Ali Express - What the 'eck is it?

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

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Never used it.
Seen it mentioned quite a few times. Had a google. I've seen the site. What's the deal with Ali Express? Is it legit, full of scammers, fake goods, genuine?
 
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I've bought a few bits from there, always comes as described.

It's basically a portal for buying directly from Chinese suppliers. Some of the stuff seems to end up being sold by third party suppliers through Amazon or eBay, at much higher prices.
 
An example of AliExpress goods:
ali.jpg
 
I wondered that it was as well. It comes up sometimes on Google searches but it never occurred to me as online retail. It reminds me of image searches using Google Images and a result sometimes takes me to another image search engine that I've never heard of, and there are dozens of them. Then there is Pinterest and Googles seems to be in bed with them.
 
It's pretty much Amazon, but cheaper.

I've bought quite a few things from there and the items are always as described, and I've never encountered anything dodgy. The most recent was a £300 Android head unit for my car which works perfectly. The same type/spec on Amazon or eBay was around £150 more.
 
I've bought stuff on there, never had an issue. I would say you should only buy if your willing to accept that if it has a fault your probably not going to get your money back and there's a high chance the item will be crap.

Edit - and obviously absolutely everything with a non Chinese brand is fake
 
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It’s Amazon market place minus the Amazon part.

just remember that if the product is not a Chinese brand then it’s likely a fake. At best it’s a copy, but there are real bargains, just need to do your research and be cautious and always pay with a credit card. however for Chinese “original” stuff then it’s cheaper than Amazon market place or eBay or Etsy. It’s more “direct” when bought on Aliexpress and usually cheaper.
 
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I think AliExpress is great but I only ever really buy simple things on there that are unlikely to have issues - e.g. non electronics. Some Chinese brands do have official store however but returns get complicated.


For example, small metal fixing blocks for making acrylic display cases are 50p each Vs £1.50 each from UK sellers. A new wiper arm for an excavator, £90 for a genuine one, £7 for this one and £40 for anywhere in the UK as a pattern part. You'd assume delivery would be slow but in my experience it's quicker than you'd think, week and a half at most for me.
 
Silenced said:
I think AliExpress is great but I only ever really buy simple things on there that are unlikely to have issues - e.g. non electronics. Some Chinese brands do have official store however but returns get complicated.


For example, small metal fixing blocks for making acrylic display cases are 50p each Vs £1.50 each from UK sellers. A new wiper arm for an excavator, £90 for a genuine one, £7 for this one and £40 for anywhere in the UK as a pattern part. You'd assume delivery would be slow but in my experience it's quicker than you'd think, week and a half at most for me.
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Yup, pretty much get things that you know it is simple and if it goes wrong, you are happy to stomach the loss.

The max amount i spent on there is like £50 (Miyoo Mini from the store), but nothing more.
 
Raymond Lin said:
just remember that if the product is not a Chinese brand then it’s likely a fake. At best it’s a copy, but there are real bargains, just need to do your research and be cautious and always pay with a credit card.
Click to expand...

So.... it's Amazon, basically?
 
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Mr Jack said:
So.... it's Amazon, basically?
Click to expand...

It's more like the Market Place, because I don't think Aliexpress actually holds the stock, each seller posts their items from their own origin inside China. Rather than a central warehouse. So each item has different shipping cost and time.
 
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