Selling on AliExpress: A Cross-Border Ecommerce Guide for Global Businesses

AliExpress has become one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, drawing billions of visits each year. For ecommerce businesses looking to scale internationally, it offers access to consumers across Europe, Latin America, and beyond. While the platform originated in China, it has been steadily opening its doors to sellers from a growing list of countries. Understanding how to tap into this channel can give your business a powerful new revenue stream.

The platform’s seller expansion started with Mainland Chinese businesses but now includes companies based in Russia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, France, and Brazil. If your business is registered in one of these countries, you can apply to sell directly. AliExpress is expected to continue adding more regions, so it’s worth keeping an eye on eligibility updates even if your market isn’t yet supported. To join, you must agree to the Alipay Global Open Platform Membership Agreement and meet the platform’s operational requirements.

Getting started begins with creating an account through the official seller join page. You will need your company’s contact details, VAT number, and operating license, plus identification for a legal representative. The process is straightforward:

Select your country of business and tax registration from the current eligible list. Enter your email and create a password, then verify your email. Provide company information including legal structure (limited liability, private, or joint stock), official name, address, and tax registration documents. Submit personal details for the company legal representative: full name, nationality, date of birth, and passport or ID card number.

Once submitted, AliExpress typically reviews applications within two to three working days. After approval, you can list products and start selling.

Selling on AliExpress involves several fees that affect your margins. The platform charges a commission on each sale, which varies by product category but typically ranges from 5% to 8%. There are no monthly subscription fees, which makes it attractive for businesses testing new markets. However, you must also consider payment processing fees, currency conversion costs, and any logistics expenses. For cross-border sellers, managing these costs efficiently is key to profitability. This is where having a centralized spend management system becomes invaluable.

Running a store on AliExpress often means you are also selling on Amazon, eBay, or your own website. Each channel comes with its own set of payables: supplier invoices, advertising bills, platform subscription fees, and occasional freelance or agency costs. Keeping track of these payments across multiple currencies and accounts can become chaotic. You need visibility and control to prevent overspend and reduce manual admin.

DogPay helps ecommerce businesses simplify their payment operations by issuing virtual cards that can be used instantly for online purchases, subscriptions, and ad spend. Instead of sharing your main bank card or wiring funds for every small transaction, you can create dedicated virtual cards for each expense category—one for AliExpress supplier payments, another for Facebook Ads, and a separate card for SaaS tools like inventory management software. Each card can have its own spending limit and expiration date, giving you granular control over your outflows.

As your business grows, you might have team members responsible for procurement, marketing, or operations. DogPay’s platform allows you to issue virtual cards to employees with custom permissions. You can set monthly budgets, restrict usage to specific merchant categories, and receive real-time transaction alerts. This reduces the risk of unauthorized spending and makes reconciliation effortless. For an ecommerce business selling on AliExpress and other global marketplaces, these controls turn a potentially messy financial workflow into a streamlined, audit-ready process.

DogPay is built for businesses that operate internationally. Whether you need to pay a supplier in another country, subscribe to cloud services billed in USD, or manage ad costs across multiple currencies, DogPay’s virtual cards and spend management tools give you the flexibility and oversight you need. For AliExpress sellers, this means you can fund your store operations, pay for logistics, and manage marketing expenses all from one dashboard, with full visibility into every transaction. It’s the kind of financial infrastructure that lets you focus on growing your sales rather than wrestling with payment admin.

For ecommerce operators paying for platforms, plugins, SaaS tools, and cross-border services, DogPay can help centralize payment operations and reduce friction across day-to-day spend.