Online shopping in Alibaba,Aliexpress,DHgate - Buyer review
We all know, china is the biggest electronics manufacturer in the world.Most of the major companies have production plants in china because of cheap labour charges and more facilities.Everyone had a thought to buy directly from china and thus avoid retailer charges and company commissions.But this way very risky,because chance to get cheated is too damn high.In this post i will share my experience with various chinese shopping sites.
Payment Mode:-
The first problem you have to face is the payment mode.Indian laws are so complicated and it seldom supports international deals.The major payment options available between india and china are,
1.Western Union
2.Credit Cards
3.Some international debit cards
4.Bank wire transfer
Shopping Sites:-
There are many china wholesale and retail shopping sites.Here I will explain about 3 major sites.
1.Alibaba.com
2.Dhgate.com
3.Aliexpress.com
Alibaba is the first and major chinese shopping site.It is a platform for connecting sellers with buyers.But the chance of risk is too high and the deal is directly with the seller.Aliexpress is a branch of alibaba group,where you can simply add you items to cart and make payment.It is almost similar to ebay ,flipkart ,amazon services.DHgate.com is also a shopping site like aliexpress.com with more features.If you want to purchase in lower quantity,choose last two sites.
Shipping methods and shipping time:-
Here comes the main challenge.The shipping cost and time is the main problem faced by international buyers.The different shipping methods between china and india are,
1.Chinapost
2.Fedex
3.DHL
4.UPS
.........
Chinapost offers the lowest shipping costs.But it is the worst among all.Normaly it takes 2-4 months for delivering items.A lot of time is spend on customs office in both countries.If you have money and lack of time please choose other methods.The chinapost handover parcels to indiapost which delivers to you.
You can track chinapost package from china at http://track-chinapost.com
from india at http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking
Refund and Return:-
Returning items isn't a pratical solution,because we must afford return shipping cost.Refund is not difficult if your seller is cooperative.Always try to keep good relation with the seller.If your shipment is delayed don't argue with seller because he can't to do anything.
My experience:-
Recently i have placed an order in dhgate.com at oct 2014.I got it delivered by dec 2014 by chinapost.But some of the items were missing ,but seller agreed for a partial refund and got some money back.While tracking you will find "Departure from outward office of exchange" for a long time.This means that the parcel is in customs office of india.Usually it takes nearly one month for clearence.
Procduct Details:-
Most of the items you see in chinese sites were clones.Beware of that.Don't buy mobiles,laptops from these sites.But it is good for electronics accessories,cheap mobile parts,home appliances,toys etc....
If you feel any problems please mention below.
For more posts in this category - click here
Payment Mode:-
The first problem you have to face is the payment mode.Indian laws are so complicated and it seldom supports international deals.The major payment options available between india and china are,
1.Western Union
2.Credit Cards
3.Some international debit cards
4.Bank wire transfer
Shopping Sites:-
There are many china wholesale and retail shopping sites.Here I will explain about 3 major sites.
1.Alibaba.com
2.Dhgate.com
3.Aliexpress.com
Alibaba is the first and major chinese shopping site.It is a platform for connecting sellers with buyers.But the chance of risk is too high and the deal is directly with the seller.Aliexpress is a branch of alibaba group,where you can simply add you items to cart and make payment.It is almost similar to ebay ,flipkart ,amazon services.DHgate.com is also a shopping site like aliexpress.com with more features.If you want to purchase in lower quantity,choose last two sites.
Shipping methods and shipping time:-
Here comes the main challenge.The shipping cost and time is the main problem faced by international buyers.The different shipping methods between china and india are,
1.Chinapost
2.Fedex
3.DHL
4.UPS
.........
Chinapost offers the lowest shipping costs.But it is the worst among all.Normaly it takes 2-4 months for delivering items.A lot of time is spend on customs office in both countries.If you have money and lack of time please choose other methods.The chinapost handover parcels to indiapost which delivers to you.
You can track chinapost package from china at http://track-chinapost.com
from india at http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking
Refund and Return:-
Returning items isn't a pratical solution,because we must afford return shipping cost.Refund is not difficult if your seller is cooperative.Always try to keep good relation with the seller.If your shipment is delayed don't argue with seller because he can't to do anything.
My experience:-
Recently i have placed an order in dhgate.com at oct 2014.I got it delivered by dec 2014 by chinapost.But some of the items were missing ,but seller agreed for a partial refund and got some money back.While tracking you will find "Departure from outward office of exchange" for a long time.This means that the parcel is in customs office of india.Usually it takes nearly one month for clearence.
Procduct Details:-
Most of the items you see in chinese sites were clones.Beware of that.Don't buy mobiles,laptops from these sites.But it is good for electronics accessories,cheap mobile parts,home appliances,toys etc....
If you feel any problems please mention below.
For more posts in this category - click here
