Even with buyer-protection or dispute…
Even with buyer-protection or dispute mechanisms, don't assume you are guaranteed to recover your money if something goes wrong. Don't risk serious money on Alibaba. I have personally had more than one bad experience buying large-value orders through Alibaba, and I want other buyers to understand the financial risk before they make the same mistake. On a previous large purchase, the supplier shipped incomplete goods. The supplier acknowledged that items were missing, but the missing items were never sent to me and I received no refund for them. I later had another serious problem with an Alibaba purchase. Again, goods were not delivered as expected. I opened a dispute and provided evidence. Alibaba's mediation team became involved, but the outcome was in the supplier's favor. I was left without the goods I paid for and without a refund. Think about that carefully: you can pay a substantial amount of money, receive an incomplete order, have the supplier acknowledge what is missing, and still end up carrying the financial loss.