When buying on AliExpress, the retailer belonging to Alibaba group, it is important that you follow some simple instructions to get your order right. In this e-commerce it is easy to get lost because you can find practically everything: telephony, computers, electronics, men’s and women’s fashion, motor, health and beauty or DIY, among other categories.
Since this retail shopping portal was launched in 2010, entering through the main door of electronic commerce, its growth has been enormous and, today, it has become a fierce competitor of Amazon, not to mention eBay. In fact, the Chinese portal has managed to exceed the sales of its two North American cousins.
E-commerce has grown 20% every year in the last decade and threatened in many cases to physical businesses, since, if we forget the small detail that in the stores at street level we can physically interact with human beings, the advantages offered by buying online are unbeatable: lower prices or convenience when it comes to finding the product and when paying.
For you to move like a fish in this Chinese online store, we have developed this simple guide to buy on AliExpress and get the most out of it and, most importantly, to use it safely and that your purchase does not result in a small disappointment.
First thing: what is AliExpress and how to buy it
AliExpress is a platform that connects sellers with buyers around the world. This is the main difference with Amazon, since it does not sell the products directly. It all started with a business for wholesalers (that’s Alibaba) and in 2010 they were launched for sale to individuals with AliExpress.
Later, the corporation launched local versions of the online store for other territories with warehouses in different countries. In the case of Spain, this local version arrived in 2016 and is known as AliExpress Plaza, which is characterized by its low prices, offering national shipping up to 48 hours, a two-year guarantee and fast and guaranteed returns, among other advantages.
The paper of AliExpress.com As a platform, it consists of ensuring that sellers comply with the stipulated standards and assuring their quality, mediating in the face of problems that may arise between buyer and seller, and managing payments.
Thus, when you select the product you are looking for, you can check the reputation of the sellers. Reliable sellers is so important that they have a scoring system that you can consult very easily and offers a lot of relevant data when making your purchase. You just have to consult the information related to the store and there you will see the seller’s score and positive feedback in relation to its number of sales. In your search you can also sort the results by valuation or by the number of sales.
Likewise, you can check the comments of the buyers, as well as their opinions and the number of sales they have had. The information is very complete so that you can be confident that your AliExpress seller is reliable.. And as if this were not enough, there is the option of contacting the seller to resolve any questions about the product. After all, it is the portal’s responsibility to ensure a more than satisfactory shopping experience.
Original or replica?
If you still have the doubt whether the product you have chosen is an original or a Chinese copy, you should first know that AliExpress has your own authenticity certification system. Other tricks are to check the name of the product or the price: if it is much lower than the product on the market, you may be facing a replica.
Don’t worry because you won’t get lost on the AliExpress website. There is everything from fashion to electronics, but well organized, and we can say that the user experience is very good. By browsing the page you can easily find the product you are looking for by categories or simply by entering the name in the search engine. You can also access the best brands, top rated products, offers of the day and even live reviews on your AliExpress Live channel, in which you can ask questions, suggestions and even buy at the moment.
Is it safe to buy on AliExpress?
Short answer: yes it is. Long answer: AliExpress, as an intermediary, has a Escrow payment system very similar to Paypal that works as a deposit and holds the money until your purchase arrives home and you give it the go-ahead.
In the event that a problem arises with your purchase, there is the option to contact the seller to offer you a solution. We reach this option through the “Open dispute” button that you will find in your order. If the dispute period is consumed without having obtained a response, the dispute will be closed in your favor. In other words, they give you your money back.
The issue of customs
But be careful, although it is not very common, your order may be detained in customs, which will cause it to be delayed and, in the worst cases (we insist, they are very rare), it will lead you to pay import taxes and VAT. Many of the sellers recommend that they be advised to mark the package as a gift to avoid customs clearance.
Partly to avoid this setback, as well as long shipping times, you can place your orders from the AliExpress Plaza portal, a section of the portal with a warehouse in Spain from which you can buy a selection of Chinese products (if you are looking for something very “rare” you may not find it in Plaza). Improved and faster service, local returns and smoother communications are its main advantages.
However, it should be noted that on July 1, the regulations for packages arriving from other continents changed. From that date VAT began to be applied to shipments from outside the European Union for less than 150 euros, which until now were exempt from this measure
For everything else, and how AliExpress is committed to achieving the satisfaction of its buyers, you can consult his blog, where they respond to all the problems that may arise (no matter how strange they are).
You know, whether you are crazy about online shopping or looking for a specific item, you can stop by this cave of digital wonders and put into practice the tips that we have told you in this guide.