Buy from Chinese sites, Aliexpress, Banggood, Gearbest, LightInTheBox etc

The Christmas and New Year holidays are approaching, with them, the inevitable expenses for gifts. This year, again, is likely to be the year of gadgets of all kinds and more particularly mini-drones, tablets, electric scooters, smartphones... But most of the time, they are cheaper from Chinese merchants. How do I order on Chinese merchant sites?

Buying from Chinese merchants could be summarized in these few rules below:

Patient (in deliveries)
Protection (pay by PayPal, and take the proposed insurances)
Low prices (customs watch, but not too much for individuals)
Difficult return and at your expense (PayPal contributes up to 30 €)


Playing with currencies may be a good idea, buying in Dollars, Euros, it's up to you. Most sites display prices in the major currencies. but be aware that everything is converted into US Dollars. If you buy in Dollars, make sure your bank does not charge you a "conversion fee". Having a PayPal account in Dollars can be a great idea.


There are a few things to know. Prices are displayed most of the time excluding tax. Some sites inform you that with certain delivery methods you will have to pay customs duties (roughly VAT). Thus, if you go through a D.H.L., U.P.S., the VAT fees will be automatically added to your account.

If you want to avoid costs, which is illegal. It will not really be expected to be delivered within 7 days. By choosing China Post (or other), you are more likely to avoid customs. On the other hand, the delivery time is between 15 and 35 days. For a while, we received the parcels by registered mail to pick up at La Poste.

If the property you want to buy in China is expensive, do not hesitate to contact the seller and ask him to write on the label some cheap things (cable, battery, etc.). Some sites do this automatically (which is of course illegal).
Be careful, if you get caught, it's too bad for you (I don't recommend this trick). 

If possible, pay with services such as PayPal that offer guarantees. Aliexpress has its own payment services. They are very effective. For the anecdote, in order to repair a Samsung Galaxy S7  that I screwed up when I wanted to change the glass, I ordered a touchscreen glass assembly. The seller was unreliable. This indelicate seller was detected by Aliexpress. I was reimbursed without any intervention on my part.

The super mega promotions

The Chinese are celebrating their birthdays as they should. Other dates are to be remembered for the mega promotions. 11.11 (November 11) is Chinese Black Friday, Chinese New Year, Fall Autumn (October 1 to October 5), Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, national holidays of some countries (local offer). The newsletters also offer great promotions.

Some e-commerce sites:

https://aliexpress.com [China] it is the Chinese Amazon, very efficient and serious
http://www.gearbest.com/ (very good, widely tested by us, they have depots in Europe, USA, and Russia)
https://www.banggood.com Very good for R/C and electronics, more than 11 years of experience (Deposits in the US and Europe)
https://www.geekbuying.com <-- cheap gadgets
https://tinydeal.com (directly from China, my first order, I placed it on this site)
https://lightinthebox.com - DealExtreme (Tested no worries)
https://www.miniinthebox.com <-- direct from the factory (3 orders)