4 ms·

Amazon is a lazy man's AliExpress in 2019.

by lighthazard 7y ago

contingencies 7y ago
AliExpress is a lazy man's Taobao.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > AliExpress is a lazy man's Taobao. Don't you need a mainland bank card and phone number to use Taobao, and also know Chinese?
  - baybal2 7y ago
    You can register on Taobao from overseas without any problem, few vendors ship overseas though, but the number is far from zero.
  - contingencies 7y ago
    You can definitely settle via international credit cards (~5% fee = ~3% card settlement fee + ~2% currency exchange hit). Regarding language, online translation tools are adequate. Regarding shipping, I believe there are reshipment providers that you can batch purchases with, which means you can use all vendors (not just the ones who agree to ship internationally).
  - adelie 7y ago
    don't need either of those. shipping isn't even a problem now with taobao direct - taobao themselves will cover shipping to one of their warehouses, and then you can batch those to ship internationally. once you get used to the format, you should be able to order things without knowing chinese; it's pretty consistent. helps to know the language for things like reviews, product descriptions, etc. though.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
laurentdc 7y ago
Amazon used to be my go to for the occasional hardware purchase, but now even searching for something simple such as "wireless keyboard" brings up a boatload of sponsored garbage with shady reviews (iClever, VicTsing, Qpao, Mpow, Topelek what the hell are these brands?)
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  Same here. I get really stressed when I see the same thing under 29 different names with different prices.
  - lighthazard 7y ago
    It used to be that I would pop open Amazon any time I want to buy anything. Now I have to actively search for my options since Amazon is no longer my go-to option. It's unfortunate but Amazon has made it clear they care about their merchant dropshippers over keeping a measly customer like me.
- baybal2 7y ago
  > what the hell are these brands? This is what 1-man-brands are. I myself used to run a sunglasses brand in my student years :) Most are just dropshippers, or people working out of home. Recipe was simple: order cheapest 1 dollar sunglasses on Alibaba, have them put into fancy packaging and silkscreened with something Italian sounding. Then you make up a generic website with stock photos for your "brand" I was surprised with the amount of people keen to buy $100 to $200 sunglasses with nothing more than an Italian sounding brand name.
  - petra 7y ago
    Does this still work ?
    - lighthazard 7y ago
      Yes :D
- 7y ago
maxxxxx 7y ago
I find aliexpress very inconvenient and prices are not really much better than amazon or eBay.
- lighthazard 7y ago
  My $0.99 pack of six combs that took 5 weeks to ship disagree with pricing being not really much better. Convenience.. the time it takes to ship is the only major deciding factor in my online purchases vs in-store purchases now. Do I need a comb tomorrow? No? How about in a week? No? Great, AliExpress.
Glyptodon 7y ago
I won't use Ali Express because it requires invasive "identity verification." I have visions of whatever documentation they get ending up in some Chinese government intelligence database.
- jerrysievert 7y ago
  is this a new requirement? i've never had to verify identity to order from the united states.
  - Glyptodon 7y ago
    I'm not sure if it's a requirement or something they use algorithms to select certain new accounts for.
gscott 7y ago
Strangely Office Depot is sending out emails promoting AliExpress. Strange that a large company would undercut themselves.
- ddeck 7y ago
  Perhaps explained by this: Office Depot and Alibaba team up to tap small and medium businesses Office Depot on Monday teamed up with Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd to launch a co-branded e-commerce website, seeking to tap into the opportunities of selling to small and medium businesses in the United States. While the Chinese e-commerce giant has inked deals with U.S. companies including Kroger Co to sell products in China through its online marketplace Tmall.com, the deal with Office Depot marks Alibaba.com’s first business-to-business collaboration with a major U.S. company. The partnership would give Alibaba access to Office Depot’s 10 million customers and 1,800 sales agents. Alibaba would also be able to take advantage of Office Depot’s distribution network that offers next day delivery in the United States, the companies said in a joint statement. Office Depot’s customers will also get access to Alibaba’s global network of over 150,000 suppliers to find more product options or a reputed manufacturer to produce their goods. For instance, a cutlery maker with a special design can find a factory to make it, which can be sold to restaurants or retailers across the world using Alibaba.com platform, John Caplan, head of North America B2B at Alibaba Group, said in an interview with Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-office-depot-alibaba/office-depot-and-alibaba-team-up-to-tap-small-and-medium-businesses-idUSKCN1QL195 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-office-depot-alibaba/offi...
seppin 7y ago
As bad as Amazon is, it's far from the minefield that is AE

Amazon is a lazy man's AliExpress in 2019.

contingencies 7y ago

AliExpress is a lazy man's Taobao.

CharlesColeman 7y ago
> AliExpress is a lazy man's Taobao. Don't you need a mainland bank card and phone number to use Taobao, and also know Chinese?
- baybal2 7y ago
  You can register on Taobao from overseas without any problem, few vendors ship overseas though, but the number is far from zero.
- contingencies 7y ago
  You can definitely settle via international credit cards (~5% fee = ~3% card settlement fee + ~2% currency exchange hit). Regarding language, online translation tools are adequate. Regarding shipping, I believe there are reshipment providers that you can batch purchases with, which means you can use all vendors (not just the ones who agree to ship internationally).
- adelie 7y ago
  don't need either of those. shipping isn't even a problem now with taobao direct - taobao themselves will cover shipping to one of their warehouses, and then you can batch those to ship internationally. once you get used to the format, you should be able to order things without knowing chinese; it's pretty consistent. helps to know the language for things like reviews, product descriptions, etc. though.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

laurentdc 7y ago

Amazon used to be my go to for the occasional hardware purchase, but now even searching for something simple such as "wireless keyboard" brings up a boatload of sponsored garbage with shady reviews (iClever, VicTsing, Qpao, Mpow, Topelek what the hell are these brands?)

maxxxxx 7y ago
Same here. I get really stressed when I see the same thing under 29 different names with different prices.
- lighthazard 7y ago
  It used to be that I would pop open Amazon any time I want to buy anything. Now I have to actively search for my options since Amazon is no longer my go-to option. It's unfortunate but Amazon has made it clear they care about their merchant dropshippers over keeping a measly customer like me.
baybal2 7y ago
> what the hell are these brands? This is what 1-man-brands are. I myself used to run a sunglasses brand in my student years :) Most are just dropshippers, or people working out of home. Recipe was simple: order cheapest 1 dollar sunglasses on Alibaba, have them put into fancy packaging and silkscreened with something Italian sounding. Then you make up a generic website with stock photos for your "brand" I was surprised with the amount of people keen to buy $100 to $200 sunglasses with nothing more than an Italian sounding brand name.
- petra 7y ago
  Does this still work ?
  - lighthazard 7y ago
    Yes :D
7y ago

maxxxxx 7y ago

I find aliexpress very inconvenient and prices are not really much better than amazon or eBay.

lighthazard 7y ago
My $0.99 pack of six combs that took 5 weeks to ship disagree with pricing being not really much better. Convenience.. the time it takes to ship is the only major deciding factor in my online purchases vs in-store purchases now. Do I need a comb tomorrow? No? How about in a week? No? Great, AliExpress.

Glyptodon 7y ago

I won't use Ali Express because it requires invasive "identity verification." I have visions of whatever documentation they get ending up in some Chinese government intelligence database.

jerrysievert 7y ago
is this a new requirement? i've never had to verify identity to order from the united states.
- Glyptodon 7y ago
  I'm not sure if it's a requirement or something they use algorithms to select certain new accounts for.

gscott 7y ago

Strangely Office Depot is sending out emails promoting AliExpress. Strange that a large company would undercut themselves.

ddeck 7y ago
Perhaps explained by this: Office Depot and Alibaba team up to tap small and medium businesses Office Depot on Monday teamed up with Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd to launch a co-branded e-commerce website, seeking to tap into the opportunities of selling to small and medium businesses in the United States. While the Chinese e-commerce giant has inked deals with U.S. companies including Kroger Co to sell products in China through its online marketplace Tmall.com, the deal with Office Depot marks Alibaba.com’s first business-to-business collaboration with a major U.S. company. The partnership would give Alibaba access to Office Depot’s 10 million customers and 1,800 sales agents. Alibaba would also be able to take advantage of Office Depot’s distribution network that offers next day delivery in the United States, the companies said in a joint statement. Office Depot’s customers will also get access to Alibaba’s global network of over 150,000 suppliers to find more product options or a reputed manufacturer to produce their goods. For instance, a cutlery maker with a special design can find a factory to make it, which can be sold to restaurants or retailers across the world using Alibaba.com platform, John Caplan, head of North America B2B at Alibaba Group, said in an interview with Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-office-depot-alibaba/office-depot-and-alibaba-team-up-to-tap-small-and-medium-businesses-idUSKCN1QL195 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-office-depot-alibaba/offi...

seppin 7y ago

As bad as Amazon is, it's far from the minefield that is AE