The thing to remember with a site like Alibaba is that it's a B2B directory, so it's full of independent suppliers. When you are dealing with a site like that, you'll usually find a decent mix of the good, the bad and the seriously ugly. To be completely safe, the two things I would recommend is number one: Never to try and source a branded product from a mainland Chinese supplier, no matter what assurances they offer you of authenticity. Secondly, choose a safe payment option, not something like Western Union.