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How to shop on AliExpress.

Do’s and Don’ts of shopping on AliExpress.

[Also find out How To Shop on AliExpress: 2017 update]

I have been buying stuff from China for a little over a year and a half now, and I have tried several websites. My main concerns were:

  1. Not to be scammed (e.g. pay and never see the product).
  2. Not to be “catfished” (e.g. pay for one thing, and then get something different).

I have shopped online before, and got bitten a few times.

I started with the most popular sites like eBay and Amazon, but I have quickly learned that for the most part, the prices there are very close to the ones you see in stores. I still use both when I need a branded product or something specific (e.g. motorcycle parts, books, etc).

Then at some point I heard from a coworker about DX.com, where he bought a tablet and a phone for his mother-in-law. I gave them a try in May of 2013, when I bought a memory card and the USB adapter for the car. The shipping was slow, there was no tracking number, and customer service took 4 working days to respond to my inquiry. But I thought “wow, if someone is willing to take time out of their day, stand up, put things into a box, call the courier, have the courier bring the box to the post office, then the post office would put it on a boat, and then someone is bringing it to my door, only because I ordered a $2 adapter online, there surely is some sense in exploring this in greater depth”.

My other try was alibaba.com. As much as I loved having myriads of options, the website is geared towards connecting large suppliers with mass buyers; and in most cases the shipping for a smaller quantity would cost more than the product.

That’s when I found AliExpress – my first purchase was in February 2014; and so it began.

Since then, I have learned a few ways of how to shop on AliExpress. There were a few times when I had issues with sellers of a questionable ethic; but every time they were fairly arbitrated by the dispute resolution team.

Sorry for the long intro, below is what you came here for.


If you plan on shopping at Aliexpress, keep in mind:


1. Search for the product to see if there are any other sellers who have it for a cheaper price. The biggest selling point of AliExpress is the low price, so vendors would try to undercut one another.

ESPECIALLY for the daily deals products.

Sorting by the number of orders is helpful at times, but sometimes the seller will purposely lower the price to make a lot of sales, and then will increase the price.

Sorting by price usually brings up a ton of unrelated products. So it is really up to you to go scroll past the unrelated junk (which can take a while), or use more distinct search terms.

2. Check product and seller feedback, and the item description before ordering. Keep in mind, that Aliexpress is just a marketplace, a website; it only connects you to the seller. It is up to the seller to be honest when the listing is created, and up to the buyer to do some due diligence.

Because of the disputes, this point of a lesser concern; I still do check it, but only to see if the product is worth buying. For example, how well do the braided USB cables last, or if the tiger head backpack has enough room for my jumbo bag of beef jerky.

I rely heavily on buyer feedback, and look for consistent issues – in case several people describe a similar problem.

3. Mind the language barrier. Most sellers only have a basic knowledge of English, and probably use some sort of online translators. There is no need to be condescending, patronizing or disrespectful. Most sellers are honest and hardworking people, so be understanding and accommodating. Do not use complicated phrases, and avoid jargon. Be friendly and respectful.

4. Do not order merchandise that is branded (e.g. D&G, Gucci, Nike), however tempting it may be, unless you are absolutely 100% certain that they are legitimate and authentic (which is usually NOT the case on AliExpress). If you import something into the country, you are responsible for ensuring that these goods are not illegal to import. And counterfeit goods are illegal.

As an alternative, look for the popular Asian brands that are yet to enter or are just getting into Western markets (Huawei, XiaoMi, Soocoo). They cost just as much, if not less than knock-offs, and you would be supporting a real business. Isn’t that better?

I have been buying my motorcycle gear from AliExpress almost exclusively (well, except for helmets), and I found a few brands that I like and trust – like Scoyco, Komine and Taichi.

Take a look at the best electronics and clothing brands.

5. Remember to track your orders. AliExpress gives you the purchase protection for 60 days. If you don’t receive your order you need to remember to either contact the seller to extend the purchase protection (normally, sellers do not mind doing that).

I use 17track.net to track my packages. If there has not been any movement for over a month, I would contact the seller first, in case they are aware of any delays on their side (government holidays, post office strikes, etc.). It is worth checking with your government postal service. If the parcel is trackable on 17track.net, but not on Canada Post (as I am in Canada); chances are the product has not reached customs; and is more likely to have been lost in mail.

If the purchase protection is about to run out, and the seller does not want to extend purchase protection (very unlikely), you can start a dispute, and mark the item as not received.

6. If you do not understand something, contact the seller before you make the order. This will also show how responsive the seller in case something goes wrong.


You may also want to know How To Shop On AlIExpress (in 2017)

how to shop on aliexpress

If you have tips of your own, any questions or comments, please leave a comment below.

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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Len

    Hi, great article! I’m not sure do you still respond but: I’ve just started shopping aliexpress two months ago, and so far only tried out one item, which was great! I’m really tempted to buy a shoe from aliexpress (I live in Canada as well), and wondering do Shoes get higher chance for being charged custom? Also, for the counterfeit goods, what if the seller handmade a shoes that is same design as a brandname in design only, do I get fine for that too? I donno I wanna buy a shoe stellamccartney but wasn’t too sure since you mention that…

    Anyways thanks for any help on this!

    1. Admin

      Howdy Len, my girlfriend bought boots from AliExpress before, and we never had to pay any duties. She also bough a more expensive jacket, and didn’t have to pay anything extra either. I never bought anything counterfeit off Ali – I’d rather buy a legit Chinese brand, which is likely to be better quality than a knock-off; but I frequent online boards where others post about their purchases, and so far I never heard about knock-offs being seized in Canada.

  2. Vincent Sampayan

    I was able to find good info from your blog articles.

  3. Rea Marselos

    Hello, I’m using both the AliExpress app on my phone and the website on my computer. Today, I saw on the website that they recommend using the app for an even lower price and to my great suprise I saw that the products in my shopping cart cost MORE when looking at the cart on my phone (app) and LESS when looking at the cart on my computer. Why is that? Is the discount at all true or are the prices actually more elevated when using the app so that the illusion of a discount is created? I must admit that I’m feeling rather offended looking at the differences between prices for each item, depending merely on if I’m using the pc or the app. What’s the deal with that? The app only seems to charge more as far as I’m concerned, not less… and in the same time they encourage you to use the app for “exclusive prices”… I don’t know what to think, really.

    1. Admin

      Hey Rea. I don’t actually use the app and even on mobile I tend to use the web version. Personally I was never really a fan of the app despite all the efforts to make it more appealing.

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