By 
AliExpress.com is a global online shopping website from China.
It is one of the biggest shopping platforms in the world with a millions of cheap products.
Aliexpress.com is a retail branch under the Alibaba group.
Alibaba was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma as a global wholesale marketplace.
What is the difference between AliExpress and Alibaba?
AliExpress allows shoppers to buy products in small quantities for their personal use compared to Alibaba which is more of wholesale quantities for business.
If you are looking to start a business and source for merchandise from China, Alibaba.com would be a good place to shop from so as to enjoy bulk discounts.
AliExpress also has a more friendly online shopping experience than Alibaba.
For example, on AliExpress you simply find the product, add to cart and pay with your card and seller ships. On Alibaba, you find the product, negotiate the terms of sale and quantities with the seller on Alibaba messaging platform, pay and then seller ships.
Shopping on AliExpress
In this guide, we will provide you with an easy step by step guide on how you can shop on AliExpress and ship to Kenya with Vitu Za Majuu.com.
1. Open an account with AliExpress
Visit www.aliexpress.com on your Google Chrome browser and click on the ‘Register‘ button to begin the process.
You will be asked to enter your email address and desired password for your AliExpress account.
Additionally, AliExpress provides other options to open an account on their website by signing up through social accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail account, Apple ID, among other options which is a good thing as it saves time (and memory as you do not have to remember many passwords for all your accounts).
Also by opening an account, items that you add to your shopping cart will be saved in your account for future access in the event you’re not buying them immediately.
2. Scroll through the product category or search product via the search box
After opening an account, the next step is to find your desired item that you want to buy.
You can do this by either browsing through the product categories on the left or typing the item/product name on the search box.
For example, if you are looking to buy a phone, you will browse through the Phones and Telecommunication category or simply search “phones” on the search box.
3. Use product filters to find your desired product match
Finding for your desired product through the product category or the search box can quickly become an overwhelming task, not to mention time consuming, as you will be presented with so many products or results.
We recommend using the product filter options to narrow down your search in order to find the best match.
You can filter by brand, price, item condition, colour or product specifications.
4. Choose your desired product
Find the product from the filtered product results that meets your desired specifications.
5. Read through the product listing description, customer reviews and seller feedback/ratings
It’s always a good idea to read through the product listing description provided by the seller to check if it meets your specifications/requirements and also to get general information about the product.
Pay attention to any special notes given by seller in the listing, if the product is new, used, package contents or any other relevant information that may be important to help you make a good decision on your purchase.
Be sure to check what other customers say about the product or their experience with the seller. A rating of 95% and above, demonstrates fairly good service by the seller.
6. Buy your desired product
If you are satisfied with the product reviews and all other relevant information provided by the seller, you can either proceed to Buy Now or Add to Cart the item.
If you have several items that you intended to buy, you can repeat steps above to continue shopping on AliExpress and add the items to your shopping cart.
7. Enter your shipping address
Once you’re ready to place your order on AliExpress.com, you will begin the checkout process where you will be required to enter your shipping address, that is, where you would like your package to delivered.
To ship to Kenya, you can either use:
- AliExpress courier services like free AliExpress standard shipping options, DHL, FedEx, EMS, UPS etc. to deliver to your Kenyan postal address or;
- Our AliExpress package forwarding service, Vitu Za Majuu.com (best option)
Our AliExpress parcel forwarding service gives you a UK address that use to ship your packages from AliExpress.com to Kenya.
Why do we recommend that you ship with us when you can have the package delivered directly to you via post?
Read on to see why delivery via post or other couriers may not be the best option.
8. Enter your payment information
AliExpress accepts several payment modes like major credit/debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Western Union, MPESA, Bank Transfer and PayPal, sometimes.
AliExpress will let you pay via MPESA or Debit/Credit card, if you are to sending your package directly to a Kenyan postal address only.
Most Kenyan issued prepaid or bank ATM debit cards from your local bank like Visa, MasterCard will work.
We have an article on the best prepaid cards that you can use to shop online on global shopping sites like AliExpress in Kenya that you can read.
AliExpress is a safe website to shop from, however, we do not recommend attaching your bank ATM Visa or MasterCard debit card instead do consider getting a prepaid Visa or MasterCard debit card or using PayPal. If you don’t have a PayPal account, learn how you can open a PayPal account in Kenya.
See the photo below on how to correctly enter your debit card details or read how you can use prepaid card or bank ATM debit card to shop online.
9. Place your order
After you enter the required shipping and payment details, you will now be ready to place your order and make payment.
10. Order confirmation and delivery from AliExpress
If your payment is successful, AliExpress.com will confirm your order through a message on the screen and follow up email to your registered email address (the email address you used to open an account with).
AliExpress will then prepare your order to ship to Kenya or our UK address if you’re using our service.
The processing time will vary with the seller. (Of importance to note, is that AliExpress has many sellers. It is a platform for Chinese sellers to sell their goods online) But most of time, orders on AliExpress are processed and posted within 7 working days.
Most sellers will also provide a tracking number for you to follow the journey of your package depending on the shipping option selected.
A notification is normally sent to your email account once shipped.
The same tracking information will also be available on your AliExpress account.
AliExpress may sometimes offer free shipping to Kenya or any address in the the world or expedited (fast shipping) via couriers like DHL or FedEx.
Delivery from AliExpress.com directly to Kenya via local post with free shipping may take between 45 days to 60 days (one and half months to two months).
11. Shipping from AliExpress to Kenya via Post or Courier (Not Recommended)
As I mentioned earlier, delivery by post or other couriers like DHL, FedEx may not be your best option. And here are the reasons why:
- Couriers like DHL or FedEx may deliver your package in 7 days or less but it will definitely be quite expensive. Small packages of less than a kilo can cost you from Kes. 3,500 ($30) upwards and not mention that the customs duties and taxes to be paid on arrival in Kenya.
- Delivery by post may sound like a good option at first since AliExpress offers free shipping most of time to Kenya but due to millions of parcels being handled by the post, it can be a slow process with likely chances of loss and not mention customs duties and taxes too.
We have customers who have shifted to using our service as they complained that it can take up to 4 months for AliExpress to deliver to their post or in some events, never receiving their packages.
From AliExpress to Kenya using Vitu Za Majuu.com delivers in under 1 month. Sometimes in as little as 2 weeks.
Read more on why we may be your best option below.
12. Shipping from AliExpress to Kenya with Vitu Za Majuu.com (Recommended).
Here are some of the reasons to use Vitu Za Majuu.com to shop and ship from AliExpress.
- We can help you buy and ship from AliExpress. If you do not know how to go about shop on AliExpress, we handle everything for you. See how it works here.
- AliExpress ships faster to UK address. From our experience, most packages from AliExpress are delivered within 7 – 10 days to the UK. This in turn helps us deliver to you faster. Shipping from the UK to Kenya with Vitu Za Majuu.com takes 1 to 2 weeks. This means that you will get your package within a month when you ship with us compared to two months if you ship directly to Kenya via post.
- We have friendly shipping rates. One of the best thing about shipping with us is that our rates are low and also inclusive of customs and taxes. That’s all you will pay to your doorstep in Kenya. No need to worry or stress about clearing with customs. We do that for you.
Final thoughts…
As I conclude, Aliexpress.com has literally millions of products available which have been categorized into the following major categories to make it easy for you to navigate the site and find the products that you love.
The categories are as follows:
Shopping on AliExpress.com can be a good experience and you get to enjoy some of the best prices on many items.
Be sure to check some of the categories that I have mentioned above that might be of interest to you.
I hope that this post has given you some insights on how can shop and ship from AliExpress to Kenya.
Have you ever shopped on AliExpress? How was your experience like? Please let us know in the comment box.
Also, please do share this post with a friend or two on WhatsApp or any social platform that you’re on, if you like it. Sharing is caring!
See our next post on how to shop on Amazon and ship to Kenya.
