Asian site buying guide and deal thread (Aliexpress, Taobao, Temu, Superbuy, Buyee, etc)

Jun 20, 2024 at 7:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

dougms3

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So we all know there are great deals and discounts out there on the asian sites. However, navigating and finding some of these discounts or even simply how to register for these sites is a bit of a headache for some of us.

I've been buying from aliexpress for 10 years now so I'm pretty familiar with that site. I've also purchased from amazon japan and several other japanese sites for car parts and japanese brand audio gear and accessories.

I know that for those that are able to navigate Taobao, theres literally nothing you can't get on that site and its usually alot cheaper than aliexpress but also riskier.

I just wanted to open this thread for those that need help navigating/setting up/ordering from these sites as well as taking advantage of the coupons and discounts. I think if we leverage our shared experience and knowledge of certain sellers and items, it benefit everyone in this community.

For those that are not aware superbuy is a 3rd party buying site and/or search engine for some of the chinese sites. Buyee is a 3rd party buying/search engine site for japanese sites.

I'm sure theres more out there that I'm not familiar with, please feel free to post them.

Maybe some more seasoned members can help contribute to this thread, I know @BenF is always posting the big coupon / sale events in the deal discussion thread, which I always appreciate and try take advantage of.
 
Jul 24, 2024 at 1:40 AM Post #2 of 4
So we all know there are great deals and discounts out there on the asian sites. However, navigating and finding some of these discounts or even simply how to register for these sites is a bit of a headache for some of us.

I've been buying from aliexpress for 10 years now so I'm pretty familiar with that site. I've also purchased from amazon japan and several other japanese sites for car parts and japanese brand audio gear and accessories.

I know that for those that are able to navigate Taobao, theres literally nothing you can't get on that site and its usually alot cheaper than aliexpress but also riskier.

I just wanted to open this thread for those that need help navigating/setting up/ordering from these sites as well as taking advantage of the coupons and discounts. I think if we leverage our shared experience and knowledge of certain sellers and items, it benefit everyone in this community.

For those that are not aware superbuy is a 3rd party buying site and/or search engine for some of the chinese sites. Buyee is a 3rd party buying/search engine site for japanese sites.

I'm sure theres more out there that I'm not familiar with, please feel free to post them.

Maybe some more seasoned members can help contribute to this thread, I know @BenF is always posting the big coupon / sale events in the deal discussion thread, which I always appreciate and try take advantage of. I recently bought a laptop in China and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and affordability. I opted for a vendor rather than a distributor, as vendors tend to offer better deals and more personalized service. Vendors usually have direct manufacturer contacts, which can mean better support and warranty options. However, distributors might be more reliable for consistent product quality and broader selection. Overall, it depends on your priorities and you always can check info about vendor vs distributor
Brilliant bro! Million thanks for useeful guide.
 
Jul 24, 2024 at 7:44 AM Post #3 of 4
So we all know there are great deals and discounts out there on the asian sites. However, navigating and finding some of these discounts or even simply how to register for these sites is a bit of a headache for some of us.

I've been buying from aliexpress for 10 years now so I'm pretty familiar with that site. I've also purchased from amazon japan and several other japanese sites for car parts and japanese brand audio gear and accessories.

I know that for those that are able to navigate Taobao, theres literally nothing you can't get on that site and its usually alot cheaper than aliexpress but also riskier.

I just wanted to open this thread for those that need help navigating/setting up/ordering from these sites as well as taking advantage of the coupons and discounts. I think if we leverage our shared experience and knowledge of certain sellers and items, it benefit everyone in this community.

For those that are not aware superbuy is a 3rd party buying site and/or search engine for some of the chinese sites. Buyee is a 3rd party buying/search engine site for japanese sites.

I'm sure theres more out there that I'm not familiar with, please feel free to post them.

Maybe some more seasoned members can help contribute to this thread, I know @BenF is always posting the big coupon / sale events in the deal discussion thread, which I always appreciate and try take advantage of.

There's usually some savings to be made if you can combine coins, store coupons and Aliexpress wide coupons during their sales.
Here's a little post on how to stack coupons: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/page-3419#post-15944621




These are the biggest sales on Aliexpress, where you can stack coupons and coins, with discounted pricings (all 3 can stack):
1) March Anniversary Sale
2) June Summer Sale
3) 11.11 Sale
4) Black Friday Sale

There are smaller sales interspersed in between which are quite meh, so keep your powder dry for these bigger ones, where there are more coupons or steeper discounts available.





I've bought nearly 300 items on Aliexpress, and here are some tips to safeguard your purchases and protect yourself.

Some Aliexpress stores may play punk or cannot meet the overwhelming orders during sales, and in the event of a defective order, sending stuff back to China is a legit pain; sometimes the return costs are as much as the item you bought, not to mention a few months burnt. And this is assuming that the CS accepts the returns, sometimes they make consumers run through hoops just to accept a return.

1) It is a common tactic that shops jack up the price of popular items a few days before sales. Then on sale date, they magically give a "generous" 50% off to psychologically trick customers. But if you had tracked the item, actually the price was similar or thereabouts from a few days back. Use https://www.aliprice.com/ or similar tracking sites to track the price fluctuations so you won't be tricked by fake discounts.

2) No matter the discount dangled, do not buy from brand new shops which have zero ratings. Any alphabet-soup named shop which was just setup a few days ago is a big red flag. Also any shop with < 95% ratings is an orange flag.
How do you see the ratings? See the circled photo (in red) at the top right corner.
398306046_725963602752422_1032415514134216207_n.jpg


In the second photo you can hover your mouse over the top left hand corner and even see info like when was the shop setup, and detailed review ratings (in green). In purple, on the second photo, you can click it to check the "business info" and you will be shocked to find that many shops in Aliepxress share the same business info and address (ie the seller created many clone shops, and can just shut one or two down if there is bad rep. Rinse repeat and setup a new one next week LOL).
398765638_725963649419084_4409552616687656638_n.jpg



3) If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Read user reviews to see what is the general consensus on the product (there are some planted fake reviews, but it is still a good gauge).

4) Another common trick is the shops issuing a fake tracking number, especially if they do not have stock in hand and need to show Aliexpress that they shipped out the item (to prevent penalties). During huge sales, there is such a huge influx of orders that sometimes they are unable to meet demand. I've seen fake tracking delivered to some forest in Siberia (definitely not where I live), and it was marked as delivered. I use this site (https://www.17track.net/en) to track global shipping to see if the seller is playing punk. Take screen shots and file for a dispute with the CS if so.

5) Aliexpress holds the money you paid in escrow, until the buyer has received a satisfactory product, then they release the money to the shop. However, do take note of timelines. After a certain number of days (buyer protection), Aliexpress will release the money anyway even if you do not get the item. Contact their CS before that should this happen. Stores sometimes try to stall you by saying "I will send a new package, please be patient." Or "please don't file a dispute, it will affect our reputation, just accept another item and we will send it out ASAP.". I have been burnt before where the seller dragged the process until after the buyer protection is over, without keeping their promise, so my suggestion is to take photos of screen shots, and a few days before the dateline, just file a dispute on Aliexpress and show the evidence if the shop doesn't keep their end of the bargain.

6) Pay via credit card or paypal, in case you need to file a chargeback in case of Aliexpress sheaningans.




Hope these tips help and happy shopping. The next huge sale should be 11/11 though, which is about 3 months plus away however.
 
Aug 22, 2024 at 7:00 AM Post #4 of 4
There's usually some savings to be made if you can combine coins, store coupons and Aliexpress wide coupons during their sales.
Here's a little post on how to stack coupons: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/page-3419#post-15944621




These are the biggest sales on Aliexpress, where you can stack coupons and coins, with discounted pricings (all 3 can stack):
1) March Anniversary Sale
2) June Summer Sale
3) 11.11 Sale
4) Black Friday Sale

There are smaller sales interspersed in between which are quite meh, so keep your powder dry for these bigger ones, where there are more coupons or steeper discounts available.





I've bought nearly 300 items on Aliexpress, and here are some tips to safeguard your purchases and protect yourself.

Some Aliexpress stores may play punk or cannot meet the overwhelming orders during sales, and in the event of a defective order, sending stuff back to China is a legit pain; sometimes the return costs are as much as the item you bought, not to mention a few months burnt. And this is assuming that the CS accepts the returns, sometimes they make consumers run through hoops just to accept a return.

1) It is a common tactic that shops jack up the price of popular items a few days before sales. Then on sale date, they magically give a "generous" 50% off to psychologically trick customers. But if you had tracked the item, actually the price was similar or thereabouts from a few days back. Use https://www.aliprice.com/ or similar tracking sites to track the price fluctuations so you won't be tricked by fake discounts.

2) No matter the discount dangled, do not buy from brand new shops which have zero ratings. Any alphabet-soup named shop which was just setup a few days ago is a big red flag. Also any shop with < 95% ratings is an orange flag.
How do you see the ratings? See the circled photo (in red) at the top right corner.
398306046_725963602752422_1032415514134216207_n.jpg

In the second photo you can hover your mouse over the top left hand corner and even see info like when was the shop setup, and detailed review ratings (in green). In purple, on the second photo, you can click it to check the "business info" and you will be shocked to find that many shops in Aliepxress share the same business info and address (ie the seller created many clone shops, and can just shut one or two down if there is bad rep. Rinse repeat and setup a new one next week LOL).
398765638_725963649419084_4409552616687656638_n.jpg


3) If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Read user reviews to see what is the general consensus on the product (there are some planted fake reviews, but it is still a good gauge).

4) Another common trick is the shops issuing a fake tracking number, especially if they do not have stock in hand and need to show Aliexpress that they shipped out the item (to prevent penalties). During huge sales, there is such a huge influx of orders that sometimes they are unable to meet demand. I've seen fake tracking delivered to some forest in Siberia (definitely not where I live), and it was marked as delivered. I use this site (https://www.17track.net/en) to track global shipping to see if the seller is playing punk. Take screen shots and file for a dispute with the CS if so.

5) Aliexpress holds the money you paid in escrow, until the buyer has received a satisfactory product, then they release the money to the shop. However, do take note of timelines. After a certain number of days (buyer protection), Aliexpress will release the money anyway even if you do not get the item. Contact their CS before that should this happen. Stores sometimes try to stall you by saying "I will send a new package, please be patient." Or "please don't file a dispute, it will affect our reputation, just accept another item and we will send it out ASAP.". I have been burnt before where the seller dragged the process until after the buyer protection is over, without keeping their promise, so my suggestion is to take photos of screen shots, and a few days before the dateline, just file a dispute on Aliexpress and show the evidence if the shop doesn't keep their end of the bargain.

6) Pay via credit card or paypal, in case you need to file a chargeback in case of Aliexpress sheaningans.




Hope these tips help and happy shopping. The next huge sale should be 11/11 though, which is about 3 months plus away however.
I have used Afterpay and Klarna on occasion. Had to get a refund after paying with Afterpay and there were no issues.
 

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