What Is AliExpress? Is It Safe to Buy from AliExpress? How It Works?

What Is AliExpress? Is It Safe to Buy from AliExpress? How It Works?

With the rapid growth of eCommerce industry around the globe, Alibaba is growing at the same rate with its B2C platform "AliExpress". Yes, AliExpress is founded by Jack Ma in 2010 and there to provide consumers around the globe with the cheapest products sourced from all over China.

Buying things online is a new normal but, there are chances you can get scammed by a handful of immoral sellers who are up and selling their fake products on AliExpress or poor quality products that are uploaded on the platform with high quality images and when you actually receive the items, it turns out as junk.

All being said, people have a lot of questions and they want accurate answers. To cover those questions and give accurate answers, we are here with this informative article with everything you need to know about AliExpress. Here we will spill the beans on AliExpress and let you understand how to safely buy from the Chinese platform and not lose your money.

What Is AliExpress?

Jack Ma did a great job by creating the giant Alibaba (a B2B platform) and then he did another great job by creating a famous online-only retail service AliExpress. Here's the basic information you may need to know about Ali Express:

  • Ownership: AliExpress is owned and maintained by Alibaba Group
  • Date of Launch: AliExpress launched on April 26, 2010
  • Business Model: AliExpress is an online shopping (eCommerce) website on a Business to Consumer model

There are some facts such as nobody from China (as a Chinese citizen) could purchase anything from AliExpress as AliExpress doesn't deliver to China but all around the world. The basic idea is to let the Chinese vendors sell their items directly to consumers around the globe. The products on AliExpress are cheaper than you can find on any other eCommerce platform.

Small businesses to large enterprises and companies can create a vendor account on AliExpress and start selling to a worldwide consumer-base. This is probably the best option for cutting extra costs of marketing, distribution, and retail. As the business model suggests, on Ali Express any business can sell its products directly to individual customers all around the world

Is It Safe to Buy from AliExpress?

Why everybody is saying that buying from AliExpress is the safest way of purchasing things online? is there a new system that makes AliExpress the safest eCommerce website on the internet? here we will talk about it and explain why it is totally safe to buy from AliExpress.

Yes, as per the working process of AliExpress, whatever you but from the Chinese eCommerce site will not act hard on your money. You will be on the safe side as AliExpress is a buyer-first platform and always listen to its customers rather than giving any points to the sellers. If you want full details, you can read them below.

AliExpress provides a Buyer Protection Program and a Money-Back Guarantee and makes sure the buyer is safe from any kind of money loss, here's how it works:

AliExpress Buyer Protection Program:

  1. Full Refund: AliExpress gives you the option to ask for a full refund when your order is not delivered beyond the waiting period and you are not happy with that extra waiting. You can ask for a full refund and the AliExpress team will look into the late-delivery problems, if the full refund is initiated, you will receive your money back in 15 days.
  2. Partial Refund: AliExpress will give you the option to let you decide about the refunding option. If your product is not delivered as per the description on the listing of that particular product, you can ask for a full refund and return the item or ask for a partial refund and keep the item with you.

AliExpress Money Back Guarantee:

  1. If your item is not received or the product is not as described on the listing, you should contact the seller and ask about a solution
  2. If the seller doesn't listen to your queries, you can contact to AliExpress support and describe your issue, the seller will also get a notification about this and will be provided a chance to resolve it 
  3. Now the issue will be resolved, if not, you are still on safe side, you can open a dispute with AliExpress team
  4. If the seller is still not saying anything on the dispute, you will get a full refund or the seller will surely rectify the problem
  5. However, if you are right and the product is not as described on the listing or you haven't received it, you will get a full refund in 15 days

This is when you buy directly from AliExpress using any payment method you prefer. This is how their money-back guarantee works and protects you from potential frauds. However, you shouldn't blindly trust the system and make sure that whatever you are purchasing online is tested by a few buyers. You can read reviews and check seller's profiles. Do your own checks and buy when you are totally satisfied with the authenticity of the seller.

How It Works?

AliExpress is the subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited and is a Business2Consumer platform where small businesses and factories from all over China can register as a vendor and sell their merchandise to the whole world. It is a multinational eCommerce website available to everyone for purchasing whatever you want for a cheaper price that you can't find anywhere, even the biggest eCommerce sites such as Amazon and eBay.

Unlike Alibaba.com, on AliExpress.com you can purchase anything in any quantity, and even if you need just one product, you can purchase it. As Alibaba allows you to buy in bulk, AliExpress gives you the option to buy in any volume. However, you can't label the items with your brand or customize the products with your own branding.

Also, on AliExpress, you can safely buy anything online and enjoy their free buyer protection and money-back guarantee programs. With minimum international delivery charges, AliExpress is capable of delivering products directly to consumers living anywhere in the world. There are millions of products live on AliExpress that made it possible to have choices in each and every category of products that you may need to buy online.

Where is AliExpress based?

AliExpress is an online-only retail service based in China and famous for its customer-first business model where they provide buyer protection at no extra costs and delivers products from China to the world. It is owned by Alibaba Group and currently offering the cheapest products that you can't find anywhere else.

How long is AliExpress shipping?

With AliExpress premium shipping options, you can expect to receive your purchase in about 7 to 15 days and with the standard shipping options, it can take 15 days to even 2 months for the items to arrive at your doorstep. However, there's always a safe side and if your purchased product is not delivered to you, you can ask for a full refund.

Why is AliExpress so cheap?

Unlike Amazon and other well-known eCommerce websites, AliExpress is sourcing products from China and since the labor cost in China is lower than any other country, and the manufacturing is also cheap, they can easily offer low-cost products that nobody else can do. Chinese manufacturers can offer cheap manufacturing of any kind of merchandise and thus, AliExpress with the power of Alibaba is capable of delivering low-cost products.

So, as everybody can purchase anything on AliExpress, you should check it yourself experience the platform yourself.