Anyone buy from AliExpress?

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm tempted by cheap colorful fountain pens. Is this a relatively safe site to buy from? Is it difficult to navigate, what sort of buyer protection is there, so forth.

Can anyone with experience weigh in? Thanks.

[Stands on Feet]

I've bought cheap pens from them in three separate transactions and had no problems whatsoever. The pens took a few weeks to arrive, and the shipper supplied a tracking number. The prices are amazing. I'd use them again.

They claim to have a buyer protection plan, but I never needed to use it. There's a search field that will return, for instance, all the Jin Hao pens for sale on the site. Finding stuff hasn't been a problem.

[mizgeorge]

Provided you use Paypal (or similar) you're protected. I buy from them pretty regularly for all sorts of things and have never had a problem. Things can take a long time to arrive, but that's just the way it is right now. Inks have got a lot more expensive recently because shipping costs have been added, but pens can still be very cheap indeed.

[scrivelry]

I have never ordered from them and am probably having trouble actually finding all the pens they have, and perhaps it is my inability to search well that leads me to think that a lot of the pens are pretty much the same price as on ebay.

Certainly not all. Maybe I am only finding the expensive ones...

[Sailor Kenshin]

I was interested in the Jinhao Safari-like pens with those 'Easter Egg' colors. But you apparently can only order one, when I wanted all three. It's very confusing, since they also had other colors I wanted to try.

[scrivelry]

I was interested in the Jinhao Safari-like pens with those 'Easter Egg' colors. But you apparently can only order one, when I wanted all three. It's very confusing, since they also had other colors I wanted to try.

Ah - do you mean the pale ones, or the very bright ones?

I got 12 Jinhao 599A's off ebay a month or so ago - 18.98 with free shipping. They were pretty much all bright colors - Black, White, Red,Dark Blue, Turquoise Blue, Pink, neon Pink, Orange, Yellow, two colors of Green - rather than that third Green pen, they gave me an Off-White one. My math is a little sketchy at the best of times, but that seemed like 1.50 a pen, total, and they came with the converters, so I felt I got a good deal.

I actually needed a bunch of black ones, which I use for sketching, and probably should have bought one of the sets of black with the different italic nibs and just switched nibs around till I got what I wanted, but this may give me an excuse to buy another set of 12 in all the colors...

I have tried to match all the pens with ink colors I have and I have come pretty close - no beige-ish or white ink, so the white pen has black in it, and the other is empty. The lighter colors required, in some cases, that I spread the tines just a titch to get enough ink on the paper to read easily... I know, why do I do this to myself???

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I've ordered things before - to be sent to New Zealand - never had any problems, always used PayPal. Currently waiting on a large Chinese painting (a print of course).

[Sailor Kenshin]

I was interested in the Jinhao Safari-like pens with those 'Easter Egg' colors. But you apparently can only order one, when I wanted all three. It's very confusing, since they also had other colors I wanted to try.

Ah - do you mean the pale ones, or the very bright ones?

I got 12 Jinhao 599A's off ebay a month or so ago - 18.98 with free shipping. They were pretty much all bright colors - Black, White, Red,Dark Blue, Turquoise Blue, Pink, neon Pink, Orange, Yellow, two colors of Green - rather than that third Green pen, they gave me an Off-White one. My math is a little sketchy at the best of times, but that seemed like 1.50 a pen, total, and they came with the converters, so I felt I got a good deal.

I actually needed a bunch of black ones, which I use for sketching, and probably should have bought one of the sets of black with the different italic nibs and just switched nibs around till I got what I wanted, but this may give me an excuse to buy another set of 12 in all the colors...

I have tried to match all the pens with ink colors I have and I have come pretty close - no beige-ish or white ink, so the white pen has black in it, and the other is empty. The lighter colors required, in some cases, that I spread the tines just a titch to get enough ink on the paper to read easily... I know, why do I do this to myself???

The pale ones. And it turned sour.

We were going to order about a half-dozen of the pens, some brights included. Nope. Would only allow us to order one. And we got an email to kindly let us know our account was 'locked.'

No idea what we did wrong. The amount was not great but we wanted to delete the account altogether. Can't even do that.

Never again. Fleabay or Amazon from now on.

[Chrissy]

I went to the website and randomly looked at Pilot Iroshizuku inks today. The prices for a 50ml bottle ranged from $30 to much higher. I can get them here in the UK for not too much more, much quicker, and without any risk of additional fees being added. To be honest I would rather just go ahead and do that.

[Yazeh]

Since when Aliexpress accepts paypal?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Since when Aliexpress accepts paypal?

I'm not sure, but they do now.

[Yazeh]

Since when Aliexpress accepts paypal?

I'm not sure, but they do now.

That's an improvement. Before we had to pay with credit card, which I didn't feel comfortable with.

[Wahl]

I have bought leather pen cases from AliExpress, fast delivery, paid with CC, no problems whatsoever.

Also bought some of the hard to find batteries.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Since when Aliexpress accepts paypal?

I'm not sure, but they do now.

That's an improvement. Before we had to pay with credit card, which I didn't feel comfortable with.

Yeah, neither would we.

[scrivelry]

Since when Aliexpress accepts paypal?

I'm not sure, but they do now.

That's an improvement. Before we had to pay with credit card, which I didn't feel comfortable with.

Yeah, neither would we.

I find the whole site a little difficult to understand, maybe it is just my not being familiar with it, but I am not finding explanations. Though I am very tempted by their "New User" discounts - some have a shipping fee, some don't. I am waiting until I feel like spending some money on postage and then I am going to go in and get all the one cent things I want at once, because I am pretty sure it will only work one time...

[Sailor Kenshin]

We just got a message from AliExpress. It was in Chinese.

[Yazeh]

We just got a message from AliExpress. It was in Chinese.

If you have gmail, they have a translation app incorporate otherwise put the message in google translate (https://translate.google.com)

[david-p]

I have bought things from Ali Express when there is no alternative. They have delivered goods as advertised -- e v e n t u a l l y. Unlike Ebay, their shipping charges are modest, which explains this; but I actually would be happy to pay more to receive goods before I have forgotten that I ordered them!

David

[Sailor Kenshin]

We just got a message from AliExpress. It was in Chinese.

If you have gmail, they have a translation app incorporate otherwise put the message in google translate (https://translate.google.com)

I don't. There is no way to know what was said.

Now, I've read junglejim's Montblanc horror story, which never should have happened. This little Ali snafu cannot compare in scope.

No vendor should make it hard for a buyer to, you know, BUY. And no vendor should make after-purchase service a problem. Much less a brand like MB.

I had the money, AE had pens in colors I wanted, and I would have paid for a half-dozen. Maybe more. They wouldn't let me.

Paypal will probably get our paltry sum back, and I will never again so much as look at Ali Express.

[Chrissy]

SK There are several decent translating programs but I've found Google Translate (http://translate.google.com) far easier and better than most. Any language is instantly translated into decent english. :)

[ethernautrix]

DeepL is one that I use to compare with Google Translate's Polish. https://www.deepl.com/translator

I'd give DeepL a try.

Of course, I read that you're over Ali, but if you're interested in the email's text after all....



P.S. I have not tried using AliExpress, so no opinion there.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Google worked. It read something along the lines of, 'suspicious Payment method caused account lockdown. Money returned within 30 days.'

(Too bad we have to wait a month to close the account.)

We used Paypal, fer pity's sake. And the 'letter' only arrived after we opened the PP dispute. AliExpress, blacklisted for eternity and then some.

[Chrissy]

Google worked. It read something along the lines of, 'suspicious Payment method caused account lockdown. Money returned within 30 days.'

(Too bad we have to wait a month to close the account.)

We used Paypal, fer pity's sake. And the 'letter' only arrived after we opened the PP dispute. AliExpress, blacklisted for eternity and then some.
That does sound odd. :(

[kelly41]

I've used aliexpress for years and probably placed over 100 orders with them and never had an issue, occasionally something hasn't arrived or arrived damaged but I've always been refunded promptly. Im currently waiting on several orders and just this morning I had a large parcel with a nintendo switch double carry case arrive sooner than expected

[Obi-Wan Penobi]

I've had my AliExpress account for almost 5 years and have placed more than 300 orders with them (not all pens). Sometimes orders arrive within 10 days, sometimes they take a month, but it's rare that things go wrong, and when they do, AliExpress has always had my back. Always. They're very good at protecting their customers, in my opinion and experience, much better than eBay.

AliExpress use a dispute system, so you don't even need to file a claim with PayPal or your bank. I had a look at my dispute list. Over the last 5 years, I've filed these disputes:

- item arrived in working order but in the wrong color: 5 times. All refunded within a day, in three cases within the hour. (The last two were a fountain pen and an ink. Of course they work and I still use them. Freebies! )
- Items didn't arrive: twice. Both refunded within a day.
- Items arrived broken: 3 times. All refunded within a day.

And then there were two items that didn't arrive but where the seller warned me that something had gone wrong and I got refunded without even asking.

[Chrissy]

Well all SK tried to do was to buy something and pay for it using PayPal. From that it doesn't look like he did much wrong, but his order has apparently failed at the seller end. I would be just as frustrated as he is. :noidea:

[TFarnon]

No problems with my two AliExpress orders. Both were for inexpensive fountain pens not available in the US, both arrived within a reasonable period of time, both orders were intact, no damage or crushing. The only problem I had was figuring out how things work on their website in the first place. I still think the website is a little clumsy, but not clumsy enough to keep me from checking from time to time.

[Sailor Kenshin]

It's almost over. We were refunded, now it just has to clear and we can kill the account and never buy from them again.

To soothe my ruffled feathers, I bought another Pilot Prera off Amazon.

[manolo]

I have bought from Aliexpress some times, from Spain. Always with good result. Delivery times can get a bit long, but I expected that, so no problem. In pens, I have bought Jinhaos, Delikes and Moonmans. All have been very satisfying considering their price, although for me the limitation is the lack of B nibs, stubs, obliques, which I prefer over F and EF. Prices were cheaper than ebay (slightly) or amazon (considerably).

Some months ago news spread about taxes increases, custom fees being more restrictive, etc. and I haven't bought since then. I don't know what is the current situation right now.

[VertOlive]

I try not to buy from vendors that have:

1. Difficult communication
2. Confusing web sites
3. 10,000 mile journey to return the item

All of those red flags, when I’ve ignored them, have resulted in losses or disappointment for me. Now I prefer to let a US-based eBay seller take those risks and sell the item to me for a bit more.

[Chrissy]

I try not to buy from vendors that have:

1. Difficult communication
2. Confusing web sites
3. 10,000 mile journey to return the item

All of those red flags, when I’ve ignored them, have resulted in losses or disappointment for me. Now I prefer to let a US-based eBay seller take those risks and sell the item to me for a bit more.
Exactly. :)

[Sailor Kenshin]

And I just bought a similar Safari-like pen off the 'bay. It had a stated delivery date of anywhere from the end of November to the beginning of December. I got it two days ago. 🎉