Nat Sauteed
Everyone ordering goods from AliExpress wants to make use of all the opportunities of international tracking. It’s logical, as in the age of advanced tracking opportunities, an option of international package tracking seems self-obvious. However, AliExpress as #1 global marketplace collaborates with a number of postal carriers. To have the route of your AliExpress purchase under your close gaze, you should understand the differences between shipment methods and choose one that suits you most.
First, it’s vital to keep in mind that AliExpress itself does not provide any international parcel tracking service on its own. But it avails the customer’s tracking number lookup in the personal cabinet – the tracking information is provided by the postal carrier in an automated mode. Presently, AliExpress offers a broad range of delivery methods to its customers from all corners of the world, including Standard Shipping, EMS, China Post (Registered Air Mail or Ordinary Shipping), ePacket, Yanwen, etc.
So, who enables you to track order and who will not provide such information? Let’s review the most popular and most convenient shipping alternatives at AliExpress to identify the best one.
AliExpress Standard Shipping
Though the waiting times of Standard Shipping method are large, up to 60 days, many clients who are not in a hurry prefer this shipment mode due to its cost. In most cases, it is free, while on rare occasions, it costs some money, but the sum is negligible – just a couple of bucks. Alongside with no to minimal cost, AliExpress Standard Shipping is in no way of low quality, always guaranteeing reliable packaging of goods for them to pass all borders and arrive at the point of destination intact. Moreover, it comes with the opportunity of standard shipping tracking, which is invaluable for long-term and long-distance shipments.
You can track your order in the process of delivery via Standard Shipping if you know the carrier who handles the shipment. AliExpress collaborates with such carriers as China Post, Singapore Post, SPSR, Direct Link, Yanwen, etc., so you can easily conduct, for instance, China Post tracking after receiving your shipping tracking number from the merchant on the website.
ePacket
This shipping alternative is similar to AliExpress Standard Shipping in many ways; it’s a common shipment method for small, lightweight, and non-fragile items like clothing and accessories. Waiting times are similar to the standard shipment option as well, and what is best, it’s free and provides a tracking number for the client awaiting the package. Thus, it’s the best alternative for clients buying clothing, underwear, small stationery items, small-size kitchenware, and the like.
Courier Services
This option is the most expensive, but at the same time the quickest. Commercial carriers like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. may handle any AliExpress package for you within 3-7 days, and the safety standard will surely be higher, though such high-end service definitely comes at its price. Thus, we recommend opting for a commercial carrier only in cases when you have an expensive, fragile item shipped, e.g., some device, electronics, etc. Another situation in which such a huge shipment cost is justified is urgency -let’s suppose you promised some rare doll to your niece, postponed the purchase until the last moment, and found it only on AliExpress. The birthday is in 3 days, and you would surely want the present to be there by the time the party begins!
How to Find Out My AliExpress Carrier?
So, you have purchased something at AliExpress and received your post tracking number. How to understand who your carrier? In case you select Standard Shipping, the carrier responsible for bringing your parcel to the territory of your country is not stated explicitly. Good news – all the information is hidden in your track order number. For instance:
- If the number starts with R and has the letters CN at the end, then your carrier is China Post, and you can easily conduct china post parcel tracking either on its official website, from your AliExpress cabinet, or at a global track and trace resource like Pkge.net.
- The number’s ending HK stands for the Hong Kong Post
- SG at the end of your tracking ID means that Singapore Post is responsible for it
- In a similar way, you may find NL at the end (Netherlands Post).
Which One Is The Best?
So, as you can see, shipment methods of AliExpress vary broadly, and each comes with certain reservations and advantages. Commercial carriers are the fastest and the most reliable but paying that much for a $1-2 purchase is nonsense. ePackets are also convenient and cheap, but their soft packaging is not suitable for all types of merchandise. Thus, we would recommend sticking to Standard Shipping as it also varies from lengthy free shipping to paid but quicker shipping, and you have a broad variety of choices within this shipment alternative. To date, China Post has built a solid reputation of a reliable and fast carrier ensuring robust china post international tracking, affordable prices, and reasonable fees.
