Alibaba - Has anyone ever ordered items direct website in China?

ED2023

Just wondering if anyone has ever ordered items from Alibaba website and if so was the delivery and quality reliable?

I am aware that VAT of 23% would be due on the items that are delivered. Can anyone confirm how that works and if that is based on the purchase price or an estimated value of the product in Ireland which could be much higher than the cost price on Alibaba. Just concerned the VAT could take any value out of ordering online.

Thanks

AMKC

Yes I have. Depending on your item it could take three weeks or longer to come but yes it's a reliable website.

Is it a big or small item you are thinking of buying?

I have bought a big item from there too and maybe it was because of Covid and all the shipping delays it took longer than I had hoped for it to come but it came eventually.

There was customs. Its charged according to the cm value of the product at 23 per cent of it I think. Its been a while now.

Alibaba is basically just Wish.com tbh. Much the same if something looks too good it probably isnt any good.

But generally you will find very little trouble.

CelticRambler

Do you mean Alibaba, the business-to-business version, or AliExpress, the consumer version?

I've ordered from both. From Alibaba, a single order of heavy machinery and related tools for personal use, one point of direct contact with the manufacturer's sales team (average response time less than three hours, respecting the difference in time zones); zero problems with payment by bank transfer (Revolut); delivery in line with expectations for a tonne of material coming by sea (port-by-port tracking info provided) and customs charges raised, paid and cleared within 48 hours of arrival in port. The only hiccup was the "last mile" delivery because the pallet was non-standard and the local transport company struggled to get it on their van.

The second item was ordered on behalf of an organisation with which I work as a "proof of concept" installation. Again, direct one-person point of contact, item modified and built to my spec based on their published info. Delivery and release from customs was a bit messier because the people I was working with insisted on dragging their feet, then choosing stupid delivery options at our end.

These big-ticket items are subject to import tarifs and VAT, but the machinery I bought for myself was still about half the price of the next cheapest equivalent I could get from an EU retailer. The other item came in at about a quarter the price of the nearest competitor, and they (GB firm) were a lot slower to respond and wouldn't customise to our needs, which undermined our confidence in any supposed advantage in the promised quality.

As for AliExpress, I use it all the time for a wide variety of spare parts and all kinds of low-value end-user products. I'd probably place five or six AliExpress orders for every purchase from Amazon. For the most part, I opt for their 10-day grouped delivery service precisely because everything comes on one day in one package, instead of Amazon sending six things in six different packages on four different days. I have placed orders on the same day for items from both platforms and had the Ali order turn up first if the items are already in an EU warehouse.

Prices are generally about 10-20% of what I'd pay for the same thing on Amazon (yes, as little as 10%, including postage) but not always. EU VAT is collected at the point of purchase and declared on the packaging, so no hold-up at customs. I find AliExpress particularly useful for sourcing individual component parts where the official supplier will tell you that you can only buy a complete unit (or "it'd be cheaper to replace than repair"); but genuine branded products in original packaging end up costing about the same as anywhere else. I've only had a few problem orders over the years, and they've all been resolved quickly with full re-imbursement to my card.

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058282627/alibaba-has-anyone-ever-ordered-items-direct-website-in-china

Confirm your email address so you can post properly, then I'll move this to forum that's actually related to the topic instead.

samdeluxjones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120193849#Comment_120193849

Did you pay into a Revolute account in Lithuania?

I have received several pro-forma invoices for same item and all in and around the same price but fraction of what you pay here.

That Revolute account is putting me off a bit and they seem over eager to get me to pay as in constant messages asking did I pay the money in yet.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123908226#Comment_123908226

No, I paid USD from my Revolut account through conventional bank transfer to a regular company bank account (in China).

This was five years ago, though, when it was still relatively uncommon for us private Europeans to buy individual machines. As there are a lot more customers and suppliers in the market now, and they all must have an EU representative now, perhaps some of them have opted to use Revolut themselves to receive EUR funds.