Is DHgate legit, or is it a scam?
There are many stories about the poor quality of DHgate’s products, so it’s natural for you to wonder about the site’s legitimacy.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.
I wrote this review to discuss everything you need to know about DHGate so you can decide whether you want to try shopping on DHGate.
After reading my article, you should know significantly more about DHgate, why it can be an excellent place to shop, and how to avoid scams and issues when shopping on the DHgate website.
DHgate: A Quick Overview
| Product Price | Product Quality | Return and Refund Policy | Customer Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.5/10 | 5.5/10 | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| WHAT I LIKE + | WHAT I DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ DHgate is cheap | ❌ There are many scammers on DHgate |
| ✅ Most sellers don’t have a minimum order | ❌ DHGate has a bad reputation for quality |
| ✅ You have a wide range of product categories | ❌ There are fake reviews on DHgate |
What Is DHgate? Is DHgate Legit?
DHgate is a wholesale website where manufacturers and businesses sell products in bulk to people who want to earn money through retail arbitrage. It’s a legit e-commerce marketplace website with issues like any other online business.
Founder Diane Wang started working on DHgate in Beijing in August 2004 and launched it in 2005.
The “DH” refers to Dunhuang (敦煌), a Chinese city in the Gansu province that was a strategic route on the Silk Road. This town linked China to the known world in ancient times. DHGate’s headquarters
How Does DHgate Work?
DHgate works much like any online marketplace marketplace. The primary difference with DHgate is that you mostly deal with suppliers in China. DHgate is one of the closest competitors of AliExpress, another site that sells wholesale products.
Like any third-party marketplace, DHgate is only a site that facilitates your transaction. The site doesn’t own the products you buy—the individual sellers do.
Most items on DHgate don’t have a minimum order, making it an excellent marketplace for sourcing cheap items without risking a massive inventory.
Many sellers on DHgate sell some of the cheapest items you can find online.
If you’re an ecommerce business or an online store owner looking for items to sell at a competitive price, check out DHgate.
What Is DHgate’s Buyer Protection, and How Do You Use It?
DHgate’s buyer protection program acts as escrow for your online purchase. When you purchase a product on DHgate, the marketplace doesn’t immediately send the money to your seller.
DHgate holds the payment until you receive the order. Once you have confirmed delivery and are happy with your order’s quality and physical safety, DHgate will release the payment to the seller.
DHgate’s buyer protection policy helps you avoid fraud. It also increases the likelihood of getting your money back if you find out your seller is a scammer.
What Are the Payment Methods on DHgate?
There are four ways to pay for your orders on DHgate:
- This option is excellent if you want more buyer protection because PayPal covers up to $10,000.
- Credit Card – This method works through PayPal’s credit card payment service
- Bank-to-bank wire transfers – When using this payment option, you’ll pay directly to DHgate’s HSBC bank account.
- Western Union – This money-sending platform lets you send money to DHgate directly. Visit the Western Union website to make payments and track them.
Is DHgate safe for debit cards? You can try to use a debit card to make a wire transfer or PayPal payment for your DHgate order. In these instances, your card details are safe because you’re going through secure channels.
However, don’t make a debit card payment if a seller asks you to transact outside DHgate’s platform. Doing so could compromise your card and money’s safety.
What Are DHGate’s Shipping Methods and Costs
This section discusses DHgate shipping, including shipping methods, costs, delivery times, and tracking.
What shipping method can you use when ordering on DHgate? DHgate commonly uses these courier companies.
The shipping cost of DHgate orders is approximately 3% of your order amount. However, sellers offer free shipping occasionally or if you reach a certain order basket size.
Estimated Delivery Time of DHgate Orders
How long does DHgate take to ship to a customer? It will depend on factors like your location or the processing time of your Order.
Generally, you can expect your DHgate order in 3 to 15 working days.
Special orders, like bulk or fragile products, might take longer to ship. If your products ship out from a storage warehouse or processing center, reaching you could take longer.
DHgate Review: An In-Depth Look
I’ll discuss specific aspects to help you evaluate whether you should use DHgate.
Product Price
The prices are the most compelling aspect of DHgate. Products on the website have very reasonable prices, with many items selling for about a dollar.
You can also easily compare the prices of competing sellers on DHgate, ensuring that you find the best deal possible.
Verdict:
DHgate undoubtedly has lower prices than its competitors, ensuring that products on the site are some of the cheapest online. The cheaper prices in this online marketplace make it more attractive than others.
Product Quality
Product quality is one of DHgate’s weakest points. Most sellers on DHgate sell low-quality and counterfeit products, meaning the site won’t be the best source if you want high-quality products.
Verdict:
When it comes to quality, Dhgate falls short.
Don’t trust DHgate if you’re looking for high-quality items because most of the site’s products are either fake or low-quality.
Thus, it’s unsurprising that many of the site’s negative reviews complain about the
Return and Refund Policy
The DHgate return policy isn’t easy to navigate and depends on the seller’s return policy.
You can open a dispute and file a refund request with DHgate, but it’s not guaranteed you’ll get your money back. Returns and refunds only apply if the seller permits them.
DHgate’s more complex than the Amazon return policy. You can return the product to Amazon when shopping on the site, and customer service will deal with the seller for you.
On DHgate, you must return the item to the seller before you can open a dispute.
Verdict:
DHgate’s Buyer Protection policy promises safety and satisfaction if the seller fails to deliver the product as described or doesn’t deliver it at all. However, that promise is far from reality.
Dealing with returns and refunds can be a hassle, especially if you’re dealing with an unscrupulous seller.
Unsurprisingly, many negative reviews talk about DHgate’s return policy and the reliability of its sellers.
One negative review on Trustpilot complains about how she’s been called a liar by two separate DHgate sellers even though she sent proof that the products were not the same as what she ordered.
Unfortunately, these instances are common in DHgate, especially for foreign customers. Since most sellers on DHgate are Chinese manufacturers, there’s a language barrier that’s difficult to overcome.
Customer Support
There are concerns with DHgate’s customer support. Some buyers have complained about slow responses and resolutions.
Many DHgate reviews on websites like Trustpilot bring up these concerns.
- Long wait times for refunds
- There is little to no support for buyers who run into scammers
- Delayed shipments (based on the seller, shipping company, shipping method, your location, etc.)
- Damaged products upon arrival
Verdict:
Is DHgate safe to buy from? Once again, I have to mention the site’s Buyer Protection promises. According to many reviews, it seems these promises are mostly empty.
Besides the obvious lack of quality in the products and waiting a long time to receive my orders, I didn’t really encounter any issues during the couple of times I ordered from Dhgate.
However, others aren’t so fortunate. Many customers have encountered scammers and received little to no help from DHgate.
Even though you can request DHgate mediation if you get scammed, it doesn’t mean you’ll get your money back.
For instance, one shopper ordered an item and received a fake tracking number from the seller. The shopper followed Dhgate’s process to open a dispute and waited weeks for a resolution. According to this shopper, DHgate didn’t refund her and released her payment to the seller.
DHgate Pricing: Why Is DHgate So Cheap?
When looking at products on DHgate, you’ll quickly notice the cheap price point of products.
Here are some reasons businesses on DHgate sell products so cheaply.
- You often deal directly with Chinese manufacturers, eliminating the costs of dealing with middlemen.
- Most of the products on DHgate are fake.
- Production costs and labor in China are cheaper than in developed countries like the US.
- China has lower taxes and duties.
Is DHgate Worth It? The Pros and Cons of DHgate
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Cheap products | Fake, low-quality products |
| Extensive range of product categories | Too many scam sellers |
| Regular promos and sales | Long delivery times |
| No minimum order quantity (mostly) | Poor customer support |
Pros
- Products on DHgate tend to be dirt-cheap, with many items costing as low as $1 (not including shipping fees)
- DHgate has extensive product offerings, including sneakers, watches, cell phones, makeup, toys, and apparel.
- DHgate offers regular sales and promo periods where you can find products up to 50% off.
- Sellers don’t usually have a minimum order quantity, meaning you can often buy only one item.
Cons
- Most items on DHgate are fake, low-quality products
- DHgate’s customer support is abysmal, with many shoppers complaining that DHgate didn’t help them when they encountered scam sellers.
- Although DHgate is a legitimate marketplace, scams on the site are rampant.
- Since DHgate is in China, expect a long delivery time of about 20 to 45 calendar days whenever you order.Note: According to DHgate, their shipping period is usually within 3 to 25 working days. However, this was not the case in my experience. I think it’s safer to expect longer delivery times when ordering from DHgate.
DHgate Reviews: What Do People Say About This Marketplace?
DHgate has a 1.7 out of 5 stars rating on Trustpilot from 30,646 reviews.
On the Better Business Bureau, DHgate has an F and a 1.06 out of 5 stars rating from 106 customer reviews. Furthermore, at the time of publishing my article, there have been 92 DHgate complaints on BBB’s website within the last 12 months.
DHgate has a much better rating on Sitejabber at 3.47 out of 5 stars from 6,861 reviews.
Based on these reviews, you can safely assume that many people don’t like DHgate. This isn’t good for DHgate, considering it’s such a large marketplace.
Here’s what people say about DHgate.
“For the 2nd time now, I’ve been called a liar by the seller on DHGate, 1st one claimed the picture I sent of the shirt they sent wasn’t the same shirt??????? Like I’ve got a whole cupboard full of dodgy shirts to find a similar one to photograph.
And now I bought a tracksuit and when it arrived had a massive logo on the back which wasn’t advertised, to be again called a liar?????
I have bought about 5 items from here and 1 is good 2 were that cheap I didn’t complain but w are so bad I did but got nowhere, so my advise is AVOID” – Andy Brown
“I Ordered an item and never got it and by the looks of it Ill never do because the tracking number is invalid -again- and the seller stopped responding. The worst buying experience Ive had online!! Stay away from scams and save yourself a headache. Theres no costume service on DHGate.com so you are at the mercy of thiefs.” – Gloria O
“I have bought 2 items on this site and would highly discourage anyone from wasting your time and money. I disputed the quality of the item and went to DH gate disputing. They decided that I could get a full refund if I returned the item. Here’s the catch…in order to get by $85 refund it would cost me $66 to send the item back to China via the post office. Such a scam! Honestly, do not waste your efforts on the DHgate site. The quality of merchandise is horrible. Nothing like the pictures on the website. They really should be shut down.” 0 Marianne S.
“This company is dishonest with its online advertising. I ordered one thing and receive something of lesser value. I have pointed the issue out to DHGate and the seller in several emails with no resolution to this problem.” – Michael Spencer
The most common complaints in these reviews are poor product quality, scam sellers, and bad customer service.
However, not all reviews are negative. Others seem to love DHgate.
“As someone who has left quite a number of one star reviews, mainly for Ebay, Facebook, and Macafee, I’m surprised to see DHGate scoring only 1.2 stars.
I have personally bought 6 electric guitars, and 3 watches from them, and I have to say I’m a satisfied customer.
OK, the guitars I bought may have needed some fret dressing/polishing, and setting up, but they have represented excellent value. Certainly there is no-one else who comes close for value.
You might have to wait some time for delivery, but in my experience, the items always turn up.
I will certainly buy from them again.” – Phillip Williams
“I ordered from DH gate before and the timing is a little long but the quality and product is bomb!!! Ill continue to order from them.” – Tasha
Is It Safe To Buy From DHgate? Is It Worth It?
Regardless of the reviews, I recommend exercising extreme caution and conducting extensive research before you buy from DHgate. It’s the best way to transact with DHgate safely and avoid scams.
Things are different if you’re a seller rather than a standard consumer.
DHgate may seem like an excellent, cost-effective option if you’re looking for cheap products to sell in your online store for a profit. It’s an excellent place to buy affordable items to give as gifts and prizes.
Sellers on this marketplace usually sell at low to no minimum orders, letting you get a suitable quantity at low prices.
However, ensure you find a reliable supplier with high-quality products—even though they can be hard to find on DHgate. Remember, your customers aren’t going to blame DHgate if you sell them poorly-made products. They’re going to blame you.
DHgate is also not an option if you sell authentic branded items because most products on the site are fake.
How To Avoid Scams on DHgate
Is DHgate a scam? No.
DHgate is a reliable website, but there are many scammers on DHgate.
You’ll need to learn how to avoid these scammers to get amazing deals on the website. Here’s how to buy from DHgate while avoiding scams.
1 – Check the Seller’s Profile.
The first thing you should check before buying from a DHgate seller is the seller’s profile.
DHgate has what’s called Top Merchants or Premium Merchant badges. Only sellers with an excellent reputation have these badges. Working with sellers with these badges is best.
Wondering how to tell if a DHgate seller is legit through their seller profile?
Look out for these four things:
- Feedback score (must be 90% or higher)
- Review score (must be 90% or higher)
- Service score (must be 90% or higher)
- Number of years in business (order from sellers who have been around for at least a year)
2 – Check for Fake Reviews.
Seeing reviews on a seller’s account isn’t enough on DHgate. You must check the authenticity of reviews. Verify if the reviews are repetitive and shallow. If most of them are, they’re probably fake.
Match reviews with the feedback scores on a seller’s profile. If most reviews are positive, but the seller has low service and feedback scores, those reviews might not be legitimate.
3 – Make a Small Order First.
There’s still a chance that your DHgate order might not be what you expect. Try ordering a small batch before committing to a massive order. Your next order can be bigger than the first if the seller and their products are legit.
You can continue working with your seller once you have a trusted relationship. You only need a handful of legitimate suppliers to get good products.
4 – Watch Out for Misleading Descriptions.
Some descriptions might mislead you into thinking that a product is authentic or high-quality when it isn’t. Try to avoid descriptions that push too hard or seem overly salesy.
Check retail prices of certain products in other stores. If the products on DHgate are much lower, it could be a red flag.
5 – Don’t Transact With a Seller Outside the DHgate Platform.
Some scammers will try to lead you away from DHgate so you can send money that you can’t trace back. Never agree.
Always transact within DHgate so that you’re covered by their buyer protection policy and refund guarantee.
Tips To Find Reliable Sellers on DHgate
Finding reliable sellers on DHgate can take a while if you’re new to the platform.
Here are ways to find them and quickly buy from reputable businesses.
Look for sellers with high ratings and positive feedback from previous buyers.
- Read reviews from other customers to gauge their experiences with the seller.
- Research sellers’ histories and reputations by checking their performance and track record on DHgate.
- Choose sellers who have been on DHGate for longer since they have more experience and credibility.
- Pay attention to the accuracy and quality of product descriptions and images.
- Contact the seller directly to ask questions or clarify concerns about products, shipping, or return policies.
- Compare prices and shipping options among different sellers to ensure you are getting a fair deal and reasonable shipping terms.
- Observe how quickly the seller responds to your inquiries. A responsive seller is a positive indication of their commitment to customer service.
- Assess the clarity and professionalism of the seller’s communication to ensure effective and reliable correspondence throughout the transaction.
- Ask other experienced buyers which sellers they do business with. You can join a Reddit forum, Quora forum, or Facebook Group.
Are There DHGate Alternatives?
Here are alternatives if you don’t feel confident about shopping on DHgate.
DHGate vs. AliExpress
AliExpress is Alibaba’s retail version that doesn’t require minimum order quantities.
You can also find an extensive range of affordable products on AliExpress, although they likely won’t be as cheap as DHgate. However, AliExpress seems to have a much better track record of providing higher-quality products than DHgate.
DHgate vs. LightInTheBox
LightInTheBox is a Hong Kong-based site offering low prices on apparel, home decor, and other products. This marketplace is ideal if you want to profit from selling clothes and other small items.
Furthermore, LightInTheBox provides better customer support than DHgate and even has 24/7 customer service.
DHGate vs. Banggood
Banggood is an excellent marketplace for affordable consumer electronics, toys, and automotive parts. Unlike DHgate, there are no scam sellers on Banggood, and the customer service is reliable.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is DHgate Legitimate?
Is DHGate real and legitimate? Yes. Technically, DHgate is a legitimate website.
However, the site has many scammers.
Tread carefully when shopping on DHgate.
Is DHGate a Safe Service?
Is DHgate safe to buy from? The answer will depend on the sellers you do business with.
Most of the negative reviews for DHgate involve these three things.
- The abundance of scammers on the website
- Poor customer support
- Shipping and delivery delays
Have People Gotten Scammed on DHgate?
There have been many reports on DHgate scams.
Here are common scams on DHgate.
- Knowingly selling defective or damaged items
- Selling counterfeit items
- Sellers giving fake tracking numbers
- Bait-and-switch strategies (promoting one product and sending something else)
- Fake DHgate reviews for sellers
Is DHgate Legal?
Yes. DHgate is a legal company registered and headquartered in Beijing, China.
Is DHgate Reliable?
DHgate has a reliable customer support system and an excellent buyer protection program. However, you may occasionally end up dealing with an unreliable seller.
If you’re unhappy with the product, you can request a dispute or refund, but getting your money back may take a while.
Does DHgate Sell Fake Items?
Does DHgate sell real stuff, or Does DHgate sell fake stuff? It depends on the seller. Most sellers on DHgate sell unbranded or counterfeit products.
Why Have Some Buyers Called DHgate a Scam Site?
This claim is most likely because of the many experiences that buyers have had with scammers on DHgate.
The marketplace is legitimate, but many sellers on it are not.
Is It Legal To Buy Items on DHgate?
Yes. Buying items on DHgate is legal if you’re not buying prohibited items in your area or country.
What Is the Safest Way To Buy on DHgate?
The safest way to buy on DHgate is through their buyer protection program. When using their payment methods, you automatically receive coverage from this program.
Only mark the transaction as complete once you see the product and confirm its good condition. Otherwise, file a dispute to prevent DHgate from releasing the money to the seller and get a full or partial refund.
Is DHgate in the US?
No. DHgate’s headquarters are in China. The main office is in Beijing, and their sellers are from different parts of the country.
What Are Other Ways To Buy Products From China Aside from DHGate?
Here are other websites you should check if you want to buy products from China.
Is DHGate Legit for Shoes?
Does DHgate sell fake shoes, or does DHgate sell real shoes? Is DHgate legit for Jordans, Nike, Adidas, or other well-known shoe brands?
DHgate is notorious for being a marketplace for fake items, meaning it’s unlikely that you’ll find authentic branded shoes on this site.
How Do I Get a Refund on DHgate?
If you’re unhappy with your DHgate purchase, you can request a refund.
Here’s how.
- Go to the DHgate website and log in.
- Select My DHgate in the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Go to My Orders.
- Enter the product order number you want refunded in the Search My Order tab.
- If the status of your order is Item Being Processed, Click on Request Refund.
- If the Order says Pending Delivery Confirmation, you must file a dispute.
- If the Order says Buyer Accepted Goods/Payment Released, you must file for an after-sale dispute tab.
You can often ask for a full refund if you have a legitimate reason, like damaged items, or if the seller sent you an item other than advertised. Otherwise, you can file for a partial refund.
The Bottom Line
I hope my review helps you decide when and how to use DHgate.
Use the information in my review to determine if DHgate suits your needs, preferences, and budget.
If you’re looking for DHgate alternatives, consider learning more about AliExpress.
