‘AliExpress is
a good lesson
in patience. It
has its place for
buying items
you don’t need
immediately. It
is exciting when
things actually
do arrive.
It’s always a
surprise!’
By RIVKAH LAMBERT ADLERA screenshot from AliExpress(photo credit: ALIEXPRESS)
Sundays off. Two cars. Target and WalMart. Walkin closets. There are plenty of luxuries that Anglo olim trade for a life of purpose and meaning in Israel. Thanks to the popular website AliExpress, shopping online doesn’t have to be one of them.AliExpress is an online marketplace based in China.Tens of thousands of individual merchants sell millions of products: clothes, electronics, accessories, home goods, baby gear, auto supplies and much more – and many merchants ship free to Israel.Jerusalem resident Adam Lasky calls the site “amazing and very addictive.” He told Metro, “I once bought about 12 items off them for a total of $60. Saved myself about $150 on Israeli prices and all arrived fine and quick.” Lasky has purchased a range of items, including an ice bucket, an apple corer, a magnetic kitchen timer, earphones, cutlery, chargers, food storage items, an MP3 player and a radio.For the Israel-based online shopper willing to do a little homework, there’s plenty of support for learning one’s way around AliExpress. There are blogs such as AlixBlog that feature tutorials and other insider tips, such as how to find name-brand goods, like Vera Bradley, Nike, Lenovo and Louis Vuitton for sale on the site.There are Facebook groups, such as All You Need to Know AliExpress, where English-speaking AliExpress shoppers share pictures of their latest purchases and discuss their satisfaction with the items they’ve received.This group is heavily populated with Anglo olim.Shoshana Hurwitz of Ma’aleh Adumim is extremely active on the All You Need to Know AliExpress Facebook group. She told Metro, “I discovered AliExpress a couple of years ago, and my addiction quickly took off from there – from household things that I’d be buying anyway, such as clothes and kitchen gadgets to things I’d never find easily elsewhere, like custom drapes for my house, this site has it all – and at the convenience of your computer or mobile device! “I find it very time-consuming to go to brick-andmortar stores and comparison shop and find it frustrating to discover how much more expensive many things are in Israel compared to the selection and prices Americans can get on sites like Amazon.“AliExpress definitely can’t compare as far as the onehour shipping that Amazon has in some areas, sometimes taking months for packages to arrive, but as long as you have some savlanut [patience], there’s nothing better than being able to shop from the convenience of your home whenever you want at amazing prices.“I’ve ordered more than 300 items so far and seem to perpetually have a few packages in transit! My favorite purchases have been Purim costumes, Hanukka presents and fun shtick for my daughter’s bat mitzva – ordered way in advance, of course! Since its inception, AliExpress has quickly become an integral part of my family’s shopping habits, and we can’t remember life without it!” AliExpress Closet is a Facebook group with over 13,000 members that focuses on clothes, shoes and accessories. Other active English-speaking Facebook groups include AliExpress Home, Crafts & Gifts, AliExpress Weddings and Party, AliExpress Tweens & Teens and even an AliExpress Resale group if you bought something that didn’t quite work out for you. Some of these groups have more than 5,000 members. Many olim said that they first learned about AliExpress from a friend on Facebook who snagged a great buy.Beyond personal use, olim are using AliExpress to support businesses they run from Israel.Ateret Shmuel of Jerusalem uses AliExpress to buy most of the sewing supplies for her new business – a handmade kids’ clothing store that features clothes that transcend gender stereotyping. “If I bought here, I would never be able to make a profit,” Shmuel commented.Chanina Rosenbaum runs a cake decorating business in Ginot Shomron. She said, “I’m fairly new to ordering from AliExpress. I order things for my business, party decorations and giveaways for my daughter’s bat mitzva.” Her husband has ordered parts for his FitBit tracker, clothing items (including a leather belt for just NIS 20) and cellphone accessories.Like most AliExpress shoppers, she has multiple open orders at any given time, so Rosenbaum keeps track of her purchases in a folder of her email. When things arrive, she clicks the link to confirm that she received the order. If it doesn’t show, she contacts the seller and finds that they have been very responsive.Rosenbaum commented, “AliExpress is a good lesson in the midda [character trait] of savlanut [patience]. It has its place for buying items you don’t need immediately. It is exciting when things actually do arrive. It’s always a surprise!” Aharon Mendlowitz of Ramat Beit Shemesh uses AliExpress to drop-ship items directly to customers of his online store. He sells pug-themed accessories for lovers of that dog breed and AliExpress helps him earn “some extra pocket money” without having to hold inventory.Yael Resnick, also of Ginot Shomron, uses AliExpress to support her art business, as well as to provide for her family. She calls AliExpress “our Target away from America (with a six-week delay on instant gratification).It’s Target in the sense that you go on the site to just buy one item and leave with a cart of $75.”She started using the site after making aliya threeand- a-half years ago. Her first purchase was party favors and decorations for a daughter’s bat mitzva. In addition to supplies for her business, she buys family craft supplies, bike accessories, Hanukka presents and clothes and shoes for her children.For typical olim, AliExpress solves two problems.Especially when they first arrive, many olim have difficulty figuring out where to find things they need.What kind of store carries kitchen twist ties? Where can you find a windup clock for Shabbat? Where would you go to replace the case on your Kindle? Shopping online makes it possible to find these kinds of items from multiple vendors in one marketplace.Undoubtedly however, the greatest incentive to shopping at AliExpress is price. Veteran shoppers suggest that prices on the website are often half the price (or less) of what similar goods sell for locally. Lower prices make shopping with AliExpress popular even with native Israelis.As long as an online purchase is under $75, not including shipping, Israel does not impose any taxes.AliExpress prices are so low, this is rarely a concern. If necessary, a shopper can easily divide most AliExpress purchases to stay under the $75/order limit.One downside is that shipping, although often free or very low-cost, isn’t timely. Although some items are delivered in a matter of weeks, it’s not uncommon to wait two months or more for delivery. Aware of this, many AliExpress merchants offer shoppers a refund if an item doesn’t arrive within a pre-designated time frame, usually 45 to 60 days.Not everyone is enamored with AliExpress. Sherri Ashman of Ma’aleh Adumim refuses to shop there anymore after a bad experience with what she thought would be a custom-made bridesmaid dress that turned out to be “a Disney princess tacky costume. There are so many more reliable places to shop. Why send anyone there?” she asked incredulously. Detractors cite poor quality, excessive delivery time or a mismatch between what was expected and what was received.AliExpress has a website as well as apps for iPhone and Android. Veteran shoppers on the site encourage newbies to pay attention to seller ratings. The site has a structured system for recognizing established sellers who have been in the marketplace for a long time.Shoppers are also encouraged to leave feedback, and reading user feedback is an important part of ensuring a positive experience.AliExpress operates worldwide in multiple currencies, so olim can shop in shekels. Feedback can be translated into English and the flag of the buyer’s country appears next to their comments, making it easy to spot feedback from fellow Israelis.