Experience selling on Alibaba for newbies 2026

Many Vietnamese businesses open stores on Alibaba.com and then... wait for orders. A month, two months passed, the stall was still "sad", then concluded hastily:"selling on Alibaba is ineffective".

Actually that is not the case. Alibaba.com owns more than 40 million active buyers from more than 200 countries and territories — but it is an export B2B platform, not Shopee or Lazada. Buyers here do not "browse and buy" but are importers and distribution chain owners who are evaluating suppliers. Therefore, success on Alibaba does not come from "opening a store" but from properly understanding the rules of the game and operating methodically.

This article summarizes the detailed experience of selling on Alibaba for newbies - from preparation before opening a store, to actual operation, to the first 90-day roadmap - drawn from the process of accompanying hundreds of Vietnamese export businesses.

1. Understand the "rules of the game" correctly before starting

The biggest mistake newbies make is applying retail (B2C) thinking to the B2B floor. Keep in mind the 4 core differences:

• Buyers look for suppliers, not "cheap items": On Alibaba, the deciding factor in closing an order is usually: real production capacity, international certification, quick response and commitment to safe payment — not the cheapest price.

• Large orders, long cycles: B2B customers often order containers, calculated according to MOQ (minimum order quantity). From the first offer to signing a contract can take 2–6 weeks, even longer for new customers. Don't be discouraged if you don't get an application in the first week.

• You must proactively look for customers: In addition to letting customers find stores through search, Alibaba has a system RFQ (Request for Quotation)— where buyers post requests for quotes and sellers proactively submit quotes.

• Reputation is currency: Verified Supplier(verify real business) and Trade Assurance (Alibaba payment protection). Experience from Vietnamese stalls shows that sellers with these two elements help increase the closing rate by 4-6 times compared to stalls without.

RFQ section interface for merchant accounts

2. Preparation before opening a stall: 4 things not to be missed

Don't open your stall before thinking about preparations. Do all 4 things belowbefore activating your account, you will save months of fiddling:

• Choose the right industry and "key" products. Newcomers should focus on Vietnamese product groups with strong production strengths and high international search demand (agricultural products, seafood, furniture, handicrafts, mechanics...). Don't "sell everything" — choose 1–2 key product lines to invest deeply in.

• International certificate — "travel ticket". American, EU, and Japanese buyers almost do not work with suppliers who lack certificates. Depending on the industry and target market, you need Global GAP, HACCP, ISO 22000, FDA, CE... Booths with international certificates are also prioritized for display by the platform. See details by market in the article Necessary certificates to export goods to major markets in 2026.

• Standard B2B commerce data set. Before posting the product, please confirm: MOQ, FOB/CIF price range according to quantity, packaging method, delivery time (lead time), port of origin. If the buyer asks, they will answer immediately - this professionalism creates great trust.

• The person in charge of the booth. You need at least one person who can respond in English (or use a translation tool with double-checking), responding to the message within a few hours. Response speed is one of the factors Alibaba uses to evaluate and rank suppliers.

3. Opening a booth: 5-step standard process

The process of opening a stall has been guided in great detail in the article How to open a store on Alibaba is extremely simple, detailed from A-Z for newbies. Quick summary:

5-step roadmap for beginners

4. Experience in actual operations after having a booth

Once the booth opens, the "game" begins. These are the experiences that make the biggest difference:

4.1. Optimize English keywords to match buying intent

• Newbies often copy Vietnamese product names into English or stuff them with keywords. Instead, put yourself in the buyer's shoes and think about the phrase they type when they want to BUY — which usually ends with supplier, manufacturer, factory, exporter, wholesale:

• Use the keyword research tool in My Alibaba, combined with looking at the keywords that top competitors are using, to choose 3–5 main keywords for each product instead of spreading them out.

4.2. Turn the certificate into "proof" displayed right on the booth

Upload scanned copies of certificates (Global GAP, HACCP, FDA, ISO...) to the section Certification of the booth. According to actual records from Vietnamese sellers, stores with fully uploaded certificates can increase search rankings by 5–7 times — because both algorithms and buyers appreciate suppliers with verifiable certificates.

4.3. Actively hunt RFQs every day

Spend 30–60 minutes a day on the RFQ section, filter the right industry and target market, send a quick, complete quote: price list by quantity, MOQ, lead time, high quality product photos. RFQ is the fastest channel for new people to get their first application, because the person posting the RFQ is the one who has a real need to buy.

4.4. Standard quote and secure payment

• Always quote prices with conditions: FOB port, price according to quantity, delivery time. For new customers, the most common and safest payment structure is a 30% deposit to start production, the remaining 70% payment upon receipt of a copy of the bill of lading - processed in Trade Assurance orders.

• Trade Assurance is Alibaba's free order protection service, protecting buyers' payments against the risk of late delivery or wrong quality, with a protection limit of up to 500,000 USD depending on the supplier level. Important note: protection is only valid when the transaction is fully processed on the Alibaba.com platform — if the customer (or you) requests to transfer funds outside the platform, all protection will be void. Always keep transactions within the platform, especially with new customers.

4.5. Nurture customers with product samples and video calls

International buyers are very cautious with overseas suppliers. Don't just send a price list and then "shut up". Be proactive: send real videos/photos of the production process, ask to send product samples (customers paying shipping fees is a sign of genuine purchase), and be ready to organize a video call to tour the factory through Alibaba. This is the fastest way to turn "customers asking for price" into "customers signing contracts".

4.6. Measure with data, not feelings

My Alibaba page provides data on views, inquiries, and keyword effectiveness. Every week, spend 15 minutes looking at: which products are viewed the most, which keywords bring in customers, what is the ratio of inquiries to orders — then adjust. A stall that doesn't measure will always stand still.

5. Budget needs to be prepared when selling on Alibaba

Many people think "opening an Alibaba store only costs a few million". It is necessary to properly understand the cost structure to avoid "running out of capital" mid-way:

Membership package on Alibaba

6. First 90-day roadmap for new sellers

Experience from successful stores shows that the first 90 days greatly determine long-term results. Don't expect a container order the first week — expect the system to be up and running within 90 days:

The most common mistake at this stage is to give up at weeks 4–6 — just when the store begins to be "learned" and ranked by the platform. Alibaba needs time to evaluate your store; Those who persevere in the right process almost always surpass those who give up early.

7. Frequently asked questions

Sample frequently asked questions

Contact us for advice on opening a booth - Don't wait another day!

Are you in Dong Nai, Binh Duong or Ho Chi Minh City? COMPANY LIMITED ALIBABA.COM VIETNAM - ALIBABA VIETNAM is ready to support:

• Head office: 19th Floor, Saigon Center Building, No. 67 Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1

• E-mail:[email protected]

• Phone: +84 0987258510 (Mr. Dan)

• Branch 1: 10th Floor, Becamex Tower, 230 Binh Duong Avenue, Thu Dau Mot, Binh Duong

• Branch 2: 9th Floor, TTC Plaza, Vo Thi Sau, Thong Nhat Ward, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai

• Branch 3:123 Cong Hoa, Ward 12, Tan Binh, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

Call now 0987258510 – Mr. Dan for free consultation, support in opening a booth, optimizing products and exporting plans to the West in 2026. No consultation fee, no commitment, just be ready to act!

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