Is AliExpress Legit?
Is it possible to generate money with dropshipping? Have you looked into it? If this is the case, you have most likely come across AliExpress.
You will find that it is one of the most highly recommended dropshipping marketplaces in tutorials and blogs.
Does it, however, seem safe and dependable, and how can you avoid potential problems with its use?
You may be interested in finding out if you can trust AliExpress if you contemplate purchasing from the company.
Considering that it appears to be so cheap compared to Amazon and eBay, you might wonder, is Aliexpress legit?.
Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about AliExpress. This post aims to explain why AliExpress is so cheap, if it is safe to use and how to avoid falling victim to scams when buying things from AliExpress.
Let’s get this party started.
What is AliExpress?
AliExpress is an online platform that connects buyers and sellers across the globe. The service is similar to Amazon, but the product costs are significantly less.
AliExpress has many merchants from China and sellers from Vietnam and Pakistan. These sellers may take longer to ship items than Amazon.
AliExpress is still a fantastic place where drop shippers can find great prices, so many use it as their primary source of supplies.
How To DoDropshipping Using Aliexpress?
Many drop shippers buy AliExpress products and resell them on Amazon and eBay because AliExpress products are reasonably priced.
The dropshipping method allows you to cut out the hassle of sending them to your location first.
Rather, you only receive them when a customer purchases your store or eBay shop.
Once you receive an order, you will proceed to AliExpress and place the order, including the customer’s contact information and shipping address at check out.
Your customer will then receive the merchandise directly from the AliExpress seller. AliExpress’s sellers often promote drop shipping, so they aren’t bothered that you are doing it – they’re just happy that you have sold something to them.
You will be completely unaware of what your buyer is buying, even if they purchase from an AliExpress seller who accepts dropshipping and there is no packaging that indicates the product was purchased from AliExpress.
You can set your prices higher on your website or eBay, so you’ll make money on every transaction without any upfront investments.
Is Aliexpress Legit?
There is no doubt that AliExpress is legit. AliExpress is owned by Alibaba Group, a multinational corporation operating worldwide.
Alibaba Group owns and operates several eCommerce marketplaces, including AliExpress, which is one of them. The company also operates small, Alibaba, and Taobao.
World Bank data shows that Alibaba is the world’s largest B2-B eCommerce platform, while Tmall is the world’s largest B2C eCommerce marketplace.
The Alibaba Group is among the ten largest companies globally by market capitalization, ranking ninth overall.
So, you can be sure that AliExpress is legit. However, it is important to note that AliExpress is not a scam, so you should still proceed with caution when you shop there.
Why? It’s a rather straightforward process.
AliExpress is legitimate for buyers and sellers to transact in the marketplace; however, not all sellers act in good faith. Think of AliExpress as an eBay-like site.
The same problems affect all major marketplaces, including eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, AliExpress, etc. You’ll come across sellers who make mistakes from time to time.
You are usually protected from fraud by these platforms by evaluating the sellers’ profiles and making sure you avoid fraud.
Can I Trust AliExpress?
The situation is entirely different because it depends on the vendor. It is uncommon for a vendor that is 100 percent reliable.
Those same vendors may also be unreliable, and they may send you a low-quality, defective item or fail to deliver your order entirely.
Sometimes, a seller’s delivery company affects the seller’s reliability, not the seller’s actions.
There is a greater potential for product mistakes since most products are imported from a distance, particularly if they pass from one shipping agency to another, as is frequently the case with international shipping.
Moreover, products can be held up in customs. It is something that neither you nor the vendor has control over, even if they are 100 percent trustworthy.
The customs control department usually does not hold onto merchandise for more than ten days, but if it needs to double-check a product, it can make a mistake in its handling.
A few packages have been held up at customs for weeks or months, which can be a nightmare, but these instances have been extremely rare.
What Makes AliExpress So Cheap?
Why is AliExpress so inexpensive if it is legitimate? Unquestionably, the offer seemed too good to be true?
AliExpress merchants can offer products at lower prices than their competitors for three simple reasons. Here are those reasons.
AliExpress vendors are frequently the original manufacturers of the products they sell. Alibaba is AliExpress, except that it caters to private buyers.
Alibaba is a marketplace that connects businesses to businesses. Therefore, the manufacturers must sell a product in bulk to purchasers, who, in turn, must resell it in a physical store, on their Shopify store, or on Amazon.
AliExpress is similar to eBay, but it is geared toward manufacturers willing to sell things in small quantities.
The marketplace lets you purchase products directly from manufacturers at deeply discounted prices, without markup, and without buying any products.
When you purchase a thing from Amazon, on the other hand, you are not always purchasing directly from the maker of the product.
You will likely purchase it from a reseller who has already marked it up to cover their profit margin.
Unbranded Products
Many items available on AliExpress are very inexpensive since they are completely unbranded.
Generally, branded products cost more because consumers are more willing to pay a higher price.
People spend a great deal of money on Gucci purses because they are not valuable, but rather they are considered status symbols.
Many people purchase only Nike sneakers, while others are excited to wear branded t-shirts, caps, shoes, and other accessories.
The prices of generic and unbranded items and those from unknown small brands may be less than brand-name alternatives.
This does not necessarily indicate that they are inferior – the quality may be comparable, but they are not as popular.
Imported Products
AliExpress products are almost always shipped overseas, as previously mentioned. They are cheaper than other options because they must still be imported, making them more affordable.
It’s expensive to import things, especially if you have big orders. There will be transportation costs, warehouse storage costs, and insurance costs.
Amazon sellers who purchase in bulk incur high overhead costs, so they must mark up their products to compensate for these expenses and preserve profit margins.
However, there is no implication that you will be liable for those costs if they do not show up. It’s cheaper to sell things individually instead of purchasing in bulk, and because you’ll only be paying for shipping (and many products come with free shipping), your expenditures will be lower as well.
You can filter your search results by the countries in which the products were made to find those that are more affordable.
How To Stay Safe While Shopping From AliExpress?
Choose Your Buyer Wisely
It is vital that you carefully consider who you are purchasing from. You can assess whether or not a buyer is trustworthy and dependable by checking their profile.
What should you be on the lookout for? Here are a few indicators that the buyer is a reputable source of information:
- Analyze the percentage of positive comments received. It is best to stay away from the site if negative feedback accounts for more than 1-2 percent of the total input.
- View the account’s current number of followers. The more followers, the better.
- When you visit AliExpress, you can see how long a store has been in business. You should avoid new stores since they have no experience. If you want the best results, look for merchants and sellers that have been in business for at least 1-2 years.
- You should pay attention to the seller’s detailed ratings for Communication, Shipping Speed, and Item as described in the listing.
It’s easy to see all of the product information on a product’s page without visiting the seller’s profile by hovering your mouse over the seller’s name, which appears at the top of the product page.
You can also get even more information by clicking on the seller’s store and scrolling down to the Feedback section. Here are a few points worth considering:
- A chart shows how many positive comments have been received over the past month, three months, and six months. You should not purchase something that has been degrading for some time because that store has probably suffered a setback.
- There are total numbers of 1- or 2-star negative comments left in the specified time.
- The actual customer reviews. Take a look at them! They may be available in various languages; therefore, Google Translate should be used. (Some of the reviews in the screenshot below are written in Portuguese.) You’re interested in learning why those who left bad feedback on the merchant did so.
- What the vendor did in response to reviews, particularly unfavorable evaluations, was important. They will appear as “Seller’s Response” under the review.
Read reviews of the product.
A customer review of a particular product is crucial as well. There may be dozens or hundreds of products by one vendor, but just one or two falls short of expectations.
You can find customer testimonials on the product page under the Customer Reviews section. It may not be visible right away, so scroll down.
You should also pay attention to how many reviews the product has received. It is not always the case that a product with no or limited reviews is bad.
However, I would not recommend taking that risk. You should buy things that have at least a few dozen positive reviews, if not all of them.
It is also more reliable to buy a product that has sold a lot. The search results allow you to specify what kind of products you’re seeking.
Learn about AliExpress’ refund policy
AliExpress offers a variety of return options to accommodate different types of products and scenarios.
You can dispute the transaction and receive a refund when you receive the wrong item, counterfeit goods, or your order does not arrive.
However, if you purchased from a seller who had no reviews, they will be less concerned with their reputation, and they may not be as flexible.
Some sellers engage in AliExpress 3x money-back guarantees, which allow you to receive a full refund in some cases and more money in others.
AliExpress will issue a full refund for the products that appear to be counterfeit or not as described to you.
Additionally, you may be reimbursed twice the amount you paid for the merchandise (excluding shipping charges).
You are right to receive compensation for a gold necklace you purchased that was not genuine gold or one bearing a brand name but was not genuine.
The same applies to computers and other consumer electronics. You may be entitled to a refund plus compensation if, for example, HP failed to manufacture a computer that you purchased.
You will only be reimbursed for nine percent of your purchase if you buy counterfeit earbuds or other electrical accessories from AliExpress.
Here you may find detailed buyer protection rules for various product types.
How does this affect us? Consider the following scenario: a vendor sells you an imitation product or simply doesn’t provide you with what you asked for (you ordered wireless earbuds, and they sent you wired earphones).
You can understandably lose customers if you dropship. You’ll be held liable for any damages since they presume you brought them a defective, counterfeit, or otherwise different product.
You’ll need a complete refund and advice to retain the item if you want to be sure you’re ordering from AliExpress. You will find it difficult to return the product if you do not indicate that you bought it from AliExpress.
You would lose more profit from the sale if you provided a full refund to the consumer who had paid more than you had. It will directly deduct money from your bank account or credit card.
Likely, products eligible for the 3-time money-back guarantee will not result in a loss but profits.
The extra money you receive from the unhappy customer can be used to provide them with a promo code that can allow them to receive a future discount, so they are satisfied and don’t leave negative reviews.
You can always file a complaint if you need a refund, regardless of what product you purchased.
Quick note: I do not advocate revealing that you are purchasing anything from AliExpress. Some consumers will be understanding, but many others will be irritated.
You should never make customers feel stupid or duped if you sell them a product from AliExpress for $5 and sell it to them for $10 when they could have easily bought it for $5 from AliExpress.
Keep your dispute open.
No matter why you start a dispute with a seller, make sure the dispute isn’t closed! It is extremely common for sellers to ask you to do so under different pretexts.
They may say that you can always open it up again if the problem persists, but they may never resolve it.
You will find that your buyer protection period has ended when you attempt to contest the transaction again.
However, sometimes they are even more devious and claim to offer a full reimbursement via PayPal if you resolve the issue with them quickly and efficiently.
Scammers use PayPal to make chargebacks for refunds already been issued; this is how the scam works.
In the traditional sense of the word, a “refund” wouldn’t technically be a refund if you didn’t pay with PayPal for the merchandise.
According to the scammer’s claims, payment for a product you are giving them is what it is instead.
According to PayPal, this is the situation. It’s not PayPal’s business what you do on AliExpress, and they are unaware of what you do on AliExpress.
The seller can initiate a chargeback if they believe the “goods or items” you promised to sell were not delivered.
PayPal confirms that the other party has a legal claim if you cannot provide a tracking number and can demonstrate you have shipped goods.
Your refund money will be forfeited, and your buyer protection period will have expired (the length of the buyer’s protection period can be seen on the order details page).
You can ask a seller to extend a buyer’s protection period when it expires, but they’ll most likely deny you if they defraud you.
Do not pay the Additional Amount.
Some merchants may request additional funds after you have already paid for the items and sometimes the postage. They will say that they cannot transmit it because of financial constraints.
Don’t send any more money to them. There is no need to pay for delivery if you received the shipment for free.
Instead, if your merchandise does not arrive within the advertised shipment time, you should file a dispute with the vendor.
Never Pay Outside AliExpress
You will encounter vendors who attempt to convince you to wire your money outside the AliExpress system. They may, for example, request that you send your payment through Western Union.
You can now see why paying off AliExpress and interacting with third parties (like WhatsApp) are bad choices.
AliExpress users will find it more challenging to win a disagreement with this request; in general, sellers who require this are unethical.
Take Note Of Measurement Differences
US measurements are usually expressed in imperial measurements such as feet, inches, miles, etc. On the other hand, the rest of the world uses the metric system, consisting of meters, centimeters, millimeters, and kilometers.
What is the significance of this?
There are few AliExpress shops in the United States – most sellers are located in other parts of the world.
You should not assume that a certain measurement is in inches or feet – look a little deeper.
If you don’t, you may get a much smaller product.
You should first convert measurements from metric to the imperial system when relisting AliExpress products on your store or eBay if you are selling to US consumers.
Know The Scam Of Fake Tracking Numbers
AliExpress scams often involve sellers offering a fake tracking number to accept payment.
It is possible that the number doesn’t correspond to anything; instead, it may be a number associated with another delivery sent to a different consumer.
You could also say that the vendor may supply the same number to multiple customers.
There’s a possibility you won’t notice this fraud right away when you check the tracking number for the first time.
It may take some time to discover that your product is being delivered to a different city or country than you expected.
Make sure you verify the tracking number to ensure that you may file a claim if you don’t receive your stuff as promised.
The seller may sometimes offer a refund via PayPal, which exposes you to the same type of scam I discussed earlier.
You must carefully read reviews to avoid dealing with dodgy dealers that use deceptive tactics like this. It’s usual for vendors to have a few poor reviews here and there, especially in the beginning.
Positive reviews are often overlooked if they mention shady scams like this one and patterns of questionable behavior. They will probably perform the same scam again if they have already done it before.
Putting a filter on products with four-star reviews and above will quickly eliminate useless information.
Check Shipping Option
Many of the products will be shipped for free. You may, however, be better off paying a little more for a faster shipment with a company such as DHL or FedEx than letting the seller ship the goods through their post office.
It is safer to ship products with an international organization like DHL, which ensures that products are kept in good condition, aren’t lost, and are delivered quickly to their destinations.
When it comes to dropshipping, spending a little extra money to make your clients happy is worth it.
Summary: Is AliExpress Legit?
Shoppers generally view AliExpress as being a safe site to use. The best-known drop shipper is AliExpress, where they have found remarkable success.
Dropshippers often start their careers selling on AliExpress, even though many other excellent possibilities exist.
However, it is crucial to know how to identify a scammer and recognize the signs of a scam.
You might be able to tolerate a $10 loss on a faulty AliExpress purchase if you’re purchasing items for personal use.
The same cannot be said for dropshipping businesses; therefore, the sellers they purchase from must be more discerning.
