I’ve only used Alibaba once. About 6 months ago, I bought a dozen oral mercury thermometers from them. I couldn’t get them anywhere else.
A lot of e-cig hardware is bought from Alibaba, since that is where it all started (China).
1 has extensive contracts with delivery partners including On Trac, USPS, UPS, FedEx and their own fleet of delivery trucks and independent contractors.
The other pays roughly a dollar to ship virtually any package under 3 pounds to the United States, up to 9 dollars cheaper than a domestic shipper can get. Volume sellers will pay 14 cents postage to ship an under 5 ounce package to the US.
What, you say, they just make a marketplace for Chinese sellers and buyers, right? Nope, they are also the primary conduit for those who wish to access the highly preferred first class international packet service - the catch is they have to deliver their packages to the appropriate center.
In the strict capitalistic sense, this is an interesting issue: 1) patronize the most efficient seller, or 2) patronize the most sustainable seller. Of course there should be no assumption the most efficient seller is not sustainable, but consider the comparison on face value.