Category Archives: DHgate

Introducing Success

January 13, 2010

Today, my company launched a microsite, IntroducingSuccess.com, dedicated to providing free, practical advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and small and medium retailers.

You can read more about how the site works in the press release pasted below or by logging on to the site here, but what I wanted to talk about in this post is how the launch represents my attitude to business growth.

As frequent readers will know, when I started DHgate I did so to help small and medium business enjoy the same opportunities which had previously only been available to Big Box retailers. We were the first company to fully integrate all aspects of the cross-border wholesale trade with China on a single ecommerce platform, allowing cross-border trade to be conducted entirely online. This process involved (amongst many other things) designing proprietary technology, attracting the web best systems development professionals, securing investors, educating the market and doing everything we could to make it actually work. It hasn’t always been easy, and the work is far from over, but it has certainly been rewarding to watch it, and its users, flourish.

Creating a healthy, prosperous environment where SMEs have the tools they need to thrive fuels good business for everyone. And I know that that extends beyond transactions; SMEs face other challenges where help is also welcome.

I’m not claiming that one microsite will hold all the answers, but perhaps it is a step in the right direction and may inspire others to invest their time and expertise, too. Being open, proactive and supportive is win-win for all involved – and I’m prepared to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

So please log on to the site, offer your opinions or suggestions for improvement here and let me know if it helps. It was created to help you, and I want to make sure it does.

Introducingsuccess

DHgate.com First in China to Launch Virtual Office

New Website is Geared to Help New and Growing Online Retailers

Navigate an Ever-Evolving Industry

China’s leading wholesale marketplace and champions of small businesses, DHgate.com, today launched IntroducingSuccess.com, a virtual office created exclusively to support America’s aspiring entrepreneurs and SME retailers.

The free site serves as a repository of information about starting and running a successful online business. IntroducingSuccess includes detailed guidance on all avenues from website tips to international product sourcing – including practical know-how on increasing profits through easy dealings with China-based suppliers.

The site, a first of its kind in this market, features a team of animated professionals all working for fictional start-up company, ‘SuccessCo’. Each team member has a specific area of expertise, such as Susan Oliviera in Accounting and Richard Cooke in Operations, all headed by CEO and Founder, Maggie Succesco. They share their insights and resources with visitors in an easy-to-navigate virtual office space.

Introducing Success is broken into three primary areas. The first is for ecommerce novices and provides a questionnaire for would-be-entrepreneurs and details on starting a business. The second section which provides content ranging from web design tricks to shipping options is geared towards those who might already be retailing, just not online using an international sourcing model. The last section includes marketing and sales tips that can be used by newcomers or experienced sellers. The site also features valuable information on doing business with China.

Ecommerce pioneer, DHgate.com, is the first Chinese company to specifically focus on helping western business owners get the most out of trade with China by addressing everything from “Chinese Business Practices” and “Choosing the Right Supplier”, to useful resources such as ““Taxes, Duties and Customs Considerations”.

This innovative thinking is typical of DHgate.com and Founder and CEO, Diane Wang.

Diane is an experienced entrepreneur who left senior management at Cisco and Microsoft to start Joyo.com, which she grew to China’s most successful B2C site and was subsequently acquired by Amazon in 2004. Having been an ambitious online retailer with little start-up capital, Diane learned the hard way that international trade with China could be made much easier. She launched DHgate.com that same year.

“DHgate.com takes the hassle out of cross-border trade with China, allowing safe transactions to take place in a few clicks of the mouse. 1.5 million small businesses have been able to grow their profits through purchasing from the 500,000 China suppliers on DHgate.com, and IntroducingSuccess.com has been created to take that further.”

IntroducingSuccess.com is a resource hub that helps with the other fundamentals, and is designed to save businesses time and money.

“It was also important to me that the site doesn’t just cater to those businesses which use DHgate.com to buy their inventory – we wanted it to be a place that ANYONE interested in starting an online shop could go for information. That’s why we used a virtual office and separate URL. “

As a market-maker, DHgate.com adopts a forward thinking business model, based on providing “freemium” (free and premium) services to business owners. IntroducingSuccess.com is a free, value-added service which complements the free membership model offered by the DHgate platform. On DHgate.com buyers pay nothing upfront; DHgate earns its revenue through commissions paid by the seller—only after a transaction is completed successfully.

The company is focused on providing easy access for buyers to learn more about making the most of China’s supplier base and making the most of the boom in ecommerce. They frequently update their Facebook page and Twitter accounts as well as running two popular blogs. Blog.dhgate.com focuses on wholesale trends and The Gateway Blog (www.thegatewayblog.com) shares Diane’s personal advice to entrepreneurs and retailers. With webinars, podcasts and even a YouTube Channel in store for 2010, buyers will find DHgate.com a hub for all their business needs. And starting this month, Diane will also host a regular blog entitled “The View from China” on PracticalEcommerce.com.

As Diane says, “It’s not just about transactions – It’s about leveling the playing field for businesses of all sizes and opening up China to the world.”

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Up for the Challenge

December 22, 2009

Despite the challenges that running a cross-border trade platform can present, I’m very lucky to genuinely enjoy the ecommerce industry. Since I founded DHgate back in 2004, I’ve been working on many levels to ensure that buyers using the site are not only protected, but profitable. And this involves addressing the issue of illegitimate products.markmonitor

Although replica product listings are an issue facing all ecommerce platforms across the web, I feel proud that DHgate is setting a new standard for B2B trade. Earning buyer trust is vital, and so we are continually working to better the methods of identification and removal of illegitimate products. Rather than be discouraged by this challenge, I’m excited that DHgate has a chance to really make a difference here.

Recently, we teamed up with brand protection agency, MarkMonitor to develop an automated system to give extra assurance for buyers. The API, which allows automated removal and suspension of questionable products and sellers, is an added safeguard to the platforms comprehensive anti-counterfeit measures.

Through a long partnership with PayPal, we have conducted thorough audits of the sites sellers, resulting in the removal of millions of product listings. We also utilize Escrow to protect buyer’s purchases, only allowing the release of their payment to the seller once it has been confirmed that they are happy with the goods received. Combined with our Trust Scores measure, feedback system and “Ask the Seller a Question” mechanism, buyers have all the tools they need to make a safe purchase. But we will keep going until this is no longer a concern for our users.

What considerations do you make when selecting products for your shop? Share best practice tips and thoughts here.

Also posted in Events and Happenings, Know-How, Personal Insights – 0 Comments

Future Rewards

December 11, 2009

Recently, my company DHgate.com, and China-based search engine, Baidu, began a project with Beijing Normal University and the China Development and Research Foundation to help China combat a concerning global trend – graduate unemployment.shopkey

The pilot program, entitled “Ecommerce and New Job Creation”, tests a training model that coordinates business, education and government entities. Starting with a modest group of 70 students, experienced staff from DHgate.com and Baidu provide recent graduates with practical in-job training and valuable international ecommerce skills.

On completion of the course students are awarded a qualification detailing the expertise they have gained in various areas of ecommerce. Then, we will make official introductions between graduates and enterprises that will benefit from their newly acquired skills and academic background. If successful, our plan is to grow this pilot program and roll it out to other institutions across China.

While I am entirely invested in the positive impact this will have on China’s youth, my efforts are not entirely philanthropic – there is a business benefit here too.

With 400,000 China-based wholesalers and manufacturers using the DHgate platform to connect with 2.1 million global small-business buyers, I also hope that the training course will prepare students for international business and help Chinese suppliers exceed the expectation of the global marketplace.

I believe that improving the abilities of SMEs to conduct fruitful cross-border wholesale, will increase the number of international busineses that choose to source from China, and that a proportion of those will choose to do so via DHgate.

Even though the immediate value to my business is limited, this could be significantly important in the future – and I’m playing the long game. Sure, in the meantime I am implementing other ways to better the experience for users that will have a more immediate affect, but programs like this one have a deeper value too, and it feels good when efforts are rewarded in more ways than one.

Are you conducting any long-term improvement programs? Why not share your details here?

Also posted in Business News, Know-How, Personal Insights – 0 Comments

Method and Madness

November 20, 2009

Over the years I have been privileged to learn from some truly inspiring people; the sorts of people who have pushed me to not just be an ambitious entrepreneur, but an innovative entrepreneur, too.  I don’t always know these people personally, but I follow them and their companies in the media, through their books, on their websites and sometimes, even as a customer. That is because in order to understand how someone thinks, you have to watch what they do. And they are doing some really exciting things.Ecommerce Report

I’m planning to write in more detail about some of these people in the near future, but firstly I wanted to talk about differentiating your company – something the nets leaders have cornered. The most successful etailers are those who look toward the future and plan to make it more dynamic from the beginning. I believe in having progressive core values from the start is vital to ensuring your business will last the test of time. There are plenty of examples that prove this theory.

Amongst the competitive online marketplace, one way to measure whether or not your tactics are working is to pay attention to what people are saying around you and about you. If your company is raising eyebrows, spurring conversations and inspiring others, then you are on the right track.

When Australia’s Ecommerce Report editor, Stewart Carter, wrote this week that retailers would “be mad to ignore” my company, DHgate.com, I was reminded that recognition from peers is reassuring! Although we are still working to overcome many challenges faced by young companies and a rapidly changing marketplace, we are feeling positive. I must admit, it’s an exciting time.

You can check out Stewart’s full report here.

Also posted in Personal Insights, Press – 1 Comment

The Competitive Edge

November 11, 2009

Competition is a fact of life for any business.  While it can be frustrating and worrying, competition spurs innovation, improvements and can generate market hype. Personally, over the years I have come to relish competition, and just as well because B2B ecommerce has plenty of it!competition

Whenever people ask me about my business, they inevitably ask the difference between DHgate.com and the supplier listing site, Alibaba. Alibaba spent USD$30 mil on international advertising this year, so it is not surprising that they are making a name for themselves. In truth, until recently Alibaba were not strictly speaking a direct competitor; while their primary service involves providing information listings akin to Yellow Pages, they do not actually host transactions as DHgate does; also, the bulk of their users are domestic, whereas 100% of our buyers come from outside of China. Our business models also differ greatly, with ours a pay-per-performance model, allowing users completely free access and generating revenue only when an order is successfully completed. Alibaba generates revenue by charging memberships fees and paid keyword advertising.

DHgate was the first business to streamline the cross-border trade process in an ecommerce platform, combining the collective buying power of SME buyers to leverage significant cost savings not just to drive down product costs with suppliers, but also with shipping companies, payment providers and other logistics partners. Now, five years on, competition in this space is hotting-up.

More and more newcomers are trying their luck in this market, and even traditional trade companies such as Alibaba are diversifying their offering to include a small-scale version. Far from being concerned about this, I’m actually really excited. This means that the market DHgate created and grew is thriving.

With more companies following our lead, we will see awareness of our function grow – especially if those companies are using big budgets to spread the word! At DHgate, I’ve always let positive word of mouth and referrals lead our marketing approach. We’ve grown with our suppliers and our buyers and we have a deep understanding of their needs and wants and as we introduce huge innovations to exceed our users’ expectations, we are preparing for explosive growth.

We have a 5 year head start on any of the competition, after all.

The Wall Street Journal also had a comment on our competitive advantage this week in the China Real Time Report. See here:

AliExpress. This product has been in beta since last quarter, and allows for transactions online that can be paid for through AliPay, Alibaba Group’s online escrow service. Up until now, Alibaba.com only connected buyers to sellers, but didn’t facilitate transactions online, so this could also mean a major milestone for Alibaba.com. It will be interesting to see whether the company moves toward a transaction-based model, because that model is very different from the current pay-up-front membership fee they charge to customers regardless of how many sales they make. The company already has competitors like DHgate, which allows transactions online, provides keyword search results by popularity and relevance rather than keyword advertising, and does not charge any membership fees.

How have you taken on the competition? What competitive challenges do you face? I’d love to hear your experiences here.

Also posted in Know-How, Personal Insights – 0 Comments
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