Many CHS students wear sports jerseys, whether it’s that of an NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB player. Jerseys allow fans to represent their team. However, most authentic jerseys are very expensive, costing upwards of $100 to $200, therefore making it difficult for all fans to obtain gear. That’s where AliExpress comes in.

AliExpress.com is an online clothing and accessory store that sells jerseys thati are nearly identical to authentic jerseys, for up to 80 percent of the cost on any other site, which allows sports fans of all economic states to represent their teams.

“I buy from AliExpress about once every two months,” junior Drew Liss said. “Usually jerseys are over $100, so for the same jersey to be under $20 is awesome.”

A subsidiary of the Chinese e-commerce chain Alibaba Group, AliExpress launched in 2010, and is the most visited e-commerce website in many European countries.

AliExpress made its fortune by cheaply manufacturing fake sports jerseys and selling them on their website for much less than the normal price. Although the jerseys are not real, they look nearly identical to that of an authentic jersey, so many sports fans are drawn to the site.

Criticisms of the e-commerce chain include long shipment times, as the factories use a third party mailing branch, and oftentimes unreliable service.

According to senior Charlie Butler, AliExpress’s cheap prices and identical jerseys make up for the sometimes poor reliability of a good shipment time.

Due to criticism from Butler and other customers around the world, AliExpress acknowledges its faults and strives to perfect its wait time to befit the contentedness of the customer. The retail business has a policy that if the buyer does not receive their shipment in 27 days, the buyer is refunded of all costs, therefore putting the power back into the hands of the customers.

“Sometimes the shipments take a little long, but I still love the cheap prices,” Butler said. “So it’s worth it.”

Many high praises of the e-commerce website speak for themselves, and the website is on a major come up as its stock rose tremendously in the past couple of years, even more than eBay in 2015.

“I would recommend AliExpress to people due to the low prices for good quality jerseys as well as other items,” Liss said.  “Although I would warn them about that length of time for a delivery to reach you.”