this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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Honest question here...
I was always under the impression that AliExpress is worse than Amazon. Now, Amazon is not good, I know that, but I guess the narratives I was fed is that AliExpress is like Wish, and just terrible, counterfeit/knockoff products (Amazon on that fast track), excessive data capture, and I thought CCP (probably confusing with Temu).
Anyway, can you quick explain how AliExpress is a less shitty Amazon? I'll start doing some shopping there if that's the case.
Amazon has essentially become a drop shipping front for AliExpress. You're getting the exact same terrible, knockoff products, just marked up and stored in an Amazon warehouse so you get it in two days instead of two weeks. They're both shitty, but at least with AliExpress you aren't paying extra for the middleman to make a profit.
I mean it completely depends on what you’re buying. Don’t blame Amazon that your $15 wireless earbuds with no brand name feels cheap and gets hot.
I find myself half agreeing with this and half disagreeing.
Should we not hold Amazon accountable for not vetting what's on their store?
If I went in to a physical shop and bought a knife, then when I got home the handle fell off, is it not reasonable to be angry at the brand and the shop I bought it from?
Yeah, it's not their product, but they gave the product their approval in the form of carrying the item for sale.
If Amazon marketed themselves as an open marketplace, like eBay, I'd say fair enough. But that's not what they do, Amazon markets themselves as an online store with their own warehouses. They're more akin to an online supermarket.
I don't blame Amazon for the products being shit. I blame Amazon for not doing anything about the fact the shit product has 3000 5 star reviews that are word for word on hundreds of different products.
iirc drop shipping is where they also ship it from China too. so the person dropshipping doesn't have to keep an inventory of things
and yes ofc that also happens on Amazon
if I'm buying anything on AliExpress it's usually various electronic parts and some tools. it's really good for that kind of thing, way more of that than on UK Amazon and half the price. doesn't help that I live in Ireland so occasionally you find something on UK Amazon that doesn't ship to Ireland. the downside of AliExpress is that it takes a month for whatever you buy to arrive and the website is a mess
I had thought that electronics were specifically the worst options for counterfeit items. Things labels cables not being certified, or hard external hard drives filled with flash cards. That sort of thing.
I'm in the US, so maybe our Amazon markets are notably different in choices and prices.
I'd wager they're not talking electronic parts like hard drives, but electronic parts like microcontrollers and capacitors, stuff you solder together. It is pretty good for that in my experience in the US, you just have to know what you want beforehand and be good about reading the descriptions.
That’s exactly what I use them for. LED strips, ESP32 controllers, cables, ZigBee devices for home automation, etc.
You are generally correct. But alixpress is like Amazon. If you find a good seller on their platform chances are you can build rapport and receive quality products. I know a few people who make vapes in America but buy most of their parts off aliexpress and they are all solid pcbs for the PIDs and what not. But no not gonna buy cables off aliexpress lol
I got a great vape with a shitty battery terminal (the company what makes them fixed the issue in later models. Or I just had a defective unit) and aliexpress sourcing would explain so much.
I wouldn't buy any storage from there but I've bought things like a 10 pack of tp4056 battery chargers and a clamp multimeter for a really nice price.
Wish is an AliExpress copycat.