Drew Shapiro, president of Chelsea Taylor, has been sourcing and buying on Alibaba.com for nearly two decades. Since founding his company in 2007, Drew’s US-based jewelry and accessories company had relied solely on overseas tradeshows to test new products and meet with new suppliers.

“One of the limits of going to trade fairs overseas is that we were only limited to interacting with the supplier factories that were exhibiting at that tradeshow,” said Drew. “Alibaba.com definitely opened up a new path to many, many factories – some smaller and some larger – that we normally would not have met at these shows.” Since then, Drew has been sourcing products on Alibaba.com and working hand-in-hand with manufacturers to find the valuable, precious products he needs.

Additionally, Chelsea Taylor saves a lot of money on travel expenses by no longer attending these international trade fairs. This cost saving has allowed Drew to continue expanding his product lines and put that revenue toward other aspects of the business. “The great thing about Alibaba.com is that it has enabled us to save a lot of money on travel expenses. We’re now using that money and putting it into more research and development to expand our business throughout the world.”

Alibaba.com Gives Added Peace of Mind

Drew’s positive perception of the Alibaba.com platform continues to grow. The type of sourcing he does now is far more sophisticated than what he did a decade ago. In fact, one particular feature that has gone a long way to aiding his aspirations, and added during his tenure on the platform, is Trade Assurance.

“Trade Assurance has really alleviated a lot of anxiety for us as a US company. In the beginning, when we did business overseas, we would always be concerned that if we gave a deposit to a new factory, would we receive our shipment and would the order be accurate?” explained Drew. “We no longer worry as Alibaba.com gives you a sense of security that if something should go wrong, Alibaba.com is my partner.”

With the Trade Assurance feature on Alibaba.com, buyers get added peace of mind that they are covered in the unexpected and rare occasion that their order is incorrect or late, for example. By filing a claim in 30 days after receiving the order, Alibaba.com will back the buyer and work directly with the seller to fix the problem.

Dynamic, Customized Searches on the Platform

With years of experience sourcing products on Alibaba.com, Drew and his team are well versed in how best to customize their inquiries. Drew likes to search for smaller factories that he feels can be more receptive to his needs and provide beautiful products for his amazing jewelry lines. On the platform, he also regularly filters for the types of products factories produce, minimum order quantity (MOQ), and the size of operations.

“We really like the one-on-one personal relationships with a smaller factory, that again, we would not normally find at a trade fair or somewhere else,” Drew said. “These are people that maybe did not attend trade fairs because of the price, but now with Alibaba.com, we have the ability to find them all over the world.”

Currently, 75 to 80 percent of Chelsea Taylor’s products are sourced on Alibaba.com, with continued expansion in the years ahead. Fans of the brand can expect new product lines and increased production across its existing offerings both online and in-store.