If you sell with AliExpress dropshipping, your brand lives or dies on two things customers obsess over after checkout: how fast orders arrive and how clearly you communicate along the way. Across ecommerce, the average cart abandonment rate sits near 70 percent, and slow or unclear delivery is a major contributor. The Baymard Institute reports a 70.22 percent average abandonment rate and notes that 21 percent of shoppers cite delivery being too slow as a reason to leave the cart, with 39 percent balking at extra costs tied to shipping and fees. The same research urges merchants to show a delivery date, not vague shipping speeds, to reduce hesitation at checkout.

In this practical guide, you will learn how to replace or complement ePacket, set honest delivery expectations, build high converting branded tracking pages, and run proactive support that reduces WISMO tickets and chargebacks. We will also show where WooDropship slots in to automate your AliExpress operations so you can launch fast and scale without hiring a team.

The new reality of AliExpress shipping

The ePacket route used to be the default for low weight China to US parcels. That changed when the Universal Postal Union adopted a plan in 2019 that let the United States self declare terminal dues, raising inbound rates from July 2020. As Supply Chain Dive explains, Option V enabled caps that start at 70 percent of domestic rates and increase annually, ending the steep underpricing that once favored ePacket from China. Practically, this nudged many AliExpress sellers toward AliExpress Standard Shipping, AliExpress Premium, and commercial consolidators.

At the same time, cross border air cargo capacity out of China expanded. According to The Loadstar, China’s 2024 air cargo volumes hit a record 20.06 million tonnes, up nearly 20 percent year over year, with outbound capacity rising 25 percent. More planes and lanes do not remove customs or last mile friction, but they do make consistent 7 to 15 day windows achievable for many SKUs when you pick the right service and supplier.

To set expectations, use AliExpress’s own guidance. The AliExpress blog says AliExpress Standard Shipping typically delivers to the US in 15 to 45 days, while AliExpress Premium Shipping averages around 7 to 15 days. Alibaba’s seller portal breaks down 14 methods with indicative windows, including Cainiao Super Economy at 30 to 50 days without tracking, AliExpress Standard at 10 to 45 days with tracking, AliExpress Premium at 5 to 10 days, and ePacket at 7 to 30 days.

For a deeper primer on fundamentals and supplier workflow, read our overview, AliExpress Dropshipping 101.

ePacket alternatives that actually work in 2025

ePacket can still be viable for low cost items into specific countries, but many brands now blend options for speed and reliability.

• AliExpress Premium Shipping. This is the platform’s faster tier. The AliExpress blog frames typical delivery in 7 to 15 days. You pay more, but you get full tracking and better airline uplift.
• AliExpress Standard Shipping. A solid middle ground with tracking and broad coverage. Alibaba’s seller guide lists 10 to 45 days. Use it for products that are less time sensitive or where margins are tight.
• Cainiao Expedited Standard. Shows 20 to 40 days with tracking in Alibaba’s overview. Good when cost matters but you need visibility.
• YunExpress Special Line. Third party consolidator favored by many agents. Industry references place US delivery around 7 to 15 business days depending on lane and season. See an explainer that summarizes a typical 7 to 15 business day window for the US.
• Yanwen Express. ParcelsApp compiles typical US delivery as 16 to 35 days depending on service tier, with 2 to 3 weeks common. It is economical with acceptable tracking on upgraded lines.
• DHL eCommerce and commercial carriers. DHL eCommerce lists cross border services with 3 to 10 business day transit for its faster products, plus robust event scans. Use for higher AOV goods when you want consistent performance and a global SLA.

Your choice should be data driven. For each product and target country, weigh cost, promised transit time, tracking event density, customs clearance track record, and delivery to door reliability. A good supplier samples shipments across multiple lanes so you can benchmark performance before you commit volume.

If you are just starting, our guide to the best AliExpress shipping methods walks through when to choose economy, standard, or premium and how to audit suppliers.

Delivery time transparency that converts more shoppers

Customers do not want to translate shipping speeds into arrival dates. They want to know when the order will be at their door. Baymard’s checkout research recommends displaying an estimated delivery date next to each option, stating that 41 percent of sites still show only shipping speed and that this ambiguity increases abandonment. They also warn that including too much safety margin makes options look slow, while too little margin breaks the promise and hurts loyalty.

Adopt an Estimated Delivery Date policy across your store:

• Show dates on the product page and again in the shipping step. Baymard shows that surfacing EDD early reduces surprises later. On product pages, call out delivery windows clearly next to price and shipping cost.
• Compute EDD realistically. If you do not use a carrier API, follow Baymard’s method to calculate the handoff day based on your cutoff time and handling time, then add lane transit time and nondelivery days. If you prefer automation, the AfterShip EDD guide explains how its on time analytics benchmark carrier performance so you can produce accurate dates at checkout.
• Be country specific. AliExpress Premium to the US is not the same as to Brazil. Publish a simple shipping table for top markets and link to it from your footer. Our wiki entries on transit time and last mile delivery can help you standardize definitions.
• Communicate handling time separately. Handling time is not transit time. State this clearly in product detail and checkout to avoid confusion. Our wiki page on handling time clarifies how to measure and improve it.

If you need a crash course on store setup with delivery clarity baked in, read How to Start WordPress Dropshipping and our themes roundups for WooCommerce stores.

Branded tracking pages that cut WISMO and grow LTV

A generic carrier page sends traffic away from your brand and confuses shoppers with unfamiliar interfaces. A branded tracking hub on your domain becomes a retention engine.

• Route all tracking through a branded page. AfterShip documents that branded tracking can reduce WISMO tickets and claims up to 65 percent when paired with real time notifications. Their best practices article explains how accurate EDD widgets and consolidated multi parcel views lower anxiety and keep customers on site.
• Offer universal tracking. Many AliExpress shipments hop between postal operators and private consolidators. A universal tracker like 17TRACK supports more than 2,400 carriers and can resolve most numbers in one place, which makes it ideal to back your tracking page when you do not control the carrier.
• Keep customers on your domain. Set the tracking page under your URL and surround it with relevant help content, returns links, and cross sell blocks. AfterShip’s case studies show brands generate meaningful repeat sales from tracking page sessions.

Want to launch a store with an integrated tracking experience, premium theme, and conversion features in one shot? WooDropship’s prebuilt Shopify stores ship in 7 days with vetted products, optimized theme settings, and onsite conversion apps. If you prefer to build from scratch, you can also start a free trial with Shopify here and layer in our playbooks. For WooCommerce, the WooDropship plugin connects your WordPress store to AliExpress, imports products in one click, and syncs orders and tracking automatically.

Proactive support that prevents disputes and refunds

Disputes are expensive and slow. The easiest win is to keep customers informed so they never have to ask where their order is.

• Automate milestone notifications. Send order confirmed, item shipped, customs cleared, out for delivery, and delivered emails or SMS. Push the same updates to your tracking page. This single step shrinks WISMO drastically and sets expectations when customs or holidays add days. Our wiki on shipping delays has standard language you can adapt.
• Publish a clear returns and refunds policy for AliExpress dropshipping. Our guide on returns and refunds in AliExpress dropshipping explains how to handle non delivery and DOA cases with suppliers and what to promise customers.
• Sync tracking to payment platforms. According to PayPal’s Seller Protection page, merchants must provide proof of delivery or shipment for many protected transactions. Adding tracking and updating order status can also release held funds faster based on PayPal’s help center guidance. Stripe’s dispute docs explain cardholders typically have up to 120 days to file a dispute and that you usually have 7 to 21 days to respond. Having tracking and delivery confirmation on hand improves your odds, and responding quickly is essential.
• Make it easy to self serve. Link your tracking page, returns policy, and a simple status FAQ in your order confirmation. Baymard’s research shows that making total cost and delivery dates obvious lowers checkout friction; the same principle applies post purchase.
• Measure response and resolution times. Set an internal service level agreement for first response under 6 hours and resolution within a defined window per case type. Our wiki entries on service level agreement and customer complaint resolution time offer templates you can adapt for your team or VA.

To scale without adding headcount, use our automation checklist, Automate Your AliExpress Dropshipping Business, which covers templated replies, order syncing, and proactive event triggers.

Customs, VAT, and transparency for EU and global buyers

International shipping is simpler when you collect and remit taxes correctly and warn customers about possible duties.

• Use IOSS for EU orders under 150 euros. The European Commission’s VAT One Stop Shop portal explains that the Import One Stop Shop simplifies VAT collection on low value consignments so buyers do not get surprise bills at the door. If your marketplace or logistics partner provides IOSS, highlight that on product pages and checkout for EU buyers.
• Disclose duties for non IOSS lanes. Link to a quick guide in your help center. Our wiki on import duties and taxes and custom clearance outlines what customers should expect and how to avoid failed deliveries.

How WooDropship makes shipping and CX easier

WooDropship is built for speed to market and simplicity. You can launch quickly, keep costs low, and deliver a better post purchase experience without heavy development.

• One click importing and AI optimization. The WooDropship plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce lets you import AliExpress products in one click, then use AI to rewrite titles and descriptions to set accurate expectations about handling time, included accessories, and delivery windows. Learn more on our dropshipping plugin page and in our deep dive on the AliExpress dropshipping plugin.
• Chrome extension sync. Our Chrome extension automates order placement with suppliers and syncs tracking numbers back to your store. From there, you can trigger emails, update your branded tracking page, and even push tracking to PayPal using our tutorial on syncing order tracking info with PayPal.
• Simple, transparent pricing. The plugin is a lifetime membership for a one time 89 dollar fee with a free trial and no recurring charges. For entrepreneurs who want a turnkey option, our prebuilt Shopify stores come with 30 vetted products, premium theme, SEO, and conversion apps for a one time 49 dollars, delivered in 7 days. See the full details on our dropshipping stores page.
• Playbooks for support and growth. We publish in depth guides on returns policies, pricing strategy, and how to provide exceptional customer support so you can copy and deploy in hours, not weeks.

If you are deciding between WooCommerce and Shopify for your stack, our comparison on WooCommerce vs Shopify dropshipping can help you pick based on budget, flexibility, and your comfort level with WordPress.

A practical shipping and CX blueprint you can deploy this week

• Map lanes and pick methods. For your top 10 products and top 5 countries, assign a primary and backup shipping method using Alibaba’s shipping time overview and your supplier’s history. Pilot 10 to 20 orders per lane to verify transit and event scans.
• Publish delivery dates. Add EDD on product pages and at checkout as recommended by Baymard. Buffer by lane based on current season and handling time. Update your footer with a simple shipping info page. If you use WooCommerce, our article on increasing conversion rate in your dropshipping store shows how to place trust badges and delivery details where they matter.
• Launch a branded tracking page. Use a universal tracker such as 17TRACK behind the scenes and host the page on your domain. Add links to returns, a WISMO FAQ, and relevant cross sells. AfterShip’s best practices and EDD widgets are a solid head start if you prefer an app based approach.
• Automate notifications and PayPal sync. Trigger emails for every major milestone and push tracking to PayPal. The combination reduces WISMO, speeds fund releases, and arms you for disputes if they happen. Stripe’s dispute documentation also spells out the timing so you can diarize response deadlines.
• Set support SLAs and scripts. Use our wiki on customer complaints and ticketing systems to define first response and resolution targets and prepare scripts for delayed shipments, customs holds, and address issues.

Shipping is never perfect, but transparency and proactive communication win the day. When you show crystal clear delivery dates, keep buyers in the loop with a branded tracking experience, and move fast on support, you build trust and repeat purchases at the same time you reduce costs from WISMO and disputes. WooDropship ties it together with one click imports, automated fulfillment, and tracking sync, so you can spend more time product hunting and less time copy pasting tracking numbers.

If you are brand new to the model, start with our guide on how to avoid common dropshipping mistakes and our step by step tutorial on how to start WordPress dropshipping. Then grab the WooDropship plugin or a prebuilt store, list your first products, and publish your delivery promise with confidence.

Happy WooDropshipping!