Ali Express

AssTastic

I’m your Huckleberry
Jul 2, 2002
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Has anyone used Ali Express successfully? I found some things that are $3-5 on AE...but are $30+ on Amazon.
I would suspect that using a pre-paid visa would make the most/safest sense...but the other half of the transaction is getting the goods you ordered.
 
I have used Ali Express a couple times and for me I found it to be a hit or miss when it came to getting what was suppose to be the product in the description. The other thing was that a few items took months and months for me to recieve, whereas others never showed up at all. Honestly If i were to buy anything online again from a store I would go with Yandy, Asos or even fashion nove or pink cherry for certain items because atleast I know that those come close to their expected arrival date and match the product description to a tee.
 
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I've used AliExpress a lot over the past couple of years. Only had one problem with non-delivery and Ali refunded my money.
It's similar to eBay except Ali comes down on the side of the buyer.
There's a scam going on right now with Facebook advertisers. They market a consumer product and charge X for it. They drop ship from an Ali seller but with a 300-400% markup.
 
Ali Express is one of the largest online market places, it would not surprise me that they are larger than eBay. Ali Express is pretty safe but exercise the same caution as you would on eBay, if the stuff looks too good to be true then it is probably a knockoff product or the description is wrong. If in doubt look at the seller feedback, star ratings, and the number of sales made. Stuff that has free shipping or dirt cheap shipping usually takes about a month to arrive.

The biggest problem with aliexpress is that it is very disorganized compared to western online market places and there is also a language barrier to consider. Aliexpress is not a site you go to for window shopping, you generally need to know exactly what you are looking for.
 
I bought someone a couple of months ago and Ali Express charged my credit card which I had provided.

But they charged it as a CASH ADVANCE and I had to pay a $5 fee, plus interest on the amount. I tried to get it refunded but no dice.
 
There's a scam going on right now with Facebook advertisers. They market a consumer product and charge X for it. They drop ship from an Ali seller but with a 300-400% markup.
here's an example from a Facebook advertiser
What they are worth on Ali Baba


$76 vs $5
 
here's an example from a Facebook advertiser
What they are worth on Ali Baba


$76 vs $5

While “scammy”, it’s not a scam. Countless transactions occur that way in any given field. Though I agree, it is incredibly misleading.

wise to shop around these days with anything from China. So much can be found on ali express for a fraction of the cost.
I have twice had issue with not receiving items out of the 50+ transactions I have done, their customer service refunding me both times.
You get what you pay for, but plenty of things available on there I’m willing to wait 45 days for to save $10-$100+ on. To the OP, even on the platform, shop around for a better deal but also try and seek free ali-shipping.
 
$76 vs $5,
What's that a 1500% difference?
That's Mafia rates.

but when they do a drop-ship, they also have pre-arranged separate shipping etc. They’ve had to do certain dealings. You aren’t getting the 50~80 day Caino shipping when you are purchasing through a reseller.
Hell, Canadian Tire imports most of their stuff through the same lines, but they mark it up countless times and call it retail.
 
but when they do a drop-ship, they also have pre-arranged separate shipping etc. They’ve had to do certain dealings. You aren’t getting the 50~80 day Caino shipping when you are purchasing through a reseller.
Hell, Canadian Tire imports most of their stuff through the same lines, but they mark it up countless times and call it retail.
Are you saying CTC operates on similar markups?
 
Most of this stuff is the same stuff, however delivery takes about a month (pre covid times) and there is no returns in most cases. Sometimes they send you junk (which also happens with Amazon these days more and more often as it's becoming a glorified version of aliexpress) so be prepared to lose your money.
 
I've used it quite a bit. All except one deal was perfect. With that one there was a part missing, I proposed a partial refund based on the cost of me getting that part somewhere else. The Ali team sided with me and issued the refund. Can't complain about that.
 
I have used Ali Express a couple times and for me I found it to be a hit or miss when it came to getting what was suppose to be the product in the description. The other thing was that a few items took months and months for me to recieve, whereas others never showed up at all. Honestly If i were to buy anything online again from a store I would go with Yandy, Asos or even fashion nove or pink cherry for certain items because atleast I know that those come close to their expected arrival date and match the product description to a tee.

+1 for ASOS. I’ve never had a problem with them.

However, since I started seeing SP’s, I haven’t bought as many new clothes as I used to.

I’d rather have more experiences than stuff.
 
I used them for small items like tools and some cheap auto parts (not anything major or safety). Never had a issue but delivery can be a few months and you have to know what you are buying as others have said. Would not do a transaction for more than I would be prepared to lose.
These are the same items as Princess Auto or Harbor Freight would sell, just that they mark up. I use Amazon as benchmark for pricing since I figure that those are just resellers buying in bulk from China.
 
Ali Express can be hit and miss.
Personally, I used them more than once without any issues. As many have noted, shipping time is the annoying part. Have to wait for weeks.
One of the items I ordered was Zebra blinds for my entire home. I gave exact measurements of every window, picked material and received exactly what I ordered.
Entire order with shipping cost me less than $300. Same order through a local company would likely cost me around $1500-2000. It's been over 2 years, no issues.
So yeah, last gamble worked out beautifully for me.
 
I've been using aliexpress over the years much more than Ebay or amazon. Actually I find amazon to be more expensive. Once or twice I didn't get the package, but they refund the money immediately. My credit card company says they had less problems with aliexpress than ebay.
 
Has anyone used Ali Express successfully? I found some things that are $3-5 on AE...but are $30+ on Amazon.
I would suspect that using a pre-paid visa would make the most/safest sense...but the other half of the transaction is getting the goods you ordered.
There u have it!
Been shopping on Ali and a ton of other Chinese sites for 17yrs now I think.
I was pissed to see items make their way to Ali. It made me grateful to have all those years of shopping those sites. I see items that are no more than 2-3 dollars on those sites being sold on Ali for 30 dollars or more.
As a shopper, if I buy shit from those sites I know I'm taking risks. If I buy items from Ali, there's an expectation that they are really good...
The general shopper would expect that.
I've only ever had prob with one of the HUNDREDS of things I bought from those sites. A Bluetooth speaker which fails to connect now. It has an aux so I can plug a device in and listen that way.
Some things took a long time. Most things came in acceptance timeframes for the distance. Some things came in less than 2 weeks.
I recently bought a phone. Shipping says it could take up to 89 days. Hope not. My bud has had some trouble this year with delivery of his Ali purchases but the whole global pandemic thing causing tons of problems.
 
I ordered a gift for a lady I see using Wish last year and I haven't been able to escape them.

Though I do like to see the crazy shit they sell. The best so far have been enema kits you can hook up to your shower and a small vibrator that can be inserted into the urethra.
 
I've had no problems with them, the only thing is that it can take 3 months for delivery.