All of us (or almost all of us) at one time received a “small package from China” in the mail or searched for clothes from showrooms that were cheaper from time to time in Chinese marketplaces.
For example, recently it became known, for example, that one of the retailers – Shein – has attracted a billion dollars of investment and is one of the most expensive enterprises in the world, and about six thousand new products appear on the platform every day – a figure that cannot be compared with the volumes of even the largest brands.
And if Zara, H&M or Massimo Dutti is “fast fashion” (fast fashion), then Shein and other companies that sell millions of cheap goods are considered “super fast fashion” space. Let’s talk about its representatives.
Ali Dad
For starters, you should know that AliExpress, TaoBao and Alibaba belong to the same company – Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group (for several years he was considered the richest man in China), but each of the platforms is suitable for different purposes.
Alibaba is primarily aimed at wholesalers and was created for transactions between factories and owners of large stores or chains. So, if you go to the page of any product, you will see the approximate price, the available lot for the order, the location of the seller, the payment methods set by the seller, and the contacts for contact. Everything works with parole – Alibaba has no transaction controls or guarantees, so you can easily fall for scammers.
Taobao
Auction and largest marketplace in China (online), wide range of goods, low prices and retail sales. True, there is one significant drawback – TaoBao works on the Chinese interface, so without a translator or basic grammar, finding the right product is problematic. In addition, delivery from TaoBao is carried out mainly through China – for other countries in most cases you have to look for an intermediary, which means adding a percentage (on average, taking into account the work of an intermediary, the cost) commission for delivery and payment systems, 20% up to 50%) until the final inspection.
AliExpress
AliExpress was originally conceived as TaoBao’s “little brother” for the international market, and among Alibaba Group’s other companies, it is the most suitable for retailers and buyers from other countries.
Firstly, both English and Russian interface and search languages are provided here, secondly, there is a rating system (searching for sellers becomes more reliable with it), and thirdly, there is a wide variety of payment methods. You can also see real photos of buyers in the product reviews, sales are often made on the site and the purchase is guaranteed. And this, of course, does not take into account the extremely low prices, even if it takes into account the current dollar rate.
shein
This marketplace is primarily geared towards youth and offers a wide variety of fashion clothing, as well as household items, animals, and many other categories. In general, growing from a small bridal shop, Shein has gained a reputation as one of the fastest growing companies in the world in the last few years, has managed to enter and successfully conquer the American market. At the same time, fill TikTok in Russian – videos that open from there make recommendations with enviable regularity.
At the same time, Shein focuses primarily on Western buyers (in total, goods are delivered to 220 countries), so it is not common in China, but cooperates directly with Chinese manufacturers, providing low prices. By the way, the choice of such a target audience is reflected in the appearance of the site, for example, photos designed for American and European consumers and made in the style of bloggers. According to one of the company’s employees, Shein conducts a meticulous selection of photographers, hiring just one out of hundreds of candidates. They are no less scrupulous about distribution on social networks: for example, the platform regularly collaborates with influencers and stars and even organizes concerts (online) with the participation of Saweetie and The Chainsmokers, Lil Nas X, Katy Perry, Nick Jonas and others. . But Shein was criticized no less than orders: the company is accused of polluting the environment with large production volumes and violating the working conditions of employees. The site also took hits for copying major brands, and some (Ralph Lauren, Dr. Martens, and Levi Strauss & Co.) filed lawsuits against the company, but were unsuccessful.
eBay
Its American competitor, AliExpress, has an interface partly in Russian, partly in English. This is not a store in the classical sense, but an auction where literally anything can be placed.
You have to pay commission, VAT and a fee per commodity unit to trade on the site, but this gives you access to a huge market. From the buyer’s point of view, eBay is also quite affordable: in addition to the fact that you can buy goods here for almost a penny because of the prices, there is also a large catalog of Chinese brands.
joom
The history of this Latvian trading platform is only six years. However, in the second year of its existence, in the rating of Russian companies delivering goods from China, it took the second place after AliExpress.
In terms of variety, Joom is not inferior to its competitors: here you can buy household items, clothes, shoes, electronics, suitcases, bags, watches, even jewelry and pet products. But what distinguishes the platform from its competitors is the presence of sellers not only from China, but also from Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Russia, high-quality Russification of the site and application, simplified ordering (just three clicks) and free delivery. Russia, with the fulfillment of several conditions: you need to buy Russian goods worth more than 1999 rubles.
Source: People Talk
