I sometimes use AliExpress for DIY electronics like microcontrollers and other components. An Esp32 usually costs around 8-12 euros in Europe. On AliExpress I buy them for 3 (plus shipping). Its worth it if you are buying more than just a few. Shipping is usually slow but if its not urgent its cheap and so far of good/ decent quality.

I did also buy a small industrial camera on there which did not work. I contacted the seller and after some troubleshooting they agreed to ship a new camera to me (still waiting on that one) but in principle I am satisfied with the service for the price I payed.

Keep in mind that a lot of your local marketplace sellers just order rebadged stuff from alibaba. I’ve found literally the same electronics i’ve bought locally on aliexpress for like half the price.

I got a camping tent from aliexpress and it was pretty good. I have used it a couple times a year for about 4 years now. I think it’s called the lanshan or something like that.

I bought an Anbernic RG351P from Aliexpress as well. I have used it for countless hours playing retro games on it. Not quite nintendo quality, but definitely a lot better than other emulator consoles I’ve used.

I’ve also bought some great quality clothes from taobao. No reps only stuff like raw denim, hoodies, and styles that aren’t too popular in the US like high waisted pleated pants or heavy tees that are 11oz

I mostly buy parts for my woodworking shop at home from Ali. A benchdog is a benchdog and they are absolutely the same to what you get at Amazon,etc. And they are literally 1/3 of the price here even if you add shipping and customs. So if one is truely shit I couldn’t care less.

So far I had no bad experiences really - one shipment was missing a 2 bucks piece but I can live with that. Some things actually surprised me as the quality I got was better than expected.

Electronic wise I bought a Qotom mini PC from them years ago (directly from the Qotom shop) which still works as my UTM.

So far I really can’t complain.

I got a really good Glock 18 style electric water pistol off Aliexpress for this summer, at half the price they were being hawked for on Amazon. It even comes with a drum magazine- it was great for a music festival I went to recently!

I bought an electric field heater for my dynavap, so that’s good.

I buy Lego from Ali. It’s so much cheaper and the quality is same.

I buy my body jewelry, earrings etc on AliExpress. Also buying Zirconia jewelry and gold plated works very well since there are hardly any premium charges. it’s also pretty much the only area of goods I’ve found where in 98,9% of the cases the product and materials used is exactly as advertised, meaning no oxidizing, radiation and magnet friendly, etc.

AliExpress is great if you have a 3D printer and you can’t stop messing with it.

I got a decent little fanless i5-based computer with 6 ethernet ports to use as a router, and it was cheap and works well running OPNsense. That’s about the only thing I’ve bought on AliExpress.