...Unlike Amazon (AMZN, Tech30), Alibaba doesn't own any of the merchandise sold on its platforms, which gives it little control over what vendors put up for sale. And since Alibaba makes money on the number of merchants and sales commissions, reducing volume hasn't always been a priority.
Hoosier's note: I have been telling my friends that Alibaba doesn't own anything and that's why it recently went on a buying spree...SingPost, a Football Club, and etc, and etc, just to show that it owns some assets.