AliExpress has become incredibly popular in the past few years because they offer quick service for cheap prices. They’ve only been around a little over a decade but continue to be popular.
What is it that makes this company so much more affordable than sites like Amazon and other online vendors? They are what you might call cheap even. Here is what I found.
Why Is AliExpress So Cheap?
1. From The Direct Source
One of the reasons that AliExpress has such cheap prices is that you aren’t working through a retailer or a third-party vendor. Instead, you’re receiving products directly.
When you get to purchase straight from the manufacturer, you cut out the need for a middle man. In some cases, you might even be cutting out multiple middlemen.
Being able to purchase products directly from the source benefits you as well as the source. There is no need to raise prices to cover overhead and other costs thanks to that.
AliExpress has a unique business model that simply offers affordable opportunity.
2. Chinese Business Development
When you look at how China supports business development as opposed to other countries, you see a significant difference. Many of the businesses on AliExpress are Chinese businesses.
In China, they do a lot to support your business. While they also profit from your business, they provide an ecosystem that helps you thrive. From supplies to sales, they have your back.
Business owners in China don’t pay high tax rates like they do in the United States. The area has the supply chain down to a science. This encourages more businesses to try and succeed.
With this concept, more people can create businesses and be successful. AliExpress is cheap thanks to all of these details and their Chinese businesses on the platform.
3. A Means To Stand Out
China has an astronomical number of businesses. Thanks to the friendly business models, many people take advantage of the opportunities. This causes a heavy number of businesses there.
Every business has to find some way to be recognized or to stand out in the masses. AliExpress allows them to do so. They list their products for cheap and they get seen.
Being able to lower their prices gains a business far more recognition. Their name will become known and they are getting their product out the door successfully.
In a world where there are so many competitors, it’s a great method to try to stand out. It seems to work for many entrepreneurs out there.
4. Buying In Bulk
AliExpress is great for individuals but it can also be a great platform for buying up products in bulk. It’s a drop shipping company and bulk is almost always an option.
What you will find is that when you need to buy in bulk, you can often save even more money. You just contact the suppliers, or you might find your suppliers here already.
When people can ship or sell items in bulk, it works out in your favor. Being able to send a mass amount of a product at one time saves both sides some money.
5. Shipping Discount Benefits
One of the great things about these Chinese businesses that are on AliExpress is their ability to also ship things for cheap. There are benefits to that businesses to reduce these costs.
Again, China encourages businesses to thrive and they do so by allowing companies to ship for cheap fares. Of course, they are exporting to other countries through this platform.
China and the United States also have an agreement when it comes to shipping. This is because so much is imported into the US from China so it’s cheaper to ship to and from China.
6. Lengthy Waits For Shipping
The one thing that you need to know before you place any kind of order is that shipping won’t be 2-day delivery. This is the one area where you might get frustrated.
Remember that the majority of the businesses with items on AliExpress are located in China or other similar locations. Their products have to ship overseas frequently.
This takes much longer than your typical ground shipping. Your products have to travel much farther and they will likely also have to go through some sort of customs checks as well.
Just know that you may be waiting several days or even several weeks for your products.
7. Be Mindful Of Quality
You do have to exercise some caution when you are shopping on AliExpress. It’s always possible that the item you receive is going to be a massive disappointment.
Compare this site to something like Wish and the concepts are similar. The products on there aren’t always great. Remember that you are getting a cheap version of the product.
While you still may be happy with your purchase, it’s not going to be a luxury, high-end product. You are purchasing a cheap product and it might be cheaply made too.
8. Counterfeit Possibilities
This means that the “iPhone” you bought probably isn’t going to be the real Apple iPhone when you get it. It might resemble it but don’t set your hopes too high.
There are several products like this on AliExpress. They will use certain wording or even advertising to catch your attention. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
Hopefully, you will still at least get the product you paid for, just don’t expect the name brand advertising to be true. You will get a less expensive version of something close.
9. Coupons Available
One of the things that sometimes make AliExpress so cheap is the fact that there are coupons you can use. You might stumble on a regularly-priced product but with a coupon it’s cheap.
In this case, the seller is likely trying to unload some product from overstock or because they plan to upgrade the product and roll out something new.
Just know that while things are typically low cost here, sometimes the low cost that you see is thanks to a great coupon.
10. Myriad Of Options
The prices on AliExpress can be so low because there is such a high population of people buying and selling. There are thousands of sellers and even more buyers out there.
They can allow you to sell for cheap and most people won’t have trouble selling because of the massive size of the platform.
So many options and people lead to low price capabilities.
11. They Hit The Competition
Finally, one reason AliExpress can be so cheap is that they have active competition they are beating. Consider places like Amazon and other similar platforms.
That is the competition here but with AliExpress’s business models, they can easily stand out against the competition. They’re profitable and making it just fine.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on why Wish is so cheap, why your Amazon order hasn’t shipped, and why your FedEx package got further away.
Conclusion
AliExpress is known for low prices and a ton of different options. While not everything is perfect, you can find a lot of great deals.
The company also backs its marketplace with customer protection and high-quality customer service.