Single Day on AliExpress, Cdiscount and Rakuten: how to take advantage of the offers

Do you see the word Single Day everywhere and have no idea what it means? No problem, we have already written an article which tells the story of this commercial event and its arrival in Europe and France. If you already know what it is, it remains to understand how this event works. Because every time we find AliExpress in the mix, we can be sure that there are things to know that are not part of Western consumption habits.

Before we get into the details, let’s recap.

• Who does Single Day in France? AliExpress, which invented it and the French Cdiscount, which did not invent it at all and is part of the Casino group, but what do you want, we are not the ones who decide who does what. It is possible that other e-retailers will follow suit without calling the event Single Day, but finding a pirouette like “11.11 Exceptional Promotions Day”. Rakuten has, for example, provided promotional codes.
• When is Single Day? It’s November 11, 11/11, the day of 1s, that of singles and therefore the ideal day for… a commercial party. Don’t worry, that’s how it is.
• What will we find on sale at Single Day? As is often the case, consumer electronics (TV, consoles, home automation, computers, accessories, smartphones, etc.) will be represented. This is good, on Numerama, this is what we master.
• Will there only be Chinese brands? Many Chinese brands participate in the event, but not exclusively.

How does Single Day work on AliExpress?

AliExpress is not an ecommerce site like any other. You’ll land on a home page with popups that you won’t understand how to close, you might click next to the cross and you’ll be redirected to a page you don’t understand, you’ll go back several times before to access a normal interface.

But once that’s over, you’ll find yourself in front of a sort of Amazon that has taken over the artistic direction of the town fair where you grew up. The crossed out prices are rubbish, the texts are clearly translated by a machine and the photos of the products do not come from official sites at all.

But we shouldn’t stop at appearances, because AliExpress is not very different from any other marketplace, whether Rakuten or Fnac — when you know how to use it.

The secrets to using AliExpress well are as follows:

• Check always that the delivery is made from Europe. This is the quality and safety guarantee of AliExpress. Basically, by delivering from the EU, AliExpress undertakes to have European after-sales service and not to sell counterfeits. THE imitations Tributes are shipped from China. To find out the shipping location, simply click on the delivery method. To save you this check, we will only recommend products delivered from Europe.

• Use the coupons! AliExpress discounts are not always applied by default. If we take for example the PlayStation 5 sheet already cited we see that the seller is already planning the Single Day and displays the coupons which will be available in France at midnight. We will make it easier for you by indicating the coupons each time to enter.
• Read the reviews: casually, AliExpress is widely used. There are therefore many opinions on the products on sale and if there are problems, they will very quickly be reported in the comments. We do this work every time we recommend a product sold on the platform.
• If you don’t listen to any of the above advice and want to go all-in on a product from China (there are some very good / exclusive / weird ones), keep in mind that you will have a long delivery time, possibly customs fees, a product that may not correspond to the description and no After-sales service. If we recommend such a product, which is unlikely, we will remind you of these possible hazards.

How does Single Day on Cdiscount work?

Cdiscount is much more traditional for French people who would like to equip themselves on November 11. You’ll find products on sale, some with great discounts, others disappointing — in short, the normal life of a sales event.

That said, the French giant gives in to the practice of promo codes, which is great for you: you will be able to take €11 off every €111 purchased with the code 11ONZE, which corresponds to 10% discount.

How does Single Day work on Rakuten?

The Japanese e-commerce giant does not have a page dedicated to 11/11 at the time of writing, but we know that it will follow the Single Day with a logic of reduction coupons with a minimum of associated purchase. Simple and efficient.

So, you know how Single Day works in France.

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