AliExpress runs eight major sales per year, with dates that follow a predictable pattern tied to Chinese e-commerce conventions and Western retail calendars. Knowing when they fall lets you time purchases on high-value items and avoid the mistake of buying two weeks before a sale that would have saved you 30%. This is the full calendar, plus an honest take on when the wait is worthwhile and when it is not.
AliExpress Sale Calendar
AliExpress Sales: Dates, Discounts, and Best Categories
| Sale Name | Date | Typical Discount | Best Categories |
| 3.28 Anniversary Sale | March 28 | 15-40% | Electronics, gadgets, general merchandise |
| 6.18 Mid-Year Sale | June 18 | 20-50% | Electronics, home goods, fashion |
| 8.8 Summer Sale | August 8 | 15-30% | Fashion, accessories, back-to-school |
| 9.9 Autumn Sale | September 9 | 15-35% | Electronics, gadgets, general |
| 11.11 Global Shopping Festival | November 11 | 30-70% | Everything, especially electronics |
| Black Friday | Late November | 20-50% | Electronics, fashion, gifts |
| 12.12 Year-End Sale | December 12 | 20-50% | Gifts, toys, electronics, home |
| Choice Day | Multiple dates | 20-40% | Choice-listed products only |
Discount ranges are typical across categories. Individual products vary significantly, and some listed discounts are off inflated pre-sale prices rather than genuine historical lows. More on that below.
The Big Three: 11.11, 6.18, and 3.28
11.11, November 11 is the largest sale AliExpress runs. It originated as Alibaba’s Singles’ Day promotion and has grown into the biggest online shopping event globally by transaction volume. Flash deals appear at midnight on November 11 in Beijing time (which falls the evening before in US time zones). The platform typically runs pre-sale events for the week prior, with early access to some deals before the main date.
6.18, June 18 is the mid-year equivalent. It matches JD.com’s annual summer sale period and has grown in scale over the past several years. Discounts on electronics during 6.18 are often comparable to 11.11, making it the best alternative for buyers who cannot wait until November.
3.28, March 28 marks AliExpress’s founding anniversary (the platform launched March 28, 2010). Discounts are meaningful but smaller than 11.11 and 6.18. It is the most useful sale for buyers who want to time a purchase in the first quarter of the year.
AliExpress Choice Day
Choice Day is a recurring promotion focused specifically on products carrying the AliExpress Choice badge. It does not follow a fixed date in the way the numbered sales do. AliExpress runs Choice Days several times per year, often monthly or around promotional periods. Discounts apply only to Choice-listed products and are typically 20 to 40% off.
Watch for Choice Day announcements in the AliExpress app’s banner notifications and in the Choice section of the home screen.
How to Set Deal Alerts Before Each Sale
Wishlist your target items. AliExpress sends price drop notifications for wishlisted products when a seller reduces the price. Add everything you are considering well before each sale date.
Follow the seller. Tapping the Follow button on a seller’s store page adds them to your feed and generates notifications when they run promotions.
Enable push notifications. The AliExpress app has notification settings for sale reminders and coupon releases. Turn these on at least a week before each major sale date.
Use a price tracking extension. Browser extensions like AliPrice (available for Chrome and Firefox) show the price history graph on AliExpress listing pages. This tells you whether the “sale price” during a promotion is actually lower than the item’s typical price or just the result of a pre-sale markup.
Is Waiting for a Sale Actually Worth It?
For purchases over $50, yes, particularly during 11.11 and 6.18. Electronics, watches, phone accessories, and home goods in this range regularly see 25 to 45% genuine reductions on these dates. On a $150 order, that is $40 to $67 in real savings.
For purchases under $15, probably not. AliExpress prices are already near factory-direct levels on most low-cost items. A 20% discount on a $6 item is $1.20. The delay and mental overhead of tracking a sale rarely justify it for low-value orders.
The more important caveat: some sellers inflate prices in the weeks before a major sale and then discount back to approximately the original price, presenting a nominal 30% reduction that represents no actual saving. The AliPrice extension’s price history graph is the simplest way to spot this. If the price climbed significantly in the 30 days before the sale, the “discount” is largely artificial.
Buy immediately when the item is already at its lowest tracked price. Wait for a sale when the item is priced higher than its historical low and a major date is within four to six weeks.
Before any sale, check that your payment method gives you full buyer protection on the larger orders you are likely to place during peak events.
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