Aliexpress | Store Items For A Fraction Of The Price

If you love online shopping and have never tried Aliexpress before, I’m going to change your life. I’m seriously obsessed. It has THE SAME stuff you see in shops and markets in the UK, but you’ve gone direct to the wholesaler, which means you don’t get the mark up the shops put on to get a profit.

Aliexpress is a lot like eBay, but because you’re buying directly from Chinese wholesalers the items are really cheap and most don’t charge delivery. Recently I bought a load of nail stickers/accessories and each pack cost about 30p and were delivered to my door free of charge. I also have my eye on a snazzy garlic press (40p) and some wooden coat hangers (£12 for 20).

At Christmas, I bought my niece a tutu for £12 delivered, and have seen the exact same one for £40+ being sold in boutiques in London. Once you start browsing, you’ll start to notice the stuff you see in small shops and markets for a fraction of the price (In fact, I’ve seen the same jewellery that sells in Accessorize and Oliver Bonas).

You can get this (it has 5 star reviews) for £6.50 delivered.

What does Aliexpress sell?

What doesn’t it sell? Everything wholesale – so it’s SUPER cheap. You won’t find brands (so forget trying to find Adidas trainers), and it doesn’t do fakes (well, some sneak through, but when Aliexpress spots it, the shop gets closed down).

So if you like Pineapples, just search Pineapple, the same with Minecraft, or ice cube trays etc. You won’t believe the stuff that comes up!

The main categories are:

Women’s clothing (If I were you, size up because clothing comes up quite small).
Men’s clothing
Consumer Electronics
Jewellery & watches
Home & Garden
Bags & Shoes
Toys, kids and baby (Be careful, as they are unlikely to follow UK health and safety regulations – use your head).
Sports and outdoors
Health and beauty

Pineapple necklaces are £1.30 delivered.

Is it legit?

It’s legit in the same way eBay is. It’s used by millions of people all over the world (we’re just new to it in the UK), and you’re going to get good and bad sellers. It’s up to you to do your research – check reviews and ask questions (it’s perfectly normal to contact sellers and ask for exact photos/ask questions).

There are other sites such as iOffer that proudly sell knock-off items, but Aliexpress comes down hard on vendors that sell ‘fakes’.The seller doesn’t get paid until you confirm that you have received the goods and you’re happy – which protects you from dodgy sellers.

Join the Facebook group Aliexpress Wins and Fails, where people post what they have bought, and share if they think they are particularly good or bad.