A few days ago my very dear friend Rabia Al-Raba asked me about Ali Express. Many people around the world, including Pakistan, are shopping directly from China with the help of Ali Express. They made some purchases from this app for the first time. Then she was thinking What is it Like to Shop on AliExpress?whether those things will reach them or not. How will it be when it arrives?
I told them that I have never purchased from AliExpress. Ali Express is not used in China. There is another app used by Alibaba Group, Taobao. Alibaba Group created Ali Express for the market outside of China.
This is apparently due to the specific payment methods used in China. In China, people usually pay money using their mobile phones. For this they have two options. WeChat Pay and Ali Pay. Chinese users have linked their bank accounts with both apps. They can transact money within seconds using any of these options.
Alipay as the name suggests is owned by Alibaba Group. There is a payment option on Taobao that obviously had to be made available to the Chinese. The Chinese don’t use their bank cards like we do. It is easier for them to transact money over the phone.
This option is not available on Ali Express. There customers have to use the card issued by their bank to pay the amount. In China, consumers will be in trouble if they have to buy from such a platform. First they have to find their bank card. Then they will get bored while writing their details on this platform.
Ali Express is becoming quite popular in Pakistan since few years. People are ordering cheap and quality goods directly from China with the help of this app. Order anything just keep two months time in mind. Hardly anything gets delivered before that.
Taobao is many times better than that. Because it is designed for use within China, more items are available for purchase. Write something that comes to your mind on Taobao and you will find it there.
Taobao delivers in one to five days. And the service is amazing. I once ordered a suitcase from Taobao. He was bitten on one side during delivery. When I went to receive the delivery, the Chinese there showed me the cooked side of the suitcase and suggested I return it.
He said, ‘Why not? He will do what you tell the shopkeeper. It’s up to you whether you want a new suitcase or money instead.’
I asked in surprise, ‘Can this really happen?’
He said absolutely. I sent photos of the suitcase to the seller right there on my Taobao app and asked him to send me a new suitcase. He accepted my request without any discussion.
It might be difficult to do this on AliExpress. There is a system for returning or exchanging items, but it can take a lot of time and money. So it is useless to use this option.
The quality of things available on Taobao is also better than what you can find on AliExpress. We export the best quality of our products. The case of China is the reverse. The quality of Chinese products degrades as they leave China. If you bring something from China for your home and proudly tell people that we brought it from China, they will think you are crazy instead of being impressed.
According to them, adding the name China to anything proves its substandard quality. It is not their fault either. This work belongs to Chinese factories. She prepares the order for her customers on the formula by making whatever they want. That order goes out of China and instead the money comes to them in China.
Apparently it is a win-win deal for both sides but China pays a heavy price in the form of a bad label attached to it.
Nevertheless, shopping from AliExpress is beneficial. At least you can get quality Chinese goods from there. If you go to buy the same stuff from the market, you will not get that quality.
But before that, calculate the amount. Buy from Ali Express only if it is cheaper with delivery and bank charges, otherwise it may cost you What is it Like to Shop on AliExpress?more.