How to Buy from AliExpress – The Ultimate Guide

If you’re looking to generate revenue online or purchase products in larger quantities conveniently, then AliExpress is the ideal option.

In this guide, we’re giving you a comprehensive overview on AliExpress.

You’ll also be aware of some of the common concerns when it comes to purchasing products from AliExpress.

What is AliExpress?

AliExpress refers to a popular Chinese-based online retail website store for buying different types of products mainly from Chinese suppliers.

This Alibaba’s subsidiary brings together numerous small scale producers selling various items to wide-ranging international markets.

AliExpress also acts as an eCommerce platform for cloud computing, business to consumer, consumer to consumer, and payment services.

The business module for AliExpress strictly allows Chinese producers and suppliers to sell to international customers only.

In short, citizens from Mainland China are not permitted to purchase commodities from AliExpress.

Difference between AliExpress and Alibaba

Since AliExpress is a subsidiary of Alibaba, there is a thin line between the two.

Nevertheless, the design for both entities targets different customer-base.

The primary difference is AliExpress operates on a business to consumer model.

On the other hand, Alibaba works from the business to business model perspective.

Simply put, AliExpress allows you to order different types of products irrespective of the quantity.

In contrast, Alibaba is only ideal for purchasing commodities in bulk directly from the manufacturer or supplier.

The other difference is AliExpress is suitable for new traders in a bid to try out their trade with different types of products.

Therefore, it makes it possible for such newbies to earn passive income.

Alibaba, on the other hand, is ideal for experienced traders with an already established market base.

AliExpress allows you to purchase different individual items, albeit at relatively high rates.

However, with Alibaba, you can create custom products by utilizing your custom design to fit your requirements.

There is no shopping cart on Alibaba.

Essentially, you’ll need to work with manufacturers and negotiate MOQ as well as the unit price.

AliExpress, on the other hand, provides a shopping cart hence making it easy for you to determine the net price.

AliExpress has a few manufacturers on it since the majority of sellers are trading companies and relatively small-scale distributors.

Alibaba, in contrast, primarily deals with manufacturers given its business module is business to business.

Why you should Buy from AliExpress

AliExpress offers a wide range of beneficial reasons, thus making it an ideal choice for online shopping.

Some of these advantages include the following;

a) AliExpress allows you to purchase different types of products at relatively low rates.

It is necessary since it enables you to obtain the commodities you desire, especially when operating on a tight budget.

b) Communication on this website is quite convenient since it majorly uses English as a default language.

This is vital, particularly for non-Chinese speakers given the platform target international customers only.

c) The customer is likely to benefit from free shipping in almost all the commodities offered on this ecommerce platform.

d) AliExpress offers secure online payments, which offers convenience to both the customer and the seller.

e) There is buyer protection in the unlikely event you’re your item is not as described or in case you never received it in 60 days.

f) It gives buyers an option of reviewing their experiences with the seller. The essence here is that it gives you more confidence when transacting business with a specific seller.

g) This platform combines different small-scale traders. Thus, it implies you can always find all types of products you’re looking for due to the broad availability options.

h) The MOQ is relatively flexible; hence you can buy any item irrespective of the pieces you require for your specific demands.

i) It serves almost 200 countries all over the world. In that sense, it means the website’s network is widespread, which helps in enhancing efficiency in service delivery.

Best Products to Buy from AliExpress

AliExpress offers almost all products manufactured in China.

You can get different types of high-quality items as long as they are legal in your country.

The fact that it brings together different small traders and suppliers indicates you can get all the products you’d require.

Nonetheless, some of the best items to purchase from this platform include;

• Clothing
• Consumer Electronics
• Sporting products
• Gaming devices
• Home appliances
• Gardening tools
• Shoes and accessories
• Jewelry
• Toys
• Automotive accessories
• Home improvement equipment
• Computers
• Healthcare products
• Beauty products

Disadvantages of Buying from AliExpress

The common shortcomings you’re likely to experience when buying from AliExpress include the following;

a) In some instances, your order may take longer before getting to your delivery destination. It depends on the shipping method the supplier chooses since in many cases, this service is usually free.

b) There could be a language barrier, especially among international customers who do not comprehend English.

You need to read and understand product description to know what it entails.

The translation to other languages can as well be misleading hence an inconvenience.

c) Most sellers rarely accept PayPal, which is the popular payment method for a wide range of online transactions.

This can hinder the purchase process, especially if you cannot access other locally acceptable payment methods.

d) AliExpress is not friendly to returns and refunds. It is entirely dependent on the supplier you are purchasing from hence can be somewhat difficult to obtain.

e) The quality issue can always arise when purchasing from AliExpress, given the images on the website may be different from the actual item.

f) There are some instances where the seller can take up to seven days or more before shipping your order.

This can be inconvenient, especially when you require the commodities urgently.

Creating an Account on AliExpress

Before you can start using AliExpress, you ought to have an account.

However, to have an AliExpress account means you have to create one by providing all the required details and documents where applicable.

The first step towards this process is signing up through the sign-up link.

When you visit the AliExpress official website, you can access the link in the top-right corner of the homepage.

Manually enter your email address in the sign-up form.

Also, ensure you fill the form accordingly depending on the information required.

While at it, AliExpress will ask you details such as your name, nationality, gender, and year of birth.

It shall also provide a selection of several shopping categories in line with your interest.

Additionally, you’ll also need to fill in your marital information, average income, your children if any and their respective birthdays.

You may also be prompted to provide details surrounding other online shopping outlets you use.

After filling all these information, your profile is set-up, thus allowing you to access the platform and browse different elements.

However, there are also other steps for verification of your user account.

In this case, you’ll need to provide relatively confidential identification information.

Upon reviewing and confirming the authenticity of the identification details, you’ll be able to obtain the AliExpress user verification badge.

And this makes it easy for you to carry out a wide range of transactions on this website.

How to Search for Products on AliExpress

Ideally, AliExpress has millions of products to select from.

This is advantageous since it broadens your choices, but it can as well be overwhelming to effectively get the best item.

You can search for products on this platform is via the search bar at the top of the site.

You merely need to type the item you are looking for, and a list of similar products will pop up.

To simplify the process and make it relatively effective, here are the ideal steps to execute when searching for these products;

· Check out Best AliExpress Sellers

Go straightaway to AliExpress homepage and find out some of the best-selling highlighted commodities.

The official ranking page of this platform also highlights the best-selling and most popular listings across its 13 categories.

You’ll be able to see a broad overview of a variety of products, which are selling well at a specific moment.

· Filtering the Search Results

For relatively more in-depth research, find the category or sub-category, which match the demands of your business.

Alternatively, you can type the specific keyword of the product on the search bar on the homepage.

You’re likely to see thousands of products popping up; hence you can narrow down the options using filters.

Filtering the products allows you to quickly find an overview of products you’re looking for.

If you’re looking for more in-demand products on this platform, you can sort the results by “Orders” instead of “Best match”.

This allows you to see listings with highest sales.

In essence, cheaper commodities tend to have highest orders.

Therefore, setting a minimum pricing parameter allows you to find products, which can enable you to make a reasonable profit.

Other elements you may as well consider to use in filtering your search results based on your needs include;

• Product Rating
• Sellers response rate
• Country to ship from
• Free shipping

How to Find the Best Prices on AliExpress

AliExpress is generally a platform, which offers most of its products at relatively low prices.

However, in the sense of maximizing profits, it would be ideal to go for best prices.

Some of the suitable ways for finding best rates on this website include the following;

· Use AliPriceCompare

This is a tool, which allows you to filter the respective products you’re purchasing from AliExpress.

It makes it easy for you to search for similar products and lowest prices.

You’ll be able to differentiate similar goods based on their specifications and prices using this tool.

Moreover, AliPriceCompare also allows you to find and determine the best vendors.

This is in addition to finding out the ideal vendor with best shipping costs.

This tools also come in handy in finding the specific product even when your supplier is out of stock.

In general, it makes your work easy as far as sourcing the products at best rates is concerned.

· Filtering using Price Range

You can also choose to filter the products based on the price range.

You can always set price below a particular range on this platform to suit your budget.

In many instances, this feature is essential since it allows you to buy relatively cheap products.

· Using a Sourcing Agent

It is also an ideal way you can use to purchase products cheaply from AliExpress.

Sourcing agents are individuals or entities certified to obtain products on behalf of the customers.

If you choose to work with a reliable sourcing agent, it becomes easy to obtain goods at cost-effective rates.

Most of these agents know several suppliers and place to get these products at cheaper rates.

On the same note, you should also be wary of items offered at a super low price.

Always ensure the price of a specific item is somewhat reasonable to its value.

Some of the super low-priced items could be the Chinese knockoffs, which imitate the genuine product.

When to Use and Avoid Free Shipping from AliExpress

Free shipping is one of the top benefits of purchasing goods from AliExpress.

It enables you to cut cost and other related logistic charges.

One ideal circumstance for using AliExpress free shipping is when shipping a few items.

In many instances, it can be costly even if you choose to pay for shipping charges for small items.

The other suitable circumstance is when the value of your goods is not necessarily high.

It thus implies it will be unnecessary to pay for shipping charges, which is of higher value than the cost of items.

Additionally, when you do not have any pressing urgency of receiving the goods, you can as well consider going the free shipping option.

Essentially, there could be a delay in shipping items due to varying situations hence the need to factor in whether or not it might affect you.

Nonetheless, there are always a few instances when you need to avoid seeking or using free shipping when buying from AliExpress.

For instance, when the value of your goods is high, it would be ideal to consider using reputable and reliable shippers.

Primarily, this guarantees insurance of the products hence making it easy to obtain compensation when the need arises.

Another instance to avoid AliExpress free shipping service is when you are purchasing relatively delicate products.

The risk of the product breaking or damaging in transit can be high with free shipping.

The reason is most handlers in the process are rarely concerned about the condition of the product.

This can be inconveniencing given the return, and refund policy on AliExpress is comparatively unfriendly.

When you are in urgent need of receiving the items, it would be suitable to avoid AliExpress free shipping.

Typically, free shipping is often sent through national post service.

This always takes long before the items arrive.

In that case, you may consider using some companies offering decent shipping services such as DHL, FedEx and EMS, among others.

Modes of Shipping from AliExpress

The commonly used techniques include the following;

· AliExpress Standard Shipping

Ordinarily, AliExpress often offer free shipping services to most of the product purchased on this platform.

The common mode of shipping such items is through national post service.

Therefore, the customer needs to always provide the postal address when placing the order to facilitate shipping.

The standard shipping can take several days at a time, even months, depending on the specific delivery destination.

However, you can always choose to seek other modes of shipping when purchasing products from AliExpress.

Some of these options include the following;

· EPacket Delivery

It is arguably the most popular shipping option among AliExpress buyers.

It is affordable, faster, safe and convenient than a wide range of conventional shipping modes of similar price range.

In some instances, the cost of ePacket shipping can be free, depending on the type of product you are shipping.

· Express Shipping

Thus is the other method of shipping you can opt for when purchasing items from AliExpress.

You receive your goods relatively fast when you choose this method, often between 8-48 hours.

This option is however expensive and thus necessary for shipping products, which are super-urgent or somehow highly perishable.

· Air Freight

It entails using cargo planes to transport the products from China to the delivery destination.

This method is faster, safer and often take up to eight days or thereabout to receive the items.

Air freight is also comparatively expensive.

· Ocean Freight

This shipping method is common when purchasing bulk goods from AliExpress.

It is regarded as the cheapest method you can ever use to ship bulk and large quantity products.

With ocean freight, it may take up to about 60 days, depending on the delivery destination.

Key Steps before you Add Product to Cart on AliExpress

Buying products from AliExpress entails a variety of elements, which you ought to understand to get desirable results.

Some of the core steps you have to figure-out when adding a product to cart on AliExpress include the following;

1. Verify Product Details and Specifications

Suppliers usually post their products and tagging along with the specifications and a wide range of details regarding the same.

When selecting an item, you must ensure its details and specifications are correct and match the requirement you’re looking for.

Many suppliers will hardly accept returns if you confirm and get the commodity and notice later it doesn’t match the specifications.

2. Check Reviews

The second aspect of this process is making sure you check the reviews and feedback the seller receives from the buyers.

This action can help you to avert some common problems such as delivery delay, rogue sellers and bad quality among others.

Check the seller’s ratings and also read the product reviews as well as photos of the product other users have added.

3. Confirm AliExpress Price for Products

You also need to verify the unit price for the specific products before you add them to cart.

Different sellers often price their products differently.

However, it is prudent to compare the pricing before finally adding the item to your cart.

Product pricing comparison enables you to get the ideal ones at cost-effective rates.

And this allows you to save a considerable amount of money.

4. Remember to use AliExpress Coupon

AliExpress has different categories of buyers.

There are some categories, which qualify for coupons and can use them for purchases.

Where possible, always use these tickets as a way of obtaining a financial discount or rebate.

It goes a long way of helping you to save a substantial amount of money.

5. Check Product Specification

At this point, you need to countercheck the product specification one more last time before adding it to cart.

Confirm all the relevant details and ensure they match the specific requirements.

6. Add Quantity/Pieces of Product you want to Buy from AliExpress

Now decide on the exact quantity of the product you are buying.

The essence here is also to provide you with the net amount you need to pay for all the products.

If you’re purchasing different types of products, you also need to combine all of them and add to the cart.

It gives you the estimated amount of money you need to pay for the entire order.

7. Choose Country you Want to Ship To

Before checking out, you’ll also have to include the delivery destination for the shipment.

The essence is to facilitate shipping of the commodities to the respective buyer’s destination.

At this point, you also ought to decide on the specific mode of shipping you’d prefer.

Several options are often available; hence you can explore the most suitable one based on your needs.

How to Verify AliExpress Suppliers

You can use several ways to validate the suppliers on AliExpress before thinking of doing business with them.

Some of the pointers to look into in the process include the following;

Select sellers with positive feedback – A general rule of thumb is always to ensure you purchase from suppliers with at least 95% positive feedback.

The feedback score indicates the sales volume of the supplier.

The positive feed rate indicates the feedback the supplier has received.

AliExpress seller since – Confirm the registration date of the supplier. This is a suitable measure of validity given it indicates supplier’s reliability.

It also shows the supplier has been operating on AliExpress for longer.

Item as described – This section is of great prominence when verifying suppliers on AliExpress. It provides an analysis of the products’ condition and determines whether it complies with adverts and description quality.

Communication – This pointer shows how the supplier is responsive and active towards customer’s queries.

The higher the number, the more active and faster the supplier responds to customers issues.

Price comparison against competitors – Compare prices of different suppliers selling a similar product.

Always avoid suppliers selling products way much cheaper than competitors.

Chances are high the commodities could be knockoffs imitating the genuine products.

Shipping speed – Shipping consignments globally from China is also a significant measure of AliExpress suppliers.

Confirms the average shipping speed of your preferred supplier to determine whether or not you may consider them.

Feedback history – This provides supplier’s historical feedback hence ideal for analyzing it given seller’s validity can decline or improve with time.

Check out for seller’s guarantees – Different sellers offer varying guarantees.

A reputable supplier will always provide valid and reasonable guarantees.

And if the product is found to be counterfeit, you are certain of getting a full refund including shipping cost.

How to Check Quality of Products on AliExpress

Buying from AliExpress is relatively cheap, which attracts different buyers from across the world.

However, it is always necessary to consider the quality of the products as much as they are affordable.

Quality in this sense revolves around production, assembling and material used on the commodity.

Some ways to look into quality of the products on AliExpress include the following;

Verify the actual product photos – In some instances, you can find real images of the commodity in the description.

This makes it easy for you to validate the quality.

View users submitted photos – Popular products are often submitted with images, which contain reviews.

In many instances, such images were submitted by users after purchasing and receiving the product.

They help in giving an idea of the quality of the product.

Number of orders – It is also an ideal way to gage the quality of the product, especially where there are no photo reviews.

Many customers will always purchase a product repeatedly even without leaving feedback if at all, it is of high quality.

User reviews – Some customers will always provide feedback based on their experience with the product in terms of quality.

Reviews give you an idea of whether or not it would be suitable to give the product a try.

Look for similar products – You can as well choose to search for similar products from different competitors.

In AliExpress, you are likely to get at least three different suppliers selling a similar commodity.

This way, you can compare and determine whether the quality match your demands.

Search on google – You may also decide to do a Google image search to identify quality of the product.

It is simple since all you need to do is dragging the image on Google image search section.

You will get all the relevant information, including reviews hence making it possible to arrive at the purchase decision.

Understand AliExpress Product Return Policy

AliExpress has put in place measures, which enables sellers to reach an amicable arrangement for returning, replacing and refunding an item.

Ideally, AliExpress suppliers often set their specific return policies.

Therefore, the customer will always have to work directly with the seller to work out on returns, replacement and refunds.

Even so, in instances where you can hardly reach an agreement with the supplier, AliExpress may as well intervene.

The judgment will be based on the evidence presented.

AliExpress return policy stipulates that returns are only acceptable of product isn’t as described, and the customer pays return shipping fee.

Alternatively, the customer may choose to keep the product and agree on a refund with the supplier.

Therefore, it means the first action to take when you realize you have issues with the product is contacting the seller.

Engage them and try to reach an agreement on a reasonable resolution.

However, if you reach an impasse, you can always opt for AliExpress dispute resolution where fair judgment will be provided.

Nevertheless, customer’s timeline for opening a dispute with the supplier on AliExpress typically starts six days after shipping of the order.

The deadline, however, varies depending on the specific mode of shipping you chose for your order.

It could range up to about 40 days.

AliExpress is always willing to settle disputes between sellers and buyers in case there is disagreement on either party regarding returns.

The most important thing is making sure you launch your complain within the specific timelines as guided by terms and conditions.

How to Solve Disputes with AliExpress Suppliers

Primarily, on AliExpress, you ought to log in to the platform, find the order you have an issue with an open dispute.

Fill the form accordingly, provide all the relevant details regarding the order or product.

You also need to indicate whether you need replacement, full or partial refund.

You must also provide detail information regarding the issue of the order and the reason you cannot resolve it with the seller.

In many instances, pictures for the same product are also necessary since they serve as evidence in your dispute.

You will communicate and negotiate with your seller.

When you contact the AliExpress seller and fail to reach an agreement regarding a return, you’re advised to escalate the dispute.

The essence is to find a mediator who will assess all the provided evidence and offer a fair judgment.

The issue will be forwarded to AliExpress Dispute Team.

The team evaluates the evidence on both parties and ultimately, rule in favor of the buyer or seller.

Learn How to use AliExpress Tracking System

Essentially, shipping AliExpress orders may take quite long at times up to 90 days depending on various circumstances.

As such, it becomes fundamental to always know best approaches to tracking the order to give you assurance and peace of mind.

AliExpress has a tool you can use for tracking the consignment.

But before thinking of using the tool, it is necessary to find out the tracking number from the seller.

Also, remember the number has to be tracked to make it easy for you to obtain desirable results.

The tracking number is an essential code assigned to an order by the postal service.

So the first step in using AliExpress tracking system is to log in on the website and then go to “My Orders” section.

In this section make sure you select your specific order then click the details link.

The link shall t