Alibaba.com doesn’t have to worry about the 40 thieves. What’s more problematic for the Chinese e-commerce firm is a poor understanding among the public in how to use its services, and a lack of recognised payment methods – issues that global heavyweights eBay and Amazon are also trying to tackle.
But those problems are minor compared with the trials and tribulations the business-to-business website has already gone through, including the tech-bubble implosion and the emergence of Sars.