How AliExpress Orders Are Fulfilled Through Build the Drop

Step-by-step walkthrough of what happens between a customer placing an order in your Shopify store and AliExpress shipping it out — including the role of auto-place, manual placement, and the order status timeline.

1. 1

   The customer pays on your Shopify store

   When a shopper completes checkout in your Shopify store, Shopify creates a new order. Build the Drop detects it within a few seconds and adds it to the orders queue. At this point the order is in 'pending' status — Build the Drop has not yet touched AliExpress.

2. 2

   Build the Drop matches the order to an imported product

   Each imported product in Build the Drop is tied to a specific AliExpress product by its external ID (the long number in the AliExpress URL). When the order arrives, Build the Drop looks up the variant, finds the matching AliExpress product, and pulls the right size, color, and shipping option. If no match is found, the order stays in 'pending' and you'll see a warning in the Orders page so you can resolve it manually.

3. 3

   Auto-place: the order is sent to AliExpress automatically

   If the space has 'Auto-place orders' enabled in its settings (and you are on PRO or BUSINESS), Build the Drop sends the order to AliExpress using the saved payment method. The order moves to 'placed' and AliExpress returns a confirmation with an order ID. From here, AliExpress takes over: the supplier accepts the order, the warehouse packs it, and the carrier picks it up.

4. 4

   Manual place: you confirm each order yourself

   If auto-place is off, the order stays in 'pending' and shows up on the Orders page with a 'Place order' button. Click it, review the shipping address and selected variant, and confirm. This is the default for FREE and Starter plans, and a sensible safety net even on paid plans if you want to review orders one at a time.

5. 5

   Tracking and delivery

   Once AliExpress dispatches the order, the carrier issues a tracking number. Build the Drop polls AliExpress for tracking updates and writes them back to the original Shopify order, so the customer gets the usual Shopify shipping email with a trackable link. The order moves through 'shipped' and finally 'delivered' on the Orders timeline.

6. 6

   What can go wrong?

   Common issues: (1) the AliExpress price or stock changed between import and order — Build the Drop will surface this and let you re-confirm, (2) the variant is sold out on AliExpress — switch the variant or refund the customer, (3) the address is invalid — AliExpress will reject it and you can edit and re-submit. None of these are automatic, but the Orders page makes each one explicit with a clear next step.