The worst/best idea that I’ve had recently was installing the aliexpress app onto my phone. Worst because I spend far too long browsing it, best because it’s 3 billion times easier than navigating the web version. Ok I guess that is also a really bad idea for my bank account. Ooopsiedaisy.
Online shopping in China usually brings about a lot of quality queries and discontent among a lot of people (fast fashion creates slip ups, sizes tend to run smaller), but sometimes it’s not all that bad. You can actually get amazing bargains if you search around a bit, and don’t mind the wait. Other times, it can be really disappointing and, well, a bit bleh (technical term, that).
So, Aliexpress: what’s the verdict?
Concerns I had:
– it doesn’t use paypal and the rest of the payment options are debit/credit card or I know nothing about?????
– quality because, dayum, those are some low, low prices.
– scams??????
Experience:
I haven’t encountered any scams (so far??), and all the goods I’ve received have been pretty stellar quality considering the price. Everything but the white ‘moschino’ net skirt was under ยฃ5 – and that skirt clocked in at ยฃ5.48. All the items are completely wearable – no see through white tees or extra holes when there shouldn’t be, which is exactly what I want for fast fashion purchases. My favourite item has to be the baymax bag.
Money wise, the app definitely makes payment a lot easier. My main concerns were the fact that if I gave my card details, what would happen, would money just… make it’s way out of my account? I much prefer paypal for these kinds of things, but upon reading the terms and conditions, I found out that your money doesn’t go straight to the vendor until you confirm that you’ve received your order. Which is great. If you don’t get your order within the specified number of days you can open a dispute and reclaim. As I’ve never had this issue, I’ve never had to open a dispute, so I can’t tell you how all of that goes down, but I guess that’s a good thing. I also haven’t had any cheeky unknown payments coming out of my bank account.
item links for those still available: black tulle skirt // baymax bag // squirtle top
So all in all, it’s clear I have a thing for net-overlay skirts. I’ve also had a pretty good experience – it’s an alternative to primark (ish, if primark had a two-to-four week waiting period), and has a lot of cute and quirky items. Sizes and quality do depend on the vendor, but they’re peer reviewed so you can read up before you buy. Basically it is the Chinese eBay. If you follow me on instagram you may have seen a few of these items before, and I’m super excited to style the rest ๐
Have you ever bought from Aliexpress before? What do you think of the items I picked up?
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Everything here is awesome, and then I laid eyes on the Baymax bag. My love for Baymax makes me want to go 'Balalalalaaaa'Meg | A Little Twist Ofโฆ
That top it's so cute ! I loved pokemons so much !xoxo,atwednesdaysiwearpink.blogspot.com
I've heard a lot about this site and have considered buying but it did seem a bit shady. Glad you did a review. Everything on here is so you, love the milk shirt!
I was really put off by the fact that paypal isn't an option (they do have other european payment options but the UK doesn't subscribe to them, which sucked) – so I was really wary of putting my card info down. Thankfully you can unlink it whenever you want, and Aliexpress doesn't release your funds until you've confirmed you've received the item, which is something eBay should get on, imo. ๐ Awh I'm also happy it's helped you. :DD (And gotta love a bit of mengmeng Da prints)xo
OMG note to self must get now haha but make sure I pay with paypal, I really really want that squirtle top xx
They're introducing paypal at some point, but it isn't a method to pay at the moment, unfortunately D; the squirtle top is FABTASTIC. xo
Hello from Spain: I really like your photos. Your post is very interesting.Keep in touch.
Everything looks so nice, especailly the tulle skirt. Have never tried one of these websites as still a bit wary of them…:PFeel free to check out our latest post xhttp://looklovewear.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/autumnwinter-wishlist.html
I NEED this app! How did you find out about this?! I've bought Chinese items from ebay before, I'm sure this can't be any dodgier than that! xMartha Jane | http://www.marthajanemusic.com
I've been signed up to the website for a while, then went on holiday and searched the android store on a whim and, LOW AND BEHOLD THEY HAD AN APP. It really isn't tbh. The only issue I had initially was no paypal option, but upon reading EXACTLY what they do with the money I thought I'd go for it :Dxo
I ordered a skirt from Aliexpress but it got lost, though the seller was kind enough to give me a full refund :)WonderGoth
Does it ship by weight?? I know a lot of sites that sell at wholesale prices or ship from Asia/Australia but they ship by weight which can make it pretty pricey or just like buying it at a normal price :/โ Mondays & Mimosasโ
It depends on the search settings – I generally filter through 'free shipping' so there aren't any shipping charges (the prices are very rarely high enough to warrant customs fees. It's very similar to ebay in that you can choose to search items that are only shipped for free :)x