THE BAD NEWS IS
Ok here it is currently speaking (Feb 2021): The website suddenly had BLOCKED OUT THE U.S. on many item listings and I was bewildered because no one could tell me why. Since that time it has become clear that THE US TREASURY DEPARTMENT of all people, has decided to BLACKLIST THE ALIBABA WEBSITE. Some items seem to still be visible and others simply refuse to page load with the notice = THIS PRODUCT CANNOT BE SHIPPED TO YOUR REGION. YOU BETTER TAKE NOTICE: this will affect everything and makes all we were told regarding Donald Trump look like a lie. The news is that Joe Biden intends to allow the current trade war with China to not only stand, but to INCREASE THE MEASURES. This is all national news at the moment. This trade matter is not red or blue, just real. I have a prop shop. I supply props for films and videos. That requires LIFE LIKE MANNEQUINS OFTEN so I have been buying life sized silicone dolls for many situations. The pages of those will all crash and you get this message = This product is not available for shipment to your region". I should also note that I have active importer accounts at 2 other major China websites: DHgate & AliExpress but am now very concerned that = THOSE MAY ALSO BECOME INVOLVED IN THIS. I have shopped AliExpress before and out of 20 or so purchases only had an issue with 1 and was given a prompt refund and all that was most likely a covid thing. I recently registered with Alibaba to connect with manufacturers of the products I needed. In the US we have been conditioned to seek out manufacturers in China. I realize there are many other manufacturing markets like S Korea, The Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, etc BUT THERE ARE NO ONLINE MARKETPLACES FOR THE SUPPLIERS TO INTERFACE WITH THE SELLERS FOR ANY OF THEM. So today I am giving Alibaba 3 stars which is just above dead center. I do not know how much of this overall issue is their actual fault if any at all. I do understand the absence of the American manufacturing base, but also realize there are items like these life size doll/mannequins that are simply NOT mass produced here so this leaves me stuck and also MANY OTHERS WITH SIMILAR PRODUCT SUPPLIER NEEDS. I will be monitoring the situation and UPDATING THE RATING & REVIEW AS OFTEN AS NEEDED TO KEEP THINGS CURRENT + ACCURATE.