How to Use an AliExpress Spreadsheet: The Direct Route and the Agent Route, Step by Step

The direct route: buying a row on AliExpress

For rows that link to AliExpress, the whole process stays inside AliExpress:

1. Open the row's link. Check it opens an AliExpress item page (aliexpress.com/item/…) and the listing still exists.
2. Check the store and the listing. Store age, order count, buyer photos, the size chart in centimetres, and the return badge.
3. Pay at AliExpress checkout. Note the guaranteed delivery date and any import charges shown.
4. Track the parcel. Each store ships separately, unless AliExpress's own logistics combine eligible items.
5. Check it on arrival. You have 15 days to claim if it's not as described, and free returns within 15 days on eligible items.

The step people skip is the second one. A spreadsheet row is someone else's recommendation from some time ago; the listing may have changed, the store may be new, and the size chart may not match the photos. Two minutes on the listing saves a return.

Verdict: Screenshot the listing and note the delivery date at checkout. Your protection depends on both.

The agent route: buying a Weidian, Taobao or 1688 row

For rows that link to Weidian, Taobao or 1688 — most community finds — you need an agent, because those marketplaces don't ship abroad:

1. Convert the row's link. Turn any agent-wrapped link into the original Weidian, Taobao or 1688 listing with the link converter.
2. Paste it into a working agent. Pick size and colour; put measurements or requests in the order remark.
3. Pay for the item. The agent buys it and the seller posts it to the agent's warehouse in China.
4. Check the QC photos. Approve, or ask for an exchange or return while it's still in China.
5. Wait for the rest of the haul. Items wait in the warehouse free for a set period — often 90 to 100 days.
6. Submit the parcel. Choose packing options; ask for a trial pack to see real and volumetric weight.
7. Pay international shipping. Choose a line by price, speed and whether tax is included; add insurance for expensive parcels.

You repeat the first four steps for every item, but the last three only for every box. That's the logic of an agent: you pay a small domestic delivery for every item, but the international freight only once. It's also why a single item through an agent is rarely worth it, and ten items usually are.

Verdict: Judge each item at QC; judge the whole box at shipping. Fewer, fuller boxes are where the money is saved.

What each route costs

The two routes charge for different things:

Agent fee ranges from this site's agent pages; AliExpress terms from its Buyer Protection page.

For a sense of scale on the agent side, Sugargoo published 3 kg of clothing at about $27.94 to the UK and $55.18 to California. Across ten items that is a few dollars each; across two it wipes out the price difference. The duty calculator compares several AliExpress parcels with one agent box for your country.

How long each route takes

Timing differs too. An AliExpress order starts moving when the store ships, and each store runs its own clock; the guaranteed delivery date on the order page is the one that matters for refunds. An agent order has three stages: the seller's delivery to the warehouse (usually a few days), the warehouse and QC stage (rep.tools measured a one-day median dispatch at KakoBuy once you've paid for shipping), and the international line, typically one to three weeks.

In practice an agent haul takes longer from first click to door, because you wait for the last item before shipping. That's the trade for one parcel and photos of every item.

Words you'll meet on each route

A few words that appear on one route and not the other:

• QC photos — pictures of your actual item taken at the agent's warehouse. AliExpress has no equivalent; you see the item when it arrives.
• Volumetric weight — a box's size converted to kilos; agent lines bill the higher of this and real weight.
• Rehearsal / trial pack — the agent packs the parcel so you see weight and price before paying.
• Choice / Combined Delivery — AliExpress programmes that merge some orders into one parcel.
• Guaranteed delivery — the date on an AliExpress order page after which non-delivery is refunded.
• DIY order — an agent's manual order form for links its search can't read.