>You can get industrial motors, flanges, valves, fasteners, materials, janitorial supplies

This is a precise definition of Alibaba's market segment.

Alibaba connects factories directly to businesses. I don't know a ton about the company, my introduction was a story from maybe 2011 about a kid from Michigan who made a million dollars selling iPod minis to his classmates until Apple shut him down

Edit: I couldn't find the link, this is the closest thing I could find

http://www.startupbros.com/how-you-can-make-big-money-import...