The World’s Biggest Sale Is Just 4 Days Away!!!

Those of you who follow deals that take place near you will be happy to know that the world’s biggest online store, AliExpress, will be having its annual 11.11 Sale that they and their sister company pushed US$14 billion last year.

Not too different from all other sales, essentially shoppers will get massive discounts on products that are at already rock bottom prices, with the only drawback being that they are coming in from China.

When I participated in their sale last year, $50 and 38 days later, I was a happy customer having landed protector screen glasses, some handy USB LED lights and even some computer peripherals that to these day are still in use and have stood the test of time (in that we all think things from China don’t last).

My perception for this sale, that should land your good around mid-December, is that either go for goods that are cheap and can not be found locally, but also if you are in it to make a profit, ask a few friends what products their interested in buying (I always go with them putting a deposit – to avoid any future hassles of not being able to pay for the order) and getting the best deals on AliExpress.

What Will ZIMRA do?

Be sure to take into consideration the tax collector, big brother ZIMRA, and what they will charge for what you bring in.

Basically, it works like this:

• You buy your product online and have it shipped to Zimbabwe. Be sure to select the ‘FREE Shipping’ filter, as this reduces the price.
• Your goods are shipped and normally land between 30-60 days. I am yet to pay for something and not have it land, this is about 15 orders and about $500 worth of goods later
• You get a slip from your local post office, telling you to come collect your goods. You go to Zimpost with $2 handling fee, depending on the size of your package ($2 is the basic fee)
• If there is no duty on your goods (they say goods that are worth less than $10 are exempt) you pay the handling fee and your out the post office, however, if duty is needed to be paid, they’ll direct you to ZIMRA
• ZIMRA allows you a $10 rebate daily. Anything slightly over that you “may” (don’t tell them I said that) get away with it, but prepare to pay as much as 40-60% extra for the products brought in.
• If you don’t have the money there and then, they give you 60 days to come pay, failing which your stuff will be auctioned.
• When going to ZIMRA, be sure to go with either your receipt from AliExpress or better yet, your username and password so that they can check directly how much you paid – they get you to login and peep over your shoulder to see the receipt, I think they do this because they know people ‘photoshop’ invoices.
• Who knows what it’ll cost in Bond Notes by the time they arrive?

Time allowing, I’ll pen another post that will explain to you what to look out for when buying goods from AliExpress so that you can make an informed decision when pulling out your wallet. Oh, how do you pay? Read this post here.

I’m yet to experience what it is like to buy from any regional countries like South Africa and Botswana, but if anyone here has, please advise in the comments how one can go about it, so that they too can get in on the fun.

In preparation, be sure to open an account on AliExpress and start looking around for deals that may excite you.