I have been using Aliexpress for sometime now. I have realised that if you want to order products which are a little on the expensive side then it is better to go for the paid shipping fee, where you can track it in India too.
If you are ordering inexpensive items then you can try the free shipping service. You can track it till it leaves China and as for me, quite a few of my products disappeared after they reached Kolkata or Mumbai. I blame Indian postal service for that. If it doesnt arrive within the period it is supposed to, you can begin a dispute. The seller sometimes offers to resend it and I accepted this and gave another address and it arrived there. In case they do not agree to send it once more, in 99% of the cases they have refunded my money.
Some of the items I ordered were a bit disappointing but then return is too expensive so it is just better to cut one’s losses and forget about it. I have seen the same items on our Indian online sites being sold at four times the price.
If you have all the time in the world, order from AE. delivery can take as little as 15 days to more than three months. They are pretty prompt in answering messages and very fond of emojis to make up for their lack of fluency in English. I do not know how many kisses I have had blown at me:P