International Business - Essay Example

International Business By: Alibaba.com (Hong Kong Limited, is a website that is used to help manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and others buy and sell products internationally. The company basically puts all of these people in touch with one another from one website. One such company would be Dexkee Elec-Technology Co., Ltd. This company sells video games from China as well as some other related accessories. Their website is created using alibaba.com for hosting (Dexkee Elec-Technology Co.

, LTD, 2011). I chose video games because it seems that even in this economy video games sales are still on the rise since sixty-seven percent of households play video or computer games (Entertainment Software Association, 2011). Alibaba.com works in a simplistic environment. The buyer logs onto the website and creates an account. They can either post buying leads or go to each company directly. The site offers a way for them to search for what they want by country. If a buying lead is posted then potential sellers will email the buyer through alibaba.com. They can even contact them by phone if the buyer allows it.

Once potential suppliers are identified an order can be placed and alibaba.com can be used for transactions via escrow. Escrow means that alibaba.com holds the money until the buyer has received their order in good condition. The buyer lets alibaba.com know and they release the money to the supplier. Some transactions can also occur outside of alibaba.com and this is where the potential for fraud comes in. A buyer could be sending money to someone who has no intentions of selling them any products.

Some even develop false websites just to make themselves seem legitimate. This site makes it easier to find suppliers who are in other countries and it helps companies find new markets to sell in thereby keeping them in business. Alibaba.com itself though can be a haven for frauders since they do not have a way to check if a company is legitimate or not. Bibliography Dexkee Elec-Technology Co., LTD. (2011). Dexkee Elec-Technology Co., LTD. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://dexkee.en.alibaba.

com/ Entertainment Software Association. (2011). Industry Facts. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp Hong Kong Limited. (2011). Alibaba.com. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://www.alibaba.com/