The Devils Delivery Dictatorship - An iMile/AliExpress Story....

I’ve been using AliExpress for the last 2 or so years, always with the same predictable result regarding import duties on certain types of items. Import duties are always based on the value of the item, not the total value of the sale, ie not value of item + shipping. The package would arrive at the Post Office and the Import duty would be paid before one can take the item, this is all pretty basic stuff. Obviously certain types of items have a higher duty than others, but for now the highest it would be is say 50% of the value of the item, so for example 1 x R100 tshirt + R50 shipping + duty (R50) = R200 Total cost, all pretty normal. The Post Office also provided a “Manifest of Foreign Parcel” so one could see all costs re import duties – importantly very transparent!

This was until recently (at least Dec’24) when AliExpress started using 3rd Party Logistics partners: Meili, iMile, SpeedAF to name a few. At first I thought it was to accommodate the Seasonal rush but apparently not. What these companies do is handle the shipping, import duties etc and slap on a massive markup.

In mid-April’25 I placed an order for a variety of things, the first number is value of item, then cost of shipping (AliExpress Standard Shipping is the only option available), then total cost paid to AliExpress, then the “import duty etc” charged by Meili, iMile and SpeedAF.

Building blocks Cost R762.86 + shipping R508.57 = Total R1,233.30 Duties R750

T-Shirts x 1 Cost R121.89 + Shipping R123.47 = Total R245.36 Duties R229.70

T-Shirts x 3 Cost R158.82 + Shipping R143.03 = Total R301.85 Duties R266.45

T-Shirts x 1 Cost R81.99 + Shipping R115.90 = Total R197.89 Duties R198.35

RCA Cables Cost R663.18 + Shipping FREE = Total R663.18 Duties R353.15

For the T-Shirts it’s essentially double the original AliExpress price, the building blocks were just under 100% of the value of the item and RCA Cables were 50% of the value as it had free shipping..

I reached out to iMile about getting the Manifest to and explain the excessive fees and their response was “Please note I cannot send our manifest due the private information being displayed on the manifest“. Bare in mind that this is the same information which the Post Office just gives you when you pay for the Import Duties when collecting your parcel... Dare I say, like a receipt!

Nothing is transparent, all you get is an email while the Parcel is still in international transit claiming that the Import duties etc. are X amount (before it has even reached local customs), if I didn’t pay within 10 days then they are sending it back blablabla. I also explained this entire overcharging for customs etc to AliExpress Customer Services (3 contacts) which resulted in them telling me how import duties work with preset responses. My email was also translated into Chinese by a human so there would be zero miscommunication. THIS HAS FALLEN ON DEAF EARS.

So this is a warning to anyone buying items from AliExpress, DO NOT. Unless you enjoy paying nearly double for the privilege of getting shipped through Meili, iMile, SpeedAF etc. Until AliExpress sort out their South African Logistics problem, they will lose a lot of business as customers will look elsewhere for more affordable options. I do understand the importance of protecting some local industries like the textile market, so charging a percentage of the value of the item is understandable. What isn’t acceptable is being forced to pay these insane iMile etc markups as they have the AliExpress delivery monopoly in South Africa.