AliExpress users - what's been your best purchase?

MSE_Jenny

Hi guys,

I'm doing some research on AliExpress and would love to hear your best finds please.

Thanks,
Jenny

RFW

Not what you're after but I often find that if you find something on Aliexpress it will be on Amazon and/or Ebay for the same price or less. Amazon and Ebay tend to offer more protection for buyers.

That said I've bought some sunglasses for around £1 delivered from Hong Kong.

forgotmyname

Looking at some stuff on their now, but its £200 - £400 and not sure if its worth the risk.
There are similar ones on ebay, but not the exact model that i want, but saying that i have read threads on forums where the item you receive may not actually be the one you ordered.

Some cheaper versions can be bought cheaper from a UK supplier which is what i will probably do. I dont fancy losing a few hundred £.

Always said anything you buy from China you need to think its crap and throw it away. The cost of returning it is prohibitive.

soolin

I only really buy small mainly craft items from there and whilst I consider them bargains I have the luxury of waiting for 30 days to save a pound.

I occasionally buy some stock items, nothing branded or electrical though and find that I am getting more and more damaged stock . That means my cost per item goes up once I factor in import charges and damaged items that I have to discount to sell.

If writing an article about bargains I think it best to remind buyers that items over £15 are subject to Import taxes and handling. Also worth remembering that what you see in the photo is not necessarily what you get, the daily mail, every time they get desperate to fill their online content, carry stories about people ordering ball gowns that turn out to be nylon dressing up clothes.

Browntoa

I've always avoided aliexpress , tend to only buy stuff from Dealextreme or gearbest who seem to take time to filter out the real crap

sillygoose

My purchase history from Aliexpress is now over 150 purchases.

I must admit I love it!

You should only buy on the basis of a one way deal, as returning goods is largely impractical so you have to consider if you can take a loss.

That said I have never lost a dispute and found their customer service quite willing to stand up for the buyer and arbitrate or refund, as money is held by Aliexpress in their escrow system for some time its quite easy for them to do so.

Worse case was a mobile phone with a fault worth about £110, it would be suicidal to send it back untracked so the best I could find was about £22 (ipostparcels). I was refunded the purchase price (but not return postage) immediately upon the tracking showing arrival back at the seller, so yes a net loss but not tragic.

Chinese post is state subsidised so they can send stuff ridiculously cheap.

The feedback system on Aliexpress is a lot better than Ebay, its less censored, allows longer comments and people to post useful product information and pictures.

What things are popular for us?

My wife has a huge collection of office dresses from Ali, costing in the £10 to £15 range, good quality and fit mostly from the same seller (this seller is amazingly consistent with sizes across garments)

Tools, electronics, many watches, USB products, trainers and of course 'branded' goods

sillygoose

This was one of my recent favourites, an entire set of real ceramic blade kitchen knives, currently £8.99 but on offer at £7.82 when I bought - delivered!

They are just as good as the one I have from Sainsburys at twice the price for just the one!

Some in the shops are not fake but in the 'ceramic style' and are just painted steel blades. A proper ceramic knife is a joy to use. Be careful not to use on hard or frozen things as they are brittle, always inspect there are no missing bits from the edge before putting what you chopped in your mouth just in case. Don't wash in a dishwasher.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FINDKING-Brand-top-quality-Mother-day-gift-set-Zirconia-Ceramic-Knife-set-3-4-5-6/32310650309.html

Cornucopia

I'm waiting on a couple of Microcontroller purchases from Aliexpress. I've also bought a few things in the past, too.

I think they are good, and for the things I've bought, the price is better than eBay. I also prefer the Ts & Cs for AliExpress buyers given the impracticality of returning things to China. One purchase of multiple items included one faulty product, and I simply adjusted the Escrow confirmation amount accordingly, which the seller readily accepted.

It's real value for me is as a Bazaar of often ridiculously cheap items, and it is worth the small trading risk on that basis. I would tread carefully before spending significant amounts though.

I noted on my recent purchase that they are now offering to trade in UK Pounds. I can't tell from the small amount I bought whether this is better than a Credit Card foreign (US $) transaction or not, but it's worth looking out for.

soolin

Cornucopia wrote: »

I'm waiting on a couple of Microcontroller purchases from Aliexpress. I've also bought a few things in the past, too.

I think they are good, and for the things I've bought, the price is better than eBay. I also prefer the Ts & Cs for AliExpress buyers given the impracticality of returning things to China. One purchase of multiple items included one faulty product, and I simply adjusted the Escrow confirmation amount accordingly, which the seller readily accepted.

It's real value for me is as a Bazaar of often ridiculously cheap items, and it is worth the small trading risk on that basis. I would tread carefully before spending significant amounts though.

I noted on my recent purchase that they are now offering to trade in UK Pounds. I can't tell from the small amount I bought whether this is better than a Credit Card foreign (US $) transaction or not, but it's worth looking out for.

I've been paying in sterling for a few years now and for me it saves money as my bank used to take a foreign transaction fee for each transaction.

Kernow666

I buy material for my mum fat-quarters are about 80% cheaper than UK based sites for the same quality , also buttons you can get 100 delivered for under £1

pulliptears

I do buy loads, mostly phone cases and jewellery but I recently bought a pair of wireless headphones for £11.50 for gradening etc. They arrived (complete with logo of a famous brand) and were actually very very good indeed. Not only did they have a built in radio but a micro sd slot as well. Battery life is something like 8 hours and the sound quality is on a par with my genuine ones.

Was amused with my £1 sunglasses which have the Ray Ban logo everywhere barring one arm which reads 'Roy Boy'. Amusement value of that alone was worth £1.

Also found it useful for little things like phone chargers and adaptors. I tend to head for Ali now before eBay.