As the title suggests we are comparing the main big players in the exommece space online. I’m going to highlight the pros and cons of each and what you can do to get the biggest bang for your buck online when buying anything from high end laptops to cheap cleaning supplies.
Let’s be honest, most people know what Amazon and eBay is but few are recognising the power of aliexpress, Temu and SHEIN. I call these three the triple china supplier as they are the best for buying direct from china in low quantities. If you want to buy large quantities of one item, alibaba is the best place, but for the majority of end consumers, the three aforementioned are the focus of this blog post.
Amazon is awesome, don’t get me wrong hardly anybody else can supply nearly anything you can think of next day via amazons prime delivery service, which only costs £7.99 per month for unlimited deliveries. Their warehouse distribution network along with excellent storage systems, picking robots, staff, delivery drivers with an awesome website designed originally by the computer scientist himself, Jeff bezos, it’s no wonder Amazon is the mainstay in the minds of billions of consumers around the globe.
EBay is say is a close second on the e-commerce space for local goods supplier locally with an external delivery services like dhl, dpd and Royal Mail. They are let’s say more open source as in anyone can buy and sell on there and there is no monthly subscription to be on the basic platform, unlike Amazon who needs you pay a subscription and/or ship the product to their warehouse to be fulfilled by Amazon (fba).
Of course, all this quick delivery and local European when USA commerce comes at a cost. Simple items that are shipped next day often are priced at triple quadruple the cost it is to make them and get directly from china.
Which leads me onto the big 3 Chinese export web apps, Temu being the more familiar option. Getting direct from these websites means it ships a little longer for delivery but the price is almost 75% off or more than getting the same products on Amazon and eBay.
The minimum order value on Temu is normally £8 and £15 on AliExpress, but if you plan ahead and buy a few items that you need, you’ll qualify and be quids in!
If you plan ahead on the items you need to purchase and not need them desperately next day, you’ll bag a bargain on the china websites. Preparing really does pay off.