51 Burning AliExpress Dropshipping Problems [Solved]

Dropshipping is a lucrative business model where you don’t need to invest much upfront. There is no need to hold any inventory, manage logistics, or manufacture any products yourself. The only thing you have to do is to set up a dropshipping business and work on marketing it to the right audience and generate orders.

However, new dropshippers often run into common problems related to AliExpress. They often have questions regarding the common problems.

Question#1: Is AliExpress/Alibaba safe?

This is quite a complicated question. If you want to know if AliExpress/Alibaba is safe to buy from then Yes, AliExpress/Alibaba is a completely safe platform where you can safely pay for your orders without any risk.

However, when you’re buying or sourcing from AliExpress, it all comes down to the credibility of the suppliers. So, it’s in your interest to actually validate the AliExpress suppliers before ordering anything.

A little bit of due diligence and research will make AliExpress a completely safe platform for you. Here’s how you can easily validate suppliers on AliExpress.

Question#2: How do you track your AliExpress order?

AliExpress provides a seamless tracking feature directly on their platform. You can track your AliExpress order from your “Account” on the site.

Just goto “My orders” and you will see a “Track” option in front of all your orders. Click the track option and AliExpress will show you the current status of your order.

However, if you want a detailed tracking for your AliExpress orders then 17track is the perfect site that tracks all your AliExpress orders (and more carriers) without any hassle. Just add your tracking number and it will show you the current status of your shipment.

Question#3: Does AliExpress accept PayPal?

The short answer is Yes. AliExpress does accept PayPal, but that’s only limited to a select few suppliers. Officially, AliExpress stopped accepting PayPal back in the day due to some unknown disagreement between the giants.

However, Some stores are still accepting PayPal on AliExpress which is a quite safer form of Payment on the Internet.

To pay with PayPal, you need to Ship to USA/UK and only a select few other PayPal supported countries.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to use PayPal on AliExpress.

Question#4: What are other sites like AliExpress?

There are numerous sites like AliExpress, however, not all of them are top online retailers. But, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best AliExpress alternatives that are as good as AliExpress, if not better.

These include but not limited to EverBuying, Dinodirect, Bang Good (trust me, it’s an ecommerce retailer), and more.

Here’s a comprehensive list of all the sites like AliExpress for dropshippers.

Question#5: Is AliExpress Legit?

As an entity, an online business, AliExpress is completely legit. AliExpress is owned by the AliBaba group which is one of the biggest corporations in the World.

AliExpress is legit and they are not a scam in any way whatsoever. It’s completely safe to buy from AliExpress after you have found the right supplier.

AliExpress is similar to eBay and Amazon where multiple suppliers sell their products. So, it’s often up to a buyer to do a bit of research on the suppliers before buying to ensure that their buying experience goes as smooth as possible.

Question#6: Is AliExpress Standard Shipping better?

AliExpress standard shipping is a cost-effective shipping option that works really well all over the world. However, ePacket is the best shipping option for AliExpress shipments, but when you don’t get the option for ePacket delivery then the second best would be AliExpress standard shipping.

AliExpress standard shipping is often free or costs less than a buck, so it’s very reasonable and the delivery times are almost same as China mail or ePacket.

Here are more details on AliExpress Standard Shipping.

Question#7: How reliable is AliExpress.com?

As mentioned-above, AliExpress.com is reliable. It’s pretty much the same as any other online retailer out there, however, you do need to do some testing before committing on the platform.

You need to test the suppliers and research their previous feedback to determine whether they provide high-quality products or not.

However, in case things go south, AliExpress does have a very generous return/refund policy that will get your money back. So, in short, Yes, AliExpress is completely reliable.

Question#8: What is high risk order and do should I fulfill it via AliExpress?

When you are doing dropshipping business via AliExpress by using Shopify and Shopify tags an order “High risk”, you should know what does the high risk order mean?

Well, if you don’t already know then simply it means that the risk associated with the order is quite high according to Shopify.

Let’s assume someone from Indonesia orders something from your store, but puts in a USA address for delivery then often, Shopify will tag it as high risk order because that’s how credit card fraud work.

People order from different credit card sources to their fake addresses. However, sometimes it could be legit like someone ordering a gift for their family/friends. You can always give them a call and ask some questions to ensure if there’s any foul play.

Question#9: What is the best AliExpress review app?

If you want to import AliExpress reviews directly to your Shopify stores then you are going to need a AliExpress review app to do so. Ali reviews and Product reviews are two great Shopify apps that easily import reviews from AliExpress to your store.

Read our full Ali Reviews app review for more details on how you can use 1-click import features to import all the reviews.

Question#10: How to deal with AliExpress returns?

There’s no hard and fast rule regarding AliExpress returns when it comes to dropshipping, however, there’s an unspoken agreement among dropshippers to take the loss.

If you get a return/refund request then the best thing you can do is to let the customer keep the item and give them the money back. This way you inspire trust and confidence in them so they keep coming back to you for future purchases.

Alternatively, you can just refund the customer and have them return the item back to your address so you can resell it on another site like eBay to recoup some of the loss.

However, if the product is expensive like ($50 and above) and you don’t want to just take the loss on it then you can have the customer return the product to you and you can then send it back to AliExpress for your money back.

Here are the steps to open a dispute and claim your refund.

1. Go to your AliExpress account and open “My Orders”
2.  Locate the order you want to dispute and click Open Dispute
3. Add your refund request and Submit it.

Make sure that you file the dispute before your Buyer Protection runs out. Once done AliExpress will look into the dispute and grant your money back. Sometimes you will have to return the faulty items and sometimes you get to keep the faulty items, depends on the supplier.

Question#11: Are there any Aliexpress alternative suppliers in the US?

There are countless dropship suppliers in the US that provide AliExpress-like services all over the country.

If you want AliExpress alternative suppliers in the US then here are some of the best suppliers in the country that you can do business with.

These are Dropship Direct, Ah Goo Baby, Amzer, Cost Tag, Dropshipper, and Kole Imports. These are great suppliers where you will find amazing products that you can dropship directly from within the US.

Question#12: Can customer see the actual price of the item when they track AliExpress order?

No, as long as you are providing the customers with the tracking details then they will not be able to see the actual price of the item.

Dropshippers don’t want the customers to see the original price because that would be bad for business. So, this is why you provide them tracking details through third-party tools and apps like 17Track, etc. This way they get real time tracking information for their orders, but won’t be able to see the original price of the items.

Question#13: How to find Diamond suppliers on AliExpress?

The Diamond suppliers on AliExpress meant the highest rated suppliers that had been sellin for the longest time with a perfect feedback and rating score.

However, AliExpress has changed that system and got rid of diamond rating system. Now, they have provided the suppliers with badges. So, if you see a supplier with the highest number of badges then you should know they are highest rate on the platform.

Question#14: How long it takes for your customers to receive products from AliExpress?

This one changes from one country to another. Some countries receive the orders quickly while others receive it a bit late.

AliExpress standard shipping and ePacket option often ships in 15-22 days for most countries while AliExpress premium and DL/FedEX arrive in 7-12 days for most of the countries.

Just communicate the average shipping times clearly to your customers and they will be okay with however long it takes.

Customer just want to receive their products and if they receive them within the specified time, they will be happy with it.

Question#15: What is the best tracking app for dropshipping that sends customers an email with AliExpress tracking number?

If you want a tracking app to track your dropshipped orders and send your customers automatic updates via email and text then AfterShip is the app for you.

AfterShip is an amazing app for Shopify stores that automatically tracks all the orders from AliExpress and provides real-time status updates via email/text to your customers and you as well.

Read our complete AfterShip review for more information on this amazing app.

Question#16: Which app can we use to transfer products from AliExpress to my store?

If you want an app that transfers your chosen products from AliExpress to your Shopify store along with product title, description, prices, etc then you can use either Oberlo or Dropified.

Both these apps work flawlessly with Shopify and import ass many products as you want from AliExpress to your own store.

Read the Oberlo review for more information on this amazing app.

Question#17: Why does AliExpress want me to send the picture of my ID and credit card?

AliExpress sometimes wants to verify the identity of the buyers. For this reason, they sometimes require you to send your Identity card and credit card pictures.

These are used to verify your identity and keep your future purchasing experience as smooth as possible. This is often done to weed out any potential frauds.

The AliExpress appeal process often takes around 3-5 days for most cases, but it could sometimes take a bit longer. Read the complete AliExpress appeal process guide for more information.

Question#18: Do I use the same shipping prices on each product on my website even when they are from different suppliers on AliExpress?

This depends on your overall business model. If you would benefit from a unified/single shipping price then by all means do that.

You can make up for the cost in your product price by charging a bit higher. However, if it doesn’t matter then you can choose different shipping prices for different products.

Never setup shipping on Shopify store? Setup guide below:

• How to Setup Shipping on Shopify eStores
• How to Setup Shipping for Free Products on Shopify
  

Question#19: How to find suppliers on AliExpress?

Here’s how to find a suppliers on AliExpress.

• Open Aliexpress (App or website).
• Search for the product you want to dropship.
• Filter by free shipping “yes” and by 4-star and higher rating ” Yes”.
• Click done.
• Filter the shown search results by your preference
• Take a look at all the product searches.
• You have now found (a) supplier(s).

Here’s how you can validate suppliers on AliExpress.

Question#20: Other than Oberlo and AliExpress, what other wholesalers can we import products from?

Other products and apps include Dropwow, Dropified, and Importify that will help you easily import products from for your dropshipping store.

Oberlo is definitely the top contender in the industry along with AliExpress in its respective industry, but there are other alternatives out there that you can. The above-mentioned alternatives to Oberlo will help you sources products from sites like AliExpress.

Check out AliExpress alternatives to find your next top supplier.

Question#21: How to get in touch with dropshippers on AliExpress?

When you’ve found your product that you want to dropship, you need to contact the supplier to ask if they do dropshipping or if they have any better deals for you.

You can send the seller a message directly from the AliExpress platform and ask them questions regarding your product and dropshipping.

Each seller has an option to “Contact” on their AliExpress store that’s how you can get in touch with them.

Question#22: Are there any AliExpress suppliers that deliver within 5-7 days?

There are certain AliExpress suppliers that have warehouses in the USA. They usually ship within 5 to 7 days. In your search criteria for products, select “shipped from USA.” This is all you need to do to get your orders delivered quickly as long as you are in the USA.

Question#23: When placing an order on AliExpress on behalf of a customer, should we use the customer’s phone number?

You are supposed to use the customer’s phone number in case the seller wants to call and confirm the order. You are supposed to use all of the customer’s details.

Using services like Oberlo often circumvents such problems and fills in everything automatically for you so you don’t have to spend time manually filling in information.

Question#24: Does epacket ship Worldwide?

There are more than 30 countries that have ePacket option available for delivery, however, it depends on the supplier. If the supplier doesn’t ship using ePacket then you are out of luck.

However, all suppliers do ship using AliExpress standard shipping which is almost as good as the epacket, if not better. So, you can always opt for AliExpress standard shipping for a better shipment experience.

Question#25: Does AliExpress put the real price of the product on packaging mentioned on their shop?

Normally, the suppliers on AliExpress put a very low price on the package to avoid customs and duties for the customer.

However, if you want them to not mention the real prices o the package then you will have to ask the supplier. You need to tell them it’s for dropshipping and to not mention the prices on the package.

Question#26: What is AliExpress Premium Shipping?

AliExpress Premium Shipping is pretty much the same as FedEx and/or DHL. It costs somewhere around $30-$50 depending on the product and the destination.

It’s a faster shipping option compared to epacket or AliExpress standard shipping. It often delivers within 7-10 days.

Question#27: How do you confirm delivery from your customer for AliExpress?

You can just send the customer a follow up email with something like “Thank you for your order. How do you like your new item?”

This way you will get a confirmation from your customer for the order and you can also send the confirmation to AliExpress, if you want to.

Question#28: AliExpress products have an original price and a discounted price, which price should I base my store’s prices on?

If you are using an app like Oberlo to dropship from AliExpress then your prices will be updated automatically.

You can easily enable/disable “price and stock” auto-update in Oberlo > Settings > Shop Settings > Auto-Updates.

Question#29: What is the difference between Alibaba and AliExpress?

Alibaba.com is one of the leading platforms for global wholesale trading. It’s serving millions of buyers and suppliers from around the world. Mostly the members on AliBaba are trading companies, resellers, or manufacturers themselves who trade products in bulk order quantities and on wholesale rates.

AliExpress, on the other hand, is a global retail marketplace (like Amazon, eBay) offering products at cheap factory prices. Your product number can be as low as 1 item and you can also pay safely using AliExpress’ Buyer Protection service.

Question#30: What products on Aliexpress can I dropship with 300-400% profit margins?

Mostly the pricing depends on what type of store you are running, who’s your target audience. If you are targeting young women in a first-world country then Shapewear, Jewelry can be sold at high profit margins.

Stuff like phone accessories, dog accessories, electronics, etc can also be sold for 300% margins easily. It mostly depends on where you are selling and who you are selling to.

Question#31: Why are products on AliExpress so cheap?

Aliexpress is a Chinese online retailer where resellers, small businesses, and sales representatives for large distributors sell their products.

Even though Aliexpress is extremely cheap in terms of price, it’s still considered retail. There are still other platforms that offer the same products cheaper like Alibaba (wholesale).

You will find that most of the products you can buy on Aliexpress are often cheaply made, lower quality, and cheaper materials. This is why the prices are so low for the items.

Question#32: Is it a good thing to dropship from AliExpress, DHGate, and/or Alibaba?

Yes, definitely. Dropshipping is a lucrative business since you are not holding any inventories or managing any logistics. All you have to do is send the order to the original retailer/marketplace like AliExpress and they will take care of everything.

The key to success is finding good suppliers.Most of the suppliers are of low quality products and have terrible shipping times, but if you do proper research you can find real gems that will help you succeed.

Also, shipping times matter a lot so always go with ePacket or AliExpress standard shipping or similar for any other site.

Always be completely honest and upfront about the delivery times. The customers don’t hate 2-4 weeks of delivery time, what they actually hate is you not being upfront with them.

Dropshipping is not as easy as online gurus will make it out to be. It requires dedication and proper work, and after you’ve done all that, it can be a lucrative business.

If you are interested then here’s how to start a dropshipping business in 3 steps.

Question#33: How can AliExpress offer free shipping?

AliExpress itself does not offer free shipping, but the sellers do.The sellers are able to provide free shipping because most of the times they already add the shipping fee in the product price, and the shipping services they use are often slow logistics like a surface mail or epacket which take quite a long time to ship to customers.

If the buyer wants a faster shipping method, they need to pay for premium shipping options like DHL or FedEX.

Question#34: How does dropshipping from AliExpress to eBay work?

Dropshipping from AliExpress to eBay is quite easy. All you have to do is list products from AliExpress to eBay with a higher price to make a decent profit.

When anyone buys your eBay products, you order it from AliExpress and send it to the buyer’s shipping address.

All you need is an eBay seller account and an AliExpress buyer account to start dropshipping from AliExpress to eBay.

Learn more about how to dropship from AliExpress to eBay.

Question#35: Are there a lot of fake products on AliExpress?

Yes, there are definitely a lot of fake products on AliExpress. Creating fake seller accounts or selling fake products is a bit common, but AliExpress is finally getting around to banning such people.

However, AliExpress has a lot of genuine products as well. You can easily find such products by following these steps.

1. Find top selling Product.
2. Check the product feedback. (4-stars or higher)
3. Check seller feedback.

Question#36: What is the best way to combine WooCommerce with AliExpress dropshipping?

There are multiple ways to combine WooCommerce with Aliexpress for dropshipping. You can do it via Custom scripts and Woocommerce addons, or even WordPress plugins.

Here are the top 3 plugins used for dropshipping from AliExpress with a WooCommerce store.

1. Alidropship.
2. Woodropship.
3. Shopmaster.

These plugins will help you combine your WooCommerce with AliExpress for easy dropshipping.

Question#37: How can I make money buying from AliExpress and selling them in my country?

DO YOUR PROPER RESEARCH! This is the most important step.

You have to do market research about the best products to sell that are popular in your country.

1. Now, you have to choose how you want to sell your products, it can be through eBay, Amazon, Etsy or any other marketplace that’s available in your country, you can also do it through a physical store if you have one.
2. Let’s imagine you want to sell clothes, you need to check if clothes are sold more often on Etsy or eBay, or if they sell more physically in a store.

This is how you can make money buying stuff from AliExpress and sell those in your country for a high margin.

Related Articles:
Best Selling Items on Etsy 
11 Ways to Make Money on Amazon
How to Start a Tshirt Business

Question#38: Is dropshipping via AliExpress still worth it?

Yes, it will always be worth it as long as you know what you are doing. If you know how to do research, test things, and build strategies that work for your product then you can make a killing with dropshipping via AliExpress.

Of course, if you think that putting random products from AliExpress on your site and slapping an ad on Facebook will bring you millions then you are in for a huge disappointment.

You need to be prepared to do proper research and figure out what products will resonate with your audience to build a profitable dropshipping business.

Question#39: What is the best AliExpress Affiliate WordPress plugin?

The top three AliExpress affiliate WordPress plugins for dropshipping are as following.

• Alidropship.
• Woodropship.
• Shopmaster.

These plugins can be used to sell AliExpress products directly on your WordPress site without having to do anything technical at all.

Question#40: How do you find the best selling products on AliBaba/AliExpress?

This used to be quite easy when AliExpress offered a Best Selling section on their website, however, now that the section is removed. There’s no easy way to look for best selling products on AliExpress.

Alternatively, you can use other methods to find best selling products from around the web and then buy those products from AliExpress.

Here are 9 amazing hacks to find the best selling products for your store.

Question#41: How can I have faster shipping with AliExpress drop shipping?

There are variances when it comes to AliExpress shipping times. Even the fastest premium shipping takes around 5-7 and sometimes even 10 days on average.

However, you should test the shipping yourself before offering it to your customers. Test ePacket, AliExpress standard shipping, etc to see which one is the fastest for you.

If you want a quick shipping then you will have to pay for premium shipping services like DHL, but that’s going to bite into your profits real hard and probably drive you into losses.

Another trick is to just bulk order all the products to yourself and then ship them out yourself in your country with cheaper prices and quicker shipping times.

Question#42: Is dropshipping from AliExpress using Oberlo on Shopify a viable option?

If you know what you are doing then it’s definitely a viable option. All you have to do is set up shop with Shopify and install Oberlo. Everything else will be taken care of by Oberlo.

You have to research products, find the right audience, and market your products to the said audience. It’s a great business plan as long as you know how to capitalize on trends and hottest selling products.

Question#43: What’s the most popular product on AliExpress?

It depends on categories. There’s not a single popular product on AliExpress, but there are a bunch of them.

You can just go to your favorite category and select filter by number of orders. This way you will see the top selling products in that category. This should give you an idea on what products are the most popular and selling like hotcakes.

Question#44: Is there any free dropship plugin for AliExpress on WordPress?

There are no completely free plugin for AliExpress on WordPress, but if you want to try out some dropshipping plugins on WordPress then both Ezusy and Shopmaster offer free plans.

These free plans are fairly limited in terms of what you can do, but you can pretty much set up your store and starts selling using the free plans. Once you see money pouring in, you can upgrade to a better paid plan.

Question#45: Is it safe to use debit/credit card on AliExpress?

Yes, AliExpress is completely safe. You have nothing to worry about when paying with Credit/Debit card because AliExpress is an international website owned by AliBaba group which is one of the biggest corporations in the World. They invest a lot money in their website’s security and you are always protected as a buyer with their Buyer protection program. Also, your payment is also secure with AliExpress escrow secure online transactions.

Question#46: Which is best ePacket or AliExpress Standard Shipping for dropshipping?

When it comes to comparing ePacket with AliExpress Standard shipping, then mostly epacket will come out on top, as it is cheap, reliable because it includes tracking information, and much faster than other alternatives.

However, also keep in mind that it changes according to different countries. In some countries, ePacket charges you a small fee while Standard shipping will be free. Both shipping option are quite safe, but if available, always opt for ePacket as it’s the better option.

Question#47: I ordered from AliExpress but the tracking site says it is held by customs. What does it mean?

It means that the item is held by your country’s customs department. You need to head over to the customs office where the item is held and ay the custom duties and taxes to have your item released.

Each item has different customs duty/tax, so you will have to find that information in your local customs tariff and pay the amount accordingly.

Question#48: Why does AliExpress have such a terrible reputation outside China?

It’s just common sense that if the reputation of AliExpress was so bad, then the online store wouldn’t be so popular worldwide.

Recently, they have also improved their shipping conditions, easily refund money for damaged goods/lost orders, or if there’s any other problem with the order.

AliExpress has a solid reputation all over the world and thousands of businesses use AliExpress for dropshipping. So, they do not have a terrible reputation, in and out of China, at all.

Question#49: How do I go about private labelling when I am dropshipping on AliExpress?

The simple answer is that you can not do private labelling if you are only dropshipping. Why? Well, because it makes absolutely no sense for the supplier to use your designs and logos for only a single product every time.

The typical Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) for getting private labels is around 100 units, but depending on the price and manufacturing complexity of the product it can be more or less.

You can still contact the suppliers and ask them to use your custom designs and packaging for each order, but we’re almost 99% sure they will deny it because it’s too much work on their part.

Question#50: How does payment occur with AliExpress?

Currently, you can pay on AliExpress using Boleto, Visa debit/credit, MasterCard, QIWI, Western Union, WebMoney, Maestro debit card, and bank transfer.

You can also pay using PayPal on AliExpress, but there are some limitations to this method. Read our PayPal on AliExpress article to learn more about how you can use PayPal to pay for your AliExpress orders.

Question#51: Is Alipay safe?

Yes, Alipay is absolutely safe and it’s the leading mobile and online payment platform in the World. It’s also owned by AliBaba group.

AliExpress accepts Alipay and it comes with the flawless Buyer Protection where you get your money-back in case of any problems with your order.

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Hopefully, this comprehensive list answered your questions regarding AliExpress dropshipping or anything related to it.

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