alibaba or ebay

[darinsquared]

I have bought electronics from China on eBay and most seem to be good quality.  What have people's experience been using alibaba?  pro's and con's vs ebay

[imidis]

To clarify Aliexpress? If so, I find usually it's cheaper especially in larger quantities, I've had one package out of a quite a few not arrive.  Quality varies depending on what it is. Guess thats the same as ebay.

[retiredcaps]

Aliexpress, back in 2015, seemed okay with shipping times around 30 days.  Recently, in the last 6 months, aliexpress is taking almost 60 days or doesn't even show up.

Ebay, on the other hand, seems more consistent with the usual 30 to 40 days shipping.

As for quality, my guess is it is the same seller on ebay and aliexpress, but under different aliases.  They probably all get their items from the same markets.

[imidis]

Ah yeah, forgot shipping times. I didn't use it in 2015 and retiredcaps is spot on shipping time is the down side.

[jonovid]

Aliexpress works for me. 90% reliable. as for the other 10%  I still save on the loss!  also it is a little slow at times. did try eBay but the US postage thing? 

[Back2Volts]

Aliexpress works for me. 90% reliable. as for the other 10%  I still save on the loss!  also it is a little slow at times. did try eBay but the US postage thing?

Can you elaborate what you mean ?

[tautech]

Used both for years but I prefer Aliexpress and their process of you confirming receipt of goods to your satisfaction after which the seller is paid.

[imidis]

Aliexpress works for me. 90% reliable. as for the other 10%  I still save on the loss!  also it is a little slow at times. did try eBay but the US postage thing?

Can you elaborate what you mean ?

I would guess the 10% never showed up or were the wrong items.

So far and I've ordered a bit I have had one wrong item and one no show.

[BravoV]

Electronics components & misc stuffs like gadgets : Aliexpress , mostly relatively cheap stuffs and of course with "pre-set expectation", and so far 99% satisfied either on the purchased stuffs and the shipping speed. Merchant's reputation and communication in detail before pressing the pay button is crucial imo. Until now never lost my gamble on cheap electronic component transactions. 

Old T&M gears or old rare stuffs like components : Ebay (US/Canada/Eastern Europe)

Taobao ... really want to try, just can't read Chinese. 

[amspire]

I have done about 40 orders from AliExpress varying in value from a few dollars to about $270.

37 have arrived without a problem. 2 sales were cancelled with refund. One cheap order (a few cables) arrived. I cannot remember if I got my money back or not. My recent experience has been good with very helpful communication from the sellers. The sort of things I have purchased from Aliexpress includes spare parts for HTC mobile phones, USB SDR-RTL modules, stereo zoom microscope and stand (at recent 11/11 sale), fan regulator and 0₂ sensors for 2005 Mitsubishi Outlander, rf-id tags and Thandar VRE305 and VRE310 reference chips (recovered from boards).

In the last 3 months, average delivery time of items to Australia has been about 2 1/2 weeks and there have been no problems. Shipping seems faster now then it used to be.

I order more from eBay, but for many items, I now routinely check AliExpress before buying. I have never tried Taobao.

Richard