The art of shopping smarter with AliExpress from Nepal

So you found just the right item on AliExpress and want to get it delivered soon to your address in Nepal but there’s a small “but” hindering you possibly?

Don’t stress about this anymore!
Yes, you don’t need to worry about how to buy goods from AliExpress in Nepal anymore.
I have developed this precise blog post just for you! Based on my experience of buying items from AliExpress while I was in Nepal, this ultimate guide has every answer for the questions you have got.

And in case you didn’t find the right information you were looking for, as always you can leave it in the comment section and I assure you – I will respond instantly. šŸ™‚


Quick tour

Let me give a quick aerial tour of what is in this blog.
We will start by differentiating and finding similarities between AliExpress and Alibaba and deciding which can be the right fit for you. Then we will navigate onwards to learn how to make payment to AliExpress from Nepal.

You will be surprised to find that I’ve also included how to do smart shopping in AliExpress. I will share with you what exactly you need to get the right product from the right buyer with the right shipping method.

And in the latter part, we will talk a little bit about how to get your order from AliExpress successfully delivered to your right address in Nepal. Here, I’ll share some tricks to get it right. šŸ˜‰

The final part is all about dealing with long wait times, lost or undelivered packages, returns, refunds and being a satisfied yet smart customer on AliExpress.

AliExpress vs Alibaba

Both AliExpress and Alibaba are two different e-commerce platforms that are subsidiaries of Chinese business Alibaba Group founded by Jack Ma in Hangzhou, China in 1999.

Alibaba.com is a B2B marketplace whose primary buyers/ customers are businesses and the sellers are manufacturers, wholesalers, trading companies and exporters.

Aliexpress.com is a B2C marketplace for buyers who are individual customers or resellers and the sellers are retailers.

Unless you are buying for your registered business then aliexpress.com is the website you will be browsing.

Please read this official article from the Alibaba group to know more.

How to make a payment to AliExpress from Nepal

AliExpress accepts multiple payment options and you can choose the best suiting for you. Except for cash on delivery, it accepts all major payment mechanisms.

  • credit card payment
    If you have got a credit/ debit card that is accepted in international transaction, you can use it to buy your desired products from AliExpress. If you haven’t still got one, you can visit your nearest A class bank to get a card with balance upto 500USD.
    You can also use cards from Payoneer and virtual cards.




  • payment by PayPal
    One of the popular payment platform – PayPal can be used to make a payment for AliExpress transactions. You can simply login or connect your PayPal account to your AliExpress account and it will be instant.

  • WebMoney
    You can also use WebMoney on AliExpress. Make sure you select the WebMoney tab while adding payment options.

  • Western Union
    While sending money outside mightn’t be easy, AliExpress also accepts Western Union payment for the products. This process might take a while as other payment methods are instant. It is always wiser to consult with your nearest Western Union agent if you can pay money to AliExpress. Check this guide on How You Can Send Money From Nepal to Abroad Legally

AliExpress better shopping guide

After you have got your payment options available, it is time to head over to AliExpress and order your desired item. Here below I will take you through the overall process of how to find the right product from the right buyer.

Account setup

First and foremost, if you haven’t got an AliExpress account already, just head over to aliexpress.com and sign up for an account. You can use your social logins to register or an email.

Once logged in, head over to your account and update all the necessary details like name, contact addresses, shipping addresses and payment options in your wallet. You can also add or change shipping addresses and payment modes while checking out.

Finding the right product

After your account is ready, it is time to browse and shop.

  • Search for the item you want to buy or browse through the recommendations provided by AliExpress.
  • when you are on the result page, look for the image and title of the items to make sure the results are what you are looking for
  • to choose the right product among multiple choices, use the sort by button to sort products by price, number of orders, best matched or newest
  • if you have specific price range in mind you can filter the products by price ranges too
  • I generally prefer to select Free Shipping checkbox while finding product
  • once free shipping is selected I sort the products by number of orders to see the best selling and also sort by price to find the right fit
  • by this time, it will give you some general idea on which product might be the right for you
  • if you are satisfied with the price mentioned, open up the product page and look for the description
  • browse among different available colors, make and models

Making sure you are buying from reputed seller

I always like to check the reputation of sellers before buying a certain product. I do this to make sure I am buying products from a reputed seller.

You can find the name and reputation score of sellers just under the image and above the description on the product page. You’ll be able to see the positive score in percentage.

If you click the seller name you’ll be taken to the seller’s profile where you can check the ratings, reviews and feedbacks provided by other buyers who have purchased products from this seller before.



Choosing the right shipping method

One last thing to consider before clicking that Buy Now button is to make sure you are choosing the right shipping method.

Most of the sellers provide multiple shipping methods. Some even providing shipping from multiple countries. You have to choose the right country as different shipping sources have different shipping costs. I prefer to ship from China wherever possible.

When clicked on the shipping dropdown, you will be able to see the different shipping methods. Here you can see the estimated delivery time, shipping costs, tracking possibilities and courier’s name.

I always tend to go with the free shipping method. If a free shipping method isn’t available I will go for the cheapest shipping method. Let me tell you that AliExpress’ standard free shipping is nice and reliable.

So this is the time to decide. Based on the research you just did for the right product found from the right buyer with a reliable shipping method, it is time to make it yours. Go ahead and hit that Buy Now button and get your product ordered.


And as always, make sure while checking out the total amount is what you expected, your shipping address and payment methods are correct.

You have just ordered the product you were looking for, so what is next? Meanwhile, there is just a little bit left to do – getting your order delivered. Let’s talk about it now.

AliExpress delivery and dealing with Nepal’s postal system

A couple of months before I made an attempt to list the major problems of e-commerce businesses in Nepal and among the several problems, Nepal’s postal system and delivering the product happened to be the boss of all problems.

Check this blog post: 25 Major Challenges E-commerce Businesses in Nepal are Facing

Even though Nepal’s postal system makes it harder to have a satisfying online shopping experience in Nepal, it doesn’t limit us to buy what we want and make the best of online shopping.


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If you focus on few things, you get the product from AliExpress successfully delivered to you.
Here are some of the right things to do:

  • make sure your shipping addresses are accurate and accessible by the delivery person
  • ask the seller to print your phone number on the packaging alongside the delivery address
  • sometimes the phone number gets omitted, so what I used to do is append the phone number address something like this:
Lakshman Basnet
Ghar number 113, 9841XXXXXX-Sishir Marg, Sanothimi, Madhyapur Thimi, Bagmati, Nepal
44810

doing this the local postal staff could call me to inform about the parcel

if you haven’t got a proper postal address or house number you can get a postbox for yourself or do what as I did:

  • you can always give address of your nearest government post office.
    Check this for the list of post offices in Nepal with postcode
  • make sure you always include the postcode with your address
  • if you are unsure of the address of your nearest post office, you can physically visit or call them to ask for the right address so product arrives there

I used to provide full address but since the house I was living in didn’t have a clearly visible house number, I used to collect parcels myself from the post office.

Once you have ordered your product and it has been shipped, you can physically visit your post office after about 2 weeks and inform them that your parcel will be arriving soon and if it comes in your name ask them not to return but keep it until you collect.
You can visit the post office in 4-5 days to see if there are any updates.

I did the same and let me tell you that I became friends with the staff there in the post office as I used to visit frequently there. And whenever there was any package for me, they would safely keep it for me and even call me most of the time.

Post purchase – satisfaction, returns conflict resolution

Among the several reasons I enjoy buying from AliExpress, one major is the conflict resolution handling mechanism. Let me explain to you briefly what you can do after purchasing your item.

satisfaction

Once you’ve received your order, you can go online and confirm goods received on AliExpress. You can also rate and review how the product was, if it was to the expected standards or no, how long did it take for the seller to ship the product and more. If you aren’t happy with the product you can initiate the return process.

Undelivered or lost packages

In case your package doesn’t arrive on time or takes longer than expected, the first thing you should do is message the seller directly.

Quite often the seller will extend the delivery time as shipping could have been delayed. If it doesn’t arrive on the extended period also, you can open a dispute which is very well-handled by AliExpress.




Returning goods

If you need to return the product received, it is wiser to read the return policy which will be mentioned on the product description page. AliExpress has a free 15-day return policy. It can be initiated by opening up a dispute.
Also, it is best to contact the seller first and try to resolve the situation. Also not to forget different products and sellers might have a different return policy.

Getting refund

You can get a refund for the purchase you made if it wasn’t delivered to you or not shipped or when returning a product. It might take few days for AliExpress to process your refund and some time to arrive in your bank account.

Local alternatives

There are local alternatives to AliExpess in Nepal as well. Daraz Nepal (formerly Kaymu) which has an office in Nepal, was acquired by AliExpress is a popular e-commerce platform in Nepal.

Some local alternatives to AliExpress in Nepal are:

  • Daraz
  • SastoDeal
  • Gyapu

For a full list, please check: Online Shopping Sites, eCommerce in Nepal

Conclusion

You can make the best of shopping with AliExpress from Nepal if you have an acceptable payment option and provide the right delivery details. Buying items from AliExpress is easier, reliable and smoother.

FAQs

Does AliExpress ship to Nepal?

Yes, AliExpress ships to Nepal. Check this to know more about AliExpress shipping in Nepal.

Is AliExpress available in Nepal?

Yes, AliExpress is available in Nepal and it ships to Nepal.

How to make a payment to AliExpress from Nepal?

You can make a payment to AliExpress from Nepal in multiple ways like by card, PayPal, WebMoney and Western Union.

Before you go, let's stay connected
About the Author
Lakshman Basnet
Nepali Digital Media Marketer currently based in Adelaide, South Australia who apart from playing with his cat - Eleven, also enjoys developing web content, publishing blogs and YouTube videos in his free time.

11 thoughts on “The art of shopping smarter with AliExpress from Nepal”

    • Comment herda scammer jastai lagxa hola tapailai but trust me Iā€™m not a scammeršŸ‘¼
      Im not in nepal, so bides bata Aliexpress bata saman online order garera nepal maa saman jhikauda k kasto hune raixa vanera malai pani bujhna ra experience garna mann cha, so i want to help you.

      Reply
  1. Hi Lakshman!
    Thanks for the detailed information. I’d appreciate a blog dedicated to the custom charges in Nepal for medium to large parcels. That’d be really helpful for many. And, a new youtube subs here. šŸ™‚
    Cheers

    Reply
    • Hi Neha,
      It depends on how the pacakge is labelled and packed and also on the size. If it is labelled as a gift and smaller in size, youā€™ll possibly not need to pay any customs. Bigger size might make officials curious to know. As per my experience, I never had to pay any customs as most of my packages were smaller like smart watch, computer mouse, keyboard, table clock etc.
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Did you have to go to Customs warehouse to collect your items (even if you didn’t have to pay Customs) , or was it shipped shipped straight to your address?

        Reply
          • Basnet Sir,
            Greetings from Bhutan and I went through all the information and comments provided here, I just want to know how can our company partner as a delivery agent in our country with AliExpress.com like Daraz Nepal
            I will be very grateful if sir could leave what’s app number to contact when needed or send by mail ID and I have left my What’s App number below.

            Reply

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