AliExpress issues

Off-topic Chatter
1

I just registered to try this site out. I feel like all these Chinese sites are really shady. Return policies, fakes and review manipulation to say the least. Though I have has good luck with Gearbest.

But, I got a 5 dollar off coupon upon registering. I thought I cod use it on something that would of ended up being slightly cheaper than a Chinese eBay seller.

When I got the item in my cart it was 18.12. The item on the sellers store is still 18.12. But when I go to buy the item by checking out; it says the item is 24.58 and the coupon is bringing it down to 20.58. it’s more than the original price! The original price was 18.12 + 1.34 shipping. It should be 19.46 - 4.00 coupon.

What the heck?

2

I have been using AE for a few years now, if you consider a few basic rules it might work:

- the shipping will be slow, like really slow.

- some items won’t get shipped after you buy them. this could be because the price was wrong or the item was never in stock

- you have to be careful how the pricing works, shipping can and will be additional on many websites now.

- some coupons only work with a minimum purchase quantity or order value. sometimes prices change when applying coupons or rebate points

- communication is lacking, but at least most sellers speak English. I don’t speak any Asian languages so I am grateful.

- products can be fake, low quality or simply different than what was promised. read the description carefully, the information is there.

  • buyer protection is available but is not perfect. beware of the risks.

When it comes to electronics like flashlights or pcbs, semiconductor parts - AE is a good place to shop. be careful with other industry segments.

3

Rule number one with Chinese sites: do not spend more than you can afford to lose

4

Aliexpress used to be a decent place to purchase. Of late it is an alternate story. On the off chance that you open a legitimate question your account will be deactivated. I see posts of clients grumbling about a similar thing.