Your experiences shopping with AliExpress?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by melstapler, Nov 18, 2017.

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  1. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist Thread Starter

    Has anyone purchased an item from AliExpress and how was your experience?
     
  2. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I've bought a few things, generally good experience, all from Chinese sellers so slow postage times, one seller didn't send the item and one item disappeared in the mail after reaching the UK, but on both occasions getting a full refund was quick and simple, I'm happy to use it for the items that aren't readily available on eBay, Amazon etc, I would probably think hard about buying electrical items or something really expensive although I have spent £100+ on individual items.
     
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  3. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist Thread Starter

    Thanks so much, this helps very much. I've noticed the most popular sellers on the site have the best feedback, which make sense. However, I noticed they don't accept Paypal as a method of payment. What method do you typically use to pay for goods on AliExpress?
     
  4. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I use my credit card, but it's through AliExpress themselves rather than direct to the buyer, it's been a while since I read all the info and please check it for yourself, but I think they hold onto the money until you've received the item and are satisfied, as I said, there were no issues getting a refund. Also it's obvious, but don't forget to take import duty into account although I think you get a lot more leeway that we do in the UK.
     
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  5. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Just found this site today and was wondering about it. Saw some band shirts I wanted and they are cheaper on here than eBay and it seems the same shirts are on eBay for much more and 8.99 shipping. I added one item to my cart the chickened out because I knew nothing about the site and the seller had no feedback (the ones on eBay had none or very little feedback as well so I wonder if it is the same vendor).
     
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  6. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist Thread Starter

    From what I've experienced with similar international sellers on eBay, AliExpress may actually be more reliable and have a better track record. So far, I've received every item from AliExpress as promised and they also provide similar up-to-date feedback which can warn customers if there is a potential threat or on a positive note, if their buying experience has been good enough for them to recommend that seller to other buyers.

    On eBay and over the span of about 2 years, I dealt with numerous cases where the international seller would ship to a different/incorrect address within the same zip code and city (of me, the buyer) and simply mail either an empty envelope or a random substitute item of comparable weight addressed to the resident. Then tracking shows the package "envelope" as delivered; the person receiving the empty envelope discards it and the buyer is left with a claim which will be instantly denied by eBay's automated customer support features for buyers. In this situation, eBay's automated software and their limited capabilities for viewing tracking info don't entirely sync with the actual shipping label used by the seller. The paid shipping label used by the seller is instant proof they did or didn't ship the item to the correct address.

    So yes, AliExpress has been a 100% positive experience for my orders so far and I hope your experiences will be equally rewarding.
     
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  7. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    I might give it a try... Still a little uneasy I guess. Does shipping vary? (Meaning does it take a month? A week?)
     
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  8. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist Thread Starter

    So far, shipping has been surprisingly faster than sellers from the same region on eBay, but I'm guessing that AliExpress have stricter timetables for products to be delivered. One thing I always do is purchase 1 item at a time, meaning 1 transaction at a time. Not sure if it really matters, but my theory is that if any problems were to arise, having separate transactions would make it easier for such issues to be resolved because there would be less confusion.

    Since I haven't had any issues with orders or sellers, I can't comment on how problems are handled. However, they seem to be more customer-friendly compared to the modern eBay. AliExpress seem to have a zero tolerance policy for sellers who fail to deliver items to the customer and that peace of mind makes me feel better about ordering an item which is $50 or under. Although I haven't made any purchases over $50, it's mostly because I'm weary of buying items which are delicate or could be easily damaged in transit. On the upside, a friend of mine has bought some guitars on AliExpress and knock on wood, none of them were damaged. I've picked up many packages at my post office and after seeing how employees handle the boxes, it's just not worth the risk.

    One thing I've discovered is you can set your search results on AliExpress to include the items with free shopping at the top. From there, I avoid sellers who have zero orders or no feedback whatsoever.
     
  9. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Yep, the tour/band shirts I was looking at have free shipping but no feedback of any kind. And the same shirts are for sale on Ebay with a lot of negative feedback (but the sellers have a different name but everything looks the same). If I go to the band's website they are around $35 plus shipping. Ebay 19-28 bucks plus shipping and on AliExpress 9.99-12.99 with free shipping. But with no feedback of any kind I am gun-shy.
     
  10. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    The Chinese ones are almost certainly fake and if they turn up the quality will likely be poorer than the official ones.
     
  11. Tr00per

    Tr00per New Member

    Location:
    FL, USA
    I have ordered machine tools from them. Everything arrives...eventually! It's shipped on the proverbial slow boat from China!
     
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  12. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist Thread Starter

    Neat! Did it take about a month for your package to deliver?
     
  13. Sprague Dawley

    Sprague Dawley Forum Resident

    Location:
    Japan
    yeah was looking at aliexpress, just too good to be true, Black Sabbath shirts for $4 with free shipping from China? What kind of neg feedback do they have on ebay? Guessing the shirts fall apart or something. The sizing is the puzzler, at 97 kg and 182 cm I'm looking at XXXL which will surely be like a dress.

    Damn though, that Amon Duul shirt looks noice

    [​IMG]
     
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