Shipping times in AliExpress: How long does an order take?

Remember: you can read directly on AliExpress when you will receive your order by clicking here, and the guarantees that protect you by clicking here.

Many times you ask us in the comments when your AliExpress order will arrive, if the fact that it's taking so long is normal…

We can't know for sure when your order will arrive but in these years we have gained some experience on this subject and we want to share our knowledge with you. We are going to explain which orders take the longest and how long it takes on average for an AliExpress package to arrive…

Keep reading if you wanna become an expert!

How long do AliExpress packages take to arrive?

To sum up:

• If it's coming from China, the order can take from 10 to 60 days (more info below).
• If you are in Europe and order from a seller with a warehouse in another European country, it takes from 5 to 7 days.
• If you order from a seller with a warehouse in your own country, it takes about 3 days.

These depend on a variety of reasons, as you will now see.

The first thing you need to know is that the best way to know how long an order will take to arrive is to look at the estimated delivery date.

On the product sheet itself, the seller gives us an estimate of the delivery time. It is an estimate depending on the shipping method selected, but the actual time it takes for an AliExpress package to arrive depends on several factors that we are going to explain below.

1 – Shipping method

There are many shipping methods, but we can mainly differentiate between those sent by private courier (DHL, Seur, Fedex, UPS…) and the rest. If you have purchased a product sent by private courier, your package will arrive in record time, but you may have to pay customs fees.

For other shipping methods, the time varies depending on the carrier. In general, certified shipments take much less time than ordinary shipments. To learn more about this topic we recommend you to read our guide about shipping on AliExpress.

To sum this information up, and so that you understand what is the approximate delivery time of each shipping method, we can say the following:

• Ordinary shipments (without tracking) can take from 20 to 60 days to arrive.
• Certified shipments (with tracking) can take approximately 10 to 45 days to arrive. AliExpress Standard Shipping works as a certified shipment with tracking.
• Private courier shipments can take 5 to 10 days to arrive, but the shipping cost is high and you almost always pay customs. AliExpress Premium Shipping is handled by private courier.

2 – Destination country

AliExpress ships products to almost anywhere in the world, but they will arrive much faster to those countries where there are usually many foreign orders and with a good state postal service. In general, AliExpress shipments take 3 to 4 weeks to arrive, but the protection time is 60 days, and depending on the time of year or the country of destination you may have to wait up to 60 days to receive it.

Anyway, it is best to see the time forecast offered by the seller and think that it is always possible that it may take a little longer.

For more information about delivery times, agreements between AliExpress and transport companies in your country, and much more, we have prepared some buying Guides for different countries.

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

3 – Country of origin

There are countries that have stock in warehouses located in your country, or nearby countries. These products are marked “Delivery in 3 days” or “Delivery in 7 days” and are usually made by the Cainiao Warehouse Standard Shipping method.

4 – Time of year

Your orders may take longer during busy periods, such as the famous 11.11 or Christmas. This happens because in the country of origin there is a large backlog of orders, but also on arrival in your country it is possible that it will take even longer because the postal service is also collapsed.

You also have to take into account the national holidays in China, where the whole country celebrates. For example, the Chinese New Year, which is celebrated in early February, usually takes one or two weeks, so if you buy on those dates, your orders may take longer than usual to ship or to have movement in their tracking.

How to receive your orders in record time

If we want to receive our order faster, in addition to choosing to have the order sent by private courier, which is quite expensive (not only because of shipping, also because of customs as we have already said), we have other options. AliExpress, unlike other online sales platforms, has thought of alternatives to receive your order faster.

Domestic warehouses outside China

One of the great advantages that AliExpress has over other sites is the possibility of receiving your products from a national warehouse located in your country (or close to your country). This will significantly reduce the waiting time and eliminate the possibility of possible customs surcharges.

However, you will only be able to buy with domestic shipping from sellers who have their own warehouse. If you want to find products with this type of shipping just filter your search like this.

You have more information in our shipping methods guide and in the AliExpress country guides that we have mentioned above. Not all countries have this agreement, but if there is, it is done by choosing AliExpress Standard Shipping with tracking.

Fast delivery in up to 10 days

And as we also told you in our article on shipping methods, AliExpress is opening the possibility to ship in 10 days from China. Just click on the “fast delivery” button when searching for products on this platform. You will see sellers with delivery in 3, 5, 7 or 10 days to your country, one of the best options to buy cheap and receive it faster than with private courier.

Update: sometimes this feature is not available.

Why do AliExpress orders take so long?

It is true that orders purchased in China take a long time to arrive because logistically, it is not easy to bring products from the other side of the world. However, AliExpress is getting better and better in this aspect: now, we not only have local warehouses, but also shipments from China arrive to some countries in just 10 days.

Fortunately, it is getting easier and easier to shop on AliExpress: most of us buyers receive our AliExpress orders in 2-3 weeks if we buy via certified shipping with tracking, or even sooner, if fast shipping from China or local shipping is available.

But the best advice we can give you is to make your purchases with foresight and always think of yourself in the worst situation, because even if you put an estimated delivery date on your order, it is only an estimate and may take longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are some questions that are repeated in our comments section. That's why we are going to review your most common doubts, remember that in our Guide on shipping methods in AliExpress we also answer other common questions regarding shipping.

What is “processing” on AliExpress?

As soon as we click the pay button and our payment is confirmed, the seller begins to prepare our order. This can take a few hours or several days, depending on the size of the package, if the seller has had many sales lately, or also depending on the time of the year…

This time taken by the seller is known as “Processing”.

AliExpress informs you how much time the seller asks for to prepare the order before you buy.

Anyway, even if you put 9 days, the sellers usually prepare the order in much less time, in about 2-3 days your order will be on its way to your home.

In case the seller does not send the order you will be refunded automatically by the same payment method you used. But this does not usually happen, except on rare occasions, it is normal that once they have it ready, we will receive a notification that the package has been sent. That is when the shipping time starts to count.

If you want to know more about the refund process, keep reading our AliExpress disputes guide where we explain you step by step how to follow the status of your refund.

I want to know the status of my AliExpress order

If you are interested in knowing where your order is going or you want to know what that message that just appeared on your tracking number means and you don't understand, in our guide to track your AliExpress orders we explain how to track your orders and what the messages that appear mean.

Is it normal for my AliExpress order to take so many days in transit?

The tracking of your order goes through several states, and sometimes it may not update as often as it should. We recommend to be patient and also check your tracking on external sites such as 17track.net to see if there are more messages. In case many days go by without movement, the first step is to contact the seller.

I have placed several orders on AliExpress on the same day, will they all arrive together?

Until now, if you paid for products from different sellers at the same time, each one was shipped separately. However, for some time now, AliExpress Combined Shipping has been available, and has two great advantages:

• You only have to worry about a single delivery.
• Combined shipping is a priority and arrives much faster!

My AliExpress order is taking too long, can I cancel the order?

Orders can only be cancelled if the seller has not yet shipped the package. While the payment is being verified (first minutes / hours of the order), you can cancel it directly, while from the time the payment is verified until it is shipped, the cancellation needs the seller's acceptance.

If you want more information we recommend you to read our article how to cancel an AliExpress order.

My order appears as “Closed”, what do I do?

Main article: Closed order on AliExpress

There are several reasons why your order may appear as “Closed”: you have not paid on time, the seller has cancelled it, you have used a welcome coupon twice…

In the main article you have all the details of each case.

Why do AliExpress orders take so long?

Orders purchased in China take a long time to arrive because logistically, it is not easy to bring products from the other side of the world. However, AliExpress is getting better and better in this aspect: now, we not only have local warehouses, but also shipments from China arrive to some countries in just 10 days.

Does AliExpress ship to my country? How long does it take for my order to arrive?

This platform ships to almost every country in the world. So the best thing to do is to select in the top right corner the country where you are, the language and the currency. This way, you will be able to see products arriving in your country. Keep in mind that each country has its own customs regulations, although in most countries we will skip customs if we make fairly small and light orders, but it is better to check the regulations before and start making small purchases.

Do AliExpress orders arrive at home?

Yes, orders will arrive at your home, unless you order it from an AliExpress pickup point.

What happens if no one is at home?

Delivery depends on the shipping company handling the order in your country. In general, orders are delivered within the usual post office hours, but it is best to call them and ask what time they deliver. If you are not at home, they will probably leave a notice. If someone is at home, they can sign for your order.

Will AliExpress notify me when my order is being delivered?

No, AliExpress will not notify you of tracking status changes, but as it is something that affects the protection of your money, it is important that you check your orders from time to time. There are applications that allow you to add tracking numbers and easily review status changes.