Is it safe to order something on Aliexpress - experiences ?

[moogradod]

My wife wants to open an account and order something with Aliexpress. I suspect that in the process you have to give them your credit card number and probably other personal information.

 

If the credit card information needs to be stored then I regard this as a risk, but they could do it anyway for you have to pay somehow. The item she wants (actually needs) to buy costs not more than 4'000 THB - if no delivery just bad luck and forget. This is of no concern. The item is quite big but shipping costs we just have to bear.

 

Are there other considerations ? Maybe based on your own experience ?

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

[gargamon]

AliExpress is better than lazada or shopee. Bigger selection, cheaper, more secure.

 

The biggest plus is that the seller is not paid until you acknowledge that you have received the goods and they are as described on the site. You pay when you order, at least I do, AliExpress holds the money until you mark it as received or the delivery deadline has been reached. If it's later than the delivery deadline, even by a day, it's essentially free if it shows up late. If it isn't as described you also dispute and the seller doesn't get paid and you get the money back. 

 

[moogradod]

13 minutes ago, gargamon said:

AliExpress is better than lazada or shopee. Bigger selection, cheaper, more secure.

 

The biggest plus is that the seller is not paid until you acknowledge that you have received the goods and they are as described on the site. You pay when you order, at least I do, AliExpress holds the money until you mark it as received or the delivery deadline has been reached. If it's later than the delivery deadline, even by a day, it's essentially free if it shows up late. If it isn't as described you also dispute and the seller doesn't get paid and you get the money back. 

 

Thank you very much. That sounds awesome ! We have used Lazada as well in the past without troubles. As far as shopee is concerned I cannot even open an account. Looks like better forget.

[OneMoreFarang]

I have good experience with them, since many years - at least since 2016.

Obviously we should read the description of what we buy, and look at the seller - just like with any other online or offline shopping.

 

Yesterday I searched online to buy an isolation transformer for electronic work. I wanted to buy it in Thailand, if possible. I found few and mostly expensive options in Thailand. Then I looked at Aliexpress and I found what I wanted for reasonable prices. But the shipping to Thailand with courier was expensive. That is not surprising because these things are heavy. I contacted the seller by clicking the contact button. They answered right away and I asked them about cheaper delivery options and they agreed right away, gave me a good offer and I ordered for a good price and delivery with ordinary mail. I still have to wait for maybe 10 to 14 days until I will receive this thing. But I would be surprised if it is not what I ordered.

 

So all together: Go for it. My credit card details are saved there since years and I never had any trouble.

Worst case "trouble" was that a company didn't ship in time and I cancelled the order. No problem. 

[OneMoreFarang]

35 minutes ago, gargamon said:

AliExpress is better than lazada or shopee. Bigger selection, cheaper, more secure.

 

The biggest plus is that the seller is not paid until you acknowledge that you have received the goods and they are as described on the site. You pay when you order, at least I do, AliExpress holds the money until you mark it as received or the delivery deadline has been reached. If it's later than the delivery deadline, even by a day, it's essentially free if it shows up late. If it isn't as described you also dispute and the seller doesn't get paid and you get the money back. 

The procedure with the payment is interesting, I wasn't aware of this.

I am sure I didn't confirm every single order which I ever received. And I didn't get reminders.

Somehow I assume the seller was still paid.

[Crossy]

Yeah ^^^, I've had mostly positive experiences with AliExpress, the payment escrow system works well. I'd still rather order from a local source but a lot of stuff is simply not available here.

 

If your item is large/heavy do discuss alternative delivery options, many sellers will use "Thailand Special Line" where all customs and VAT fees are included for little (if any) extra.

 

@OneMoreFarang if you don't confirm delivery or open a "non-delivery" claim the seller will get the $$ after the (pretty long) delivery time runs out.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, Crossy said:

@OneMoreFarang if you don't confirm delivery or open a "non-delivery" claim the seller will get the $$ after the (pretty long) delivery time runs out.

Thanks

I will pay more attention to confirm their deliveries in time in the future.

[KhunLA]

Also ordered many things from AliExpress, with no major issues.   Same with Banggood and sometimes those 2 were the only ones carrying what I wanted.

 

Took LAZ a long time to catch up to their level of available products & inventory without drop shipping.   Don't build drones any more, so no longer need AE or BG.   Have only ordered a few things over past couple years from them vs a few things every week in prior years.

 

Be careful ... shopping get addicting, a one day haul for me at my PO Box, days past:

  

Then the pain, anguish and disappointment, when the box is empty.  That long walk back to the car ...  thinking 'why why why'

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=934614279938012

As horrendous as that walk from the casino back to the car, thinking 'how stupid, you can never beat the house'

[NextG]

3 hours ago, moogradod said:

Thank you very much. That sounds awesome ! We have used Lazada as well in the past without troubles. As far as shopee is concerned I cannot even open an account. Looks like better forget.

Shopee is ridiculously easy with which to open an account. I cannot imagine how you can have an issue. All you need is a mobile number. 
When I forget my password, I don’t bother to try to remember it as I can simply recreate a new account in a few seconds…. and then you can order via COD immediately. 

[BigStar]

Been using Aliexpress a few years, good experience, pay by credit card. Out of maybe a hundred orders, I got a refund on an item that didn't show up (vendor issue) and another on a poor quality item--small amounts. Negotiated a 50% discount on shirt sent the wrong size. That's it.

 

Website much better than Lazada's or Shopee's. Good prices, usually better than Lazada for the same thing + free shipping in many cases. Reviews a bit more trustworthy, lots of Russians who'll freely criticize, though usually admit that they got what they paid for. Chat function works, vendors responsive.

 

So the downside is the delay in arriving. You'll get used to it. Now sometimes things can arrive a week or so early. Thai post office unfairly maligned--I think they're pretty good, nothing's gone missing. They called me a couple of times when a shipment arrived in a damaged box. But the items themselves were OK, so I accepted. 

[thaitom]

How are customs and import fees figured ? Are they included ? Or will items be stopped and you paid separately ?

[VocalNeal]

Generally, good.  I have ordered a mobile phone and some RC batteries in the past. I have an SCB prepaid debit card for such transactions. There is only enough money on the card to cover the cost, so limited risk. 

 

Edit: Apologies the phone was cancelled by the seller twice so I ended up buying direct from the Chinese company's own on-line site.

[giddyup]

I have ordered a couple of nice watches from Ali and both arrived promptly and as described, but I have also ordered a couple of small, cheap items that never arrived and I had to be refunded. When something costs a couple of dollars don't expect to get it in a couple of weeks, it may take months, or not come at all.

[VocalNeal]

32 minutes ago, giddyup said:

When something costs a couple of dollars don't expect to get it in a couple of weeks,

My $2 in line fuel filter still not arrived????

[giddyup]

8 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

My $2 in line fuel filter still not arrived????

I've been waiting more than 2 months for a $3 lanyard for a mobile phone. The seller extended delivery time to 3 months so I can't claim until next month.

[VocalNeal]

3 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I've been waiting more than 2 months for a $3 lanyard for a mobile phone. The seller extended delivery time to 3 months so I can't claim until next month.

 

[moogradod]

2 hours ago, NextG said:

Shopee is ridiculously easy with which to open an account. I cannot imagine how you can have an issue. All you need is a mobile number. 
When I forget my password, I don’t bother to try to remember it as I can simply recreate a new account in a few seconds…. and then you can order via COD immediately. 

I use mobile devices for telephone calls and occasionally SMS (mostly receiving). And that's it. Maybe sometime converting unit measures etc.

 

But as an ex- IT-professional, I have a sophisticated desktop infrastructure and network. My desktop is loaded with a number of security browser add-ons to prevent tracking, executing scripts or deny access. I can as well see what a website is aiming to perform in this regard. Sometimes I am reluctant to switch off some of these tools when it is just too much which does not add to my confidence. As is the case when I try to open a shopee account. Maybe this is why it does not work, even if I am generous to overlook some of their attempts.

 

It would probably work with a mobile device for there is as well less risk involved (at least with MY mobile devices - a medium aged Android phone and a first generation iPAD) which have no further access to anything and do not contain any sensible data.

[NextG]

1 minute ago, moogradod said:

I use mobile devices for telephone calls and occasionally SMS (mostly receiving). And that's it. Maybe sometime converting unit measures etc.

 

But as an ex- IT-professional, I have a sophisticated desktop infrastructure and network. My desktop is loaded with a number of security browser add-ons to prevent tracking, executing scripts or deny access. I can as well see what a website is aiming to perform in this regard. Sometimes I am reluctant to switch off some of these tools when it is just too much which does not add to my confidence. As is the case when I try to open a shopee account. Maybe this is why it does not work, even if I am generous to overlook some of their attempts.

 

It would probably work with a mobile device for there is as well less risk involved (at least with MY mobile devices - a medium aged Android phone and a first generation iPAD) which have no further access to anything and do not contain any sensible data.

I don’t use a mobile device to create an account. You only need a mobile device in order to receive the OTP. 
So it’s user error in this case. You are somehow disabling some simple function unnecessarily. 

[moogradod]

1 hour ago, thaitom said:

How are customs and import fees figured ? Are they included ? Or will items be stopped and you paid separately ?

Good question. I will see once I have ordered the item. It is big and heavy although the price is no more than 4KTHB. Shipping and import fees might be a multiple of that, but I dont care for it is exactly what I want. I would even opt for a faster delievery method if it would be more expensive.

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, thaitom said:

How are customs and import fees figured ? Are they included ? Or will items be stopped and you paid separately ?

They don't do import and customs fees. That's on you.

 

However, maybe there's a deal between Aliexpress and Thailand, 'cause I've never paid any duties for items costing up to about B6000. Very different when it's Amazon for amounts much less than that. 

 

I dunno how far you can push it. Somebody w/ a different experience may weigh in.

[scubascuba3]

AliExpress isn't as good as Lazada due to poor tracking, sometimes items can take months to arrive or not at all.

 

It's a last resort for me

[thaitom]

1 hour ago, BigStar said:

They don't do import and customs fees. That's on you.

 

However, maybe there's a deal between Aliexpress and Thailand, 'cause I've never paid any duties for items costing up to about B6000. Very different when it's Amazon for amounts much less than that. 

 

I dunno how far you can push it. Somebody w/ a different experience may weigh in.

Yes, that's what I was thinking of was Amazon. Costs of shipping and taxes are high.  

[thaitom]

2 hours ago, moogradod said:

Good question. I will see once I have ordered the item. It is big and heavy although the price is no more than 4KTHB. Shipping and import fees might be a multiple of that, but I dont care for it is exactly what I want. I would even opt for a faster delievery method if it would be more expensive.

i was reading about import and customs taxes, I think its tax free up to 1500. baht ? but thats including shipping costs in the calculations.  I could be wrong.  Xmas I ordered legos direct from them , about 35.00 US dollars.  stopped at customs they wanted 700. baht in taxes . then i read after the fact that legos and barbie dolls are a restricted item in thailand ??!

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, gargamon said:

The biggest plus is that the seller is not paid until you acknowledge that you have received the goods and they are as described on the site.

That's not true.   I've bought many items on Ali and when I receive them I don't go back on their site until I want to order something else.

[Liverpool Lou]

5 hours ago, thaitom said:

How are customs and import fees figured ? Are they included ? Or will items be stopped and you paid separately ?

"...will items be stopped and you paid separately?"

Depends on your luck and the value and which delivery system is used (mail or courier).

[phetphet]

If you have a Kasikorn Bank account:

 

I used a K-Web virtual shopping card for all my purchases on Aliexpress. It has recently been updated / replaced by a new type of virtual online debit card.

 

I applied for that when my previous one expired, and have used that to order from them.

 

Not sure if other Thai banks offer the same.

 

This (link below) was the old shopping card. It's still showing on their website, but has now been replaced by a different online card.

https://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/personal/debit-card/Pages/web-card.aspx

 

[gargamon]

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's not true.   I've bought many items on Ali and when I receive them I don't go back on their site until I want to order something else.

There's also a date they will automatically mark it as received, usually a couple of months after the order date. You have 15 days to dispute the transaction after that date if you didn't receive it. If you snooze, you lose. 

[Puccini]

17 hours ago, gargamon said:

...The biggest plus is that the seller is not paid until you acknowledge that you have received the goods and they are as described on the site...

That is a big plus. Your payment does not go directly to the seller. It goes to AliPay, I believe in Singapore, and they hold on to it until all is clear.

[Pdavies99]

The issue is mostly the carrier...If it's Fed Express or UPS then forget it, it will not through Customs.  If it's Ali Express post or Thai Mail delivery I have always found it fine.

[Pdavies99]

14 hours ago, Puccini said:

That is a big plus. Your payment does not go directly to the seller. It goes to AliPay, I believe in Singapore, and they hold on to it until all is clear.

Try getting the money back! No chance or fat chance!