Does anyone have experience of dealings with/through Alibaba.com?
It appears to be a Far East (only China?) marketplace, but I can't work out whether it is trade/wholesale only. They do appear to offer some items singly; others require large minimum orders. I noticed, incidentally, one factory which claimed to be able to produce tens of millions of batteries a month: I wondered whether an extra nought or two had slipped in.
Alibaba cropped up during my search for large capacity li-ion batteries, and what's on offer seems to vary (judging by the photos) between quite decent-looking stuff, with robust-looking cases on the batteries, and rubbish. Prices vary from low (therefore potentially attractive) to ridiculously low (therefore flashing metaphorical warning lights). I suspect also that if one applies for further details there may be add-ons which hike the 'price' quite a bit.
I must emphasise that I'm extremely wary in general terms, and issues of quality, warranty, shipping etc loom large. A serious instance of 'caveat emptor', I'm sure. However, if anyone has positive experiences of this marketing set-up, I'd probably at least look a bit further, hence my query. So much of what we buy turns out to come from out there, it's presumably a matter of experience (of the quality in practice) and come-back (warranty, spares etc).
