AliExpress now requires login just to view item pages

Sidney_Stratton · 2020-04-13T18:16:49.000Z

I’ve had my share of persistent sign-ins w/ AE. The captchas not too often. I had noticed that the site was redirected from the Russian Federation, and I suppose the ISPs don’t concur within the cache. Always thought this be due to traffic or website maintenance. As for the re sign-ins, there isn’t any provision to remember the user. Being they push for the mobile app, they had that feature removed.

As for the ‘floaties’ and banners, I’ve been using AdBlock Plus which lets me remove elements from the page. Until very recently the tool was great; I could multiple click on super imposed blocks and if I over did it, there was a provision to ‘undo’. These features are no longer within the drop-down. I can block but one element at a time. Buried within the Chrome Toolbar / More Tools / Developer Tools / >> (more) / Ad Block Plus / refresh page. There I can see the elements removed and re-insert.

Background: older Mac with 5 year old operating system (10.8.5), some apps not supported any longer. Chrome works (as Firefox). Have some added blockers for social media, 3rd party analytics (those that aren’t with the primary web page) and the ubiquitous UBlock Origin, Disconnect, Taper Monkey et. al. I’m comfortable with it now, eventually will have to “hackintosh” my Mac. Have the tools and the zip on hand but re-building this computer will remove some of the features I’ve been using. Did a test on my Mac mini and couldn’t read video from the external drive (using VLC) directly to my television (or any other device). Would lose many of the peripheral controls that I’ve come to enjoy on this machine. Using SoundFlower to send Bluetooth audio to bathroom and other devices. VLC to control aspects of video. Remote backup to external drive, etc, etc.

But I’ve digressed enough…

DudeMan · 2020-04-17T06:56:57.000Z

seems like a good thread to rant about this.

i’m accustom to middle clicking items into new tabs so i can compare etc.
middle clicking an item on aliexpress opens that item in the current tab.
can’t even ‘copy link’.

this is SOOO infuriating, it’s keeping me from even browsing there anymore.

Lightbringer · 2020-04-22T21:14:15.000Z

Hold down the control-key whilst regular-clicking.

DudeMan · 2020-04-23T01:43:16.000Z

Lightbringer:

Hold down the control-key whilst regular-clicking.

thanks! sorry for the delayed response. for some reason budgetlightforum.com was telling me “The requested page ”/comment/1649408” could not be found. ” from the email notification link.
had to do a duckgo search to find this thread again.

cm64 · 2020-04-24T04:12:20.000Z

teus:

Threadbump.
I’m absolutely tired of Aliexpress requiring me to login AND captcha verify ALL THE TIME. Along with the crippled search function (you can’t omit anything from your search anymore), it’s a huge pain in the ass how they ruin the website.

Me 2

moderator007 · 2020-04-24T04:47:55.000Z

I’m not having the problems in this thread at this moment besides maybe their search engine sucks.
I’m not defending them at all so don’t take this the wrong way but I will tell you my experiences.
.
I ran into the site wanting to do the captcha thing a few months back, I had trouble logging in but finally would get in.
Then all of a sudden I would add things to my cart and try to pay for them and it denied the sale. This went on for a week or so.
Then all of a sudden the transaction and payment would go thru and I thought it was fixed some how.
The next day all my orders were cancelled without any explantion. I messaged the sellers and tried to pay them thru paypal and ask what happened.
Only a few responded and they told me to contact CS as they had no control over it but some wanted me to send the money paypal without any paypal invoice.
I didn’t feel comfortable without having a invoice for proof of purchase (I ask for one) so I never responded back.
Over the coarse of a week or so, I tried to make purchases a few more times and they would go thru and the next day all were cancelled again.
I gave up figuring it must be my bank card stopping the transaction. I din’t try to buy anything for more than a month.
A few days ago I got bored I guess, and tried to purchase a few things. Everything went thru again and the next day all items were shipped.
So now I can purchase things again. The bad part is I did nothing at all, I didn’t contact anyone or call my bank, it just started working again.
Makes me believe from other comments in this thread that Ali’s system is royally screwed up. Its working for me now without any problems or captcha crap.
I don’t know if everyones experience will go this way but it seems their system has problems and is slowly being fixed or it has something to do with they are trying to verify you are legit, I don’t know. I had purchased many things from them already over the coarse of almost two years and it just quit working for me but now its back.
Maybe take a break from Ali a little while and it will work again. Just thought I would throw in my two cents of experience with them.

TheIntruder · 2020-09-24T13:15:46.000Z

Is anyone else experiencing shenanigans again?

The login thing seems to have passed, but now the site won’t perform searches without putting up a verification slider, which fails with a server error.

I have not logged in to see if it makes a difference, and won’t, out of principle. Not going willingly jump over hurdles just to shop.

Agro · 2020-09-24T13:24:24.000Z

Exactly the same a minute ago.

2A1 · 2020-09-24T14:11:28.000Z

my account is being logged out several times during one session, like every 2-3 minutes. only tried on the web itself, not on the app.

snakebite · 2020-12-27T11:35:12.000Z

MILSPEC:

I have given up using AE on the web, the app is frictionless. maybe that is the goal all along, push people to use mobile only.

sure.
install a untrustable chinese app packed with tracking shitware.
you first!
lets see if your device shows up on the botnet.

Barkuti · 2020-12-27T16:59:49.000Z

I am using the AE app on mobile, for getting some cents coupons with the Coupon Pals @#$% and a tiny bit of convenience for other stuff, although as a whole I use the website to search and buy. I cannot play Coupon Pals on my PC, it says “in order to protect the security of your account, login with another device” or sort of; I could play in the past.

Now that snakebite chimed in with the above, makes me think; seriously. Mainly because I am a sort of anti-app fellow. I just don't like the way personal mobile devices are being used or are being turned into as a whole, it is a consequence of how disempowered people is with them (and with their own minds). With this I mean that mobile devices are considered trustable or trustworthy just because “big brother” owns the thing (when non-tampered, that is). My devices, though, always get modified and rooted. I am in charge, period. My trustworthiness depends on me, not on my device.

gman7228 · 2022-04-04T15:16:30.000Z

I don’t know if this is considered normal now but while browsing (on PC) the Convoy store, I’m asked to login after a few pages. Cleared cookies, tried VPN, Still requiring login to browse.
I’m not going to use the mobile app. Too much info disclosed.
I didn’t have this problem until recently. Their loss. It’s a very bad idea.

Sidney_Stratton · 2022-04-05T00:05:01.000Z

It’s common for websites and stores to have a record of who is browsing what. On one hand, they can better adjust suggestions. On the other hand, they are harvesting metadata. It’s very common to have “BigBrother” look over your every move in China (perhaps Russia too). Not so in America (Google is more discreet) and the EU is implementing stricter guidelines as to what can be harvested.

Fact of life.

Correllux · 2022-04-05T01:02:28.000Z

That’s been happening for awhile and seems somewhat inconsistent. It happens even when my cache is squeaky clean, so I assume it must be some kind of browser fingerprinting or ISP block tracking. I haven’t dug in to confirm but I would imagine that they try to use supercookies or pixels to keep tabs on what they can. But it comes and goes for me. I have a habit of visiting a bookmarked store home page and then clicking on “Products” to bring up the whole lot, where I’ll then sort by “New”….it doesn’t like that sometimes. But if I click on a product category, all is well, or if I click on the “New Arrivals” header and then sort…all is well. So, maybe try accessing the store pages in a different manner and see what happens. I haven’t paid close attention but it also seems that landing on a page via a google search link seems to behave differently (even if you reload the page after truncating the url junk).

It’s just weird but several things on that platform are. I do know that I will never pay with a credit card, give them my phone number, or use their phone app. It’s bad enough that you can’t opt out of emails and junk they they opted you into without asking…ugh.

Banggood is similar but they mostly seem to heat up once you log in, and then die down after a couple weeks of no interaction.

Hoop · 2023-01-17T01:06:39.000Z

I can’t log in to aliexpress at all anymore.

I go to log in and it says I have to enter an activation code. It says that the code will be sent to my email and it will be active for 30 minutes. But at the same time there is a 60 second timer on the screen counting down…. and it takes the site about 30 seconds to get me the activation email… so then I enter the code all quickly and it says invalid code. I click ‘resend code’ and it sends the exact same code again… Then I enter that same code again, because why not, and it says invalid code. Then I click resend code again and it says’number of codes exceeded. Try again in 15 minutes.’

It’s uhh… really dumb.

raccoon · 2023-01-17T01:23:11.000Z

Hoop:

I can’t log in to aliexpress at all anymore.

I go to log in and it says I have to enter an activation code. It says that the code will be sent to my email and it will be active for 30 minutes. But at the same time there is a 60 second timer on the screen counting down…. and it takes the site about 30 seconds to get me the activation email… so then I enter the code all quickly and it says invalid code. I click ‘resend code’ and it sends the exact same code again… Then I enter that same code again, because why not, and it says invalid code. Then I click resend code again and it says’number of codes exceeded. Try again in 15 minutes.’

It’s uhh… really dumb.

I haven't experienced that.

Maybe delete your AliExpress cookies and see if that helps?

MtnDon · 2023-01-17T01:56:17.000Z

No problems looking at anything on the PC browser page or the mobile android app.

Correllux · 2023-01-17T04:37:18.000Z

Lately it’s been throwing up a “we detected unusual traffic from your location” or something, and asking me to move a slider bar…then all is as-normal-as-ali-normal-can-be. I had to undo some ad blocker items for functionality but do have several still in place, so it probably gets its feelings hurt by one or more of those. This is pc desktop use. No app for me.

For some time now, I have not been able to see or interact with store coupons sent via their messaging system…must use the phone app for those I guess, but that’s not happening here.

That’s weird about the activation code thing…never heard of that one. Had it been some time since you last logged in?

TermsakC · 2023-01-17T06:52:18.000Z

A.E. now charges 8% sale tax on all orders from Singapore.

Don’t know which government is collecting the tax money, in China or Singapore. But I have stopped ordering anything on A.E. for the time being because of this new sale tax.

Can buy things on Lazada SG and Shopee SG without the same sale tax.

G0OSE · 2023-01-17T14:58:49.000Z

TermsakC:

A.E. now charges 8% sale tax on all orders from Singapore.

Don’t know which government is collecting the tax money, in China or Singapore. But I have stopped ordering anything on A.E. for the time being because of this new sale tax. :rage:

Can buy things on Lazada SG and Shopee SG without the same sale tax.

I don’t mind paying the tax in so much it makes the whole delivery experience much quicker as the taxes are pre paid and it doesn’t get hung up in customs. I do wonder though does this tax ever make it to the destination country like it’s supposed to. We’ll never know and there is as far as I know no way to find out or check, it only becomes a problem if Aliexpress/China is just pocketing this tax charge (or a portion of it) and not passing it on, which I for sure have my suspicions it doesn’t.
Look at it this way, if Mr ‘X’ from the UK buys item ‘Y’ from Aliexpress and pays ‘Z’ amount of tax how on earth does any country know Mr ‘X’ ever even purchased in the first place, let alone how much tax he paid? The only way it could be checked is if Aliexpress submits the record of every sale to the HMRC and that is almost certainly not going to happen. Also despite paying said tax, the last few items I have oredered from Aliexpress turned up with a fake value on anyway, thus showing that I paid way less tax than I actually did!!
My guess is this, China tells the UK ‘we took ’£X’ much tax from the UK customers, here it is - if you don’t agree it’s correct….well try and do something about it lol!