I was almost arrested in Toronto (I was detained in a holding area at the airport, but not in jail per se) for trying to enter illegally with a group of 3 others who had passports Fortunately, I was leading that team. We were there to visit a vendor in Etobicoke for a $5 million purchase (1990's dollars). The Customs officials wanted me to have a work permit, as it was not just a visit. I volunteered to get on the next flight back to the US. After quite a delay, they let me visit. The vendor didn't get the sale.
I have had no problems with AliExpress and have received every item ordered. However, the cheapest shipping is slow in both countries, particularly in the US. SpeedPak has been quite fast on the China side, but once it gets to the US (Pitney Bowels), it takes forever. UPS is only slightly better. With either carrier, the package waits for days either at the point of entry (Chicago or New Jersey) or in a suburb of Columbus. Regular mail between Columbus and Cleveland is fairly quick.
Digole apparently ships from Canada or China. A small item from Canada took almost as long as a shipment from China. In other words, it seems to me delays are mostly on our side of the Pacific.