AliExpress Wholesale – The Complete How-to Guide (2022)

Last Updated on January 26, 2022

The article is dedicated to the most important questions about buying and selling online using AliExpress wholesale option. This is quite easy and safe, a lot of users have already been doing it for a long time, but still there are people who don’t know how to deal with this whole process, and if you are among them – the information below can help you to figure it out step by step.

Buying in bulk at AliExpress

The AliExpress online store occupies a leading position in the top rating among suppliers of goods from China. There you can find wholesale products even with the smallest order volumes. The online shop gives small and medium-sized enterprises the opportunity to place a minimum order, provides buyer protection and express delivery with full tracking of the postal item.

What are the advantages of buying in bulk at AliExpress?

• Ability to purchase goods at retail and small wholesale directly from Chinese manufacturers, without overpaying to intermediaries. That is why some domestic entrepreneurs use this platform to purchase goods here for their subsequent resale in their countries with their own wrap;
• Sorting of goods by main categories, which greatly facilitates the selection for a large order;
• Favorable prices having all the comforts;
• The safety of purchases is ensured by the ESCROW system. A seller will not receive money for the goods until the buyer confirms in his personal account the fact of receiving goods. Until the moment of confirmation, the money is kept on the account of the guarantor, which is AliExpress. This system allows buyers to protect themselves from Chinese crooks and unscrupulous sellers;
• The possibility of a refund if the purchased product does not match the real characteristics;
• Seller’s warranty obligations;
• Possibility to choose a delivery method; and also, speak of delivery, this international store is mainly focused on shipping products beyond China, that’s why Alibaba Group (the owner of the company based in China) always try to maintain success at delivery process first of all;
• Another benefit of delivery is the provision of the tracking number of the parcel for free;
• Convenient payment (Master Card, Western Union, Qiwi, Webmoney, etc.);
• The site constantly hosts sales, all sorts of promotions and discount programs.
• The developed system of rating of sellers and numerous reviews about them allow a buyer to choose only trusted suppliers. Moderators do their best every day and every night to make the rating reflect reality and sellers value it a lot;
• Buyers have the opportunity to communicate with sellers through personal correspondence, which greatly simplifies the solution of any difficulties associated with payment, delivery or quality of goods. 
• All platform users, including international staff, use English to communicate with each other.

What are the disadvantages?

It would be very dishonest to say that the platform is so perfect and doesn’t have bugs and weak points. So let’s have a look at all those things that technical admins, moderators and owners work on in order to make the usage of the online platform more comfortable for everyone:

• Despite the fact that the categories and menus of the site have been translated into other languages (not mentioning English, since it is prior on the platform), this site still cannot be fully native-translated in other languages, such as German, Russian, French, Arabic and so on: product descriptions, most of the official information is still in English. Communication with technical support and sellers is also in English;
• Sometimes it can be hard to see how many items an owner of a shop has (if you want 10 or 100 same items, speaking of wholesale shopping), because the interface is quite complex, so product search might be confusing. You have to spend a lot of time to find the best option among the numerous offers from different sellers. 
• Size charts are not available for all products that require it. It’s about both bulk and retailing business; the actual size of the clothes does not always correspond to the one indicated in the tables. Very often, Chinese sizes are smaller in comparison to other different measure systems of sizes in other countries. 
• Delivery time is quite long. Parcels arrive within 15 to 45 days (depending on the country, so always check the region). Although it’s more reasonable to attribute this disadvantage to our mail service.
• Not every delivery service will handle heavy goods, so be ready for extra fees spent on this, if you order comes from another country;
• When ordering several products from different sellers, we receive a separate package from each seller.

Anyway, AliExpress is one of the most popular online business platforms. Despite the disadvantages listed above, buying in bulk there is convenient and profitable.

What products are profitable to buy in bulk?

Resale of goods with AliExpress is the most popular strategy for doing business on the Internet. By purchasing goods on foreign sites with lower prices, one gets a unique opportunity to resell the products in the same region with a good margin. 

Buying over the Internet, it’s not often possible to make a large mark-up on the product, but at the same time, due to the fact that there is a great demand for unique products, a seller gets a good profit.

There are some types of things which can be more profitable to sell, in the reason of their eternal popularity and frequent necessity:

• CHILDREN’S CLOTHING

The consumption of such goods is really high, so if your intention is to sell children’s clothing, you can buy inexpensive one and toys in online stores. If you offer this product with a small margin to other mothers in clinics or on playgrounds, you can make good money. 

• JEWELRY

Speaking of cheap jewelry, AliExpress really has a huge assortment, including handmade things or items made of 925 silver and gold. In the store you can buy rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, chains, souvenirs, silverware, as well as jewelry for men and children.

• UNDERWEAR

Despite the limitless variety of underwear designs nowadays, men and women never stop searching for nicer and more comfortable underwear, considering it an important part of their bedroom image. That is why regardless of age, everybody loves to buy beautiful lingerie and pays a lot of time and attention to this. 

So, it is a good decision for entrepreneurs to purchase underwear in bulk, but don’t forget about the quality.

• LIGHTERS

Very recently, LED lamps, lanterns, candelabras and other different kinds of lamps have gained immense popularity among a large number of people, as they appeared on the market in a new form. 

They now have a stylish design, are very economical, with low heat transfer and have increased brightness. In addition, they are safe, simple in design and durable. A lot of people want them in order to make some special atmosphere at their homes, many Instagram and YouTube bloggers have neon lighting in their photos and videos, so no surprise it’s a very widespread purchase now.

• PANTYHOSE

Since we’ve talked about lingerie, tights and stockings and other different types of pantyhose wear are the second important things for people, because everybody needs it everyday for their good looks, and AliExpress has a large assortment of different multi-brand products of the clothing.

• SOCKS

Sock business is usually connected to above mentioned pantyhose one, but actually if we talk only about socks – it’s also can be very profitable, because well-designed modern socks with Chinese/Japanese characters or two/three-word phrase typed on the textile has become a movement among teenagers and 20-35 year old adults. They have the highest demand and ability to pay, which makes them the most profitable people to target on.

• HEADPHONES

Probably, it’s not necessary to say anything about headphones – this niche once appeared, and will never die. Due to the great demand for wireless headphones, protective and unusual cases for Airpods (and for all different brands that were released after Apple) now is very widespread and open for any kind of art. 

• CLOTHES, SHOES, BAGS

This niche is also very spread, so you can never be put into a box trying to sell such items. Any seller who is a businessman first, must remember that the simpler and the closer to people your product is – the more money you can make out of it.

Step by Step Process of Buying in bulk from AliExpress

Well now it’s time to learn a step by step guide: from searching a niche to getting money from customers. Read below.

Choosing a niche

The first step is to decide on the products that you intend to sell. If you still do not know which niche to choose, there are some ways mentioned below that can help you make this decision and start selling.

Analyzing keywords in Google Trends

Search and find key queries in order to understand what people are most interested in. You can look up on the Internet – there are so many sites that can help you understand what is the best to sell now, for example Google Trends.

In order to figure out if the niche you think about is profitable enough, type in keywords and check the number of requests.

If the number is small, it means that no one is interested in such a product.

In a situation with a large number of requests, you have a chance to start selling your product profitably, but at the same time, this niche can be occupied by many competitors who will create obstacles, which is the next level of your business.

Best-selling products on Amazon

One can also browse the most popular and best selling products by Amazon, it’s also a great idea if a seller wants to have a good start-up project and launch something to make money.

Use Google for searching trending products

Using a search engine to select a niche is also an easy idea, and we are not only talking about Google, any search engine is good for this, although it depends on the country you live in, because a different state means different mindset and different habits of people living there, which is also very important to take into account when choosing a niche and setting a target audience. 

Google is the US- and European-oriented search engine, Yandex is more Russian and Turkish, Yahoo is Japanese, Baidu is Chinese and so on.

Social Network

This is some kind of a marketing analysis. Checking the ratio of supply and demand in the selected niche in the area you need is a necessary step. What are people buying mostly? Which stores are being empty every day not having customers? 

It’s very good when you answer these questions, but it’s better if you will get the questions answered by other people, preferably not less than 20. The more, the better. Using this way you can understand what exactly is mass and profitable, because an opinion of one person is absolutely not enough speaking of business terms.

Create a vote in some social network, where users and followers can choose the niche that interests them and analyze the choice, the prices of the niches and see what you as a seller can offer to the audience.

Choosing a supplier

While most entrepreneurs choose products first and make a decision about a supplier their second move, some entrepreneurs find it best to find a supplier first. So let’s have a look at how you can deal with a supplier to make negotiations about a product more efficient.

Verify the supplier

Only verified suppliers should be considered when you start making your own shop, so there are some websites that can be quite convincing. Have a look at them:

• Esources.co.uk – suppliers from the UK
• Goolzi.com – suppliers from France
• 4wholesaleusa.com – suppliers from the USA
• ebay.com – buyers all over the USA
• aliexpress.com – wholesalers all over the USA and Europe

There is also a list of rules for choosing a supplier, very logical and primal, but essential in order not to be fooled:

1. You should remember that since you come to the platform, you see a large catalog of companies and individuals, and not every seller is trustworthy there. For example, on the Alibaba website, gold status is given to a seller for money, not for any other merit. Therefore, first of all, you need to pay attention to the date of the store’s creation and the number of transactions.
2. It is necessary to communicate with each seller, asking in detail about all the qualities of the goods, sizes, colors, and so on, because the photographs can be very far from the real look. 
3. Not all sellers know English, so make sure you choose a company that you can freely communicate with.
4. Use a safety payment system if it’s possible. For example, AliExpress has a secure checkout feature (ESCROW system) that is used widely, protecting people from frauds as best as it can. Payment is reserved in the system and until all obligations are fulfilled, the seller will not receive them. 

Contacting different suppliers

It is not worth stopping research and choosing the very first seller who offers a favorable price. Keep in mind, most of them are resellers. After spending some time searching, you can go directly to the manufacturer. But too low a price for a similar product should also alert – usually fraudsters underestimate it in order to get more orders.

Ask for product samples

You should not unconditionally trust the seller – for a start, it is better to order several samples of the product, and after that negotiate large quantities and discounts, if you liked the product yourself. A bona fide supplier will accurately answer such a request and give you their sample as a test/example of their work.

Even if the first samples were good, you should not order the goods in large quantities, as the next order might be worse. Double check every small delivery in your order, because money is money, but you are going to sell this product to real people, so having goods of high quality can make your business rise, as well as bad quality items will drag the business to the bottom.

Product pages: what should we pay attention to?

Let’s have to look at a few items on the product page. This will help us find the best suppliers. While choosing a supplier you need to bear in mind the following:

Product price

The first thing we need to do is look at the price of the product. You should not always look only at the lowest prices, because most likely such goods are of poor quality. Look at this: doesn’t it seem too suspicious?

Minimum Order Quantity

The minimum order quantity is also important. The MOQ is the lowest order that the supplier is willing to accept. However, in most cases, MOQ is negotiable (you agree on this by contacting the suppliers on AliExpress with a request).

Here you can see the available number of shoes that you may order.

Here is the note that there is no minimum order (obviously made for wholesalers):

Payment Conditions

It’s necessary to know what type of payment the supplier supports, what are their advantages and disadvantages. Let’s check them out:

• Bank Transfer: 10% safe

Suppliers will receive payment via bank transfer prior to production. For this reason, this is not a very recommended method if we are dealing with Chinese/international wholesalers that we do not know. If something goes wrong during the process, there are very few guarantees that you will get your money back.

• Letter of credit: 25% safe

This payment method is safe enough for both the buyer and the supplier. Though it is hard to implement. Therefore, it is generally recommended for purchases over $ 18,000.

• Western Union: 3% safe (very risky)

An extremely risky method that is only recommended if you know the supplier well. If something goes wrong, there is no turning back.

• Paypal: 90% safe

It is easy to use and generally provides good customer protection, but Paypal taxes are very high and it is difficult to withdraw money.

• ESCROW: 99,9% safe

The money is held by a third party who only releases the money when the buyer proves satisfaction after they have received the products. ESCROW is a very popular method of conducting online transactions as it protects both the buyer and the supplier.

Contacting a supplier

When we contact suppliers in other countries, email is usually the most common method of communication. You can use Google translator to reply to emails. It is important to keep this in mind, because it can be a big source of confusion. To avoid this, try to formulate your questions simply and briefly.

Read below how to request a quote (RFQ). It is relatively easy to request a quote for a bulk purchase and here are a few things you should cover up in the email:

1. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) – If the minimum quantity is higher than what we plan or can afford, we will have to ask the supplier if they are willing to revise the minimum quantity. MOQ is always negotiable!
2. Sample Pricing – Samples are important in determining the product quality. There are sellers who offer you discounts, and finally, there are providers who will give you a sample if they see you as a serious company. So always have a chance to ask.
3. Product price – Knowing the exact price of each unit is one of the most important issues when buying in bulk. Sometimes they give a range, but knowing the exact price will allow you to negotiate.
4. Production time – How long it takes to complete the order. Time is money.

Email Template to Contact Providers

Choosing shipping method

The final decision about the delivery method highly depends on the point of dispatch and the arrival of the goods. It is necessary to clarify that there are different deliveries that are suitable for different occasions. 

There are some features that should be mentioned in order to compare shipping service of one method to another. The most valuable positions for any client are:

• Delivery Time (counted in days)
• Shipment Weight
• Shipment Parameters (total sum of 3 sides)
• Pricing
• Tracking
• Limitations of goods for ordering
• Customer Rating (0-5)
  

AliExpress Standard Shipping is the cheapest way to ship goods, that offers from 15 to 45 days of waiting for an order, the shipment weight is up to 30kg and tracking is available all over the world. Limitations include strict rules applied with batteries. No cosmetic deliveries.

China Post Registered Airmail is a popular way to deliver goods by air: It offers from 20 to 45 days of waiting for an order, the shipment weight is up to 2kg and tracking is available all over the world. Limitations include toys that look like firearms and so on.

DHL Express is the most popular way to ship goods, that offers from 15 to 45 days of waiting for an order, the shipment weight is up to 2kg and tracking is available all over the world. Limitations include live animals, animal trophies, etc. 

Other good examples of delivering your wholesale orders are mentioned here in detail: https://alitools.io/en/blog/is-aliexpress-standard-shipping-reliable/ 

Checking Your Order

After receiving the order, it is necessary to carefully check it in order to understand whether it is comfortable to continue cooperation with such a supplier, or it will be a better idea to keep searching to find a good supplier. 

As a future company that will sell products to people, you always need to understand that nowadays people value attitude and quality first. So your good attitude to your future customers equals to a high product quality and appearance of a product that you sell. And this equals to a positive feedback and multiply of your profit.

Examine and test every product

It is highly recommended to carefully examine the product you got from the supplier you have chosen and test it. When you do it, you can imagine it as if you were your own buyer. This can help. Be as strict and impersonal as possible, so you could understand what you need to improve and to change.

Do a Count Check

Count checking means that you must see if the order has arrived completely and nothing was forgotten by the supplier. You need to be especially careful if the product is in the volume of several hundred units. Probably in the future you must have special people for doing such stuff, but in the beginning it’s very important to check everything yourself, so you could be totally confident about your product.

Examine Product Packaging

Product packages are the first that your buyer will see, there are a lot of people who will never buy the product again, if it wasn’t wrapped well enough in their first time purchase. So, you know what is important here, right?

You should see what packages the product comes in, if it is safe for your product and if it is safe for a buyer.

Put Out Any Fires

For any comments, if you noticed something that you don’t approve, you should immediately contact the supplier and see how he reacts to the comments. A conscientious partner can be calm and remove all the mistakes, the opposite one can keep silent and never communicate again. 

But it’s very important to have peaceful negotiations and try to understand if you need this supplier or you can search for another one.

Dropshipping with AliExpress, another good business idea

If you are starting a company and thinking of the platform as an opportunity to get cheap products, you may be interested in learning about another very lucrative business model such as dropshipping.

Dropshipping (=drop delivery) – a sales scheme in which the seller accepts orders from buyers, and stores and sends goods to customers by the supplier. The seller, as an intermediary piece of this whole web, only needs to design his online shop and attract customers to it, without worrying about the logistics. 

It can be very useful for a seller, because they don’t need to have a storage for goods, and it’s useful for a supplier, because there is another person who makes adverts and takes care of promotion.

How Can Alitools Help? 

Alitools is a price tracker extension for shopping on AliExpress, that does important things like monitoring changes in bulk prices for all types of goods there, indicating the level of trust to sellers (every buyer can make a note about a seller that they worked with or bought from), searching for products, providing real reviews and tracking parcels.

This extension makes your life easier, so you never need to watch a product closely yourself, trying to catch a good price, because there you will get a notification about a good deal that you can potentially have.

What is more comfortable, it’s how you can find an approved and bona fide seller for almost a second, because this extension is made for the people who don’t want to waste their precious time and work fast and efficiently. You can check it out here: https://alitools.io/en 

FAQ

What documentation do I need to buy at AliExpress?

You don’t need any documentation. To become a buyer you need to sign up on the official website, using your mail, set a password, and fill out the information about yourself. It’s very important to put your name and destination address correctly, otherwise your delivery will not come.

What is the delivery time for AliExpress products?

It’s always different, depending on the country and the region of the destination. 

How do I know if an AliExpress seller is reliable?

You should double check the seller’s rating first and have a conversation with thwm in chat, asking for photos of the product and if you intend to buy wholesale and resell, you need to ask for a sample product in order to understand that it’s of good quality and well packed.

How does AliExpress protect my money?

The online store has an ESCROW system which protects buyers from frauds. A seller doesn’t receive money for the product until the buyer confirms in his personal account the fact of receiving the serviceable goods. Until the moment of confirmation, the money is kept on the account of the guarantor.