Aliexpress appreciation thread

[surroundman]

For quite some time I have been thinking about creating a thread where all of us with positive opinion on Aliexpress can share our experiences. From what I observe, there are some fears and concerns among many people about returns/refunds/customer service. In recent years I too at times needed to return items, to request refunds, and was in need of customer service support and everything I needed was solved as I hoped to be. Right now I am using SMSL DL200 DAC, Fosi V3 amp, and Topping HS02 USB isolator, all of them bought from Aliexpress. Thanks to the sales and coupons they often run, the price differences were enough to convince me to buy from Aliexpress compared to any other retailer (I got the DL200 for $145 AFTER taxes for example; and as far as I remember we have a member here who ended up paying $135 for the same). I have used the platform to contact the retailers (and manufacturers, as some have their own official Aliexpress web store) and they respond politely. And when I say politely, I mean it. Aliexpress' customer service made me feel that they do care about my concerns and do their very best to resolve it.


In my observation, people are more likely to report negative experiences while not report the positive ones at all. So, share your experience here and have a thread to use as a reference whenever someone uses the usual anti-Aliexpress or anti-China, usually flawed or filled with fallacies arguments.

 

[JSmith]

AliExpress is a conduit for multiple sellers, so it would usually come down to the seller rather than Ali.


JSmith

 

[surroundman]

AliExpress is a conduit for multiple sellers, so it would usually come down to the seller rather than Ali.


JSmith

That is not entirely correct. Aliexpress does, and has in my experience, stepped up and assisted in solving an issue when it cannot be solved between the customer and the seller.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

Most Aliexpress sellers are also on Ebay and Amazon which offer you better buyer protection. When you see products substantially lower on Aliexpress, it is usually because they are either customer returns or they are missing something like a power supply on the Fosi amps.

 

[Bleib]

Not too fond of aliexpress. Quite a bit of fake products. Ordered an infenion based amp, received it and the RCA inputs do not even work. Sent instantly an email to the company and they didn't even respond.
Also ordered a 4TB gen4 NVME and they didn't even send it because it cost so much that it added toll and extra taxes to the price.
And the word express is a joke, it's never fast.

Wish is about the same. Ordered a laptop but the order was cancelled, they didn't even bother to send an email to inform me.

 

[DonR]

My experiences with Ali were mixed up until about 4 or 5 years ago when customer service has improved. Generally, they are cheaper and you can get things like batteries that others won't ship or charge a lot for. Some esoteric items as well that even ebay doesn't carry. The downside is lots of fakes and factory rejects being sold there.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

Not too fond of aliexpress. Quite a bit of fake products. Ordered an infenion based amp, received it and the RCA inputs do not even work. Sent instantly an email to the company and they didn't even respond.
Also ordered a 4TB gen4 NVME and they didn't even send it because it cost so much that it added toll and extra taxes to the price.
And the word express is a joke, it's never fast.

Wish is about the same. Ordered a laptop but the order was cancelled, they didn't even bother to send an email to inform me.

Never buy any SSD, HDD, memory or flash(sd etc) product from any marketplace seller(or anything of value or collectible). Always buy from a reputable dealer or in the case with Newegg, make sure Newegg is the seller or you are buying direct and shipped from the manufacturer.

Amazon commingles products by sku and counterfeits get mixed in with legit products and/or carefully repackaged customer returns..

 

[Bleib]

Never buy any SSD, HDD, memory or flash(sd etc) product from any marketplace seller(or anything of value or collectible). Always buy from a reputable dealer or in the case with Newegg, make sure Newegg is the seller or you are buying direct and shipped from the manufacturer.

Amazon commingles products by sku and counterfeits get mixed in with legit products and/or carefully repackaged customer returns..

When it comes to the SSD it was directly from the manufacturers shop, and the order was made after it was reviewed by techpowerup, so it's hardly a small brand either.
I also receive some emails from ali all written in Spanish, although I have never used that setting or currency and certainly not ever lived there. I wrote to the their support page and surprise, surprise, they didn't answer either.

As it's now I'll continue to avoid ali and wish as much as possible.

 

[DonR]

Wish is just awful, like Temu. Mostly garbage.

 

[voodooless]

That is not entirely correct. Aliexpress does, and has in my experience, stepped up and assisted in solving an issue when it cannot be solved between the customer and the seller.

I’d be very careful with that. A while ago I ordered something, and after a while, it was very clear that something wasn’t right. There was zero support from AliExpress, and the procedures weren’t setup to handle the case, leading to an infinite loop of agony. Any further communication lead to nothing, even after showing them that it was clearly a scam.

Eventually I brought the case before PayPal, and they quick refunded me.

Haven said that, generally, I did get what I ordered in varying degrees of “fast”

 

[Pe8er]

AliExpress is fantastic for particular types of things like small electronic parts, dog toys, plastic containers, headphone cables etc. It's feasible to find the exact same items as on Amazon or EBay for 30% less. And if you happen to be patient, slow shipping tends to be free too. Not to mention the ridiculous gamification machine of sales and coupons! It's truly impressive.

However, I would never buy anything that might require technical support simply because the shipping cost, turnaround time and customs complexity makes it not worth it. Their staff is super nice and kudos to them for making the effort, but it's the logistics that are a no-go for me here.

Edit: oh yes, like @voodooless said, definitely protect yourself by using PayPal for payments.

 

[unpluggged]

And the word express is a joke, it's never fast.

"Express" in this case means that this is a B2C marketplace, in contrast to Alibaba's original B2B marketplace. It's not about speed

That said, when buying on AliExpress, you should be aware what are you dealing with. There are decent sellers (last month I bought a pair of Moondrop Blessing 3s as a 11.11 treat for myself with a significant discount, and the seller sent them with FedEx for free, and it arrived directly at my apartment in a week or so), and there are less decent. The same goes for Amazon, which is increasingly becoming more similar to AliExpress. I have an experience of receiving used apparel items advertised as new when I ordered on Amazon (that were being sold by Amazon themselves). So there are certain risks when dealing with such marketplaces, especially when ordering internationally, and these risks are pretty much the same regardless of where you buy from.

 

[delta76]

"Express" in this case means that this is a B2C marketplace, in contrast to Alibaba's original B2B marketplace. It's not about speed

That said, when buying on AliExpress, you should be aware what are you dealing with. There are decent sellers (last month I bought a pair of Moondrop Blessing 3s as a 11.11 treat for myself with a significant discount, and the seller sent them with FedEx for free, and it arrived directly at my apartment in a week or so), and there are less decent. The same goes for Amazon, which is increasingly becoming more similar to AliExpress. I have an experience of receiving used apparel items advertised as new when I ordered on Amazon (that were being sold by Amazon themselves). So there are certain risks when dealing with such marketplaces, especially when ordering internationally, and these risks are pretty much the same regardless of where you buy from.

Can't say I agree with that. With Amazon you are still covered by A-Z guarantee, you can simply return something if you don't like it or change your mind (at least for things shipped by Amazon, there is no "sold and shipped by Aliexpress "). And you are covered by warranty - most sellers on Amazon will rather replace the items than getting hammered by Amazon. It's very different with Aliexpress.

What I can agree is the increasing number of 3rd party sellers (mostly from China - surprised?) selling no name crap on Amazon for very high price. If you avoid those and stick with well known brands sold by Amazon or a reputable seller, you will be safe.

I only buy from Aliexpress if something is significantly cheaper (like at least 30% cheaper) and I likely need no warranty.
I avoid Temu - basically no name cheap crap that not worth their price tag.

 

[maverickronin]

AliExpress is great for for some kinds of things. Somehow I manage to go through 2.1 mm DC power connectors like water and I'm always ordering another 20 pack for $3 or something.

Plus if you're up for a bit of a gamble there are all kinds of weird things on there you probably won't find on eBay.

 

[Sombreuil]

I just apply a rule of thumb, anything above $30 is a no go. So far so good.

 

[restorer-john]

Aliexpress is fabulous. Absolutely superior to eBay in every aspect (and I have been on ebay since pratically day one).

When eBay started making everything harder and harder, Aliexpress went the other way, making things better, cheaper and easier. The gap between the overall experiences, especially if anything goes wrong, couldn't be greater.

 

[james_o]

As a rule of thumb, the top-selling stuff there is fine.
But if you start turning over smaller stones, you should be very careful before placing an order.
There are lots of sellers hiding underneath there, obviously selling fake stuffs but shamelessly claiming to be genuine....

 

[Bleib]

As soon as I enter the website it gives me really good offers. When I click on them it says not sent to your location. Derp. The website has improved lately but it's still rather rubbish.

 

[muza_1]

I have ordered anything from trinkets to a tablet with only a thing or two not arriving (probably the post in my country lost them) for some I got a refund others not but they were only a few dollars items, for items about $7.00 or more I have had no problems.

I bought most of my IEMs and cables from them.

 

[mr.hi-fi]

I have had one less than perfect purchase experience at AliExpress but Paypal covered me. I'd buy from Aliexpress again, using paypal.