I have a few times, there’s definitely no guarantees (even if the seller does ship the right thing, customs might want to hold onto it) but it works out more often than not.
@joebuddah The days of looking in the catalog, filling out the order form, sending off the form and a check, then waiting (not so) patiently for your Estes model rocket. By the time it finally arrived I totally forgot I ordered it.
@joebuddah@ruouttaurmind When I was a kid I had some old (already at the time) comic books and issues of Popular Science.
I’d see stuff in the back and want to order them, but the ads were all several years old and I didn’t have any money anyway.
But I always dreamed about ordering those sea monkeys, the Charles Atlas Dynamic Muscle Tension book, and those diy hovercraft plans that ran off a vacuum cleaner motor.
@ruouttaurmind Nope, never encountered that one. I saw lots of similar ones, but the old comic books I had were from the post-seed era, I guess. The ones I remember tried to get you to sell greeting cards, stationary, or magazine subscriptions, I think.
I’ve ordered many items there. It’s very much like Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Rakuten. Aliexpress offers buyer’s assurance guarantees and handles payment processing. The 2 times I’ve had issues, Aliexpress stepped in to make it right.
Also, many sellers from that site keep stock in US fulfillment centers. I’ve had orders arrive in as little as 2 days. The longest I recall waiting from a China shipment was about 5 weeks. Fortunately, sellers with US stocked items are plentiful. If the seller you’re looking at doesn’t offer US based fulfillment, you can always keep shopping. You’re sure to find another seller who offers the identical items with US stock and often for a very similar price. Not always, but often.
I’ve mostly ordered small electronics or components from them. Oh, and Feiyue shoes. As others have said, shipping can take several weeks. I think I’ve always gotten my stuff in the stated delivery window, which varies item to item.
As I understand it, the real “danger” seems to be ordering clothes from there.
I have ordered several times. For me, its usually right in the middle of their estimated ship time. All the items are accurate and the customer service is pretty good.
ordered a couple times (LED light strips and something else i can’t remember) with no issues. took about 3-4 weeks to get the items, but they did arrive and worked fine.
Great place for knockoff legos and micro building blocks. Also toddler branded clothing (Batman, etc). No major problems. It can take up to 2 months though I’ve gotten things in 2 weeks as well
Many times. Very few problems. All problems resolved to my satisfaction. Most expensive order nearly $5000 including air shipping. FedEx delivered it in less than a week.
I’ve ordered a couple of times. No issues. About a month.
I have a few times, there’s definitely no guarantees (even if the seller does ship the right thing, customs might want to hold onto it) but it works out more often than not.
It’s like dealextreme or Alibaba. It is like ordering something from a catalog back in the day. Allow 6-8 weeks
@joebuddah The days of looking in the catalog, filling out the order form, sending off the form and a check, then waiting (not so) patiently for your Estes model rocket. By the time it finally arrived I totally forgot I ordered it.
@joebuddah @ruouttaurmind When I was a kid I had some old (already at the time) comic books and issues of Popular Science.
I’d see stuff in the back and want to order them, but the ads were all several years old and I didn’t have any money anyway.
But I always dreamed about ordering those sea monkeys, the Charles Atlas Dynamic Muscle Tension book, and those diy hovercraft plans that ran off a vacuum cleaner motor.
@Limewater
I remember seeing those in the back of Boy’s Life magazines!
Do you remember these ads from the comic books?
@ruouttaurmind Nope, never encountered that one. I saw lots of similar ones, but the old comic books I had were from the post-seed era, I guess. The ones I remember tried to get you to sell greeting cards, stationary, or magazine subscriptions, I think.
@joebuddah @Limewater @ruouttaurmind
Nowadays, you use a leaf blower instead of a vacuum cleaner motor… https://sciencebob.com/build-a-hovercraft-you-can-ride/ … and there is nothing to order, unless you need a computer or internet connection.
At a World Maker Faire a few years ago, there was a guy with several of these, one was a two seater using two leaf blowers.
I’ve ordered many items there. It’s very much like Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Rakuten. Aliexpress offers buyer’s assurance guarantees and handles payment processing. The 2 times I’ve had issues, Aliexpress stepped in to make it right.
Also, many sellers from that site keep stock in US fulfillment centers. I’ve had orders arrive in as little as 2 days. The longest I recall waiting from a China shipment was about 5 weeks. Fortunately, sellers with US stocked items are plentiful. If the seller you’re looking at doesn’t offer US based fulfillment, you can always keep shopping. You’re sure to find another seller who offers the identical items with US stock and often for a very similar price. Not always, but often.
I’ve ordered from the business customization side and have had pretty good luck.
I’ve been fine, ordering a couple of times.
I’ve mostly ordered small electronics or components from them. Oh, and Feiyue shoes. As others have said, shipping can take several weeks. I think I’ve always gotten my stuff in the stated delivery window, which varies item to item.
As I understand it, the real “danger” seems to be ordering clothes from there.
I have ordered several times. For me, its usually right in the middle of their estimated ship time. All the items are accurate and the customer service is pretty good.
ordered a couple times (LED light strips and something else i can’t remember) with no issues. took about 3-4 weeks to get the items, but they did arrive and worked fine.
Great place for knockoff legos and micro building blocks. Also toddler branded clothing (Batman, etc). No major problems. It can take up to 2 months though I’ve gotten things in 2 weeks as well
Many times. Very few problems. All problems resolved to my satisfaction. Most expensive order nearly $5000 including air shipping. FedEx delivered it in less than a week.
I live on AliExpress. As long as you don’t buy something that plugs into an outlet, or your computer, it’s a great place to get random things.
And with their delivery times, it’s like Christmas every time you get a mystery package.