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AliExpress and AliBaba Review

If you are planning to setup an e-commerce website and use the drop shipping route, then I would highly suggest you check out AliExpress.com.

AliExpress.com run by AliBaba, is a website established in 2010 for global buyers who are interested in purchasing wholesale products directly from the Chinese wholesalers that produce them. With over 100,000 Chinese wholesalers available to online buyers today, AliExpress.com offers more than 9.5 million products from more than 4,000 categories, like automotive, fashion, computers and electronics, weddings and events, and more.

Product Quality

This could be the main issue when you order from China wholesalers. The electronic products especially look inviting and they could be mistaken for the famous branded qualities. However, we know that China wholesalers do not carry branded items. They have their own non-branded items or copied items bearing different brand names. The same goes with the apparels. They do not carry the famous brands of clothing however, like their electronic products they vouch that they are made from high quality materials. AliExpress have made it a point to make a thorough verification of their suppliers to ensure high quality products.

Shipment Method

AliExpress.com provides free shipping worldwide. It joined hands with the China Post Mail to provide free shipping worldwide to accommodate smaller orders especially the electronic items. Just recently, AliExpress.com launched Fulfillment by AliExpress which is designed to accommodate medium orders so that they can enjoy the same benefit of free shipment of bulk orders. This will allow importers at least 30% savings on the shipping costs. AliExpress.com supports DHL, FedEx, TNT and EMS with the UPS as the most preferred means of shipping the goods. These methods deliver product from 2 days up to 7 days which is good enough considering that we are talking here about worldwide deliveries.

Payment Options

AliExpress.com offers safe and secure payment option through Escrow. In this method both the buyer and the seller are protected. Here, AliPay holds the escrow payment. The payment is released to the seller once the transaction is completed.

Some of these sellers also have Free Return policies, where if you are dissatisfied with the product, you can open a dispute claim within 15 days of delivers, and you can get free return shipping.

AliExpress.com also has a site wide policy which states that if you do not receive your product within 60 days, that you can receive a full refund of your product price

Prices Competitive?

Traditionally and you might have noticed, Chinese online wholesalers always provide discounted items on almost all their products. AliExpress.com is not an exception to the rule. It provides the biggest discounts especially on holiday seasons and anniversaries.

Conclusion

AliExpress is not a scam, but there are unethical sellers so you need to be careful and do some research before considering making a purchase.  You may even consider testing the waters by making a small purchase before investing any significant amount of money in products.  

>> Click Here to Visit AliExpress.com Website

>> Click Here to Visit Alibaba.com Website

Our Top Picks Email Marketing Softwares

Want to turn prospects into loyal customers?

In 2019, email marketing software is still the number one tool to accomplish that goal. Data compiled by SocialMediaToday shows that emails achieve an ROI of 28.5% and emails targeted to specific contact segments drive 36% to 58% of revenue.

The only question is: Which email marketing should you use?

GetResponse

According to their website, GetResponse is used by 350,000+ companies in 183 countries. I think it’s the most well-rounded email marketing tool for small and medium-sized businesses.

While GetResponse is best known for their email marketing solution, they offer way more. A GetResponse account gives you access to 1) email marketing, 2) marketing automation, 3) landing pages, and 4) webinars.

Using as a ballpark estimate 2500 contacts for a small business, the GetResponse price is fairly reasonable at only $25 per month. This price appears even better when you take into account that – unlike many other email marketing services – GetResponse doesn’t currently impose limits on sending emails.

>> Try GetResponse for Free

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is designed to allow extremely simple operation with mobile-optimized templates and simple WYSIWYG “drag-and-drop” editors that make creating and using sign-up forms, collecting emails and other contact information, managing email lists, starting campaigns, and analyzing real-time data as simple as easy to use as possible.

Small and startup businesses will find Constant Contact to be a cost-effective solution because of its flexible pricing scheme. The rates are based on the number of user’s email contacts starting at $20 per month.

> Try Constant Contact for Free

MooSend

So Moosend is much more than just an email marketing tool.

As described on their front page:

Moosend is the all-in-one platform your business deserves.

This software also comes with quite a few fancy features such as:

  • Email marketing
  • Automation
  • Personalization
  • Lead generation
  • Analytics

Now comes the most important question: Is Moosend value-for-money?

The short version, yes.

Moosend offers a free forever plan you can use to send unlimited emails per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.

When it comes to Moosend’s paid options, the Pro plan starts as low as $10 per month, giving you access to additional features such as landing pages, transactional emails, and more.

>> Try Moosend for Free

MailBird

MailBird boasts an incredible set of features, including support for multiple email accounts, excellent organizational tools and complete customization options. Mailbird even offers a set of apps that work within the email client itself, including integration with Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs and more. This truly is email for power users who need to whip their inbox into shape. It may take a little time to get it working just the way you want, but it’s well worth it.

>> Try MailBird for Free

ConvertKit

We have been looking into another email marketing software lately. It is one that we highly recommend if you are a blogger.

Who is this software for?

ConvertKit is ideal for bloggers

Pros

  • The power of Infusionsoft, but easier to use than MailChimp.
  • Landing pages
  • Custom white glove migration

Cons

  • No live chat support
  • No A/B testing

>> Download ConvertKit Here

Volusion Review

Volusion is a leader in e-commerce software solutions providing businesses, small and large, with an all-in-one e-commerce software platform that will cater to just about any online store.

Their e-commerce solution handles all the essential features such as checkout, payment processing, and order management.

Features

Essentially, the Quick Start menu is designed to get your store branded, personalised and populated with products in as little time as possible. Within the options of Quick Start, you can choose your store design, by browsing through some of Volusion’s free templates, add branding via text or a logo, and then fill out a very short product form, which helps you get your inventory out on to your virtual store front.

Volusion operates an “in-house” credit card processing service called Volusion Merchant Service. For this payment medium, there’s a transaction fee involved. However, Volusion does not charge any transaction fees if you use your own payment gateway.

Volusion provides support for more than 50 payment gateways. Depending on the payment methods that customers prefer, you can set up your online business to accept credit cards or electronic payments from trusted companies such as PayPal, Stripe.

Volusion has a wide variety of apps designed to enhance your online store and these are available from the company’s own app store. Popular apps available through the store include Paypal Express,  designed to increase conversions with the security of Paypal, ShipStation, to create automated shipping labels, and Facebook Chat by Powr, an app to enable you to assist customers using the Facebook social media platform.

Attracting more shoppers to your webshop will be much easier when using the built-in marketing functions that Volusion offers. The platform comes with a slew of tools to help you promote your webshop such as social media integration, coupon creation, loyalty program, in-house email marketing, SEO hub and many more.

Ease of Use

Volusion was designed with the intention of helping store owners create an online hub to market and sell their products quickly and easily. The majority of Volusion’s features are centered around the idea of helping business owners track inventory and profit efficiently while making the user experience informative and intuitive for their shoppers.

Entrepreneurs can easily customize their online storefront with Volusion’s revamped site builder, which provides easy access to product display settings, navigation menus, and more. The drag-and-drop platform is tied in with users’ store management systems, allowing business owners to easily switch between design tools and the features covering order processing, customer relationship management, inventory tracking, marketing, design, and analytics.

Pricing

Volusion provide plenty in terms of features, but pricing will always be a big question when deciding on the best ecommerce platform. Currently, Volusion offer five different price plans, starting from $15.00, going up to $195.27 per month.

The five price plans make it appealing for both new merchants, and ecommerce veteran to jump on board the Volusion bandwagon. Each price plan offers something a little bit extra, and you are free to upgrade or downgrade at any point in your store’s life.

How Does Volusion Compare With Shopify and BigCommerce?

Volusion is certainly not the only player in the online e-commerce field. Established names such as Shopify and BigCommerce are hot on their tail. When it comes to which service you should choose for your online store, there are positive and negative factors for each.

If you are interested in the widest selection of mobile-responsive themes or apps then you may choose Shopify over the rest. Meanwhile, if you wish to sell unlimited products without shelling out for a premium plan then you might choose BigCommerce.

However, Volusion comes with benefits including a budget-friendly way to recover abandoned shopping carts and also includes many useful marketing tools for free.

What about Pricing Comparison?

With the lowest monthly fee at just $15.00, Volusion trumps Shopify‘s starter fee of $15.56. Additionally, you will find that Shopify impose a 2% transaction fee on every item sold, whereas Volusion imposes no such fees. This renders Volusion’s Mini Package a better deal. Additionally, BigCommerce’s lowest deal is $24.95, putting Volusion in a very good position when it comes to price plans

Final Verdict

Volusion have been around for a long time,and their professionalism across the board is definitely clear to see. They know exactly what functions are needed to run a successful online store, and it’s hard to argue with the way in which their CMS implements these functions.

Whether you want to sell physical products, virtual goods or a subscription service, Volusion offers an all-in-one shopping cart that will cater to just about any online retail store. While this platform has a few drawbacks, the features it offers, in general, are impressive.

If you’re apprehensive about settling for this e-commerce platform, it’s highly suggested that you give their free trial a run before making up your mind.

>> Click Here to Visit Volusion Official Website