How to buy on AliExpress: the most complete guide

Registration and first steps

You can search for products without registering an account, but when you try to buy something, you will be asked to create a profile. It is needed to access order history, wishlists, communication with sellers, statistics.

How to register

The corresponding button is located in the upper right corner of the site. When you click on it, the registration form opens. You need to enter your email address, first and last name, and password. You can link your Facebook account, in this case you don't have to enter your email: it will be pulled up automatically.

Section "My AliExpress"

After registration, you can go to your profile. Here are orders, messages, reviews, wish list, disputes and so on. At this stage, you can only add a delivery address, everything else is not needed yet.

How to add an address

To add delivery addresses, go to the item of the same name in the side menu. There can be several addresses. This is useful if you plan to send gifts to friends and family. When paying for the order, just select the one you want.

You need to fill out the form here only in Latin. It is important. Chinese sellers do not have Cyrillic keyboards and perhaps even an encoding that displays it correctly. Everything from the name to the address must be written in transliteration.

Sellers don't care what to put on the package. But the postmen will rack their brains until they understand what you mean by Lenin avenue or boulevard of Peace.

Receiver name - indicate the surname, name and patronymic in full.
Street, house, flat - just write ulitsa Pobedy or pereulok Mostovoi. The post office will understand.
Postcode - an important point. Even if you make a mistake with the address, the zip code will give the shipment where it needs to go. You can specify the index of the nearest branch.
Phone / mobile phone - do not forget that the numbers must be entered in the international format, starting with the country code.

Product selection and purchase

Now you can go shopping. Do not rush to order the first product that comes across and chase the lowest price. First of all, there are a few nuances.

Which language to choose

AliExpress automatically includes Russian. If you wish, you can choose any other or switch to English. For convenience, it is better to leave Russian. The only time it will do more harm than good is reading the descriptions. A crooked translation can lead to such a jungle that you don't immediately understand what it is all about.

In such situations, just click on the link "View title in English" - everything will immediately become clearer. If you want the entire interface to be in English, click Go to Global Site in the upper right corner.

How to search

There are millions of products on AliExpress, it's easy to find the right one. It's harder to choose from thousands of search results. You can search in Russian. If there are no results or they do not suit you, try to formulate your request in English. Filters and advanced sorting functions are helpful to narrow your search.

Price - weed out too expensive products or search in a certain price category.
Free shipping - you can immediately filter out tricky sellers. They include some of the cost in the shipping price to make their products look cheaper.
Only by the piece - weed out offers for wholesalers.
4 stars or more - do not waste time on low-quality goods.
Sort by - choose sorting by the number of orders or the seller's rating - you won’t go wrong.
Sending from - for popular goods there is an option of sending from local warehouses, choose it if you do not want to wait long.
Group similar items - the option should remove products of the same type from the search results, but it does not work perfectly.

For example, you need a LEGO-format mini-figure of Darth Vader. So we write in the search. We choose free shipping, piece goods and sorting by the number of orders. The required figure appears already in the fifth position in the search.

Which seller to choose

Several sellers have these mini-figures. Which one to choose? In this particular case, you can simply choose at random, the product costs a penny. When buying expensive things, it is better not to do this. The quality of the product, its compliance with the description and whether you receive it at all depends on your choice. We open several potential options in new tabs and carefully look at the following:

Rating - the same medals, crystals and crowns, next to which points are displayed. The rating is calculated based on positive reviews for the entire lifetime of the seller. The higher it is, the better. This is an indicator of reliability and reputation.
Percentage of positive reviews - The percentage shows the ratio of positive customer ratings to the total number of all reviews over the past six months. Should be as close to 100% as possible.
The number of orders - there should be a lot of them. Bad goods will not be bought. Choose the seller with the most orders for this product.
Product evaluation - product quality on a five-point scale based on customer reviews. Products with hundreds or thousands of orders are usually rated 4–4, 5 and higher.
Reviews - this is the most important thing, you can safely start comparing with them. Carefully study what people who bought it write about the product, how they say about the seller, how long the delivery takes, and so on. Very helpful.

With a mini-figure, everything is simple: it has a minimum price and the very first seller has more than two thousand orders with an average rating of 4.7 points. You don't have to look further, take this one.

Order and payment

After searching and choosing, you need to place an order and pay for the purchase. In fact, the payment does not go through immediately, but this does not depend on us.

How to order

To order, click the "Buy Now" or "Add to Cart" button. It depends on whether you are going to proceed to checkout immediately or if you want to continue shopping and pay for all the goods together. Please indicate the size, color or model, and the number of items. Please note that prices may vary depending on color and model.

After clicking on the buy button, you will be taken to the checkout screen. Here you can double-check all the information about the product (color, quantity), select the delivery address if you have several of them, and also leave a comment for the seller, use the discount coupon and choose the delivery method.

The standard shipping method is ordinary. For inexpensive purchases, as in our case, this does not matter. For valuable goods, you should choose a delivery method with a track number (registered). The final price will increase by $ 1.5-2, but you will be calm and will be able to track all the movements of your parcel.

What you need to know about payment

How to pay for your purchase on AliExpress

Clicking on the "Checkout" button will switch you to the payment screen. Here you need to choose one of the proposed methods available for your country.

Map - credit or debit. The easiest way that most people use.
QIWI Wallet - an electronic wallet that can be easily replenished through terminals. Option for those who do not want to use maps.
WebMoney, Yandex. Money"- electronic payment systems. A convenient option if you get money for them.

Payment by card is the most popular way. Do not be afraid of him: it is absolutely reliable. All your data is sent over a secure connection and is visible only to AliExpress, but not to sellers. We advise you to focus on this particular option.

Which card is right

Any Visa and MasterCard cards that support Internet payments are suitable for payment. AliExpress works with rubles, so Russians pay with a regular ruble card. Residents of other CIS countries cannot avoid automatic conversion to the standard currency of the site - dollars.

To pay for the order, Internet transactions must be enabled on your card. Many banks have special internet cards, they are often designed specifically for purchases. The map can be virtual, the content is relatively inexpensive. Before paying for an item, you need to know the following details:

Card number - those same 16 digits.
Validity - month and year of expiration. Four numbers on the face of the card, for example 12/19.
CVV code - a three-digit security code on the back of the card. For virtual cards, you can find it in the application or on the Internet banking website.

How to pay

Choose the "Card" payment method and proceed to filling out the form. Just enter the card number and expiration date, CVV code and owner's name.

Click on the "Pay now" button, your bank's page will open, where you will need to enter the transaction confirmation code (it will be sent by SMS or via a mobile application). It depends on the type of your card (you can check with the bank).

If you haven't made a mistake anywhere, you will be notified that the payment was successful. The card number can be saved and linked to your AliPay account. You will not have to enter it later. This will save you time on your next purchases. But this is not necessary, you can not bind anything.

Receiving an order

The product has been selected, ordered and paid for, the most tedious thing remains - waiting for delivery. After a few weeks of waiting, the package will be at your post office and you can pick it up.

How to find out the status

The seller must prepare your order, package it and ship it to you. You will be provided with a tracking number if applicable for your shipping method. AliExpress informs you about all changes in the order status using notifications by mail and in the profile on the site.

Go to the section "All orders" and look at the status of the latest products. There may be several of them:

Payment pending - you have confirmed, but have not paid for the order yet. After the expiration of the time allotted for payment (you can find out on the page with the product), the order is canceled.
Payment verification - AliExpress processes and confirms the payment transaction. Usually takes up to 24 hours, but during sales it can take 2-3 days.
Awaiting dispatch - the seller processes your order, packs it and prepares it for shipment. Usually 2-4 days, depending on the conditions, they are indicated on the product page.
The order has been sent - your purchase has been sent to the delivery service and is already on its way to you. This takes 15 to 60 days.
Confirmation received - you acknowledge receipt of the order.
Completed - the deal is closed. Appears after you have confirmed receipt of the goods.

How to track the parcel

On average, delivery takes about 1–1.5 months. If you paid the seller for the track number, all this time you will be able to track where your shipment is at any given time.

The seller must add a tracking number to the order within three days after shipment. It will appear on the order line. Here you can view brief information on it or use third-party tracking services.

Shipment data is updated no more than once a day (or even less often). It makes sense to check your order 2-3 times a week. Once shipped, it may not be tracked for a week. Do not panic. Often, sellers assign a tracking number to a parcel in advance, while it lies in the mail for several days and waits for dispatch.

How to receive a parcel

So, the package has arrived. It can get to you in two ways: the postman will drop it into the mailbox (this is often the case with small packages), or he will bring you a notification that there is a shipment for you to receive.

More often, a notification comes and you need to go to the nearest post office for the parcel. In this case, you must take your passport and that same notice with you.

Upon receipt, carefully inspect the parcel and, if the integrity of the packaging is violated, ask for an inspection report. Even if externally everything is fine with the package or box, it will not be superfluous to check the contents right here, in the mail, and record the whole process on video. In case of misunderstanding, you will have evidence for the seller and a chance for a positive outcome of the case when it comes to a dispute.

At home, when you fully test the product, do not forget to leave a review and rate. This will help other buyers make their choice.

Guarantees and protection

Sometimes you can run into a low-quality or damaged product, or even not receive your order at all. In such cases, AliExpress provides Buyer Protection. It provides a guarantee of compensation or a full refund in the event of a failed purchase.

How protection works

The protection is valid for a certain period. It depends on the delivery time specified by the seller and is 60 days on average. If during this time you do not receive the goods or it does not correspond to the description, you can open a dispute. After reviewing it, AliExpress will refund the money spent or provide compensation.

Detailed ordering information on AliExpress

You can find out the expiration date of protection in "My orders". Just click "Details" next to the desired purchase. If the protection ends, and you have not received your order, it can be extended. This is important because disputes can only be opened for orders in the "Sent" status or within 15 days after receipt.

How to open a dispute

Usually, the delivery of goods depends more on our mail than on the seller. If enough time has passed and there is still no parcel, you can open a dispute and request a refund.

The button of the same name can be found in the order details in the "My orders" section. To open a dispute, you need to fill out a form. Indicate the details of the problem and the amount of compensation that suits you, and attach a photo. In some fields, just select ready-made options, in others, write the details.

After considering the arguments on both sides, AliExpress decides on a refund (if the goods did not arrive) or compensation (if the wrong size, model or poor quality product was sent). This takes anywhere from two weeks to two months. Most often, the administration of the trading platform takes the buyer's side.