How to order on AliExpress: tips, reviews, common mistakes

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

"AliExpress" is a trading platform that operates on a marketplace model. This means that when purchasing a product on Aliexpress, you are buying it not from a specific legal entity of Aliexpress LLC, but from one of the mass of sellers who have added their page to the site. Is it worth ordering from AliExpress and how to order a product on this platform? Let's talk about it further.

What is a marketplace

Marketplace - an e-commerce platform that provides information about services or products of third parties, the operations of which are processed by the general operator of the marketplace. In general, the Marketplace plays the role of a special, smart, optimized online platform for the sale of products and the provision of services.

Can Ali be considered a marketplace?

"AliExpress" was created in 2010 by a powerful Chineseby Alibaba Corporation and was defined only for the sale of goods from China to other countries. For distribution in China, Alibaba had other intermediaries.

AliExpress is present in more than 230 countries and regions this year. The online platform offers consumers various categories of goods - jewelry, clothing for men and women, household goods, electronic devices, bags, shoes, household appliances, cosmetics, computers, phones, jewelry, auto products, various accessories, including watches and jewelry.

On Ali you can find products for every need. It's a huge, huge platform. Almost every user can find there the thing they need at the moment. And besides, the prices of goods pleasantly please the buyer. This is one of the cheapest, currently, online resource.

These two huge pluses, perhaps, explain the unprecedented popularity of the portal.

Who orders?

The site's audience in Russia has reached 20 million users. By the way, it was Russia that became the first country in terms of sales, working with "AliExpress".

The second place was taken by the USA, the third by hot Brazil. In addition, sales go to Europe and South America.

Sellers on "AliExpress" can be both large powerful corporations and individuals who have just started their commercial activities.

There is no definite answer to the question of how old you can order on Aliexpress. Instructions for placing an order will be presented later.

How to buy on Aliexpress?

Let's consider the whole procedure of the necessary actions, how to order a product that you like on AliExpress. To get started, you need to register. It consists of simple steps: enter your first name, last name, address - so that the seller can send you the goods.

Next, choose a product. It can be searched by category, you can drive in the name in English or Russian in the search field. Next, you should go to the page of the product you like to study it in more detail. There you can take a closer look at the item using the zoom function, ask the price, find out the dimensions and other parameters of the product. Many are interested in whether it is worth ordering a phone on AliExpress. According to statistics, this is the most popular product on the site in question.

Delivery of goods may or may not be free. It depends on the desire of the seller. In the product selection filter, if you wish, you can immediately check the “free shipping” checkbox, then your view will open a list of products with free shipping.

It is important to read reviews about this item from real buyers from Russia and other countries. Real buyers describe in detail the purchased product, especially if the item came to them with a marriage. The system shows only the latest reviews for six months, the earlier ones are deleted by the system. Sometimes it is these reviews that contain the necessary information that you cannot take from the entire page of this product and even after communicating with the seller of the item. Therefore, you should definitely read them.

Anddo not be lazy to write reviews yourself after purchasing the product and receiving it. And you can also leave supplemented reviews in order, for example, to tell everyone else how the Chinese blouse behaved after a month of reinforced socks. Try not to choose products that do not have reviews. The more popular and cheaper the product, the more comments it should have. I would like to see a number of reviews close to the number of sales of this item. Be especially careful if there are few comments for a large number of sales.

So, after you have decided on the product you need, the next stage is: placing an order, filling in the address if it was not specified before the procedure (it will be enough to fill in the address field once, then it will be automatically indicated in the details).

Further payment for the order: you can use a card, or you can use electronic money. Then the Aliexpress administration will check your payment and a new stage will begin: waiting for the seller to send your order.

When the seller ships your item, they will give you a tracking code. By the way, you can chat with the seller on Ali. Chinese sellers are always happy to answer your questions, always polite and friendly.

AliExpress also has buyer protection, i.e. if the goods do not arrive within the specified time (usually 30-60 days), you have the right to start a dispute and demand your money back.

If the parcel arrived on time and everything is fine, then you need to confirm receipt of the goods, if it didn’t come or it didn’t come at all, or the thing hasmarriage, open a dispute for a refund (full or partial).

T. e. after you have taken the next order from "AliExpress" at the post office and made sure that your purchase corresponds to the declared characteristics, the goods were not damaged during transportation and are not defective, you just have to confirm receipt and write a review about the completed transaction.

Confirm receipt of order

In order to confirm that you have received your product, you must log in to the "AliExpress" site, then go to "My Orders". Then you need to select the received order, then click the "Confirm receipt of goods" button. Then the order page will open in front of you. Check the boxes for the products you ordered and click "Confirm receipt of goods" again.

Be sure to confirm receipt of your item. Since after clicking "Submit" the protection of the order will end and it will receive the status "completed". But if you have no complaints about the quality of the product received, feel free to confirm the step.

After confirming your receipt of the goods, the Aliexpress system automatically transfers money to the seller and the transaction becomes completed. It will no longer be possible to open a dispute.

If you do not confirm receipt of the goods, then when the protection period specified by the seller ends, the money is automatically transferred to the seller.

Then you need to leave a review and tell other users about your experience of buying goods on"Ali Express". This is not necessary, but still, it will not be superfluous to share the joy of buying or to warn your comrades on the Aliexpress site against wasting money.

Common mistakes

On "AliExpress" there is simply a huge amount of goods from China. Therefore, at the beginning of using the site, it will be quite difficult for beginners to navigate and opt for a quality product from China at a reasonable price. Someone will make a mistake with the size, another will choose a product with pseudo-discounts, and someone else will forget to track the protection counter of their order.

What are common mistakes when shopping on AliExpress and how to avoid them?

All the mistakes that buyers of goods on Ali make can be divided into four groups:

1) Product selection errors.

2) Order errors.

3) Errors while waiting for a package.

4) Errors after receiving the order.

Mistakes when choosing a product

One of the most common mistakes is a complete belief in discounts given out by kind sellers on AliExpress. Often, purchasing the desired product without a discount costs us somewhat cheaper than buying a similar product at a discount. It turns out that the cunning seller deliberately overestimated the cost of the goods in order to sell it supposedly at a discount, but also with a benefit for his wallet.

Another trick of sellers is hidingpaid delivery. Let's say we select a product and mark the "Free Shipping" filter in the top field of the site page. Then we place an order, send it for payment without looking at the total price, and as a result, we buy a product with a shipping cost that exceeds the price of the product.

For example, here we have found our treasured product, and even with a big discount! We quickly go to the product page, make sure that the delivery is free. The seller even included this phrase in the name of the product. Rather, we click on the “Buy Now” button, then go to the checkout page, and there, for some reason, free shipping suddenly became paid. The price of the goods is, for example, $1 with a discount, and the delivery is $2, which comes out twice as expensive.

Apparently, it is no coincidence that this page says in large print "Check order details". Therefore, you should not absolutely trust filters and phrases like “Free shipping” in product names. Be sure to check the final amount of the purchase before paying.

Another common mistake when purchasing a product on the Aliexpress website is choosing the wrong size. These mistakes are often made by buyers of the Russian version of the Aliexpress platform due to haste or inattention. Some do not pay attention to the size plate, while others are too lazy to read existing reviews. And, in the end, we get something completely different from what we expected, get upset and may even leave the AliExpress.com platform.

Strange, but the tables of size ranges for identical items, but different sellers can vary significantly. Therefore, even if you have already ordered a similar model, but from another seller, be sure to pay attention to the size table. And besides this, do not be too lazy to read reviews for this product. As a rule, they contain information about what parameters a given size really fits. And to be sure not to miscalculate, try to contact the seller in order to clarify the measurements.

If the seller provides you with measurements of the goods, and upon receipt of it, you find that the measurements are not correct, then your correspondence with the seller will be an excellent confirmation, in case of opening a dispute, and the administration of the "AliExpress" website will make a decision in your favor.

If we talk about the material from which the product is made, then there are also small nuances. First you need to estimate the approximate cost of this item and the price offered by the seller. For example, a modern smartphone cannot cost $20, even if it is shown in the order picture. The Internet is filled with stories that instead of a chic dress, buyers received a stretched “rag” made of artificial material. Yes, and it's stupid to wait for a miracle for $ 3. And after reading the reviews for the product, you could learn a lot more interesting things. Let's say the seller does not want to accept the dispute because he needs to feed his family and children.

That's why, taking a risk and receiving such a product, be prepared to open a dispute or even aggravate it, or to charity in favor of the seller's family and children. Therefore, carefully check everything, read the reviews. This is a significant part of the success of your choice of product on the site."Ali Express". It is also worth noting that special attention should be paid to recent reviews, as it is likely that early batches of this product were of one quality, and subsequent batches of another. As for shoes, here you should contact the supplier and ask him for the length of the sole and other relevant information. After all, a difference of just one centimeter can seriously let you down.

So, everything is clear with how to order shoes and clothes on Aliexpress to Russia, now let's note the main mistakes when choosing electronics, accessories and other related products.

Flash drives are a mega-popular and purchased product on the official website of "AliExpress". Although the acquisition of drives here is not always justified. And not only because of the price, but also because of the quality. Therefore, when buying a drive on the Aliexpress website, you can either get a device with a data volume less than the declared one, or a completely non-working product.

Here you can give the following advice: be sure to film the process of opening the package and checking the goods on video. Otherwise, having opened a dispute, it will be difficult for you to prove that the flash drive is exactly the one and you did not replace it and did not spoil it after receiving it.

Another of the most popular categories is smartphones and tablets. The main thing to think about when making such a purchase on the AliExpress website is to find a bona fide seller offering goods in this direction. More precisely, before paying for an electronic device, look at the list of goods of this store on Aliexpress. The store must be filledproducts of this direction, and for the most part with positive reviews.

In the event that a couple of smartphones wormed their way into the ranks of a cosmetics store, then you should think about whether you need to make such a purchase, even if the price is very favorable. And again, do not be too lazy to read the reviews and write to the seller to clarify the characteristics of this electronic device. For example, will the tablet support 3G or does it have a menu in Russian. And also it will not be superfluous to clarify the package. You can also ask the seller to carefully pack the goods so that they definitely do not break during transportation. If the seller answers all your questions on time and clearly, then this indicates his conscientious attitude towards consumers.

Special attention should be paid to such a category of goods as plant seeds. Despite the predominantly negative reviews, Russian buyers order them again and again, dreaming of growing huge berries of green, purple and even black strawberries, rosebuds with petals in all shades of the rainbow and miracle vegetables of various shapes and sizes. At best, instead of orchids, daisies will arrive, and giant cucumbers will turn out to be field clover. It's good that at least something came up in this case!

It is also worth mentioning which products cannot be ordered from Aliexpress. Spy devices and melee weapons fall under this category. Everything else is acceptable.

Errors while placing an order

An important rule in this case is the correct spelling of your address, numberphone in the delivery box. Before ordering through Aliexpress, namely before paying for goods, be sure to check the correctness of the specified address and the correspondence of the last name and first name. If you find an error after payment, then urgently write about it to the seller until he sent you your product. If the seller does not respond, then the only way out is to cancel the purchase of the goods.

Errors while waiting for a parcel

The main mistake of this section is to forget about the timer to protect your order. If you miss the end of the protection period, you will no longer be able to open a dispute if it does not come what you expected. You need to track the buyer protection time on Aliexpress in your account on the order page. It can be found at the top of the page.

If the order protection time is coming to an end (less than one week remains), and the goods have not been delivered to you yet, then you should write to the seller about this. And it can extend the order protection period. If the Chinese seller does not get in touch or does not want to extend the time, then it is necessary to open a dispute, preferably attaching screenshots with tracking data to track numbers and accurately explaining the position of the seller (or his silence towards you). But it is worth remembering how much you can order a phone and other devices on AliExpress. And it in some countries is 20 euros. And so that there are no problems, the sellers write on the parcel the price the buyer needs, and not the current one.

Errors after receiving the goods

Do not under any circumstances confirmthat you have received the item until you have held it in your hands and carefully examined it. And don't be tempted by the seller to confirm receipt in advance in exchange for discounts and gifts.

Honest sellers won't ask you for it. As a rule, this is done by newcomers who sell frankly low-quality goods and just want to score a rating, even if this way.

Do not be afraid of mistakes, be careful and pay attention to even the smallest details when buying goods on the Aliexpress website.

It is worth considering the reviews of those people who know how to order on Aliexpress and how much you can do it. After a survey of many buyers, it was decided to stop at ordering dishes, because it is in this category that incidents happen. Most people say they ordered a saucepan from AliExpress and it didn't live up to expectations. Often they come in such parameters that they can only be played with the kids in the sandbox.

Therefore, if you ordered a saucepan on AliExpress, go to the description and check its size. Otherwise, upon receipt and non-compliance, open a dispute.