed to be accurately and quickly translated into English for a pending international account. We received quotes locally here in the US from $1,800 to $2,600. Through our search with Alibaba.com's TrustPass members, we were able to find a translation service that translated for many Fortune 500 companies and the cost was only $700," says Gene. Learning from this successful experience, Gene has recently come to Alibaba.com again as a buyer. This time, it has been for a personal project in which he is duplicating DVDs for his efforts to fight poverty in India. Gene comments, "I have also used Alibaba.com personally to search out a DVD duplication service that I am now in contact with in Taiwan. I have the utmost confidence in doing such searches using Alibaba.com's TrustPass members."

For the full story on Gene's success as a TrustPass supplier on Alibaba.com, go to Alibaba.com.

"Alibaba.com has allowed us the opportunity to search the globe for affordable, efficient and very reliable manufacturers."

Elena Neitlich, MomsOnEdge.com, Alibaba.com member since 2005

MomsOnEdge.com

After tons of sleepless nights due to putting her son back to sleep, Elena Neitlich decided to create her own solution.

VITAL STATS: Elena Neitlich, Co-Founder and CEO of MomsOnEdge.com in Osprey, Florida; Alibaba.com member since 2005

COMPANY: Children's behavioral products and parenting tools including games and toys; recently launched a new line of handmade luxury spa products for moms as well as an Etiquette Trainer Certification program for moms looking for part-time work

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 2

PROJECTED 2008 SALES: Approximately $200K online

MOMPRENEUR BUSINESS MODEL

This new business model for mom entrepreneurs includes "flexible meetings, working when motherhood allows, supporting one another, and rapidly learning about product design and manufacturing," Elena describes. "We have had to learn quickly how to deal with designers, manufacturers, reps and retail store owners. Managing our time has been tough because we are both very committed to being stay-at-home moms. We have had to figure out creative times to work, be it in the morning, during nap time or late at night after the kids are asleep."

PARENTING PROBLEMS, SOLVED

"I can't believe it, he's up again." Elena whispered into the phone to a close friend. "Andrew (my husband) is putting Noah back to bed for the umpteenth time this evening." "I hear you," she said, "I put the twins to bed over an hour ago and they still aren't asleep." "We've got to

think of something to train these kids to go to bed and stay in bed." The next day Elena Neitlich and Cari Whiddon created a prototype for their first ingenious product, The Good Night Stoplight, and Moms on Edge, LLC was born. "Moms on Edge designs, manufactures and sells exclusive children's products for peace, quiet and good behavior. The company fills an untapped niche in the children's market: parenting tools that reduce stress and improve family time by using games, toys and techniques children immediately respond well to. Our timeout mat, The Original Naughty Spot, has become wildly popular with parents of small children and was featured on the TODAY show," Elena explains.

SOURCING GLOBALLY, SELLING DOMESTICALLY

Elena had to consider many quality issues. On top of that, because she was working on a bootstrap budget with her partner, she had to buy her products at suitable price points. "Because we are small, we needed manufacturers willing to make small amounts of goods. Alibaba.com has allowed us the opportunity to search the globe for affordable, efficient, and very reliable manufacturers," Elena explains. "Our products are used by children so it is extremely important that they are made exactly to our specifications, highly durable and safe. The packaging must be strong so that our products can be opened and closed again and again. We insist on good communication, honest estimates, staying within budget and quick responses to requests. We were able to find quality suppliers at Alibaba.com."

For the full story on Elena's success as a mompreneur, go to Alibaba.com.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Internet Retailers Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. It was a busy conference with lots of networking, learning, and fun. For the full report on the happenings at IRCE, read Ina Steiner's AuctionBytes. She's also posted a photo album of some various sightings at the conference.

Come and join us for our e-Business Champion Awards Reception in Chicago on June 18th. We'll have food and cocktails and tons of networking between entrepreneurs. Plus, we're giving out 5 awards for 5 lucky attendees. The prizes include: Canon Powershot Digital Camera, Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS, 2 Apple Store Gift Cards for $300/each for the new Apple 3G iPhone, and a Sony Playstation 3 (40 GB).

RSVP is required for this event. Please be sure to include your name, title, company, phone number, email address, and number of attendees. RSVP for the Alibaba.com e-Business Champion Contest now.

Event details:

When: Wednesday, June 18th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: University of Chicago, Gleacher Center, Room 621

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, announced yesterday that a new 3G iPhone will be released on July 1st. The new iPhone will be cheaper and faster. It will increase browsing speed and will have a built-in GPS feature. The 8 GB phone will be priced at $199, as Apple attempts to take the iPhone mainstream. They have sold over 6 million to date and look to surpass their goal of 10 million iPhones by the end of this year. For more information on the new 3G Apple iPhone, visit Alibaba.com News.

The Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition starts today. I'm here to meet some new people and stay abreast on the latest issues facing internet retailers. Stay tuned for more updates on my few days here, as I meet with small business owners from across the country. For more information on the event, click here.

If you'll be in Chicago for eBay Live, we'd like to invite you to come to our e-Business Champion Awards Reception on June 18th. We will recognize 5 innovative small business owners who have used the power of e-business and Alibaba.com to grow their companies. The reception will be located at the Gleacher Center (Room 621) at the University of Chicago in Downtown Chicago. Food and cocktails begin at 6:30pm with keynotes and the award ceremony to follow.

If you'd like to attend, RSVP here. Please be sure to include your name, title, company, phone number, email address, and number of attendees. You need to RSVP with the before mentioned information in order to attend this event.

See below for more details.

A Glowing eBay Business via Alibaba.com

"By using Alibaba.com, we were able to go directly to the source and buy in bulk at a substantially lower price than domestically. We are now able to list our products on eBay at a lower price without affecting our profit line and our sales have increased 3x over the last 2 years.” 

~Lorne Counter, Owner and CEO of List4uOnline.com

VITAL STATS Lorne Counter, Owner and CEO of List4uOnline.com in Washington; Alibaba.com member since learning about Alibaba.com at eBay Live 2005; eBay ID: list4uonline

COMPANY Online retailer of light up sunglasses and novelty items

# OF EMPLOYEES 2

PROJECTED 2008 SALES Approximately $200K in online sales

THE EBAY/ALIBABA.COM PLAY Making sales on eBay requires marketing savvy and being resourceful to cut costs. Lorne learned this early on in his business development and ever since eBay Live in 2005, he has used Alibaba.com to source his niche products of light up, neon sunglasses. “One of the biggest obstacles of selling on eBay, as well as on your own online site, is trying to compete with other sellers with the same products. We are always looking for ways to cut costs,” says Lorne. “By using Alibaba.com, we were able to go directly to the source and buy in bulk at a substantially lower price than domestically. We are now able to list our products on eBay at a lower price without affecting our profit line and our sales have increased 3x over the last 2 years.”

SOURCING DIRECTLY ON ALIBABA.COM Manufacturers and suppliers are no longer mysterious secrets to buyers and distributors. Lorne explains, “A few years back I bought out a local company’s stock of light up sunglasses. When I asked the owner where he got them, all he would tell me is that it was from a wholesaler back on the east coast. As soon as I got home that evening, I went online to Alibaba.com and within 5 minutes, I found the company that made them. This product is one of my best sellers and now I have an endless supply.”

EBAY SUCCESS After successfully sourcing from Alibaba.com, Lorne has been successful utilizing eBay to create his sales, both for retail and wholesale. “We run feeder auctions of each item we carry to drive people to our eBay store were they can choose from a larger selection, including bulk quantities at a discounted price,” comments Lorne.

SHARING EBAY/ALIBABA.COM SUCCESS Business success requires social responsibility. Lorne has embraced this principle and to date, he has educated over 5,000 people on how to sell on eBay. “When I teach beginning students on how to sell on eBay, one of the most important things we try to pass on is to research your item before you sell,” says Lorne. “The same applies to those who are currently selling on eBay and want to take that next leap in their entrepreneurial evolution. Set aside 1-2 hours per week to research products on Alibaba.com that you carry. Once you find several companies that can assist you, preferably verified Gold Suppliers and TrustPass Suppliers, use the resources on Alibaba.com to gather statistics about the company, see other product lines they carry, and watch video tours of the factory. Alibaba.com can bring the world to you.”

If you're in China in August for the Beijing Olympics, it'd be a great opportunity to participate in the 2nd APEC Business Advisory Council, SME Summit in Hangzhou on August 2nd and 3rd. This event is co-organized by the Alibaba Group and will focus on 3 main topics: IT, training, and financing.

One of the featured speakers will be Jet Li. Yes, Jet Li will be speaking in a dialogue with Jack Ma at our SME Summit on the topic of "The Social Responsibilities of SMEs." Jet Li is heavily involved in charity work and has even started "One Foundation," which helps disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross.

The SME Summit will also be in conjunction with the 5th Annual Alifest, which will feature the global awards ceremony for the e-Business Champion contest. Click here for more information on the SME Summit.

Seems like August is looking like it will be a good time to be in China for all the festivities.

I was shocked to hear that Microsoft withdrew their offer for Yahoo over the weekend. What seemed as inevitable turned out the other way. Yahoo and Jerry Yang stuck to their guns and kept fighting, however, as expected, shareholder support hasn't followed. Part of the Yahoo argument for undervaluation was the tremendous growth potential in China with Alibaba.com and Yahoo China. Click here for Jerry Yang's statement on Yahoo's blog, Yodel Anecdotal.

So, what's next? Yahoo is already experiencing their "Black Monday." Alibaba.com's first quarter earnings results will be released later tonight (May 6th in Hong Kong). But long-term, we're all eager to see what Yahoo does to make it more competitive in a world of Microsoft and Google.

For me, I think the best is yet to come for Yahoo.

Written by: Wendy Wong

Alibaba’s Trade Show Team completed our participation in the e-Commerce Summit last week in New Orleans. I'd like to share a story I heard at the Summit about how Alibaba.com helped a company grow and become one of the largest retailers for high-tech gadgets. 

On the last day of the Summit, I met Mr. Jack Sheng, CEO of Eforcity. Jack has great passion for Alibaba.com. He told me that he established his storefront on eBay about 8 years ago. At the beginning stages of his business development, he sourced on Alibaba.com and found a lot of good suppliers located overseas. Today, his business is very successful and is one of the largest retailers of electronic accessories on eBay. 

"Without Alibaba’s great help at the beginning, my company could have not grown this big today,” Jack commented. 

As an Aliren (Alibaba employee), I take great pride in hearing from our customers on how Alibaba.com has helped their businesses succeed.

 

*Ever seen Alibaba.com at trade shows? Our famous orange bags have become collector's items on eBay. Check out the listing here.

Written by: David Wang

Greetings from New Orleans! Here I am at the e-Commerce Summit with my colleague Wendy. This has been a great opportunity for us to meet entrepreneurs eager to learn and start their own e-Businesses. We’ve spoken with many successful business owners for whom the Internet is just not a tool, but a way of life.

What I found most interesting was the number of entrepreneurs who are here to learn about HOW to start their businesses. For them, this trip is about research and learning. The key features of the Alibaba.com site were the Forums and Articles that offered invaluable advice about how to research prospective suppliers, international payment methods, international shipments and much, much more.

Another popular feature was the ability to search product listings by product categories and sub-categories. For many of these eCommerce newcomers, developing a product line is important. Rather than searching for a specific product, the product category search lets them see what’s available within their particular areas of expertise.

This is my first time for a live event blog post for Alibaba.com's AliBlog, ironically during the "Intro to Blogging" session. It's my first day at the Web 2.0 Expo, as I try to make AliBlog the best it can be. So here are my top 5 observations from my first day experience at Web 2.0.

Top 5 observations from first day of Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco:

5. Twitter incorporated to FAQ session at Web 2.0 - works well, actually.

4. Free breakfast AND lunch at Web 2.0 Expo!

3. Lots of people don't have business cards, as most companies are in beta!

2. Blogging during lunch time?! We definitely need MORE real world networking, even at the Web 2.0 Conference.

1. Food, water, and bathrooms are not in the most demand at Web 2.0. It's plug outlets for laptops!

Written by: Wendy Wong

The 9th Spring e-Commerce Summit, hosted by PeSA (Professional eBay Sellers Alliance), Infopia, and ECMTA (e-Commerce Merchants Trade Association), will take place from April 22nd to April 24th at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Alibaba.com will join the hundreds of online merchants for the first time. These attendees will be introduced to the power and effectiveness of sourcing online from Alibaba.com.

The other Trade Show Manager, David Wang, and I will report to you on our daily activity at the summit when we are in New Orleans.  More to come later… 

*Wendy Wong is our other Trade Show Manager and, like David, is a road warrior for Alibaba.com in the USA. On AliBlog, she'll be giving her insights and experiences of trade shows, events, conferences, and meeting with our members.

David Wang, our Trade Show Manager who recently posted his experience about trade shows, was interviewed at the Home & Housewares Show in Chicago in the middle of March 2008. He compared Alibaba.com to an "online dating service for companies." It's a great comparison as we help match buyers with suitable suppliers all across the world. Buyers can search via category, country, Gold Suppliers, TrustPass suppliers, and even to the most detailed characteristic about the products they are looking for.

For the quick 2-minute interview, click here. He'll guide you through the easy search process on Alibaba.com and be sure to notice his very orange Alibaba.com China-man suit!

*Photo courtesy of www.chipchick.com.

Written by Eric Taussig:

One can tell a lot about a time and place from local taxi drivers. What does their point-of-view say about their world? What does it say about our world, and the times in which we are living?

I remembered this during a recent trip back to Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou. I took about a dozen cab rides on my trip, and there were two things that every driver seemed consistently interested in chatting about: Alibaba and the U.S. presidential elections.

Regarding Alibaba, for example, every driver seemed to know what our company does and about our hugely successful IPO. They remarked on the company having raised more money in the IPO than any company since Google.

Now, it is true that Hangzhou is no small town. It has almost four million people and is the capital of what has traditionally been one of China’s wealthiest provinces. But it also could not be considered a financial or political center. It is NOT where one would expect the average taxi driver to know the individual candidates of a faraway primary election or the financial intricacies of a complex Internet company.

But the Internet challenges the logic of cultural centers. It disseminates knowledge across social and political boundaries, and it enables innovation to appear from even the most remote outpost. Small businesses and individuals may now compete with the large companies and famous intellectuals. One can learn from anywhere in ways that used to require relocating to a Shanghai, London, Tokyo or New York. There is simply a greater awareness of “the world” among more people from more places around the world.

So if these Hangzhou taxi drivers almost universally knew the ins-and-outs of Alibaba.com, the place where global trade now starts, which American presidential candidate most caught their attention? You guessed it: They identified with Barak Obama, the candidate who recently described his global extraction as follows:

"I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins [including a Chinese-American brother-in-law], of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."

More accurately, in no previous time was this story likely. And these tuned-in, Internet savvy, Hangzhou taxi drivers seem all for it.

*Eric Taussig once rode his bicycle with a group of friends from Washington D.C. to Seattle. 2700 miles, 55 bicycle days, 10 rest days. Writing for AliBlog and working in the multi-cultural environment of Alibaba.com should be no problem for him. Want to know more about Eric? Click here.

*Photo courtesy of www.stockinterview.com.

According to comScore, Alibaba.com has been rated one of the top 10 search engines in the world. In December 2007, Alibaba.com was the 10th ranked search property worldwide with 531 million searches. Among the top 10, Alibaba.com is the only business website matching buyers and suppliers. To view the complete top 10 listing, click here.

We've been working hard to make the search experience for our users easier, faster, and more precise. We've updated our gallery viewing feature, improved our search history, streamlined search for verified suppliers, and have added search within individual mini-sites. To get the full scoop on all the updates, click here.

On AliBlog, we'll keep you up-to-date with all the different changes and improvements going on at Alibaba.com. Stay informed by getting our feed or subscribing to AliBlog via email.

The AuctionBytes blog, written by Ina Steiner, recently wrote a post about the "Battle of the Blogs, eBay and Alibaba." AuctionBytes is a blog for "news and insights focusing on ecommerce and the online auction industry." In her AuctionBytes blog, Ira commented, "Alibaba is actually a source of product for eBay PowerSellers around the world." Indeed, eBay sellers have become more and more aware of the opportunities to source directly from our supplier base of over a few million.

The benefits of sourcing on Alibaba.com internationally, or even domestically, have proved to cut costs. Therefore, in most cases, the end-users reap the benefits of lower prices and higher value. We get thousands of new product postings on Alibaba.com everyday for the convenience of our buyers worldwide.

For Ira's full post on the "Battle of the Blogs," click here.