Alibaba and Aliexpress are two names that are very present in the current market. China has become one of the largest exporters, with Alibaba and Aliexpress being the greatest exponents of the Chinese economy internationally . What is the difference between Alibaba and Aliexpress? We explain everything to you in this article.
The Alibaba group is one of the great engines of the Chinese economy
The Alibaba Group is a Chinese corporation that includes many affiliated companies with great popularity, some of the best known in the western world are Alibaba.com, AliExpress, Yahoo! China, UC Web. Alibaba represents one of the largest wholesale markets in the world, and best of all, you can access it from the comfort of your sofa. If you are an importer of Chinese products it is almost impossible that you have not heard this name. What many users do not know is that the company responsible for Alibaba also offers a sister site: Aliexpress.
Alibaba.com, the largest wholesaler in China
Alibaba has become one of the most important trading platforms in the world. It includes a large number of Chinese manufacturers, offering importers a way to contact and communicate with potential suppliers. Alibaba is a wholesale market , with very high minimum order requirements that can reach thousands of units, in return the price per unit is much lower.
When placing an order on Alibaba, you must contact the seller to negotiate a price , which will depend, among other factors, on the number of units you want to purchase. The advantage of this is that you have the opportunity to negotiate with the seller a modification of the product so that it best suits your needs.
Aliexpress.com, the largest retailer in China
We focus now on Aliexpress. This is the retail branch under the Alibaba umbrella. Within Aliexpress you will find the same manufacturers as within Alibaba, worse with the difference that this is a retail trade intended for end consumers .
Aliexpress works like any other online store, you add the products to the cart and proceed to the payment . You do not have the opportunity to negotiate the conditions with the seller, you simply accept what they offer you or you go elsewhere. The advantage of this system is that it is a much faster process for the common user.
Of course you can also contact the seller if you have questions about a product or the delivery process, what you will not be able to do is negotiate a price for buying a large number of items.
Aliexpress does not have any quantity requirement , you can buy a unit of a product or 100, the price of each of the units will always be the same, except in very rare occasions when discount coupons for purchase volume are offered. Aliexpress has a much more simplified user interface similar to what you will see in other stores such as Amazon.
conclusion
We can conclude that both Alibaba.com and Aliexpress.com are two sides of the same coin . Alibaba.com represents the wholesale market, while Aliexpress.com represents the retail market. Alibaba.com was founded in 1999 and since then it has been one of the main engines of the Chinese economy. The appearance of Aliexpress.com is much more recent, it was in 2010 when the Alibaba group decided to open up to retail.