Online shopping is taking its toll on the world these sites. There are many sites available to buy products online. Similarly, AliExpress and Alibaba are both e-commerce sites to buy products and pay through online mediums. And both of these sites are owned by one group i.e. Alibaba. Although these sites have many similarities including the ownership, they are many key differences as well.
AliExpress vs Alibaba
The main difference between AliExpress and Alibaba is that AliExpress sells products without a minimum quantity and the prices are higher as only one product can be bought. On the other hand, Alibaba sells products in bulk and so there is a minimum quantity fixed. As the products are sold in bulks the price of a single piece is low.
AliExpress is an e-commerce website to buy products online. The buyer purchases from manufacturers and resellers. Single-piece products can be bought from this site and there is no minimum quantity and so the price of the product is higher.
Alibaba sells products to businesses in bulk. The products rate are lower as they are sold in bulk. There is a minimum quantity fixed. And so it is a good website if you want to buy any product wholesale. Also, Alibaba provides the service of customized products.
Comparison Table Between AliExpress And Alibaba
| Parameters of Comparison | AliExpress | Alibaba |
| Definition | It is an e-commerce portal to buy online products. | It is an e-commerce site to buy products online in bulk. |
| Minimum Quantity | The minimum buying quantity is not fixed. | The minimum buying quantity is fixed. |
| Typical buyers | Businesses, Re-Sellers, etc. | Consumers, Re-sellers. |
| Interaction with suppliers | Any interaction with suppliers is not required. | Interaction with suppliers is necessary. |
| Shipping | Shipping time varies from 1 to 4 weeks. | Shipping time varies from 15 days to a few months. |
What is AliExpress?
AliExpress is an e-commerce website or online retail service to buy products online. The site is owned by Alibaba multinational technology company. It was founded in 2009 and is based in China. It offers its products in the international market across 200+ countries and territories.
Consumers can buy products in small quantities as there is no minimum buying quantity fixed on the products from this website. The products are ready-made and the consumers can buy them through the site. There are many options for online transactions is available on the site to pay for the products. They also provide the shipping services of the product. It takes 1 to 4 weeks for a product to reach you. And there are almost always no extra shipping charges.
It is a B2C marketing type site. Consumers and Resellers are the typical buyers. Any interaction with suppliers is not needed. The site is easy-to-use and price-friendly as well. The prices are affordable though higher a little as products are cheaper when bought wholesale. The payment portals are secure, and the price is fixed. Also, the information of the consumers is private and the site doesn’t violate that.
You can reach the website here: http://www.aliexpress.com/
What is Alibaba?
Alibaba is an e-commerce website owned by the Alibaba multinational company which is based in China. The Alibaba Group was founded in 1999. The site sells products in bulk online to international buyers and re-sellers. Traders buy in bulk from all over the world. There are almost 190+ buyer countries and territories.
Alibaba site sells products in bulk or wholesale, they don’t sell small quantities of products or single-piece products. And so there is minimum buying quantity of the products. It is a B2B marketing type. The businesses, re-sellers, manufacturers are the ones who buy bulk products from Alibaba to sell retail. The price of these products is cheaper as they are sold in bulk. The price is negotiable and the buyer can interact with the suppliers via e-mail.
The shipment time goes from 15 days to a few months. And the charges of shipping depend on the terms agreed by buyers and sellers. Alibaba also provides financing options for buyers. The available products are ready-made, raw materials, as well as customizable products.
The suppliers are contact verified. And Alibaba also focuses on quality products, logistics services, production monitoring, trade assurance, low MOQ, etc. Indeed, the site offers more than 20 million products.
Main Differences Between AliExpress And Alibaba
- Though both were founded by Alibaba Multi national company their business model differ. AliExpress is a B2C marketplace type while Alibaba is B2B.
- On AliExpress there is no minimum quantity of a product is fixed while Alibaba sells products with a minimum buying quantity of a product. That is one of the reasons the businesses prefer Alibaba.com
- AliExpress shipping time is 1 to 4 weeks while the shipping time of Alibaba can go from 15 days to a few months.
- The price is fixed with AliExpress while the price is negotiable with Alibaba.
- AliExpress provides Dropshipping support while Alibaba did not.
- AliExpress doesn’t provide financing options for buyers though Alibaba does.
Conclusion
AliExpress and Alibaba are e-commerce sites like many other sites used these days to buy products online. Both the sites are owned by the Alibaba group, and the headquarters of both are based in China. Both websites sell products internationally but the main difference is about the quantity of the products.
AliExpress sells products without a minimum quantity fixed and so a single piece of products can also be bought. It provides B2C service. Consumers and resellers are the typical buyers. It is user-friendly, provides shipping services and online payment services.
Alibaba’s e-commerce site sells the products in bulk and so it is good for the resellers, exporters, trading companies, etc. There is a minimum quantity fixed on each product and the price of the product drops a little as well as they are being bought wholesale.
References
- https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/emcs-16/25848643
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3219819.3219869