Playing the name game is a real gamble

A few years ago I came really close to making a good deal of money selling hand-carved items to the United States. My partners and I spent months working out the details with our Chinese supplier. He invited us to his house, his wife cooked, we ate, we drank ... everything was set. Except, we still had to find a buyer.

Since we were all in China, we decided the fastest way to connect with a buyer was through B2B website Alibaba. After a flurry of e-mails, online forms and a little up-front cash, we were ready to go.

If pictures, detailed product information, online chats and phone calls weren't enough to convince potential buyers of our seriousness, we were even prepared to send free samples.