Alibaba / Aliexpress - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 06:28:34 pm
content: How does these work?Are they similar to eBay? Do they speak english? Do they ship to US?How is payment handled?I was reading another post (forgot what post it was) that mentioned a website that was similar to eBay, but, you pay for item, and seller doesn't get money until you receive the item and okay the release of said funds. I can't remember what site it was that operated that way.If anyone uses Alibaba or Aliexpress, how do you sort through the millions of suppliers? Who is good and who is not?Can anyone recommend a particular company/person to deal with?

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 06:35:16 pm
content: hmm, just for fun, i tried out Alibaba. I clicked on start order, and in quantity I put 1000. But I am confused....I type in my own amount to pay? Huh?

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 06:50:06 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 21, 2014, 06:28:34 pmTo get a real feel for it you need to start using it.Many offer free shipping.Most sellers want to do business with us, ask them questions, keep it simple and gauge the response.Many are excellent, build rapport with those that are and save those contacts.There is a feeedback system to gauge seller/product quality.QuoteThats Aliexpress.The transaction cost is held by Aliexpress until you confirm receipt.But you must remember to "confirm item as received" or you might get a reminder email.Alibaba IME is for contact directly with manufacturers and distributors for larger quantities of product.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 06:53:59 pm
content: It's a marketplace. You can request for quote, or chat with sellers directly.I got these ferrite cores (3 styrofoam trays worth) as surplus from an acquaintance'sbulk eBay purchase,but they're an oddball size, so I had a heck of a time trying to use them. (One case, I just glued them together in stacks -- which for an inductor that size, was about as good a way to do it, anyway. He's also used many in similar fashion.)I eventually found a seller of the correct size bobbins on Ali Express, and requested qty 50 sample. Ended up something like $60 with all the shipping and money transfer stuff, for which they were apologetic ('prices will go down with increased quantity').The bobbins are within the spec given, and made of rather cheap material (phenolic something resin), but I don't mind (it's a standard material for non-high-temp purposes).Good luck getting that kind of price or service (less the weeks-long delivery time, of course) from a western supplier!As with any marketplace, there are of course less scrupulous sellers. On a different occasion, I've seen power transistors sold at half the price of a mainstream / qualified supplier -- and about half the quality (they were labeled X, but the size of the die within suggested a related part 60% smaller or thereabouts!). Needless to say, those transistors met a fiery fate when they were... "qualified" for the end use.I suppose you should think of it as eBay but with more sellers (and more emphasis on Chinese and other international sources), vastly greater quantities, more consistent pricing (you're not bidding against other buyers), and the same you-get-what-you-pay-for, buyer-beware mentality.If you buy something and it isn't up to spec, you can attempt a return (or other compensation or negotiation), or cut your losses. Don't whine about it; it's as much your fault for being foolish enough to believe that something 20% of western retail price should be functional, as it is theirs for claiming such. Don't forget to take adequate financial precautions, either.Ed: I forget if that was exactly Alibaba or Ali Express. Sounds like the former (I negotiated with the seller).Tim

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 07:09:33 pm
content: I must add it is not always easy to find stuff with generic searches, there are alternative results shown but you must be persistant to find obscure stuff.Remember Engish is not their strong suite and often descriptions and included keywords are interesting to say the least.The good sellers do it well though.But Aliexpress is not the golden egg, compare results of your searches with eBay as a sanity check.Edits added

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 10:36:56 pm
content: Check their seller ratings as well and be mindful that you may not get what you THOUGHT you paid for.Keep an eye out for things being priced as groups or parts of groups, sets, or kits etc. An example was a few years back I was looking at an Arduino Mega 2560 clone. It appeared to be $12 or something, too good to be true. But when you put it in your cart, you see it is just a USB cable, because you had to buy the set, which was $24, (12 for the cable, 12 for the Arduino)Also pay close attention to the pictures. You may see bluetooth modules that appear to just be a bare circuit board. They are, just a bare PCB with no components.If you do get messed around with on AliExpress you can usually dispute it and it isn't worth the time of the seller to fight it so they will often let you keep it if it's completely wrong, or accept 50% payment if it was only partly wrong.Like the 64GB MicroSD card I purchased that said Samsung in the picture. When I got it, the Samsung logo rubbed off with very light finger pressure. An SD card diagnostics tool showed the vendor, serial and everything were just zeros. I filed a dispute and asked for 50% off and the seller accepted. However the card itself doesn't seem to work very well, it tends to time out with heavy usage so I don't use it really any more.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 11:21:52 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 21, 2014, 06:28:34 pmAlibaba is a predominately wholesale marketplace (ie, buying a pallet to a container load of stuff).Aliexpress is the easy consumer marketplace (ie buying an envelope to a box load of stuff).Aliexpress is where you should be looking.When looking for something, sort the search results by number of orders can help to find good sellers and popular products.Read the feedback for the items (big advantage over eBay here because you can easily see the feedback for specific items).Ignore feedback that just says "Excellent" or some other one-word phrase.Read the feedback overall for the seller.USE the dispute system.You get a period of time after payment for the package to be delivered and accepted - the "dispute period".If you confirm goods are received, then the money is paid to the seller, the transaction is closed, and that's the end of it.If you let the time run out without opening a dispute then the money is paid to the seller, the transaction is closed, and that's the end of it.Do not confirm receipt if you have a problem!Do not let the time run out if you have a problem (like non-delivery)!Package doesn't arrive and dispute period will soon run out? OPEN A DISPUTETracking not working and it's been longer than a month? OPEN A DISPUTEProduct arrives and is incorrect? OPEN A DISPUTEProduct arrives and is faulty? OPEN A DISPUTESellers may try messaging things like..."we will refund you if you not happy, close dispute and ...."NO, do not close the dispute, the dispute should be resolved through the dispute resolution system, not outside of it, just totally ignore such messages.

author: MadScientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 11:42:02 pm
content: I regularly buy small. Orders through aliexpress , works great can't reccomend it enough , you just must not be in a hurry !

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2014, 11:44:27 pm
content: Aliexpress can be dodgy at times - many sellers are just middlemen who only order stuff when they get an order. This means sometimes they can't get it & the order gets cancelled a couple of weeks later. Although you get a refund, currency changes and foreign transaction charges mean you can still be out of pocket.IME their dispute process is a joke, particularly when sellers send the wrong item - even if you (eventually, after much chasing over several weeks) you get a partial refund, things like import duty paid on the original, full amount can still leave you out of pocket.IGNORE feedback percentages - these are a joke. Look at actual comments in feedback.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2014, 12:05:33 am
content: I recently bought some things from Aliexpress. I agree it's much like buying from Chinese sellers from Ebay. IMHO there are nice things to be found but you'll need a credit card to pay or find a way to use Alipay (which seems to be very big in China; you can even get tax refunds paid into your Alipay account).

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2014, 12:21:28 am
content: I put in part number in Aliexpress, I get like 3 vendors, or zero.I put same part number into Alibaba, I get 10's of vendors. seems to me that Aliexpress is useless.And seems alot of stuff on Alibaba requires alittle more of a quantity purchase, but I may be looking at 1000+ of each item.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 05:46:56 pm
content: I've been getting back emails regarding my request for quotes.Every single person is asking me to pay in Direct Bank Transfer or Western Union. BIG redflag to me.Does that still go into an escrow account, and funds are NOT released to them until I receive the product and okay the funds to be released?This is for Alibaba. The pricing of this stuff is so much cheaper than here in the states, but, I'm worried that they would never even ship it after I'd pay them. It's not cheap if I never receive it.One thing, for example, the wiring i need is about $1.85 a foot here in the states, on Alibaba, I can get nearly the same wire for $0.32 per meter and that's with my company logo printed on it. So Much cheaper (of course, that does not include shipping charges).

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 06:00:55 pm
content: hmm, looks like i can select escrow for the western union or bank transfer.http://service.alibaba.com/buyer/faq_detail/10609398.htmBut, is that only if the seller approves that? Or do they not have a choice?Also, looks like the limit is 10k on bank transfer, what if I have something that costs more (i hope not, lol), does the seller simply just break it up into two orders, but still give me the same discount?

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 06:30:02 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 23, 2014, 05:46:56 pmThrough Ailibaba you are dealing with the supplier direct.The transaction is a matter of trust. You can ask for alternative types of payment, some do PayPal.Some sellers also have their products on Aliexpress and can setup a custom listing just for you.For larger orders I always ask for a sample first.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 10:19:45 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on December 22, 2014, 12:05:33 amExactly my expieriences too. I often buy 6euro -stuff, like bluetooth module, cable, chips

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 11:05:30 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 23, 2014, 05:46:56 pmI can't help with your Alibaba/Aliexpress questions, but just some thoughts.Is this wiring going to be used where fire/building/safety code comes into play? If yes, can you be 100% sure that the wiring meets code especially if your company logo is going to be on it?In addition, how much time/cost will you spend putting in the wire? If the cost is 90% labour and 10% parts (i.e. the wire itself), does it really make sense to cheap out?

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2014, 11:23:43 pm
content: If you buy from Alibaba, expect to pay via direct transfer, Western union or similar. Alibaba in generally not intended as a retail supplier and will have higher MOQs. Even if they do sell you a small quantity, the seller will often pester you for the big order you probably BS'd them about when you asked for "samples".If you want smaller quantities and other payment options (PayPal), use AliExpress. You can't usually have it both ways. Buy big and get lower prices or buy retail and pay accordingly.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2014, 03:51:55 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 22, 2014, 12:21:28 amA lot of them just copy-paste huge lists of IC part numbers and claim to carry them, when all it means is "we'll try to find some for you". Be suspicious of the ones who claim to carry everything from obscure military ICs to custom ASICs...