AliExpress issues

JoeRodge · 2018-11-22T07:11:13.000Z

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?

duramax · 2018-11-22T07:50:40.000Z

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.

staticx57 · 2018-11-22T07:42:28.000Z

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

firedome · 2018-11-22T08:00:53.000Z

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.