Reliable Chinese Ecommerce Sites

China is known as the manufacturing hub of the world, so naturally, everyone is buying products from them. Be it electronics, fashion, cosmetics or even a fully assembled car, China exports all! Moreover, the products are very cheap and often have massive discounts.

China’s e-commerce sales make up 3.2% of the country’s GDP, which is more than the US even though it is generally termed as a 'consumer economy'. Online stores in China also have a wider range of products and have several unique products that are not available in America or Europe.

What are the risks of buying from a Chinese site?

China has a fairly closed economy and the trade practices & standards are very much different from the rest of the world. Nearly 44% of global e-commerce is owned by just four Chinese companies. The problem is China is also a leader in selling unsafe products, according to European Commission data. If that is not enough warning, China has the largest number of hackers in the world.

We have already written about shopping using online marketplaces which could provide an insight into the general risks. Here we list some other specific risks of shopping from Chinese e-commerce sites.

Manufacturers may not have the skill to make a quality product or lack the infrastructure to maintain international standards
More than often the focus is on profit instead of quality
Chinese suppliers may be non-existent, or the e-commerce site could be a fake
Products take weeks to get delivered as they come from overseas and could face issues at customs clearance

Safety measures to take when shopping on Chinese sites

There are few safety nets for online shoppers using online stores. We have listed some general rules to identify a fraud online shop. For Chinese sites, a consumer should take some extra caution due to the large number of sellers and few means to verify them.

Cheap online prices may not reflect the shipping and customs costs
Be wary of offers that are too good to be true
Research into the product you want to buy, and check if its legal to be imported into your country
Always check the reviews of the product as well as the seller before placing an order
Avoid new or unknown e-commerce sites as Chinese sites are, unfortunately, notorious for defrauding customers

Check your rights to return a product

Can you return every product (not just “most)?
Can you return the product for any reason (not just when it is broken or they made the error)?
Do they pay the return shipping costs?

We have also written about some of the most common mistakes consumers make when ordering stuff off Chinese e-commerce sites.