Please can someone explain AliExpress to me?!

[MegBusset]

DS1 really wants a Minecraft wolf plush - not on sale in the UK as far as I can see. They have them on AliExpress but I've never used that site before and know nothing about it. Are they fakes?

I've never been on that site before.

But they sell them here www.lightinthebox.com/minecraft-baby-22cm-wolf-animal-plush-toy-doll_p2446580.html

I ordered Olaf plushes from them last year. They were grand, Disney Store tags sewn into them, they were the same as the ones in the Disney Store, just watch the sizes. I'm sure mine were a little smaller than advertised but tbh the kids didn't mind.

How do you pay? I've just had a look at aliexpress and everything is in $ - does it calculate it into £ and do you also pay additional tax on it? Is it all just fakes? Looks weird!

It's all knock off stuff, as far as I'm aware.
The thing I don't like about AliExpress is that you can't use PayPal. I like knowing I've got protection with PayPal. I use my credit card on AliExpress, because at least that way I'm covered by the bank.
Goods take a long time to arrive, as most are shipping from China, and there's a chance you'll get stung for import taxes.

I use a credit card too, funny enough I received a my little pony top I ordered two weeks today. I've had about 5 deliveries over the past year from them - I've had no excess charges. The Olaf plushes I ordered may have been seconds or overstock.

Thanks, think I'll steer clear, they don't seem to sell anything I want that you can't buy here and I wonder if their stuff, particularly children's things, have to have met safety standards etc.

Alipay is a part of Alibaba, a Chinese company that fills the place of eBay/ Amazon and PayPal in China.

They are ok, but I think you have less ways of redress if a problem occurs.