Definite Guide on Shipping Methods in AliExpress

You can see the guarantees, methods, and delivery times directly on AliExpress by clicking here.

Most of the questions you leave on the blog are usually related to the delivery of orders placed on AliExpress. Therefore, in this article, we are going to explain everything you need to know about shipping and answer your most frequently asked questions. Sending an order is a very important part of the purchasing process on this platform and we know that you have a lot of questions, so we will try to answer them all.

AliExpress purchasing process and shipping details

Before we start talking about shipping methods, we want to make an observation. Many of you may not know how the purchase process works at AliExpress. There are different methods to send an order from China to your country, each one has different delivery times and characteristics. Shipping is handled by the seller and in the ad itself, you can see what type of shipping you are going to use (although if you are not paying for shipping, the most common is for the seller to use the shipping method that suits you best) and the approximate delivery time to your country.

In addition, if you have added products from different sellers to the basket, they will arrive in separate packages even if you pay for everything together, since each seller is in a different part of the country and will ship independently to the rest. The only way to receive several products together is to buy them all from the same seller. If you want a seller to ship in separate packages, the best thing to do is to buy in twice, leaving a few days' difference between purchases.

The protection time is 60 days, i.e. it can take up to 60 days for the shipment to arrive, although it usually takes much less time (depending on the country). For example, the average time of reception to Spain from China is three weeks. In times of many shipments (such as Christmas), the courier services are very busy and it is possible that orders take longer to arrive.

Stores with the best shipping scores in AliExpress

If you are looking for a product or brand and do not know which seller to go to, we have prepared a table with some of the stores with the highest scores when it comes to shipping times.

Does AliExpress have free shipping?

Most products have free or very cheap shipping. Although there are certain products that now incorporate shipping costs, and the reason for this is simply that many of these products previously had regular (untraceable) shipping, and because they could not be traced, the buyer could open a dispute by saying that the order had not arrived (even if it had, or even if it arrived a little later). That's why many sellers have decided to incorporate a small surcharge for shipping costs and thus send it registered to avoid fraud.

For both free and paid shipments, customs costs are always paid by the buyer. We explain what they are and how to avoid them in our guide on customs at AliExpress. If we want to receive our order faster by private courier (DHL, SEUR, FedEx, UPS …), in addition to paying an extra for shipping, we must take into account possible customs costs, as it is the courier company itself that makes the management and almost always have to pay something. Certified and ordinary shipments are less likely to be stopped and almost never pay customs.

What types of shipping does AliExpress offer?

The shipment is not made directly by AliExpress, but the seller receives our order and sends it. Although there are some agreements between AliExpress and some courier companies to take less time. But in the end, the platform only manages the purchase and the seller is the one who must respond to shipping problems. There are thousands of shipping companies that the seller can use, but we can differentiate between 3 types of shipping.

1- Ordinary shipments

These are shipments used for small or inexpensive products (packages that fit into a small padded envelope, the product usually costs less than $5). The main characteristic of these shipments is that they are not traceable, that is, we will not be able to see where our order is going nor will a notice appear in the tracking on the day it is delivered. The usual thing with this type of package is that the letter carrier leaves it in our mailbox, and no signature is required to pick it up. In many countries, this type of delivery is known to be slower.

We can identify ordinary shipments because they are untracked, free, or very cheap and have a longer delivery time. They can be called Cainiao Expedited Economy, China Post Economy, Seller's Shipping Method…

2- Certified shipments

This is the most common delivery for most AliExpress products. This type of shipment can be tracked online, and we can identify it because the tracking usually has a combination of letters and numbers (for example, begins with R and ends in CN). The package will arrive at us by the postal company of our country (the same one that delivers us the letters), but in this case, when they bring it to us to our house they will ask for a signature. If we are not at home they will leave us a notice to go and pick it up at the post office.

We can identify certified mail because they are tracked, they are economical and they have a relatively short delivery time. They can be called AliExpress Standard Shipping, AliExpress Saver Shipping, China Post Air Mail, Singapore Post…

3- Shipments through private courier

These are the most frequent shipments for very large or heavy orders (vacuuming robots, bicycles, machinery, household appliances…). The most outstanding characteristic is that it is a very fast shipment, in a few days we will receive our order, and it is a very safe shipment. However, we recommend you to avoid this shipment because even though it is faster, it usually has a customs surcharge.

We can identify private courier shipments because they are tracked, they are expensive and they have a very short delivery time. They can be called AliExpress Premium Shipping, EMS, e-EMS, DHL, FedEx, UPS…

What is the fastest delivery of AliExpress and how long does it take?

The million-dollar question, since we all want to receive our order in the shortest time possible. The fastest way to ship AliExpress is through a national warehouse compatible with your country as we will explain below. But if you don't have that option, of the three shipping methods we just talked about, shipments with private courier are the fastest, although they are expensive and we will surely pay customs. Certified shipping with tracking is a cheaper option and it arrives faster every time. Finally, ordinary shipping tends to be slower. In our article How long does an AliExpress order take? we give you more information about delivery times.

How to trace our tracking number

In the details of the order, you will find the tracking number of the package and you will also be shown the states through which it passes. However, it is very common that the tracking is not updated so frequently, so we recommend you copy that number and look at it on external pages such as 17track.net, as it makes a more complete tracking than on any other page.

In addition, there are also multiple applications for your smartphone that allow you to put tracking numbers and see where your packages are going. You can find more information in our guide to tracking your AliExpress orders.

Which company sent my package? Is it certified or ordinary?

Although new shipping methods are appearing every day, most sellers bet on the same shipping companies and that is why we are going to summarize the most common ones, according to the tracking number, all of them are certified and we can track them to see where they are.

• It starts in R and ends in CN: Sent by China Post.
• Ends in HK: Sent by Hong Kong Post.
• Ends in SG: Sent by Singapore Post.
• Ends in NL: Netherland Post.
• Starts with PQ: Sent by post, we will receive an e-mail or sms when it arrives in Spain and it will be delivered within 48 hours.

In the case of ordinary shipments (those that cannot be tracked) there are many more companies, but some of the ones we have encountered are these:

• Starts in LP: Sent by Post Economy (it can't be traced but we will receive an email when it reaches our country).
• Starts with WD: Sent by Wedo.
• Starts with PP: Sent by PayPal package.
• Starts with YC: Sent by Yanwen.
• Starts with WS: Sent by Ws-shipping
• Starts with YD: Sent by Special line YW.
• Starts with SY: Sent by SunYou.
• All Numbers: Sent by China Post Ordinary.

Fast shipping on AliExpress from China

If you need the product with maximum urgency, AliExpress has invented new formulas to improve shipments and receive them in the shortest time possible, in some cases we will also avoid paying customs. It is a matter of buying from stores that have warehouses in Europe or America or finding sellers who use fast shipping methods thanks to an AliExpress agreement with a shipping company. There are several ways to find these types of sellers.

Urgent shipments in AliExpress in less than 10 days

In addition, we have found that after a series of agreements between AliExpress and certain couriers, we can get our shipments faster with shipping from China. Just filter your search with the “Fast Delivery” button, it will show you sellers compatible with our country with faster delivery options.

Shipping from China or the United States on AliExpress

Currently, there are also many sellers who have warehouses in the United States. That's why you often ask us if it's worth buying from China or the United States. Well, the first thing we have to do is click on the US warehouse and see if our country is compatible with shipping from America since in most cases you can only buy from the country itself.

If you are allowed to order from the United States, you must take into account that many times packages coming from China have less control than those coming from other countries, so the risk of customs may be higher. If you want to order from a U.S. locker, keep in mind that the cost of the locker and shipping to your country may be higher than receiving it directly from China.

We answer your most frequently asked questions

We have already answered many of your doubts throughout the article, but there are also recurring doubts that we have not been able to cover. The most common are these that we answer below.

Can I buy something and have it shipped to a different country than where I live?

Yes, you will only have to change the configuration of the page and put the country to which the order has to be sent, so you will only get products from sellers that can send to that country.

Can I change the shipping address?

If you have already paid for your order but you noticed that the shipping address is wrong, the best thing to do is to contact the seller as soon as possible and explain the situation, in addition to sending the correct address. Another option is to cancel the order and place it again. If the seller has already sent the order, you will not be able to do anything about it.

Do they do cash on delivery?

Another one of your most frequently asked questions, especially by those of you who are starting to buy from AliExpress and are afraid of not receiving your order. AliExpress does not offer this type of service, but your money is totally safe since the seller does not receive the money until you have confirmed that the order has arrived safely. We explain more in our Guide to Avoiding Scams at AliExpress.

Who delivers AliExpress orders?

If you have chosen an ordinary or cheap shipping method (such as AliExpress Standard Shipping and other types of shipping through China Post) your orders will arrive by the state postal company, which is usually the one that delivers the letters and other packages. But if you have paid to send it through a private courier such as DHL, FedEx, UPS… This courier company will deliver your order.

Do the orders arrive at my home? What happens if I am not there when they are delivered?

Whether by post or by private courier, the packages will arrive at the address you have indicated when sending. The most common way is to indicate your home or work address, where you can be located to deliver the package. If they have tried to deliver the order but you were not at home, they usually leave a notice in your mailbox, but if you see something related to this in your tracking, do not hesitate and contact the post office.

Will I be notified before the package is delivered?

The most common thing is that nobody warns you before making the delivery, so it is important to track your orders to see where they go, if they move, or if it is within the protection period… Although in some shipments made by private courier, you may receive some kind of SMS when the order is delivered, it is not usual for the rest of the shipments.

The order appears as delivered but I haven't received anything

If you see a message appearing in the tracking of your order that it has been delivered, we recommend that you contact the post office for more information. If they tell us that the order was not in our name, we will have to contact the seller and ask for explanations. We can then open a dispute. To prove that it was not delivered to you, there are pages like trackitonline.ru or AfterShip that can show the city and zip code where it was delivered, a screenshot will suffice as proof.

I get a “shipping cancelled” message in the tracking

Sometimes when tracking an order, we see a message that says “shipment cancelled” or “cancelled”. It means that there is a problem with the shipment, it is best to contact the seller to talk to the shipping agency. We explain more in our article Cancelled Order at AliExpress, to know when it happens and what the consequences are.

I have problems with shipping, what can I do?

If none of our advice has been helpful to you and you are still having problems with your shipments, it is best to contact the seller, explaining our problem in detail so that they can help us. If you still do not get the help you need in this section of AliExpress you can contact the platform through a chat or a form. Remember that to claim your money you must open a dispute, in our Guide to claims, disputes and returns of AliExpress have more information.

AliExpress charges me several shipping costs from the same store, can I do anything?

The cost of shipping is calculated individually for each package. If you are going to order many products from the same seller, the seller may have already set up the store so that shipping will change when you reach a minimum amount. But if this is not the case and you want to ask for a discount on shipping, it's best to contact them and tell them that you are going to place a large order in his or her store. Many sellers will offer to adjust the purchase price. They will ask you to leave the order pending, change the price and then you can pay.

If you want to leave a pending order, you have to follow the usual shopping process but choose a payment method that needs a second verification such as Webmoney. When you go to the next page you will be asked for Webmoney data, close the page and when you return to the list of your AliExpress orders you will see that it is pending payment. Notify the seller to change the price. When he has done so, you can pay again, choosing the payment method that suits you best.

Methods of shipping to other countries in AliExpress

If you read us from other English speaking countries, we have help guides with specific tips to buy from your country. We recommend that you go through them to get more information on how long they take and what are the best shipping methods for your country.

• How to Buy from Canada on AliExpress
• How to Buy from the United Arab Emirates on AliExpress
• How to buy on AliExpress from India
• How to buy on AliExpress from Australia
• How to Buy from France on AliExpress
• How to buy on AliExpress from the United Kingdom
• How to buy on AliExpress from the United States
• How to buy on AliExpress from Germany
• How to buy on AliExpress from Portugal

Our opinion about AliExpress shipments

The truth is that since we started the blog we have seen a great evolution in terms of AliExpress shipments: there is a great effort behind those responsible for the page in trying to improve delivery times, offering less waiting and better conditions. Considering that most of the shipments are free and the prices of its products, AliExpress is unrivaled, especially with the new national shipping services that significantly reduce waiting times.

Finally, remember that in our blog we have a section with tutorials where you can find articles as interesting as our Ultimate Guide to AliExpress, a highly recommended reading if you're starting to buy in this famous Chinese online shopping platform.

What about you? What is the shipping method that you like best? We would love to know your opinion, so do not hesitate and leave us a comment below with your shopping experience.

Go to AliExpress.