I have to say just saving money is not the only reason people shop there. International trade is complex and at times annoying. Take Shimano for example. Back in the day you could buy Shimano from Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle with free shipping over $99 US. That was amazing, because they were all good, original products going out the door at what must have been a tiny margin being made up for with sheer volume. It was cheaper to buy Shimano retail from CRC than bike shops would pay for wholesale Shimano from distributors and so there was a huge stink from the US retail market, with bitter invective flowing on the Internet and some real hatred for CRC. Shimano had to change their policy, and thereafter, you could not buy Shimano online from outside of the EU, so CRC and Wiggle could no longer ship to the US or Asia.

US bike shops rejoiced I guess? Thing is, they really hurt consumers in some markets other than the US. People in the US never seem to stop to think that not everyone else has the same access to products that they do, and that other markets, like South Korea, have much lower priority for Shimano to send products to. Here in Korea, you look at the local distributor's website and often see 75% of stuff sold out, with only the vaguest of answers as to when things will be available, if they will be available and if they can be ordered. But you know what? Unlike the big online retailers in Europe, you can buy the thing you need to complete the groupset you bought at full retail price from the local Korean distributor from Aliexpress.

There? It's not just price. It's that Aliexpress often has the thing you need available for sale, unlike the official sales channel in the country in which you reside. I get that people might look down on Aliexpress and those who purchase from the site as being cheap, but the motivation to buy from Chinese online sellers is not always solely price.