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Alibaba's US IPO Could Top $20 Billion

mpicpp writes with a snippet from Businessweek: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is seeking to raise as much as $21.1 billion in its initial public offering, in what could be the largest sale of new stock in the U.S. ever. The Chinese company and shareholders including Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO:US) plan to sell 320.1 million American depositary shares for $60 to $66 apiece, according to a regulatory filing today (BABA:US). At the high end of that range, the offering would surpass Visa Inc.'s $19.7 billion IPO in March 2008 and give the company a market value of $162.7 billion. Alibaba's executives are now able to meet fund managers to build demand for the IPO and they plan to begin the roadshow in New York next week, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The Hangzhou-based company has garnered years of attention for its scale — with 279 million active buyers in the year through June — and its exposure to a growing Internet consumer base in China.

97 comments

  1. IPOs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you aren't buying with the initial purchase prior to public offering, you get scammed. That is where all the money is made. Minimum purchase is usually $200,000-$1,000,000.

    Once you know that, IPOs are less exciting.

    1. Re:IPOs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It used to be said that users were worth $2 each. At $66/share Alibaba seems to think that users are worth $75.95 each... a little overinflated, don't you think?

  2. Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All I know is that whenever any of my searches turn up links in Alibaba the results are worthless. I have to specifically exclude them to get anything useful. I could not care less how this plays out.

    1. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Google used to let you block certain domains from searches but not anymore. I found an add on that hides results. I haven't seen Alibaba in a long time but that stupid ehow.com always turned up and was never once useful.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    2. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by epyT-R · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      take your wannabe sinophilic ass over to *.cn

    3. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gwailo? Now that's a new insult I've never seen before. And it's not a chinese word, in case you were wondering.

    4. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Learn some Mandarin you dirty uneducated gwailo

      Unlike the U.S., the dirty little secret people in other countries want to keep quiet about, or are forced to keep quiet about, are the people they call "nigger" in their culture.

      Japan's burakumin: considered non-human (hinin) or extremely unclean humans (eta) is an example. Its was "officially" declared wrong around the time of the second world war but still unofficially exists to this day. The "good" people could kill "base" people for violating any of the rules for segregation -- like chattel slaves.

    5. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Selur · · Score: 1

      one could translate the page,... (chinese -> english translation by google isn't that bad)

    6. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Gwailo? Now that's a new insult I've never seen before. And it's not a chinese word, in case you were wondering.

      The correct Mandarin word for "foreigner" is "laowai", and it is not an insult. It is a polite term. A less polite term would be "wairen", but even that is not really an insult.

    7. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by WWJohnBrowningDo · · Score: 2

      And it's not a chinese word, in case you were wondering.

      I was actually wondering why you're wasting everyone's time by commenting about a word which you apparently know nothing about.

    8. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Unlike the U.S., the dirty little secret people in other countries want to keep quiet about, or are forced to keep quiet about, are the people they call "nigger" in their culture.

      Chinese has minorities, but unlike other countries, they are doing something about it. They recently announced a policy of paying people to intermarry. If an ethnic minority person marries someone in the dominant Han ethnicity, they can receive a payment of 10,000 RMB per year for the first five years of their marriage. If they encourage enough mixed marriages, they may be able to eliminate all their minorities in a few generations. They won't have to worry about Tibetan separatism if there are no more Tibetans.

    9. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh man, you're so elite when you know the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese. Do you want a medal for that?

    10. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Dahamma · · Score: 4, Informative

      People are both right and wrong here. Though despite what the CCP wants you to believe "Chinese" is not a language any more than "Swiss".

      Gweilo (white ghost, aka foreign devil) is Cantonese, and though some don't consider it all that offensive, that would be about how an Alabama redneck doesn't consider "hey boy" offensive to a black man.

      But it's not Mandarin, so the OP's post of "learn some Mandarin you dirty uneducated gwailo" made about as much sense as "learn some American you barmy wanker" :)

    11. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Hangzhou is close to Shanghai, it's out of the Cantons. It's not "gwai lo", it's "lao wai". You're using Cantonese, not Mandarin (as you exhort the OP to learn). Perhaps you should learn a little yourself...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    12. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by citizenr · · Score: 1

      I know its cantonese, most of electronic suppliers in shenzhen speak cantonese (and some will call you that behind your back), but mandarin is all around more popular and sooner or later we will all speak it. Besides it would be guizi and not laowai.

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    13. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In fact I do.

      The poster told me to learn some mandarin, and then insulted me in Cantonese. I replied the insult wasn't a word in Mandarin, but you assholes insulted me because I didn't know the cantonese word. Well fuck all you guys, I'm taking my ball and going home. äçèSåä!

    14. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess I can't post chinese here? Get with the modern age, slashdot...

    15. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by the+grace+of+R'hllor · · Score: 2

      So you told him to learn Mandarin, because he found a site confusing, and then used a Cantonese insult to drive your 'point' home. Learn French, zakkenwasser.

    16. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They may eliminate Tibetan separatism if they eliminate the Tibetan minority (I personally do not like this, as I am quite fond of Tibetans), but they will not eliminate Islamic separatism - Islam has a particularly "sticky" property when marrying - men marrying Muslim women must convert to Islam. Women marrying Muslim men don't have to convert, but the children are Muslim.

    17. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by CRCulver · · Score: 2

      The correct Mandarin word for "foreigner" is "laowai", and it is not an insult. It is a polite term.

      If one speaks of the modern standard language, the correct-est Mandarin word for 'foreigner' is waiguoren. While laowai is not a strong insult, it is restricted to the colloquial register and it has a slightly pejorative air.

    18. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Clsid · · Score: 1

      What you want to say is slaowai, which is the actual insult, not wairen, laowai or some other stuff people have suggested. But you really messed it up by mixing Cantonese and Mandarin.

    19. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Clsid · · Score: 1

      The truth is you screwed it up and should just accept it. If anything they would speak Hangzhou hu, which is close to Shanghainese, since after all Jiangsu and Zhejiang are neighbors. And that place is famous for gardening more than electronics. They speak Cantonese in Shenzhen is because they are the Guangdong province, not Canton or some other misspelling a foreigner created along the way.

    20. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      Except NO one uses "guizi", they use "laowai". SOURCE: living and working in Shanghai and neighboring provinces for most of the last decade. Not to mention what my Shanghainese wife and family say is customary...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    21. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Learn some Mandarin you dirty uneducated gwailo

      Instead we will nuke your slant eyed yellow ass when the time comes.

      The US can and will destroy China when it becomes necessary to do so,
      and we already have satellite-based nukes with which to do it.

      So cut your shit-talking, yellow boy, because WE in the U.S. are YOUR MASTERS.

    22. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by citizenr · · Score: 1

      No i didnt damn it! :)
      Most people on alibaba speak Cantonese (at least electronic retailers), but mandarin is going to dominate in the end.

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    23. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by citizenr · · Score: 1

      Joke doesnt work without pejorative name calling.

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    24. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmm so they'll pay for amwf?

    25. Re: Alibaba Is Useless by WWJohnBrowningDo · · Score: 1

      I replied the insult wasn't a word in Mandarin,

      No, you didn't, you liar. You said "And it's not a chinese word".

      but you assholes insulted me because I didn't know the cantonese word.

      No, I insulted you because you wasted everyone's time with your ignorant bullshit about how a Cantonese word isn't Chinese. If you had said "And it's not a Mandarin word" then I would have modded you informative and moved on.

    26. Re:Alibaba Is Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chinese has minorities, but unlike other countries, they are doing something about it. They recently announced a policy of paying people to intermarry. If an ethnic minority person marries someone in the dominant Han ethnicity, they can receive a payment of 10,000 RMB per year for the first five years of their marriage. If they encourage enough mixed marriages, they may be able to eliminate all their minorities in a few generations. They won't have to worry about Tibetan separatism if there are no more Tibetans.

      Why stop there when you could take it to the next level by having the police make the program apply to intermarrying Japanese, Koreans and Chinese, perhaps calling the end result Japkornese, ending the millennial hostilities once and for all.

      Engrish motherfucker, do you speak it?.

  3. It's actually pretty remarkable. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My spam filter regularly scrubs offers for penis pills that are less sketchy than the cheap garbage they peddle on Alibaba. My erection lasts a helluva lot longer, too.

    1. Re:It's actually pretty remarkable. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But you forget how often Republicans lie and claim that imported pills don't work. Their kind even claims Canadian drugs aren't safe. Republicans have fought like hell to keep Canadian drugs out of this country. They hate us and want us to die so they want us to not be able to afford life-saving drugs.

    2. Re:It's actually pretty remarkable. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because EVERYONE wants commie pinko SJW hipster douchebags like you to die. Then we can stop listening to the bullshit you peddle whilst hiding behind your AC there.

      So please, go eat a bag of dicks already.

  4. It could top $24 billion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China's biggest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding says it expects to price its initial public offering (IPO) at between $60 and $66 per a share. It has filed to sell up to $24.3bn (£15bn) in stock, in what will be the biggest technology listing in the US.

  5. Re: all that money by frikken+lazerz · · Score: 0

    Right now Ebola is only primarily affecting poor black Africans. Once it starts affecting rich white folks people will "find" for a cure immediately.

  6. Re:all that money by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 0

    Making money, and there isn't any money to be made in curing Ebola...

    Which is rather sad...

  7. Re:all that money by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Hey, you know where might be a good place to get some Chinese biotech researchers for cheap? Alibaba!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  8. Re:all that money by Greyfox · · Score: 0

    Hey, you know where you might be able to get some Chinese biotech researchers for cheap? Alibaba!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  9. , , , and his 40 thieves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just sayin.

    1. Re:, , , and his 40 thieves by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You beat me to it, 'cause I paused to look it up. He was a woodcutter, not the thieves' leader. The wanted to kill him because he knew how to get their treasure.

      Not that that version of the story is particularly reasurring for an IPO either...

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re:, , , and his 40 thieves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      salami, salami, boloney

      said one Robin Williams as he hung himself by his own petard - Shelly Duvall wisecracked ...Ohhhh

    3. Re: Re:, , , and his 40 thieves by DexterIsADog · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I remember that original Popeye cartoon. That line seemed funny then, but I was 6.

    4. Re: Re:, , , and his 40 thieves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Noshite! Funny is Peter Griffin running round the breakfast table farting in Meg Griffin's face. Backwards! And you thought that was a Scottish thing? Nope, the Irish do it all the time. Apparently only in their daughters' faces. But this is adult entertainment. Only on Fox! And TBS. And Comedy channel. And your local stations. Except in the south. Well, I don't know. Maybe in the south. Anyone from the south here?

  10. Re: all that money by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1, Funny

    Once it starts affecting rich white folks people will "find" for a cure immediately.

    Ebola is not going to spread outside Africa, because soap and hand sanitizer are enough to reduce the transmission rate to about 0%.

  11. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the question is, what do they need shareholders money for? With their revenues there probably is no need for it. Their possible two benefits are 1) company price rises and 2) it could ease doing business in US. Did I miss anything?

    1. Re:Why? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

      'cause they aren't getting our money fast enough yet?

      Re #2, Teh Beeb or someone on the telly said that the IPO was already for a front company, 'cause foreigners aren't allowed to own Chinese companies.

      Also said some potential investors are shy because it's not clear whether / how long China will tolerate the kind of workaround set up for the IPO.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re:Why? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      Quick correction - foreigners CAN own Chinese companies. In fact, I own one - a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (called a "woofy"). You can own a company in China; what you cannot do is sell OR EVEN OFFER stock or options of a foreign company to any Chinese national. Meaning that foreign companies who provide stock options to their employees in the US or other countries cannot do that for their Chinese employees. That's about the only difference, however.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    3. Re: Why? by Malc · · Score: 1

      That's not completely true. My previous employer gave our Shanghai employees stock, although they had to sell it immediately.

    4. Re: Why? by Clsid · · Score: 1

      Well, kind of like how people are working without work visas. Just because it is happening does not make it legal.

    5. Re: Why? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Informative

      Then that was actually illegal. The ONLY stock that can be given to Chinese nationals, working in China, is that of a company publicly traded on a Chinese stock exchange. No other stock transaction is actually legal. Now, many do it anyway (hey, TIC - This Is China), but it is illegal.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So the question is, what do they need shareholders money for? With their revenues there probably is no need for it. Their possible two benefits are 1) company price rises and 2) it could ease doing business in US. Did I miss anything?

      When alibaba stock is placed on the ny stock exchange it will have Chinese malware in it. Profit!

  12. Cantonese by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
  13. Wait. The 40 thieves aren't named? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The article doesn't mention who the 40 thieves are. I suggest they start by looking at the CFO and possibly the CEO and the board of directors.

    *ducks*

  14. Is this really a good investment? by linearZ · · Score: 1

    Only a matter of time before the Chinese government takes over Alibaba, or sues because of "antitrust" or whatever other reason it can think of to get its cut. Either way, how can owning part of a Chinese business be a good investment, unless you are former/current PLA or a wig wearer in the Communist party?

    I wouldn't waste my money.

    --
    Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals.
    1. Re:Is this really a good investment? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Only a matter of time before the Chinese government takes over Alibaba, or sues because of "antitrust" or whatever other reason it can think of to get its cut. Either way, how can owning part of a Chinese business be a good investment, unless you are former/current PLA or a wig wearer in the Communist party?

      I wouldn't waste my money.

      You idiot. The Government of China already has substantial control over the company. Ownership is a mere formality in the Communist country. Are does the US do business with China given their terrible human rights record yet are banned from business in Cuba, a tiny island nation? And then Obama lectures Putin about imperialism? At least Canada had the guts at one time to march to Washington, DC, and set the White House alight. If there is a Hell in the Afterlife may all the ball-licking CEOs, CFOs, politicians and their lackeys be eternally tormented.

  15. disastrous by slashmydots · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I tried to source items from sellers on Alibaba. I really did. Unfortunately, the site looks like a year 1 beta run my morons who don't know what they're doing and have never even heard the term professionalism. Their e-mails are basically scam spam. Every single seller who gave me a quote turned out to be a scammer. Alibaba doesn't give a shit. They do nothing to stop it besides pretending to certify them as gold sellers. If you invest in Alibaba, you might as well put money in Facebook and Apple because apparently you like disastrous Titanic-caliber corporate meltdowns. Investing in companies because they're making money when all their users hate them is so beyond stupid.

    1. Re:disastrous by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 2

      "...you might as well put money in Facebook and Apple because apparently you like disastrous Titanic-caliber corporate meltdowns.."

      And you were doing so well for a minute there.

      --
      http://www.rootstrikers.org/
    2. Re:disastrous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The company has built for about 20 years. We have our own way to supply you the high quality products with lowest price and delivery on time as we can.

      We have abundant experience for exporting so that you could avoid lots of risks.

    3. Re:disastrous by cobbaut · · Score: 0

      What you say is simply not true.
      I have ordered eight times from Alibaba this year and all items arrived on time, complete and properly labeled. It is much cheaper than any other website and well designed (easy confirmation of arrival, clear evaluation of sellers and buyers, good tracking of products, ...).
      My guess is Amazon/Ebay and others better hurry to improve their service, because this is one very well organized giant invading their market.

      --
      European Linux user, living in Antwerp
    4. Re:disastrous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      A quick question from an English Teacher.

      If your company is worth $20 Billion, why can't you afford to employ somebody to PROOFREAD YOUR FUCKING ATROCIOUS ENGLISH?

    5. Re:disastrous by Clsid · · Score: 1

      Sure, there are some accounts of people that never answer, but I was able to source medical equipment from India from their site. I'm pretty sure the guy was just a reseller but anyhow, he offered me a good price, I made a profit and was able to solve all my issues in English. In reality, you might want to go to China, find the actual factory, collect your shipment etc, but I didn't have the resources to do that, so the site was good for me.

    6. Re:disastrous by flyneye · · Score: 2

      Odd, whenever I need bulk guitar hardware, I have had NO trouble ordering from sellers on Alibaba. I needn't tell you that I continue to order because that's where I get the best price.
      Yes, it is culturally different to do business with Chinese, but, gotta admit, they do try to westernize their service. You have to remember, it is an Eastern mindset behind it all. That means fewer frills and a hurry up and do business @ lowest cost mentality over finessing the customer with the latest HTML tricks.
      If you could actually afford it, it would be a great investment, Alibaba isn't new or struggling by any measure. They ARE huge and amount to Ebay Asia for mfg/wholesale applications as well as individual retail purchases. When I don't want my instruments to have the same old shit as every other craft manufacturer, let alone the majors, I go there to source.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    7. Re:disastrous by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      Sounds like someone's still mad about their Myspace stocks.

    8. Re:disastrous by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      I have been wondering that for years and years and years.

  16. Re:all that money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you're in the wrong article dude

  17. Re: all that money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    How'd that soap and water work out for all those doctors then? You won't find a person better trained to wash their damned hands....

  18. Ali Baba and the forty investment bankers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ali Baba and the forty investment bankers .... a classic tale.

  19. Re: all that money by the+grace+of+R'hllor · · Score: 1

    "about 0%" means that it isn't 0%. And these people are surrounded by infected people. Who may not have used soap or hand sanitizer anyway.

    It's the same thing as herd immunity: If everyone disinfects, then you're good. If a fraction disinfects, then even that fraction is at risk simply by being surrounded by infection sources.

  20. The end of TWO bubbles by popo · · Score: 2

    The Internet bubble is already bursting, with mass layoffs all over the valley. On top of that, the "China growth" story is also cold and dead, with bad debts soaring across Asia.

    This has the makings of a massive flop, but the news media is ecstatic about this IPO despite widespread reporting on both bubbles having burst already.

    Short this piggy.

    --
    ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
    1. Re:The end of TWO bubbles by alexander_686 · · Score: 2

      I would not say that. Yes, China's growth rate has fallen from 10% to 7%, but that is still higher than the West's 2%.

      And yes, China is horrible misallocating resources and I reckon that when the bubble busts it will take the wind out of Alibaba's sails. But that is a argument for slower growth, not a falling stock price. (It could, you just need to build out your argument.)

      As for shorting this piggy, as somebody who lived though the Dot.com crash seeing people do this first hand, I will point out that the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. Take care.

    2. Re:The end of TWO bubbles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Amazon has mindshare in the U.S., but Alibaba is where all the stuff they sell comes from. Alibaba might or might not get rich on their IPO, and their bank will likely rob them even if they do, but Alibaba is still going to eat Amazon's lunch regardless.

      In 10 years, we'll all just buy directly from China with no American earning a paycheck from our purchases, well except for our credit card companies. And we'll 3d print anything we need right this minute, again with no American earning a paycheck from that activity. I consider this a good thing because it's vastly more efficient, although we'll obviously need a basic income to make it sustainable.

    3. Re:The end of TWO bubbles by paiute · · Score: 2

      the news media is ecstatic about this IPO despite widespread reporting on both bubbles having burst already.

      How much money is going under the lunch table to reporters to generate this excitement?

      --
      If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  21. should scare Amazon and ebay.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Amazon and ebay mostly sells products from China anyway. Most of what I buy on Ebay is just from resellers of products from Chinese sources. But Alibaba has cheaper more direct access to the real sources of those products, so can sell with less markup. And once Alibaba gets established in the US market there will be less need for the producers of the products to deal with Amazon.

    Amazon and ebay ought to be scared.

  22. why all the hate? by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

    All I see here is a bunch of hate for Alibaba. I do not understand it. Alibaba is basically the chinese/hong kong version of ebay. I buy stuff off their all the time and it's great. But you have to know what it is to get any use out of it. It's mostly grey market and refurbed stuff. Also, if it's shipping from Hong Kong it's going to take about 2 weeks to get to you. If it's mainland china, it can literally take 2 months. It's not just for cheap stuff, there are things you can get on there that just aren't sold in the US.

    As a hobby I build a lot of stuff... electronics, tools, whatever... I can get prefabbed circuit boards off there for a few dollars. For example, a few years ago I built my own stereo, and wanted it to have bluetooth. I got a blutooth receiver board and a D/A converter for it for about $15, and that sort of thing just didn't exist in the US at the time.

    Every seller I've dealt with on there's been great. I've not gotten ripped off. I've returned things, gotten support, etc... I'm sure there are bad sellers on there, I've not run into one though.

    1. Re:why all the hate? by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

      I don't hate them. I will not support them, why should I? to make the stockbuyer happy??lol nope. To send my money to another country to save a few bucks nope. I will not buy anything from them as I would prefer my US money stay in the US as mush as I possibly can. so I wont be switching to alibaba ever. And im betting a few million Americans think the same way I do.

      --
      Jack of all trades,master of none
    2. Re:why all the hate? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      I don't hate them. I will not support them, why should I? to make the stockbuyer happy??lol nope. To send my money to another country to save a few bucks nope. I will not buy anything from them as I would prefer my US money stay in the US as mush as I possibly can. so I wont be switching to alibaba ever. And im betting a few million Americans think the same way I do.

      If American business's employed Americans, I might agree with you. But they don't. Do you think it's even possible to buy a Stereo or Cellphone made by a US citizen? No... except the ones I build myself and they aren't for sale :-)

    3. Re:why all the hate? by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

      Doesn't matter, an American company will get my money first always.

      --
      Jack of all trades,master of none
  23. why didn't we think of this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A recipe for national success:

    1. People in a foreign land invent something really good, like a great new business model.

    2. The foreigners want to expand their business into your country.

    3. But your protectionist government has a different idea: Block the foreign company and make a local clone of foreigners' idea.

    4. A decade later, your local clone is worth tens of billions of dollars and the foreigners get nothing!

    Great idea! Why aren't we doing things like this?

    Note: Also works with mineral resources. Why let a foreign company like British Petroleum make billions per year off of your mineral resources when you could keep those billions for yourself?

  24. The Real Question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much of that $20 B will end up in the pockets of corrupted officials?
    A. 10%
    B. 20%
    C. 40%
    D. 70%

  25. I would expect even more by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    Our last huge internet-related IPO pulled in several craptons of money for a company that has no product and only functions to waste time and sell users' private data. Alibaba at least has a product and does a useful service. Apparently having an actual business plan is no longer important to having a successful IPO if you're an online company?

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  26. Re: all that money by DexterIsADog · · Score: 1

    Yeah, yeah, governments collude with industry, and rich white people ride on top, but please retreat a step or two from tinfoil hat country. You imply a cure is being withheld, whereas the WHO is actively working on a vaccine now, and is selecting the best treatments to apply.

    Lower levels of funding are *not* the same as withholding a cure. One is related to self-interest, and the other is conspiracy to let people die.

  27. Relevant QOTD by Holistic+Missile · · Score: 1

    Quote of the day at the bottom of the page (at least for me):

    Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will be dear to you. -- Thomas Jefferson

    --
    When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. It only affects the people around you. Same thing when you're stupid.
  28. selling a red chinese cyber gulag now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It will be controlled by the state and used against the people of china.
    Sell the risk to foreign suckers and when chinas economy tanks and the stock is worthless just laugh.

  29. Re:all that money by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    I'm sure on alibaba you could buy 25,000 different cures for Ebola, each costing 54 cents per thousand.

  30. Re: all that money by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    This is a common fallacy for poorly educated Americans and others: while much of huge world lives in "unsanitary conditions", that doesn't mean what it thinks it means. It doesn't mean people are unhygienic, I.e. They don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. It means the water is poopy and the food is spoiled. There' little to no preventative medical care, making people susceptible to disease, and there's too much overcrowding. This is how diseases like cholera and Ebola spread.

  31. Re:all that money by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    Also some research subjects...

  32. Which company is that? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Our last huge internet-related IPO pulled in several craptons of money for a company that has no product and only functions to waste time and sell users' private data.

    I'm not sure which company you're referring to. Because if it's Facebook (FB), its product is space on its users' screens, and it sells only aggregate data, not personally identifying information, to its advertisers.

    1. Re:Which company is that? by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      Our last huge internet-related IPO pulled in several craptons of money for a company that has no product and only functions to waste time and sell users' private data.

      Because if it's Facebook (FB), its product is space on its users' screens

      That is not a particularly valuable product, particularly considering how many people use adblock and other similar browser plug-ins (coupled with the general failure of selling ad space on mobile phones).

      nd it sells only aggregate data, not personally identifying information, to its advertisers.

      To its lower-tiered advertisers, possibly. Don't fool yourself into thinking they aren't selling personally identifying information elsewhere.

      ... and before someone says "if you don't like it, don't use it" - I'm not using facebook. I've never had an account there. However I know they have information on me based on what my wife has posted and shown me over the years. There is no effective opt-out for it, the fact I don't have an account is rather meaningless to their empire.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    2. Re:Which company is that? by tepples · · Score: 1

      [Ad space on users' screens] is not a particularly valuable product, particularly considering how many people use adblock and other similar browser plug-ins

      Who has produced credible statistics as to how many people use ABP, F.B. Purity, or some other ad blocker? I use an SWF click-to-play extension, but that's it. But then I'm not a Facebook member either. In fact, I've blocked a few of Facebook's hostnames in my laptop's hosts file so I don't even see like buttons.

  33. What do they make, do? by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    What do they make, do? I've herd of the name once before I though it was a movie tidal lol.

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
  34. Ali Baba and the fourty theives by goombah99 · · Score: 2

    Ali Baba and it's sister consumer site, Ali Express, are aptly named to recall the famous arabian theives. I've bought lots of items on ali express and my experience is that anything above $40 for sale is going to involve you losing your money to a thief. Things like Suunto watches sell there under $100 but guess what, they are either counterfeits or you never get what you order. Same with Seagull brand watches. It's a theives market. Sure Ali baba has dispute resolution mechanism but the theives know how to work this to their advantage. A typical transaction goes like this. You buy something and you get a tracking number. The item never arrives. You check the tracking number and it's a real tracking number and it shows the item arrive but was deliver to some other city. You file a dispute. The thief ("merchant") offers you a $20 discount for your inconvenience and promises to reship it. If you accept this offer then you close the dispute and cannot re-open it. Needless to say the item never arrives. The tracking number is just one the thief recycled from some other past shipment to satisfy the alibaba purchase tracking. If you are clever enough not to accept the $20 offer then what happens is the dispute goes back and forth with the theif saying he's out his product and could you please agree to split the cost. If he's lucky you walk the time for the transaction past the Alibaba protection period. If not you remeber to escalate it. Then theres a month or more of incommunicado with the Ali baba site where they weigh your claims of non-arrival with the theifs attempts to seem conciliatory. Perhaps alibaba refunds your money but you don't know till one day it just happens.

    I've been down this road so many times with "almost but not quite too good to be true" that this is the norm not the exceptions. The theives know that you know that somethings are too good to be true. so they price they scam appropriately. For example, often one theif will have a dozen different IDs on alibaba and then will sell the same suunto watch for a spectrum of prices. He's effectively titrating for the chumps wariness level. Exactly how much below MFG retail do your antennas go up verus your own greed to get the best deal. So you fool yourself by picking the seller with the price you are willing to believe. But they are the same guy.

    Alibaba closes down the theif sometimes, but a week later they pop up with the exact same scam.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  35. Why are the fucking Chinese... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1) allowed to list their foreign shit on a US exchange
    2) allowed to buy US land and charge US citizens rent to live on it?

    Why invade a country when you can buy the whole fucking thing?

  36. Alibaba = Scams & Money Laundering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alibaba/Ali express is ridiculous. They don't even perform email verification on accounts. The site's used for money laundering by scammers.

  37. Before starting discussing Alibaba, several facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. Alibaba mainly operates around the globe - except in USA. That is why most of the people in US don't know about this site.
    2. Alibaba's main income comes from around the globe - except from US.
    3. Alibaba's IPO is the biggest IPO in NYSE history - from a company with almost zero presence in US.
    4. Alibaba itself doesn't need money from IPO -- it's annual net profit is already 4B and growing, this IPO only raises 20B for them. Yes this IPO will for sure raise brand recognition for Alibaba in US, but who cares? Alibaba has already become the biggest e-commerce site globally, how much more would the US market help out?
    5. Why it needs to IPO? Alibaba wants to payback Yahoo/Softbank (it's early investors) and get rid of them; Yahoo/Softbank ask Alibaba to list on an offshore exchange (NY/LN/HK) so that they can cash out. Both Yahoo/Softbank reneged - Softbank refused to sell a single share, Marissa Meyer managed to sell a lot less than Yahoo committed to.
    6. Alibaba chose NYSE to list, this is a big favor to US, NYC, and NYSE. London is a viable option. US needs to return this favor.
    7. Yes Amazon has operations in China, but Amazon is an underdog in e-commerce sector overthere, behind Taobao/JD/DangDang.
    8. With the pervasive presence of Alibaba in China, Alibaba's China income growth rate is for sure in line with China's GDP growth rate, which is at least 7.5%. Which means the profit/roi is likely 7.5%.