Anybody here ever shopped at AliExpress???

[duwen]

Everything I've ordered from Aliexpress over the years (which is quite a bit; GBA/Megadrive/SNES repros, LCD kits, SD2Vita's, SD2SP2's, replacement console/handheld shells, Dreamshell, DreamPSU, GCHD, Neo Geo controller extension cords, a Pandoras Box 4S... lots of other stuff) all arrived working/undamaged and within the advertised time frame. I've even had good experience with getting refunds.
It's not so much a Chinese Amazon (as stated by someone above) - the reason the prices are so low is because you're pretty much dealing directly with the manufacturers, so it's more of a storefront for a wealth of Chinese businesses. You'll find exactly the same stuff on Amazon and ebay (and most other popular online marketplaces), that was sourced from Aliexpress with the prices inflated to make money for the middleman.

 

[zxr750j]

I buy there regularly: compare, check, check the size, check the price and don't buy SD-cards.
I saw people ordering a gun getting the picture of the gun (exactly as in the description if you read all the way down). I bought rp2040's, leds electronics...

 

[xkrazykidx]

I don't shop AliExpress often but when I do its mostly parts for miscellaneous things you can't normally buy elsewhere. For example my son owns one of those scooters where the wheels light up from movement, he some how broke the magnet core spacer within the wheel that powers the light up action. Paid next to nothing for a dozen of them, although it arrived a month later. It wasn't something I absolutely needed ASAP. Just thoroughly read reviews and shop around if you're planning on purchasing something.

 

[WildcatSoda]

It's like any other 2nd hand, China-based shopping center - think Temu and ROMWE. Be careful of what you buy on there, and the quality of your products may vary. I think I used it in the past to order custom keychains.

 

[enarky]

I have more than 100 orders from Aliexpress so far and only three have not turned out as expected. One was too good to be true, one was a dud from a store I've successfully ordered before and one was a bad phone screen that was LCD, not AMOLED as OEM screens. In every case Aliexpress has sided with me and I got my money back. Yes, shipping time is on the longer side, but just don't order stuff you need immediately. When I search there I usually order search results by # of orders and I order from shops that have a number of successful orders under their belt.

 

[Marc_LFD]

It's like any other 2nd hand, China-based shopping center - think Temu and ROMWE. Be careful of what you buy on there, and the quality of your products may vary. I think I used it in the past to order custom keychains.

Wouldn't recommend people using TEMU.

 

[WildcatSoda]

Wouldn't recommend people using TEMU.

Oh yeah, I definitely agree. Way too many "deals" and other predatory practices that make it impossible to go in and buy a specific item. I was only using it as a comparison to what Aliexpress is like in terms of basic information.

 

[The_Dizzy_Vizzy]

Hi guys, thanks for chiming in, much appreciated!

 

[p1ngpong]

Ive been using them for a long time and have found shipping has become substantially quicker lately. Last thing I got from them was a 16" 144hz USB-C monitor for £60 and it is excellent. My success rate with what I bought being the actual thing I ordered has also been 100% so I really have no gripes with them. I am still careful and avoid too good to be true products from there though. I would avoid getting high end electronics like laptops, motherboards and especially graphics cards from there as you are very likely to get a fake product or much lower specs than what you ordered.

 

[Jayro]

I buy gameboy bootlegs all the time from there, electronic components, and all sorts of 3D printer parts too. Just stay away from storage mediums. Enclosures are fine, but don't buy SSDs or SD cards... They're guaranteed to have a spoofed size in the Phison controller.

 

[slaphappygamer]

I buy all of my ebike stuff there. Even got regular bike stuff. Seatpost, handlebars, gloves. All great prices with great wait times, but that has been getting better. NONE have been defective or wrong. Just pay attention to the % rating of the store vs followers as well as the ENTIRE item description. I like to check out the review pictures and see exactly what the product looks like. There is a wide range of languages that the reviews are written in, but pictures are a great universal language.