Do you want to start a business on Alibaba but you lack ideas? If YES, here are 50 best Alibaba related business ideas for beginners to make money online. Alibaba is the largest B2B (Business to Business) platform in the world.
Alibaba was founded by Jack Ma in 1999, and right now the business employs over 22,000 people and facilitates more than 80% of online sales in China. Alibaba makes it easy for manufacturers and wholesalers in China to connect with business owners from all over the world.
Alibaba also owns several other eCommerce platforms like Aliexpress, Taobao, and Tmall. There are a lot of opportunities to make money through Alibaba. Read on to discover 50 Alibaba related business opportunities that you can take advantage of.
Best Alibaba Business ideas
1. Dropshipping
If you wish to start an eCommerce business but you cannot afford the funds to stock up your shop, you can start a dropshipping business using Alibaba.
All you need to do is to find an Alibaba supplier who can offer dropshipping services, enter into an agreement with them, and then have them ship products directly to your buyers each time someone requests to purchase products from your eCommerce store.
2. Product Sourcing Expert
You can become a product sourcing expert and make money from business owners looking for specific products to buy from Alibaba or China. You can help them source for the products, and also help them bargain so that they can get the products at cheaper rates.
3. Affiliate Marketing
You can promote products on any of Alibaba’s eCommerce platforms like Aliexpress and Tmall, and earn commission whenever anyone uses your link to purchase products.
4. Private Labeling
Private labeling involves looking for manufacturers on Alibaba who can manufacture products for you on a small-scale basis, and brand the products using your Business Name so that it would look like the products were originally manufactured by you.
With private labeling, you can manufacture products at dirt-cheap rates in China, and sell them at very high prices in your locality.
5. Mini-Importation Consultant
You can make money from teaching people how to import products from China through Alibaba, and resell them for a profit in their localities.
6. Product Reseller
This is one of the easiest ways to make money through Alibaba. Just buy products from Alibaba or any of its other platforms, and resell them for a profit.
7. Sell Products On Alibaba
If you can strike a deal with manufacturers or suppliers in China, you can also sell products or manufacturing services on Alibaba. You just take the order from the buyer, forward the details to your manufacturer or supplier, ship the finished products to the buyer, and pocket the profits.
8. Shipping and Logistics Services
Many people from different countries all over the world buy products from Alibaba. You can make a lot of money from helping buyers to handle safe shipping of their goods to their specified locations.
9. Quality Control Inspector
If a businessman who lives in America needs to have something manufactured in China using Alibaba manufacturers, it may cost too much to make trips to China to inspect the quality of the products before it is shipped to the US.
The logical thing to do is to hire a quality control inspector in China who can offer inspection services in exchange for some fees. If you live in China or if you can take out time to build some connections in China, this is a very great business idea that you can make money from.
10. Financing Services
Another business idea is to offer financing services to people who need to manufacture goods in China. You can earn a lot of money from the interests you would charge them for the loans.
11. E-Commerce
You can also set up an e-commerce platform to sell products online. Getting cheap products to sell wouldn’t be a problem as you can get a lot of products for cheap prices on Alibaba.
12. Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the best places to sell products online. You can start a social media selling business where you source for products on Alibaba and sell them using social media advertising.
13. Amazon Seller
Another business idea is to set up a store on Amazon, search for a lucrative product niche, and start importing those products from Alibaba and selling them on Amazon.
14. Language Translation Services
You can offer language translation services to facilitate communication between buyers and sellers who do not understand each other’s language.
15. Product Review Services
You can set up a blog that reviews products on Alibaba, Aliexpress , Tmall or Taobao and make money from affiliate marketing or from Google adsense.
16. Escrow Services
Another business idea is to set up an escrow payment service to cater to buyers and sellers on Alibaba so as to reduce fraud and boost trust on the platform.
17. Currency Exchange Services
You can also set up a business that helps people convert their cash from their local currencies to Chinese currency whenever they need to do business on Alibaba. Many people prefer private currency exchange services to bank services because it is usually cheaper.
18. Product Creator
You can come up with product ideas that will solve the problems of people around you, manufacture them cheaply on Alibaba, and sell them for a profit. If you are able to come up with a good product idea, you will make a lot of money.
19. Currency Conversion Website
Currency exchange rates are never stable and people who do business on Alibaba platform always need to know what the daily rates are. You can earn a lot of Adsense revenue or affiliate commission by setting up a currency conversion website.
20. Ebay Seller
Another lucrative business idea is to source for products on Alibaba and resell them on your Ebay store for a profit.
21. Small Scale Manufacturing
If you can afford it, you can start your own small scale manufacturing business in China and start supplying buyers on Alibaba too. You can never go wrong with a manufacturing business based in China because there is an endless flow of orders coming in from buyers all over the world and as long as you continue to produce good products, you will make a lot of money.
22. Etsy Seller
Etsy is a platform that allows you sell handmade products. You can import arts and crafts from Alibaba and Aliexpress, and sell them on Etsy.
23. Raw Material Seller
Another business idea is to import raw materials from China through Alibaba, and resell them to manufacturers and business owners in your locality.
24. Selling Gift Cards
You can set up your own store on Aliexpress to sell gift cards to people who regularly visit the Alibaba platform.
25. Importation Clearing and Forwarding Services
You can also make money from helping importers handle customs clearing and forwarding services.
26. Group Buying Services
Your job here would be to look for people who need to buy products, take their orders and buy in bulk from Alibaba suppliers. Alibaba suppliers give mouth-watering discounts to people who buy in bulk so you can earn a lot of money from gathering people together and helping them buy in bulk.
27. Smartphone Developer
You can design your own brand of smartphones, search for manufacturers to produce them on Alibaba, and make impressive profits from selling them.
28. Payment App Development
Secure buying is a very important factor for Alibaba buyers. Buyers need to be able to make payments without risks of hacking or fraud. You can make good profits from developing apps that guarantee secure payments on Alibaba.
29. Automobile and Motorcycle Accessories
There are a lot of brilliant accessories and tools for automobiles and motorcycles on Alibaba. You can import and resell things like car trackers, vehicle scanners, tire protectors, smart helmets, and other innovative tools and gadgets.
30. Phones and Computer Accessories
This is another hot business niche with a lot of innovative accessories and tools to buy and resell on Alibaba, Aliexpress, and its other platforms.
31. Business Review Services
Buyers want to know that they can trust Alibaba suppliers before they do business with them. You can start a business review service to offer information to potential buyers on the reputation and experiences other buyers have had with various Alibaba suppliers. Such a service would help buyers know the sellers to trust, and those they should steer clear of.
32. Deals Promotion Website
Another good business idea is to start a deals promotion website to promote and sell dirt-cheap products that you can easily source on Alibaba.
33. Business Verification and Inspection Services
Serious business people would want to know if a manufacturer is genuine, or whether or not they have the necessary equipment and facilities to manufacture quality products for them. You can start a service that helps potential buyers verify the businesses and claims of Alibaba suppliers in order to weed out scammers and time wasters.
34. Website Developer
You can also make money from helping people set up eCommerce websites, affiliate marketing sites, and blogs to sell and promote their Alibaba products.
35. Quotation Services
You can start a service that helps people get the best quotations from Alibaba suppliers and also help them bargain so that they can get the best prices for their purchases.
36. Become a Wholesaler
Another idea is to import products from Alibaba, and resell them in bulk to retailers in your locality.
37. Crowdfunding Services
You can start a Crowdfunding service for people who have product ideas but cannot afford to manufacture it on Alibaba.
38. Sell on Shopify
You can import products from Alibaba, Aliexpress or any of its other affiliates, and sell them on your Shopify store.
39. Niche Specialist
You can also become a niche specialist who helps people find the most lucrative product niches to specialize in on Alibaba.
40. Buying and Selling Smart Devices
Smart Televisions, Smart watches, and other smart gadgets are becoming increasingly popular in the market. You can earn some good income from buying and reselling these items.
41. Start a Fashion Line
With Alibaba, it has become easier than ever to start a fashion line. You simply need to look for a reliable garment maker on Alibaba who can make use the illustrations and designs you draw up to create nice outfits that people would love to buy.
42. Trademarking and Intellectual Property Protection Services
You can start a business that helps people register and protect their unique product ideas from theft by unscrupulous Alibaba manufacturers.
43. Renewable Energy Equipment and Devices Seller
You can make money from buying renewable energy devices and equipment from Alibaba and reselling them in your locality. Energy has become too expensive and people and businesses are fast embracing renewable energy devices and equipment in order to save money.
44. Herbal Products
China is known for its variety of herbal products. You can earn money from buying and reselling herbal products from Alibaba or Aliexpress.
45. Set up a Blog or Forum
Another business idea is to set up a forum where people who do business on Alibaba or Aliexpress, or people who wish to do business on these platforms can meet up to discuss and exchange helpful information.
46. Buying and Selling of Chemicals
Another good business idea is to venture into buying and supplying of chemicals. You can source for chemicals that are in high demand by manufacturers and business owners in your locality and make money from buying and reselling these chemicals.
47. Cyber Security Services
Alibaba is a very helpful platform but hackers and scammers patrol the platform a lot. You can set up a service that helps potential buyers guarantee their information and financial security in the process of transacting business on Alibaba or on any of its affiliated platforms.
48. Selling and Renting of Machinery
You can also import heavy equipment and machinery from China through Alibaba, and rent them out to people and businesses in your locality. You can also start a business of renting out equipment and machinery to people and businesses around you.
49. Beauty and Makeup Line
You can also start your own beauty and cosmetics products line. You can come up with your own recipes and ideas, and pay manufacturers on Alibaba to produce them for you.
50. Business Directory Services
You can also make money from creating a business directory for Alibaba suppliers to help potential buyers find suppliers in different categories and niches without stress. How will you make money from this? From Google Adsense adverts on your website of course.