Lots of foreigners like to shopping from chinese online shopping sites like Taobao, JD and AliExpress while others don't like. What's the pros and cons shopping on Chinese online shopping sites? Just throw your opinions here.
I like aliexpress, it's a site that looks like another ebay/amazon but the way they sell form vendors is different. I don't buy stuff from there because I don't like long shipping times at all. Pros: You can get cheap stuff, even good looking clothing for dirt cheap prices, pretty much everything coming from China is going to be cheap. I really don't know of too much that is good with shopping online at China stores. Cons: You can get ripped off so easily, people say that using a payment system like Western Union, and you will loose your money. I don't know if that's always the case, but I had one company that I was going to buy 20 pairs of shoes for $1,000 dollars and they kept pressuring me to use Western Union, but I know how that company works, and I didn't make the purchase. Shipments can take weeks easy. If you don't like not being able to track your packages, then don't do it. You may never hear from a customer service team, your clothing might be something different than what you ordered. They won't tell you, they'll just send you something different if they do. That's not always the case, but there are plenty of youtube videos to prove that. Products are of poor quality and don't last that long. I have seen some promising products on Chinese websites that can't be compared to anything that I've seen in American stores, but I don't know if I'll get them. You stuff can get lost more easily, and you can forget about suing. That company might be out of business by the time you find them. There are so many more problems with shopping directly with stores in China, but take your own risk, just know them.
@hades_leae , I am totally agree with you. Mostly foreigner consumers do not buy on Chinese websites directly due the the shipping and customer service issues unless those things they cannot buy from other place. But products on amazon mostly comes from China, which means foreigners usually will pay higher cost. As for the quality, I think we should always stick to the princeple money is quality. If you pay for money on its actual value, the quality cannot be too bad, if you pay far cheaper price who can guarantee the qualities. But this issue won't be problem for small online business overseas because they pay attention to source and compare goods on Chinese online shopping sites which means they know better about the rules shopping from China. That might be the biggest issue for foreigners shopping on China.
I suppose what one should expect when buying stuff from China is that what they buy will cost significantly less. While at one time you could get ripped off and get counterfeits whose quality was questionable, fewer Chinese sellers are attempting that because to stay in business they must sell quality products. The downside of buying from China is the waiting. Shipping can take ages. If you aren't a patient person then you'd be better off buying from a site which promises fast deliveries and actually delivers on their promise.
Well I would think that @Denis Hard summed it up pretty nicely. Of course, one of the things to popped into my head was the use of chemicals in their materials that may not be used or deemed safe for use here. I know that there are the stories of metals getting into some products, and these days you probably want to play it safe with stuff like that. It might be super cheap, though, and we all know that is tough to avoid.
The negative that I have found is in sizing clothing. Some stores will show the Chinese measurements to show the difference from US sizes.
The pro would be free worldwide shipping, at least in the stores that I shop in. Some Chinese stores still charge you for shipping, like Ali Express, so I don't shop there. Now the cons would be poor quality and misleading photos. I bought a bag from China, but it's material is very flimsy and thin! In photos it looks durable!
The biggest pro's would probably be getting a item for a incredibly cheap price. The huge downside would be the items are at times very cheaply made. Though, there are those few items that are very cheap but are of good quality that are worth the money.
The thing that's good about Chinese products are that you can get them for extremely cheap. The bad thing is that oftentimes you receive a product that isn't what you ordered; there are style, size, material, and color differences usually. The product usually always looks more cheaper in person than what they show in the picture on the website. Also, if women buy cosmetics, the cosmetics can be dangerous! There are a lot of knockoff cosmetics on Chinese sites, and you never know what the Chinese put in the cosmetics.Youtube "fakeup" and you will find some very disappointed women who bought very cheap knockoff cosmetics. There's a reason that the products come cheap!
I have never bought directly from a Chinese company. It is a good thing that you did not use Western Union as you might as well have kissed that money good bye. If you are buying in bulk you could also use AliBaba. In these cases it would be important that you make sure to read all the fine print and only use traceable payment system, PayPal would be key. I would also be sure to check user reviews and product reviews as well. The prices may be really low however, the quality of the goods ordered may also be lacking.
I think it's safe to say that the cons outweigh the pros, so far! But it's really interesting to hear the situation with shoddy quality Chinese products may be changing for the better, because for me the two main problems are the terrible quality products and sellers whose sole focus is to con innocent people out of their hard earned money. It would be fantastic if the Chinese sellers could clean up their act and start doing good, honest business with people the world over. They'd really rake it in! I have always been interested in trying Alibaba, but for those reasons, I've always opted to play it safe by not going there. Everything looks shiny and affordable when in actual fact they are as cheap as the price suggests. Disappointing when you think some of us would be more than willing to pay premium prices for superior quality goods.
You can get products really cheap. I once got a 512 GB USB flash drive just for $3 which otherwise would have cost me at least $10 in the local store. However, quality of the product is the main concern. Even though I got a flash drive really cheap, I am worrying about the durability of the product. The main issues with buying from Chinese store is reviving the same product that you actually bought. Recently, I heard that a woman received a doll's barbie clothes when she had actually ordered for human size barbie doll clothes.
Well I would have to assume that the cons involve the shipping rates, and maybe the shipping times. I cannot really say that I have any experience here, though, but I am interested in learning a little more. I would assume that they have a lot of products that they offer at a lower price, but again I am not too sure. Interesting stuff, though, and thanks for sharing.
I've experienced purchasing items with Alibaba in the past. The good thing about the products purchased in Alibaba is that the price are much cheaper compared to their branded counterparts. Another good thing is that China is just our neighbor. The only thing I don't like though is that you cannot even see the product if it has a defect, and then if you are going to return it you have to wait for a very long time to get a replacement back.
