Alibaba.com's Gold Supplier Membership Scam are you a victim too?

We operate a small business in middle east where we produce dried fruit and nuts and persian saffron in a spectacular quality .

however , in 2010 i joined alibaba as a free member and i kept receiving emails about becoming a gold first for $2000.00 USD then the discounts kept coming until i joined them in 2013 with $255.00 USD , the next year they kept doubling the renewal amounts , and they also said we can't respond to inquiries unless we buy "responding credit/quota" which was an stupid thing too. however i was supposed to be a gold member until Dec 2017

but , in may 2016 i received this exact text by email :

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXX ,
From time to time, Alibaba.com adjusts our technology and business in order to better serve our users. Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that, due to an adjustment, effective May 4, 2016, you will no longer be a Gold Supplier and instead become a free member.

They literally destroy your credit in the market , without even telling you why

This is it , tell me if you have had similar experience

 

The problem with Alibaba.com is that there are plenty of scammers and middle men lurking around. In my dealings with them however I have found that not all unverified members are scammers, and not all paid gold suppliers are legitimate.

 

I wanted to post thanks, but couldn't find any Like or Thanks button.

You are exactly right. It is not easy to tell.

Alibaba is the most popular but one of the worst B2B sites for sourcing. I have been a free member for many years although so far I have never listed anything for sale, and probably never will. What my free membership does for me is to give me the true inside information on how Alibaba operates.

The problems experienced by @seofriend are being experienced by large numbers of Alibaba free members and many of them are verified members. The problem has come about because Alibaba has woken up to the fact that in selling Gold Supplier badges they have a real goldmine. (Pun intended.) I have recently looked at some categories and found that every listing is a Gold Supplier although there are still free members around in some categories.

I have received an email telling me that buyer inquiries will only be passed on to Gold Suppliers!!!!! This amounts to a declaration that unless you are willing to pay up, you won't get any business. This means the dubious extra value of a Gold Supplier badge as far as buyers are concerned will have disappeared. The only way they can buy from free members is if they can find them outside of Alibaba and contact them direct. That is something I would advise against.

I am hoping that free members will wise up to the fact that they need to provide website details in their listing as the only way for buyers to contact them.

Walter Hay