Today, I’ll be comparing CJ Dropshipping vs. AliExpress.
One of the essential parts of a dropshipping business is using a reliable supplier.
Dropshippers use AliExpress to source and fulfill orders, but it’s actually an international retail platform.
One of the best AliExpress alternatives is the dropshipping supplier CJ Dropshipping…
But… does CJ Dropshipping have better product listings and shipping times?
What about product price and shipping fees?
Which platform should you use for your dropshipping business?
Let’s find out in this comparison of CJDropshipping vs. AliExpress!
CJDropshipping Review
CJDropshipping is a platform to source and fulfill your dropshipping orders. It started in 2014 as a jewelry-selling platform. It has now become one of the most renowned drop shipping fulfillment services with customers worldwide.
From sourcing to connecting your store to order management, CJDropshipping assists your dropshipping business at every step.
You get regular recommendations for the best dropshipping products and can see trending and in-demand products…
You can also integrate your Shopify store with this platform for easy synchronization.
It has multiple warehouses in China and the USA. It has partnered with warehouses in countries like Germany, Thailand, and Indonesia to facilitate the global supply chain.
CJDropshipping is free if the products are available in their required warehouses. They only charge a service fee for dropshipping order processing.
AliExpress Dropshipping Review
AliExpress is an international retail platform. It is based in China and is a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Customers worldwide buy products from this platform, and suppliers from China and other countries have listed their products on this website. Most dropshipping suppliers on AliExpress offer international door-to-door shipping services.
Both products and shipping fees are highly affordable… Because of this, dropshipping business owners sell AliExpress products on their online stores. This is why AliExpress is a home for international dropshipping entrepreneurs.
CJDropshipping vs. AliExpress: Comparison
Now that we know AliExpress and CJDropshipping can be used as dropshipping platforms, let’s compare their respective features in detail. This will help you understand which one is better for your dropshipping business.
Business Model
AliExpress operates on a business-to-consumer (B2C) model. As it is an online shopping platform, consumers or end users turn to this platform to buy products.
CJ Dropshipping is more like a business-to-business (B2B) model. It is purely meant to facilitate businesses. Whether dropshipping or wholesale, it provides product sourcing, order processing, and shipping fulfillment services.
In addition, it has MOQs (minimum order quantity) and service fees in place. So, CJDropshipping is more dropshipping business-focused, while AliExpress is consumer-focused.
Bottomline: AliExpress is retail, and CJ Dropshipping is a wholesale/B2B business model.
Product Listings
AliExpress has over 100 million products. It is a gigantic retail platform to offer almost everything you can think of. Moreover, there are multiple dropshipping suppliers for the same or similar products. You can get products from the following categories that are stated on AliExpress.
Women’s Fashion
Men’s Fashion
Phones & Telecommunications
Computer, Office & Security
Consumer Electronics
Jewelry & Watches
Home, Pet Supplies & Appliances
Bags & Shoes
Toys, Kids & Babies
Outdoor Fun & Sports
Beauty, Health & Hair
Automobiles & Motorcycles
Tools & Home Improvement
On the other hand, CJ Dropshipping only has ~500,000 products. Huge difference, right?
But CJDropshipping has a limited number of products for a reason. It is solely meant for dropshipping business operations.
So, you mainly see the products that have the potential for reselling on CJ Dropshipping. Moreover, CJ also ensures quality control for better order processing.
Most products on AliExpress are for general use. For example, you can even buy grocery items for daily use on AliExpress. You will not find such items on CJDropshipping. That’s because there is no point in offering the basic things readily available at grocery stores…
Yes, there is a chance that CJDropshipping doesn’t have items that you want to resell. In that case, you can always post sourcing requests for your selected items on CJ Dropshipping.
The platform is an expert in sourcing products from the right suppliers and will typically have those products available.
You can also ask CJ Dropshipping to source products for you. They can source products with the exact specifications and store them in your preferred warehouse.
So, when you get the order for those products, you only need to inform CJDropshipping through integrated and automated systems, and your orders will be on their way to your customers. You can also use the CJDropshipping Chrome Extension for easier requests.
You can get products from the following categories from CJ Dropshipping:
Computer & Office
Bags & Shoes
Jewelry & Watches
Health, Beauty & Hair
Women’s Clothing
Sports & Outdoors
Home, Garden & Furniture
Home Improvement
Automobiles & Motorcycles
Toys, Kids & Babies
Men’s Clothing
Consumer Electronics
Phones & Accessories
Another aspect of product listings is how the products are presented on both platforms.
AliExpress presents products by selling them to end users. On the other hand, CJDropshipping gives products for a dropshipping business, so the product details are displayed accordingly.
For example, AliExpress will display the customer reviews for the products, while CJDropshipping will show the merchant reviews.
Similarly, the products on AliExpress can be sorted by the number of orders. The products on CJ Dropshipping can be sorted by the number of different vendors who have listed those products. Both dropshipping platforms have high-ticket products.
Bottomline: AliExpress is a better platform for product research and testing. CJDropshipping is for seeing best-sellers for a dropshipping business and scaling your winning product.
Product Price
You will find different yet competitive prices of the products on both platforms. That’s because it depends on the suppliers. Talking about AliExpress, you will notice significant differences in prices for the same products.
AliExpress is open to all kinds of suppliers. You will find prices from the manufacturers, wholesalers, and middlemen (dropshipping suppliers) on AliExpress. There is a high chance that you get bogged down in the prices for your winning products.
As we know, there are two parts to a product’s price in e-commerce. One is the product’s price, and the other is the shipping cost. Both combine to set the delivered price of a product.
QUICK TIP: Some AliExpress suppliers offer free shipping to attract customers, but free shipping is often a misleading bait to attract customers… The shipping costs are already incorporated into the product’s price, which is a usual practice on AliExpress.
CJ Dropshipping has more structured product pricing. You will not find many differences in the prices for the same products. The CJ team has professionals who take care of the product’s pricing.
CJ Dropshipping has straightforward pricing. Their team tries to display the products with the best prices on this platform. The careful product sourcing steps taken by the CJ team save you much time deciding to buy the products at the best available prices.
Bottom line: CJ Dropshipping offers more realistic and straightforward pricing of the products.
User Experience
AliExpress is designed to serve end-users, and its interface reflects the same… AliExpress has tried to make buying things from this platform easier by only needing a customer to sign up.
CJ Dropshipping requires a more detailed process to use its platform. It may look like a hassle to a newbie, but the additional steps are for the user’s convenience.
The CJ Dropshipping app gives you options to connect your dropshipping store with its platform to automate order processing in the future.
Additionally, the whole interface of their website is designed to facilitate online retailers. It displays the information on its homepage related to the e-commerce sellers.
A dropshipper gets a better user experience on CJDropshipping because of the winning products and best available shipping times.
Bottom line: CJ Dropshipping provides a better user experience to dropshippers. AliExpress provides a better user experience to online shoppers.
Payment Methods
The payment methods vary on AliExpress but are limited as compared to CJDropshipping. It depends upon the suppliers which payment methods he is comfortable with.
Generally, AliExpress accepts the following payment methods.
Alipay
Debit cards
Credit cards
Western Union
Bank Transfer
PayPal
You will find many suppliers who don’t accept PayPal. This can be frustrating if you are only comfortable with paying via PayPal. Many people are unwilling to involve their bank details in transactions at AliExpress.
CJ Dropshipping offers more convenient ways of payment. You get the following eleven payment methods to choose from.
PayPal
Wire Transfer (T/T)
Credit Card
CJ Wallet
Payoneer
Payssion
WeChat Pay
Sofort
iDEAL
Boleto
Diner’s Club
Bottom line: CJ Dropshipping offers more convenient payment methods than AliExpress.
Warehouses
The warehouses depend upon the suppliers on AliExpress because many are independent businesses. In addition to their presence on AliExpress, they might run independent sourcing businesses in different parts of the world.
So, you will find suppliers on AliExpress who offer shipping from other countries in addition to Chinese suppliers. You can use the “Ships from” option to search for the products that store inventory and ship from your desired country.
CJ Dropshipping has warehouses in China and the USA. Moreover, they have partnered with other independent warehouses in countries like Germany, Thailand, and Indonesia to store their products. So, if your e-commerce store sells products in a particular country, you don’t need to source them from China every time.
You can ask CJDropshipping to store those products in their warehouse in your target country, which will save you a lot of shipping fees.
Bottom line: CJDropshipping allows you to store your products in warehouses closer to your customers. With AliExpress, you have to rely on what the suppliers offer for storage and may be stuck with long shipping times.
Shipping Times
Product delivery time is dependent on the shipping method that is used…
AliExpress Standard shipping takes 15 to 45 business days, depending on the product’s origin and destination.
If you want faster shipping on AliExpress, you can use their expedited shipping service AliExpress Premium Shipping. Other premium shipping methods include USPS, DHL, and EMS.
Premium shipping options are expensive, but you get products earlier, typically in 7 to 15 working days. You get tracking information for many shipping services, especially using premium shipping methods.
AliExpress also has the ePacket service, which can reduce shipping times with affordable shipping costs.
CJ Dropshipping offers its shipping service called CJPacket. There are multiple subcategories of the CJPacket, depending upon the shipping service you use or the cost you are willing to pay.
Most packages on CJDropshipping show that they will reach in 7 to 15 working days. You also get premium shipping options at CJ Dropshipping, including DHL, USPS, FedEx, and more. These premium shipping services have higher costs but a faster shipping time.
You can also get much cheaper shipping options that take up to 45 days for the products to get delivered.
Bottom line: CJDropshipping mainly offers faster shipping times. If you are interested in free dropshipping and don’t care about the delivery time, consider AliExpress.
Shipping Costs
If you only compare the shipping fees on both platforms, you will find that CJDropshipping has a higher shipping cost than AliExpress…
However, CJ Dropshipping doesn’t use clickbait strategies like offering free shipping while including the shipping fee in the product’s price.
Let’s compare the shipping prices of the same product on both platforms…
AliExpress offers free shipping for the posture corrector, and the product’s price is $7.25 per piece.
If we find the same product on CJ Dropshipping, we get the following result.
Here, the shipping price is mentioned separately and isn’t included in the product’s price. If we include the shipping fees and the service fee of CJDropshipping, the product’s final price becomes $6.01 to $9.38.
Bottom line: CJ Dropshipping can be cheaper or more expensive, depending on the shipping method. Their prices are straightforward, whereas AliExpress’s prices are confusing and misleading.
Parcel Delivery
One problem with drop shipping products from different suppliers is that your customers get every product separately… If you are running a general store rather than a one-product Shopify store, you will have to display items from different suppliers in your store.
Problems may arise when your customer places an order for multiple products. You will place those orders with different suppliers, who will then ship each product individually.
Your customers may be confused and upset about the separate deliveries, which will be bad for your dropshipping business.
CJDropshipping has the solution to this problem… It can combine your orders and pack them in a single package, saving you from paying extra charges for separate deliveries.
Moreover, you don’t have much control over the packaging of your products at AliExpress. If you want customized or generic packaging, CJDropshipping has you covered.
CJDropshipping will pack your parcels in customized boxes with your store’s logo or other information for authorized clients.
Bottom line: CJDropshipping offers more control over your parcel packaging and combined delivery options. AliExpress is more suitable for single orders and standardized packaging.
Refund Policy
AliExpress offers a robust refund and returns policy. You are eligible for a refund in the following cases.
If the products are delivered in the promised timeframe.
If the items you receive are not as described by the seller.
If you receive fake or counterfeit products from suppliers who guaranteed genuine products.
Free domestic return in case you are not happy with the products.
However, you are open to negotiating with your AliExpress supplier about the refunds and returns. If you settle the dispute mutually and reach an agreement, the dispute may be closed.
CJDropshipping has a detailed refund, resend, and returns policy. You can open a dispute in the following cases.
If your customers received damaged goods.
Late deliveries.
Orders not received.
Incomplete items or not as described.
You can cancel your orders before they are processed at CJ’s warehouse, except for the customized items.
If your customers requested a refund, you can open a dispute by sharing the screenshot of your discussion with your customer.
Bottom line: AliExpress and CJ Dropshipping provide similar protection for a dropshipping business.
Extra Features
Because it’s a global marketplace, AliExpress doesn’t offer special features for dropshippers. It focuses on facilitating online shoppers. Dropshippers must rely on Google Chrome extensions and other third-party tools to analyze AliExpress products.
Because CJDropshipping is made explicitly for dropshippers, it has some extra features that can drastically help your dropshipping business.
Recommended Retail Price
CJDropshipping shows a recommended retail price (RRR) for every product based on its intelligent database. This information can be beneficial for any dropshipping business.
Integrations
CJDropshipping integrates with numerous e-commerce solutions such as Shopify, TikTok, eBay, WooCommerce, ShipStation, Lazada, Shopee, Etsy, Wix, ShopLazza, Magento, BigCommerce, AllValue, and Nuvemshop. They also offer API support.
Winning Products
CJ Dropshipping reveals winning products for you to start selling them. They include the top 10 monthly and viral winning products, etc. This is a nice feature, but it doesn’t come close to what the best dropshipping product research tools are capable of.
Smart CJ Filters
You will notice smart filters on the right-hand side of the CJ Dropshipping website. You can click on these options to filter out your results as per your choices. For example, you select a filter to show you only have those products that have videos.Â
Downloadable and Custom Videos
CJDropshipping provides a watermark-free video to download and use in your ads. They also offer custom video ads that you can use for advertising on Facebook and TikTok. This is even better than BandsOffAds and Viral Ecom Adz because they use original video footage.
Print On Demand
CJDropshipping also offers a Print on Demand service where you can print and ship worldwide. Some of the products they support are print-on-demand jewelry, dog harnesses, lamps, clothing, and more.
Bottom line: CJDropshipping offers many more features for dropshippers compared to AliExpress, which requires external tools.
CJDropshipping vs AliExpress: FAQ
What are some other dropshipping suppliers like CJDropshipping?
Some other dropshipping suppliers include Zendrop, Spocket, Sellvia, Modalyst, HyperSku, DSers, SaleHoo, Syncee, Dropified, and more.
What are some other dropshipping suppliers that ship from specific countries?
If you need warehouses in specific countries, you can use the best dropshipping suppliers in Canada, the best dropshipping suppliers in Europe, the best US dropshipping suppliers, or the best dropshipping suppliers in the UK.
Does AliExpress have any features for dropshippers?
Yes. AliExpress has the AliExpress Dropshipping Center, a free product research tool. You can use it to find hot products to sell or analyze the sales of a product. However, if you want more features, you’ll have to use an AliExpress alternative.
Conclusion: Is CJDropshipping Better than AliExpress?
After being in the dropshipping trenches for 5+ years, it’s clear that only the best of the best should be used…
Both AliExpress and CJ Dropshipping have their pros and cons…
But if you’re serious about making money with dropshipping, you should use the platform that is dedicated to dropshippers, CJDropshipping.
They have faster shipping, better prices, spectacular quality control, custom packaging, and original videos.
FINAL VERDICT: I HIGHLY recommend CJ Dropshipping over AliExpress.
