This Verified Supplier On Alibaba Is Pretending To Be Another Company

*To protect the privacy of our client, we have changed his name to an alias.

Most of the time, since international buyers do not know too much about the Chinese language, traders in China may blatantly use factory or product pictures of other companies to fool buyers.

One of our clients – let’s call him Chester – came across such a company on Alibaba. Chester lives in Yorkshire, UK, and has retired for two years. He can live on his pensions and have a carefree life. But he decided he wanted to experience a different lifestyle, the kind he has never experienced during his days in a local chemical giant. He decided to take some risks for a wealthier life so he can buy his granddaughter more toys.

After talking to some friends, he decided to import electric bicycles from China and sell them in Britain. He contacted several sellers on Alibaba, and one of them (Suzhou Hi-liang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd) offered him an attractive price.

An Alibaba Supplier’s Lies:

The company – Suzhou Hi-liang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd – claims to have more than 20 years of experience in producing electric bicycles. This company is a verified supplier on Alibaba. It seems that this company is trustworthy. However, being listed as a “Verified Supplier” does not mean the company is an honest one.

Here is what we found from the government database about this company:

We can see from its basic business registration information that Suzhou Hi-liang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd is in the “Scientific research and technical services” industry, which means it is a trading company, not a manufacturer. In addition, Suzhou Hi-liang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd was established in 2016. Thus, this company cannot be a manufacturer, or have 20 years of experience in this field.

The company also claims to have 2 registered trademarks – “Hiliang” and “Xindy”, and it has two factories in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province and Linhai, Zhejiang Province.

However, according to our research, the company’s legal representative and all of its key personnel do not any factory registered under their names in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province or Linhai, Zhejiang Province. The company does have a trademark “Hiliang”, which is waiting for review by government officials.

But the trademark “Xindy” does not belong to this company. It belongs to a company in Zhejiang Province – Zhejiang Yuda Automobile Industrial Co., Ltd. The factory pictures of Suzhou Hi-liang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd on Alibaba also belong to Zhejiang Yuda Automobile Industrial Co., Ltd.

On the company’s Alibaba page, it indicates that the company has several certificates.

But in fact, the company does not have any qualification or certificate in researching or manufacturing electric bicycles.

In conclusion, this company is just a very small trading company. Although it is in the research and technical services industry, the company does not seem to have any researching ability either.

After receiving our report, Chester asked us whether he should continue to buy from this trading company or buy directly from manufacturers. Since this company is selling other companies’ products, we suggested he talk to the company, put everything we found on the table, and ask the company what extra services they can offer. If they cannot offer extra services that can help international buyers save time or money, why not buy directly from actual manufacturers?