Last Updated on January 26, 2022
An electronic trading platform (which is what AliExpress and Amazon are) is a set of organizational, informational, and technical solutions that facilitate interaction between the seller and the buyer via the Internet. Any Internet resource for browsing and purchasing goods can be called an ETP. AliExpress and Amazon are two of the largest ETPs on the planet. At first glance, they are identical competitors, but both of them have their own unique advantages.
Suppose you want to do business through one of these platforms. In that case, it is worth choosing a site for the specific purposes of your business, considering the type of purchase, financial capabilities, logistics, and other details. Our article will break down the difference between Aliexpress and Amazon, as well as their key features, so stay tuned.
What Is AliExpress – Pros and Cons
It would be most honest to call AliExpess the biggest market on Earth, where you can find almost any product, from a phone case to a car. AliExpess ships items either directly from China, from the United States, or – most rarely – directly from the country where you are ordering from.
The primary purpose of AliExpress is wholesale purchases. Let’s compare the positive and negative sides of the platform.
Pros:
- Prices. Here you will browse through the lowest prices for all products.
- Range. You will not find any other resource with such a wide range of goods.
- Free shipping. Aliexpress offers free shipping to many countries so that you can save a lot on the shipment of goods.
- Buyer protection. If you were sent an order of poor quality or nothing at all, you could quickly get a refund.
Cons:
- Shipping time. The waiting time for delivery of the parcel varies from 2 weeks to 2 months.
- Lack of opportunity to see the goods. You cannot assess the quality of the product until it is in your hands.
What Is Amazon – Pros and Cons
The Amazon online platform is rightly considered a giant in the e-commerce market. Its founder is Jeffrey Preston Bezos. There are 13 Amazon branches located all over the world.
Today, on Amazon.com, you can buy more than 30 categories of goods. A distinctive feature of Amazon is that the cost of the same product can vary significantly depending, for example, on the size or color. Let’s compare the positives and negatives of this platform.
Pros:
- Variety of goods. It is not just an online store; it’s an online supermarket with hundreds of thousands of different products.
- Quality assurance. The appearance of the product on Amazon means that you can count on a high-quality product.
- The convenience of the platform. The clever search engine makes it possible to find a product by any word associated with it quickly.
- Promotions and offers. Daily promotions allow you to buy a good product at a very loyal price.
Cons:
- Different prices. The price of a particular product can become higher depending on the size or model that the buyer chooses.
- Shipping. Sometimes it turns out that shipping costs more than the item itself. Also, most Amazon items are only shipped within the United States.
Price Comparison
It’s no news to anyone that prices on AliExpress are much lower than on Amazon. This is due to several factors, but the main one is the production cost and its authenticity.
Let’s look at a simple example. Yes, you can buy the original Kanken from Fjallraven on Amazon. But you will pay not only for the backpack itself (on which there is already a markup for the brand plus Amazon’s commission) but also for its delivery. And the shipping cost can be up to a quarter of the backpack cost – depending on what country you live in.
At the same time, on AliExpress, you can find the exact same Kanken backpack, but at half the price and with free shipping. Yes, there is a high likelihood that it will not be the original thing, but a clever Chinese fake. Nevertheless, the untrained eye can hardly distinguish it – and many do not care about the originality of things.
However, let us understand the pricing process on AliExpress vs. Amazon in more detail and look at several examples.
AliExpress
The first and foremost reason for Ali’s low prices is the low cost of production. In China, there are many free economic zones in the country where there are no taxes and employees have low wages – all this affects the reduction of the cost of goods.
This is especially true of all appliances and electronics that are made in China. For example, let’s check prices for Huawei mobile phones. Here’s the price from an official store:
And here’s the price on AliExpress – the seller is Huawei itself as well. As we see, you can buy an actual Huawei phone on Ali cheaper than in the company’s official store:
The second reason is the absence of resale surcharges. China is the largest exporter of many goods, and AliExpress is a trading platform for manufacturers, not resellers. Here, manufacturers sell their goods directly to customers without markups.
The third reason is the endless promotions, coupons, and discounts for bulk purchases. AliExpress is an online marketplace where each manufacturer has its little store. Beginner producers and sellers are dumping prices especially heavily. Sometimes they even work at a loss to get good reviews on AliExpress and build up a customer base.
Finally, the fourth reason for the cheapness of Ali – there is no need to maintain stores and warehouses to present goods. Retailers who receive and bring goods from China are forced to sell them with a significant trade markup for obvious reasons – they need to maintain stores, pay taxes, wages, rent, and utilities. Sellers on AliExpress have no such need.
Amazon
Prices on Amazon marked lower than retail rates and in-store rates. However, they are not cheaper than AliExpress! Pricing on Amazon is more like an algorithm; the main purpose is to retain and attract customers for good daily deals.
Goods on Amazon are sold at prices lower than store prices (but not significantly). For example, here’s Apple’s MacBook Air in an official store:
And here’s the price for the same item on Amazon:
Another marketing tool that Amazon actively uses is Prime Membership. It allows registered users to opt for expedited shipping and buy lower-priced items during exclusive sales, such as Amazon Prime Day.
There are no basic criteria on how to compare pricing between AliExpress and Amazon. The only thing you can be guided by is the authenticity of the product and the price-quality ratio. But these benchmarks may be enough to buy something not too valuable, say, a dress or shoes.
Product Quality From AliExpress vs. Amazon?
Another issue that concerns many fans of online shopping is the quality of goods purchased online. It is like Russian roulette – you may get lucky, or you may get something that does not look like your order at all. Let’s understand the quality of goods on Amazon vs. AliExpress and ways not to make a mistake.
AliExpress
At AliExpress, you can leave feedback on the product and the seller’s work within 30 days after completing the order. Your review will only be published after the seller has left feedback about you as a buyer.
Within 150 days, you can leave a supplement to the review of the product. If your product ceases to please you during this period, you will be able to warn buyers about it. This feature makes the reviews more relevant and informative.
You can also filter all the reviews and read all negative reviews with pictures, all reviews that have additions, or all reviews from your country. You will also see brief additional information about the parameters of the order.
The most reliable way to find quality goods is to look for genuine reviews and check the seller’s rating. The convenient Alitools app will help you do this and speed up the process of finding a reliable seller.
Amazon
Reviews on Amazon can contain information about both the quality of the product purchased and how satisfied the customer was with the seller’s service. Amazon actively fights for honest reviews. It prohibits the deliberate manipulation of a product’s rating by providing free products (or substantial discounts on them) in exchange for reviews. Amazon will remove the review if profanity is used, seller information is disclosed, or the review is a product review.
As on AliExpress, here you can also edit and update your review, mark other reviews helpful, and add photos to it. Other buyers will also see the specifics of your order – color, size, model, etc.
Nevertheless, Amazon still has a strong pattern of false reviews. There are four ways to get them: autoresponder, scamming, chatbots, and paid feedback. Even though Amazon’s rules don’t allow reviews to be solicited directly, many unscrupulous sellers still find ways to get around the rules. To protect yourself from false reviews, choose those that are marked by most users as the most helpful or reviews with photos.
Summary
Where is the best place to buy: Amazon or Aliexpress? As you can see, each of these stores has both pluses and minuses. Let’s take a brief look at which site is better for what.
AliExpress is suitable if:
- You need an inexpensive product for a couple of uses.
- You do not care about the originality of the goods; a copy will also do.
- There is no hurry to buy, and there is time to wait for delivery.
Amazon is suitable if:
- You need an original brand or a costly, authentic product.
- You need a guarantee of delivery and its timeliness.
FAQ
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular questions about these two platforms.
Which is better: AliExpress or Amazon?
It depends on the purpose of your purchase. If you urgently need some expensive and high-quality things, it is better to use Amazon. If you require some rare item that is not found in your country, and you’re willing to wait a few weeks, you can use AliExpress.
Is AliExpress safer than Amazon?
Each platform can be safe if you follow the rules, watch reviews closely, and use buyer protection tools. You can find our recommendations in this article.
Why is AliExpress cheaper than Amazon?
There are several reasons for that. Mostly AliExpress is cheaper because of low production costs and the absence of storage and export surcharges on goods. Another reason is frequent promotions and special offers on the site.
