As the world’s largest factory directory, Alibaba is also the largest platform of suppliers.
Alibaba offers a wide range of services and tools to help you take your international business to the next level.
One of the most powerful tools, Alibaba RFQ, allows you to receive quotations from multiple suppliers within a few days.
All you need to do is fill out the form and click the “Submit” button. If done correctly, Alibaba’s RFQ can help you save time because you don’t have to contact suppliers one by one.
In this article, we will focus on how to properly use Alibaba RFQ to publish your purchasing needs and get quality suppliers and even factories to contact you.
In addition, some of these tips will help you deal with suppliers in China and avoid minefields.
What's Alibaba RFQ? Should I Know It?
Alibaba RFQ is a service that enables buyers around the world to actively post purchasing requests, provided by Alibaba group.
You can visit the service page of Alibaba RFQ (https://rfq.alibaba.com/) to learn more.
When you finish the purchasing requirements on Alibaba’s RFQ submit page (https://rfq.alibaba.com/rfq/profession.htm), your post will be pushed to the related supplier. Then they will give you a quote accordingly.
Benefits of Using Alibaba RFQ
Free
You just need to post your purchasing needs, and suppliers offer you unsolicited quotes. You don’t have to pay any fees during this period.
Of course, Alibaba’s RFQ will offer some additional services for a fee, but the basic free version is already good enough to meet your needs
Faster Response
If you search for suppliers on Alibaba yourself, you will have to repeat explain your purchasing requirements and some product details with different suppliers at the same time. Some of them won’t even respond to your messagesat all.
It can take you several days to find a suitable supplier. But a good RFQ can get 10-15 valid quotes in a matter of minutes.
Better Price Comparison
If you contact vendors yourself, you’ll probably get dozens of requests to talk to them. You need to explain your needs one by one. Then the supplier will be more likely to give you a good price.
But with RFQ, you get quotes with real, valid prices.You can directly compare prices among 10-15 quotes.
More Active Suppliers
RFQ offers are competitive with vendors because you can only receive 10 free offers.
So they will treat your inquiry with the best attitude and even pay for the extra opportunity to quote you.
Please Note
Unfortunately, with the Aliabab RFQ, you will not be able to select the vendor type before the quote.
Although, you have a lot of inquiries, but no selection of suppliers. It will be difficult for you to identify if the quoted price is the best cost
Since an RFQ can only get a limited number of quotes, I recommend that you use RFQ quotes as the first channel to try.
If you are not a lucky dog, do not worry, you can still search the suppliers by typing the product keywords on the search bar to find multiple suppliers.
How to Use Alibaba RFQ, Step by Stpe
It is easy to publish an Alibaba’s RFQ. All you need to do is to register an Alibaba account, fill out the RFQ form and press “submit inquiry”.
After the RFQ is prepared, it will be reviewed by Alibaba experts before publishing or releasing to the market.
Vendor will search for relevant RFQs by product name and category. If the inquiry is of interest to the seller, they will give you an offer through the inquiry.
After that, you can evaluate, compare and guide offers.
Post Alibaba RFQ on Mobile
On mobile, you can easily post an RFQ post.
All you need to do is download the Alibaba app and sign up for an Alibaba account using your email or phone number to post the RFQ as shown below.
Post Alibaba RFQ on Desktop
I recommend that you publish the RFQ on desktop.
Because the RFQ form on desktop is not as simple as it on mobile, you can be more specific in describing your purchasing needs.
The more specific your purchasing requirements are, the more likely you are to attract suppliers who will meet your requirements.
And it is essy on desk top to release an RFQ as well, you just have to do this:
Step 1: Visit the Alibaba homepage and register an Alibaba account.
Step 2: Go to the form page of Alibaba RFQ and fill in your purchase requirements.
Step 3: Upload some photos of the product
Step 4: Click the Submit button to publish
Step 5: Recheck your published RFQ
Step 6: Choose among suppliers who offer the quotation
One thing you need to know is that whether you’re publishing an RFQ on mobile or desktop, there are only 10 basic RFQ quotes you can get.
Some suppliers may spend some money trying to offer you a quote, if there is no RFQ quote right for them. In this case you might get a dozen quotes.
5 Tips to Post a Excellent Alibaba RFQ
Please note that there is no basic product link on Alibaba RFQ platform. So how do you attract suppliers in the first place and make them think you are their Mr. Right?
The title and body of the RFQ are the points.
You can use the product name and the estimated quantity in the title.
Here is an excellent copy for the body of the article.
a) Briefly introduce yourself and quickly point to the product you are looking for. You can also tell me a little bit about your company,
b) Describe your request in detail, including the estimated quantity. This allows suppliers to quote more accurately.
If it is a trial order, in addition to quantity of a trial order, it is wise to also state that the quantity will be increased in the following order. You can also attach some pictures of the products here.
c) Express your needs for customized packaging. If there is no requirement, you should also indicate that the supplier’s standard packaging is ok for you.
d) Ask about shipping costs. Especially if you have your own forwarder, you can share this information with the supplier. This information will make the suppliers believe you are a professional buyer. In this case, he will take your enquiry very seriously.
e) The receiving address will be indicated in the follow-up communication. This is for the protection of your privacy, because the RFQ you post is public on Alibaba.
Stay away from the following deadly wrong copy writing. If I were a supplier on Alibaba and saw this kind of RFQ, you would be absolutely ignored immediately.
Common Q&A of Alibaba RFQ
Q1: Is it free to submit an Alibaba RFQ?
A1: Yes, Alibaba’s RFQ is free to use. However, you can pay a small extra fee to get faster quotes or more quotes. Or both.
Q2: Do all the suppliers listed on Alibaba respond to my RFQ?
A2: No, it depends on whether each supplier wants to quote to your RFQ. Many suppliers will choose the best RFQ to quote.
Therefore, you should use Alibaba’s RFQ as a supplemental procurement strategy, rather than researching suppliers and the only way to obtain quotes.
Q3: Can Alibaba guarantee that I get high quality products?
A3: No. Alibaba RFQ is an excellent matchmaker, but it’s up to you whether the supplier you choose is qualified and reliable enough.
Q4: How do I cancel my RFQ?
A4: Follow the following steps to close your Alibaba RFQ sourcing request.
- Log in to my Alibaba message center
- Now, press the drop-down menu and switch the page to RFQ.
- Select the inquiry you want to close.
- You can now close the selected RFQ. (If you can’t close it, it’s expired. So the supplier won’t see it either.)
Q5: Why didn’t I receive the corresponding quotation for my RFQ
A5: This is often due to your headline not being catchy enough or a lack of detailed product information. You will need to review your RFQ copy and, preferably, re-edit it for publication. You can refer to the excellent RFQ copy.
Chinasourcify's Free RFQ
Alibaba’s RFQ can quickly push your purchase requirements to the corresponding suppliers. The only downside is that the number of suppliers you can acquire is limited, and you need to communicate with different suppliers, maybe more than 10+ or 20+ suppliers.
In addition to Alibaba’s RFQ, you can also submit your sourcing requirements to Chinasourcify through our website. We will assign a China sourcing agent to you. Your purchasing agent can help you find the most suitable supplier resources in China, including factories.
We can help you communicate with different suppliers, get different quotations, and compare samples and prices to select the most suitable supplier. We can negotiate prices directly with suppliers on your behalf to help you get the most competitive prices.
Conclusion
Finally, we’d like to give you some advice.
Search for the best RFQ supplier among many suppliers. Choose producers over trading companies to maximize your profits.
Choose an experienced supplier with good communication skills. They will help you by answering your questions and giving you helpful advice.
To be specific, a balance should be struck between price and quality. If you are satisfied with 2 or 3 quotes, you can contact the supplier. Start asking for some samples for quality check.
Later, you can get more detailed attention before deciding which vendor to work with.
We hope you will find useful and useful information in this guide. If you have any other questions or suggestions, don’t forget to comment below.