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The B2B E-Commerce sites like Alibaba, Tradewheel.com, and DHgate are taking over the traditional trading method between businesses. Even though all three of these may look similar, each one has a unique audience and behavior.
As 65% of B2B organizations are already online, joining E-Commerce sites like these is a must now.
Here, we are comparing some basic factors of all these platforms to help you choose the right one for your business.
Most companies choose Tradewheel.com for international buying and selling. This marketplace features more than 5,700 product categories and thousands of sellers in all of them. This B2B E-Commerce site can assist small to medium-sized businesses in expanding to the global market. Tradewheel also provides lower prices than other platforms.
They have a massive network of over 7 million buyers and over 6 million sellers. Most companies that use Tradewheel.com for better reach and brand visibility got better results than most B2B marketplaces online. This is due to their consistently growing popularity among businesses for international trading.
Tradewheel.com is one of those sites that are expanding and growing in the number of both buyers and sellers. Therefore, it has still got room for new businesses to join and get good leads. What makes Tradewheel.com different from most E-Commerce sites is its simple procedure for posting products. Their products also appear on Google searches which gives better visibility.
Running paid campaigns on E-Commerce marketplaces is quite expensive but not on Tradewheel.com. The annual Premium Tradewheel.com Membership plans are affordable and much cheaper than most B2B E-Commerce sites. Numerous companies have subscribed to their premium plans, and a majority of them got great returns.
As Tradewheel.com has distinctive product categories, it is difficult to understand their buying behavior. Plus, the geographical distances also make it difficult. Yet, there are a few common factors that can be seen. Most importers prefer to contact sellers who post details about their items on product pages. Thus, a detailed product description with high-quality images and videos can boost conversion rates. You can find buy offers in a huge range of categories. Whether you are looking for jet fuel buyers or used shoes buyers, you can find business leads here.
Many buyers on Tradewheel.com either come directly to the website and search for relevant products or from Google searches. If importers do not find relevant goods in the product list, they post their sourcing needs as RFQs. You can also view it to find good buying leads.
These are Tradewheel.com’s most demanded product categories:
Clothing
Beauty products
Electronics
New and used machinery
You can find plenty of Tradewheel.com reviews online. ScamAdviser gives Tradewheel.com a perfect 100/100 score which means it islegit. Other than that, you can also view their users’ reviews and ratings on TrustPilot. They have 200+ reviews, and a majority of them are positive. It has also scored around 4.6/5.
Overall it is also one of the most recommended B2B marketplaces for factories to get genuine leads and expand the business. You can also join it to experience the growth.
Pros:
Large network of buyers and sellers
Strong reputation in the international business market
Affordable premium membership
Cons:
Buying behavior varies from category to category
Tradewheel.com offers amazing premium services. These services are aimed at helping businesses across the globe with better results at lesser costs. Here we have done a detailed compression for the three services that Tradewheel provides:
| Features | Silver | Gold | Gold Advance |
| Buyers Directory | Complete Access | Complete Access | Complete Access |
| Product Posting | 50 | 200 | Unlimited |
| Sub Accounts | - | 3 | 5 |
| Private Showroom | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ISM | - | Limited | 4 Hours |
| Tradeshow Facilitation | - | - | Yes |
| Buyers | Inquiries | Authentic buyers | Authentic buyers |
| Exclusive Website | - | Yes | Yes |
| SMM | - | - | Yes |
| SEO | - | - | Yes |
| Product Pictures | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Profile Rating | - | 3 stars | 5 stars |
| Pricing | $499 | $1499 | $3999 |
In the global B2B E-Commerce industry, Alibaba is a leading name. It has been around for quite a few decades. Its primary focus was to expose small to medium-sized manufacturers to the global market. Currently, it has a network of more than 550 million active users. It comprises the top names of various industries.
Due to the first mover advantage and quality experience, they have a good retention rate of membership holders. In the last year alone, they made a revenue of over 134 Billion USD, a 22.91% increase from last year. Therefore, it is a growing marketplace and still welcoming new businesses.
For building a presence in the digital world, Alibaba is quite a great platform. It has been for quite some time and has earned a strong reputation. Due to their massive market share in the B2B industry, they process around 35 million orders daily on average. This massive number comprises deals from different sectors.
Large-sized businesses also use Alibaba for their business sourcing. This portal's organic reach is amazing, making it an amazing portal for all new to old businesses. By simply optimizing the profile correctly, you can generate great deals.
Buyers come to Alibaba from various mediums, such as search engines, social media, paid campaigns, and more. However, 59% of the traffic it receives is direct traffic. Their product pages also appear on search engines which helps sellers to get good clicks and increase the conversion rate.
Most buyers here are price sensitive, and giving out some discounts gives sellers a competitive edge. However, there are also importers in specific categories willing to pay higher if the products are of higher quality, like construction machinery, etc. In both scenarios, settling for low-quality goods is not an option for companies. Suppliers with Trade Assurance badges usually receive more leads and experience better conversions. This behavior is more likely to keep them on the safer side.
Following are the top-selling product categories of Alibaba that already have good visitors and room for new businesses to join and collect great deals.
Home Appliances
Sports items
Beauty and Personal Care
The vast majority of users have positive reviews for Alibaba. As this platform focuses on promoting manufacturers with a trackable record and verified sellers, you can always be sure of the quality you will get from here. Most of their sellers are quick to respond and answer buyers' queries.
On the flip side, some buyers also get scammed on this site. Yet, if you take the precaution a buyer should take, there is not much to be worried about. Although Alibaba has many competitors, it has held the position of b2b king ever since its launch.
Pros:
Thousands of product categories with a large selection of products
Helps businesses reach the global market
Extensive business scope for sellers
Cons:
Price sensitive market
DHgate is a china based B2B marketplace. It was launched back in the year 2004. Even though it allows global sellers to list their products and has more than 2.3 million sellers. The major chunk of it comes from the China region. In numbers, DHgate is not as big a marketplace as the other ones discussed here, yet it is a great site for making bulk purchases at affordable prices.
DHgate can be a great B2B marketplace for small or new businesses. Especially if you have a small manufacturing unit, this site can help you get small orders cheaply. Usually, businesses do not prefer it for large-sized orders. Most buyers here like to connect with sellers who offer quick delivery. Thus, this might be the right platform for you if you have good production and transportation speed. Businesses come here from different parts of the world, and optimizing product pages for search results can help you generate great leads.
Buyers on DHgate are usually price-conscious and look for low-priced deals. However, they still do not see sourcing low-quality goods as an option. In short, they want superior quality goods at the lowest prices. Another segment of buyers on this site comes from fake or copied products. Such buyers usually buy it for dropshipping purposes. Such importers look to place orders for small quantities.
Dhgate offers a vast range of products. From secondhand shoes to agricultural products, you can find almost everything here. But these are the top 3 product categories on DHgate:
Apparel
Electronics
Beauty products
You can not compare Tradewheel.com and Alibaba’s reviews with DHgate. Even though DHgate has helped several companies get great deals, their reviews are not very appealing. It might be due to this site's many scammers and fake sellers. Such scammers exist on every platform, and it is your duty to identify them to make you not get ripped off.
Pros:
Great for dropshipping
Low MOQs
Can expect lower prices
Cons:
Lack of trust among buyers
Despite all the similarities, each of these marketplaces is designed for a different set of audiences. Tradewheel.com can be a great platform for businesses looking to expand their reach to the global market. Most new sellers also find it easier to get genuine leads on Tradewheel.com. On the other hand, Alibaba focuses on promoting sellers with a rich history and a strong reputation on their platform. New sellers often rely on paid campaigns to get a kickstart. DHgat is for businesses that want to source or sell products in small quantities or at low prices. This is a short description of how each one differentiates, and based on these differences, you can decide which one can be most effective for you.
