eBay vs Amazon vs Aliexpress

When it comes to making online purchases, eBay, Amazon and AliExpress are some of the biggest names that can be found out there. So, which of these platforms is the best place on which you can buy various goods and services over the internet? This article, it has to be said, is based on my own experiences. Feel free to leave a comment below about the platform that best suits your needs. Here is the best online retailer that can be found out there;

eBay

Most of the purchases that I make online are actually made through eBay. In the several years that I have been buying things over the internet, I have found that eBay is less finicky about such things as the location of the buyer or seller. This is important for those who are in such countries as Zimbabwe or South Africa.

Amazon

One of the things that you will notice is that many of the sellers who are on Amazon will not ship to some locations across the globe. Amazon, in this regard, appears to be much more American-centric than the eBay and AliExpress.

AliExpress

AliExpress is based in China. It’s the retail part of Alibaba and has grown over the years to become of the biggest online retailers that can be found out there. AliExpress used to be a favorite of mine, till I encountered problems with Chinese based sellers.

Chinese based sellers

One of the things that you really need to take into consideration when making your purchases online is the location of the seller from which you are going to buy. Thing is, shipments that are made from China and other Asian countries can take over a month and a half to arrive in Africa. That is usually the case, unless you are willing to fork out dizzying amounts on DHL.

Why I only buy from American and European based sellers

In the years that I have been buying things online, I have had two items that I had purchased from China fail to arrive altogether. Admittedly, they were very small items that each cost no more than $5. However, the whole issue was galling, nevertheless. After waiting more than two months, I soon realized that the things had either gotten lost on the long trek or they had never been shipped in the first place.

The whole thing soured me against Chinese based sellers. That is why, today, I am careful to only make my purchases from US or European based sellers. With these, the shipment arrives in less than 2 weeks instead of two or three months.

My last purchase

The last purchase that I made was a Kindle Paperwhite which I bought from an American seller off Amazon. Shipment was made through USPS and had full tracking and email alerts. As a result, I knew exactly where my item was along the way.

Anyway, to cut the story short, the Paperwhite arrived in my country less than 7 days after the purchase. So, eBay, vs Amazon vs AliExpress? I will go with eBay any time. I will also buy from Amazon if I am patient enough to look up an obliging seller who ships to my location. However, I have been keeping away from AliExpress over the past year or so. Chinese sellers now scare me.