Last Updated on January 26, 2022
Since 2020, the eCommerce industry has been undergoing a real boom: we’re getting more and more ways to shop and order goods online, brand-new marketplaces, better prices, faster shipping methods, and more scammers, too.
To see where the difference lies between eBay vs. AliExpress, we’ve made a comparative analysis of the two eCommerce websites, basing it upon the key purchasing criteria, and designed a simple yet reliable method of choosing the right trading platform.
What Is AliExpress?
AliExpress is a giant trading platform based in China that is well-known for its super low prices. AliExpress primarily focuses on a B2C model, having over 150 million customers all over the world from the US, Canada, Russia, EU, and other countries.
It should be noted that AliExpress (AE) does not sell to customers in mainland China, although the vast majority of the AE retailers are Chinese themselves. Recently, AE has made it possible to consolidate several orders into a single one, which has sped up the delivery time that AE was infamous for.
In the fiscal year ending March 2020, AliExpress revenue for gross merchandise value reached a historic $1 trillion, which is a huge milestone for an eCommerce website.
Sellers on the Chinese platform can be either companies or individuals. AliExpress has drawn comparison to eBay, as sellers are independent and use the platform to offer products to buyers.
The eBay Marketplace
eBay was found in 1995, which makes it one of the oldest and most successful online trading platforms on the Internet. It’s safe to say that eBay was the very first shopping website and gave birth to the entire e-Commerce industry as we know it today.
The American platform has an astounding 200 million active buyers, and it’s one of the most-visited shopping websites in the US. Its annual revenue for 2020 was $10.271B, an 18.93% increase from 2019.
The website is completely free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged fees for listing items after a limited number of free listings – and again when those items are sold.
One of the latest features that eBay has implemented is an option to buy items at face value or submit price offers for them.
Aliexpress Versus eBay in 2021 (Summary)
The following table provides a visual comparison of the two major trading platforms, AliExpress and eBay. We’ve gathered key parameters that are relevant for May 2021.
| AliExpress | eBay | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Lower prices and more products at lower rates | Prices are higher than on AE and vary greatly |
| Product range | Wide range of all kinds of products | Wide range of products, plus celebrity memorabilia and rare things |
| Shipping cost | It depends on your location. AE often offers free shipping | Varies from seller to seller, and domestic shipping is often free |
| Buyer protection | Yes | Yes |
| Lead Time | International shipping time varies between 7 and 45 days. | Domestic shipping takes up to 7 business days, international shipping – up to 20 working days |
| Service | Yes, although disputes are normally settled between the buyer and the manufacturer. Refunds and returns process within a few days | Disputes are normally settled between the buyer and the supplier, but the eBay team steps in after 3 days of no resolution |
| Convenience of purchase | Fast order processing, many payment methods, user-friendly website, easy-to-use app, long delivery time | Fast order processing, many payment methods, user-friendly website, easy-to-use app, fast shipping |
| Promotions | Ongoing sales and discounts | Daily deals and coupon codes |
- Pricing – are prices fixed or flexible?
- Product range – how wide is the product assortment?
- Shipping costs – what are the shipping rates?
- Buyer Protection – does the platform provide a Buyer Protection policy?
- Lead time – how long does it take for an order to arrive?
- Service – who is responsible for the logistics and customer service?
- Convenience of purchase – how long does it take to place an order, does the platform have a browser extension, how many payment methods are available, etc.?
- Promotions – how many and how good are the monthly promotions?
Product Сost Сomparison
Those who have never tried AliExpress will be excited to learn that prices are usually lower in this marketplace than on eBay due to the way AliExpress sources its products. When it comes to eBay, many want to make a quick buck by reselling and retailing their items.
To see the difference between the prices AliExpress-eBay, it is recommended to compare the exact same products on both platforms. Often, although the products are just the same, their prices differ greatly because the items sold on AE are produced in China, and their prices do not include extra costs for additional shipping and retailers’ cut:
As you can see, retailers purchase these products on AE to resell them at nearly twice the original price:
And it’s not just about electronic devices. Sports goods are also generally cheaper on the Chinese market. Besides, you can often find a product that is shipped from outside China – it doesn’t mean you’re going to buy an item from a scalper. Many Chinese sellers have warehouses all across Europe and the US from which they ship their goods.
If you decide to buy a water bottle on eBay, you’ll get it faster, but it can cost you way more:
Toys and presents, too, are usually more beneficial to order on AliExpress than eBay, especially if you’re located in Europe or Asia. Just make sure you order the gift in advance.
60 GBP equals 70 EUR – would you pay 20 EUR more only to have your product delivered a couple of weeks faster?
As you can see, all three items are cheaper on AliExpress. It’s actually quite difficult to find a product on the American platform that would cost less.
When shopping on eBay or AliExpress, though, beware of “fake discounts”: sellers tend to increase the price before giving a discount, which can lead you to pay even more. To not fall for the bait, you can use this useful tool and be sure that you won’t pay more than the product is worth:
Summing up: the main difference between the two marketplaces lies in the fact that eBay is full of retailers, which causes prices to go up, whereas manufacturers themselves primarily use AliExpress.
While you can easily find the exact same product being sold on eBay and AliExpress, the item will most likely be cheaper on the latter, whether it’s electronics, toys, or home goods.
Product Range
Both AliExpress, eBay stores were designed to offer you anything you could ever think of. Both services provide an enormous number of categorized products, for instance:
- Laptops
- Accessories and jewelry
- Toys
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Video games
- Furniture
Note that eBay has a category that cannot be found on AliExpress: “Collectibles & Art”:
However, eBay is also very well-known for selling and purchasing memorabilia and celebrity paraphernalia, which AliExpress isn’t. If you’re looking for a dead musician’s autograph – we can guarantee you that you’ll find it on eBay sooner or later.
At the same time, on AE, you can find some interesting products you never even knew existed, like this automatic weird melon seed peeler for $14.55:
Summing up: depending on what kind of goods you’re looking for – a popular mass-produced product or a rare piece of memorabilia to add to your collection – you’ll find out that one of the platforms is more suitable for your needs than the other.
Shipping Cost
Let’s compare the cost of ePacket AliExpress vs. eBay shipping.
The two marketplaces offer international shipping, but with AliExpress, all goods are shipped from China, so shipping costs don’t vary too much unless you’re constantly moving around the world. It is due to the fact that every third product produced in the world is manufactured in China, whereas eBay is the main marketplace for scalpers. For that reason, eBay shipping prices are quite unpredictable since you never know where the product will be sent out from.
Besides, both eBay and AliExpress often offer free shipping, which is very convenient:
eBay provides detailed information on international shipping as well:
Summing up: if you visit the Chinese platform quite regularly, you eventually get used to its shipping rates and feel confident choosing any kind of product from any online store. With eBay, it’s a little different: you need to check where the particular item will be shipped out from, how much it’ll cost you, and whether the retailer will ship to your country at all.
Buyer Protection
It’s safe to say that there is no “AliExpress protection vs. eBay protection”: like any other successful eCommerce platform, AE and eBay both provide pretty decent Buyer Protection programs. AliExpress allows its customers to process refunds and returns easily, as it’s beneficial for both the seller and the AE itself.
The AliExpress Buyer Protection policy may lean more towards the consumers, though, since the goods on the platform are sold mostly by big manufacturers who are usually more likely to resolve the dispute in favor of the customer. Click here to learn how to ask for and get a refund on the Chinese platform.
eBay has an interesting Money/Back guarantee that ensures the buyer gets their issue resolved, even if the seller is not responding.
Summing up: on each of the websites, you can rest assured that you, as a customer, are protected by the Buyer Protection policy. However, AliExpress is famous for resolving disputes quickly, with a little bias towards the consumer. eBay guarantees resolution as well, making sure the consumer has their money refunded if there’s no response from the seller.
Lead Time
As we’ve mentioned before, AliExpress ships their items from China, so, again, it isn’t that hard to predict when your package should arrive. Experienced AE customers are used to patiently waiting for their shipment for several weeks – if not months – especially those who live in Europe or the Americas.
eBay, too, can extend the delivery time up to 3 weeks and more. However, domestic shipments usually don’t take longer than a few business days to arrive, with some being delivered on the very same day.
AliExpress delivery time is significantly longer because the products are shipped out by original sellers right from their warehouses located within the Republic of China:
Summing up: depending on where you are, the delivery time may vary a lot. If you’re located in the US, eBay will probably win the “ePacket AliExpress vs. eBay shipping time” battle for you. For those living in Asia, AliExpress is most certainly the better deal. Europeans should probably compare the prices and shipping costs on both platforms first.
Service
Since both websites are extremely popular and have millions of customers all across the globe, they have to provide good customer service, and they both do. If your issue has to do with the seller, AE and eBay will let you approach the vendor first before contacting their customer support teams. Well, sellers are typically eager to resolve any issues as quickly as possible anyway, so there’s a good chance that you won’t even have to reach out to the customer experience team.
The websites provide the following options for customer support:
- FAQs
- Opening a dispute with a seller
- Asking the team to resolve a dispute
- Assistance with tracking an order
- Help with payments
The AE marketplace also has a virtual assistant called Eva that can help you resolve your issue as quickly as possible:
eBay also asks you to let them know what kind of problem you’re facing to connect you with the appropriate person:
This system has proven to be effective over the years, and it does save consumers and customer support agents a lot of time.
Please note that the eBay customer experience team will always step up if no resolution has been provided by the seller within 3 business days, whereas with AliExpress, you’ll need to contact the AE team once again if the vendor has not given a valid response.
Summing up: both marketplaces provide great customer service, although the eBay team has automated the process to ensure that a customer gets their resolution within a few days. AE encourages you to reach out to the seller first to try to have your issue resolved between the two of you.
Convenience of Purchase
When we’re evaluating how convenient it is to place an order in the marketplace altogether, we usually take the following criteria into account:
- Is the website easy to use?
- Does the platform provide a user-friendly app?
- How easy is it to find an item I’m looking for?
- How big is the selection of products?
- Does the marketplace offer browser extensions?
- Is the platform free to use?
- How many payment methods are available?
- How expensive is shipping?
- How fast is the delivery time?
Well, both AliExpress and eBay have passed the test: both websites are easy to navigate, and they offer free apps and browser extensions for Safari/Google Chrome/Firefox. eBay and AE have a great selection of products to choose from, but depending on what exactly you’re looking for, you may find out that certain things can only be purchased on one of the websites, e.g., an autograph.
As for payment methods, both marketplaces have many of them available, be it:
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Bank Transfer
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- PayPal
- American Express, WebMoney, KIWI, Western Union, Giropay, Sofort Banking, etc. (only available on AE)
You can easily find free shipping on both platforms, but when it comes to delivery time – that’s where AliExpress yields to the opponent…for now.
Summing up: both eBay, AliExpress are major trading platforms with great benefits and nearly no drawbacks. AliExpress offers a wider choice of cheap products and payment methods, whereas eBay allows you to find some absolutely exceptional things on the website and ships them fast.
Promotions
Despite the fact that the products are quite inexpensive already, AliExpress is constantly offering additional discounts:
Moreover, the Chinese market offers different types of promotions, from Flash Deals to Weekly Deals:
For AliExpress, you can find daily deals available with discounts or promo codes.
The biggest shopping festival begins on November 11th, which is called the AE Singles Day Sale: manufacturers drop their prices down to 30%, attracting an enormous number of buyers and new customers. Besides, the Chinese platform also gives reward points that can be used as a local currency. You can read more about AliExpress points here.
On eBay, you can find daily deals available with discounts on particular items as well as a variety of coupon codes:
Summing up: you will definitely find more discounts on AliExpress, but it’s worth searching for some awesome eBay voucher codes that could save you a lot of money.
FAQ
How Is AliExpress Different From eBay?
AliExpress is a great place to find mass-produced products at low prices, but if you’re searching for a rare item that can’t be found in a traditional store, eBay is the best option.
Is AliExpress Better Than eBay?
It depends on what you’re looking for (see above). It also depends on the destination country and how urgently you need your item, as AliExpress is infamous for long delivery times.
Why Is AliExpress So Cheap?
You see such low prices on AliExpress because the products sold on the website are manufactured in China. It helps sellers set lower prices for their items and offer low shipping rates as well.
Is AliExpress Reliable in 2021?
Absolutely. AliExpress has been around for many years, and there’s no wonder people keep coming back. The site is easy to navigate, and you’ll be able to find an answer to any questions you may have. Not convinced? Read this article to make sure that the platform is legit.
