/General Questions
Question
Is it okay to import AliExpress reviews or do I need “real” reviews from my customers only?
Posted by •11/21/2025
Social proof question…
My store is brand new, so:
- I have 0 real customers
- 0 reviews
- But the product on AliExpress has tons of reviews with photos
I see apps that:
- Import reviews from AliExpress
- Let you hide the obviously fake / weird ones
- Let you change names, etc.
Some people say it’s “normal” and everyone does it.
Others say it’s unethical and kills long-term brand trust.
Questions:
1. As a beginner, is it acceptable to import a few AliExpress reviews just to not have an empty page?
2. Should I edit them (names, country) or leave them exactly as they are?
3. How fast should I aim to replace them with my own real reviews?
My store is brand new, so:
- I have 0 real customers
- 0 reviews
- But the product on AliExpress has tons of reviews with photos
I see apps that:
- Import reviews from AliExpress
- Let you hide the obviously fake / weird ones
- Let you change names, etc.
Some people say it’s “normal” and everyone does it.
Others say it’s unethical and kills long-term brand trust.
Questions:
1. As a beginner, is it acceptable to import a few AliExpress reviews just to not have an empty page?
2. Should I edit them (names, country) or leave them exactly as they are?
3. How fast should I aim to replace them with my own real reviews?
4 Replies
•11/21/2025
Got it. I’ll use a small number of clean imported reviews just so the page isn’t empty, and actively work on getting real ones as fast as possible. That feels like a reasonable middle ground.
•11/21/2025
Once I had consistent orders, I started:
- Sending a simple “How are you liking [Product]?” email 10 days after delivery
- Offering a small discount on next order if they left a review with photo
Within a month I had more real reviews than imported ones and I just turned the imported ones off.
- Sending a simple “How are you liking [Product]?” email 10 days after delivery
- Offering a small discount on next order if they left a review with photo
Within a month I had more real reviews than imported ones and I just turned the imported ones off.
•11/21/2025
Tip: **never** leave reviews that mention “AliExpress”, “Aliexpress seller”, “shipping to Russia”, etc.
Customers notice that and instantly realise it’s dropshipping. Edit those out or don’t import those reviews at all.
Customers notice that and instantly realise it’s dropshipping. Edit those out or don’t import those reviews at all.
•11/21/2025
Hot topic, but here’s a practical view:
- Most beginners do import some supplier reviews at the start.
- The key is **how** you do it and how fast you move away from it.
If you do it:
1. Don’t import hundreds of obviously broken-English 5-star reviews.
2. Pick 10–20 that:
- Sound somewhat natural
- Have real photos of the product
3. Do **not** write completely fake reviews from scratch about experiences that never happened.
Then, once you start getting real orders:
- Prioritise collecting genuine reviews ASAP.
- Over time, hide/remove the old imported ones and keep only real ones.
Long term, nothing beats:
- Real customer photos
- Real names/cities
- Specific experiences (“used this for 2 weeks and…”)
- Most beginners do import some supplier reviews at the start.
- The key is **how** you do it and how fast you move away from it.
If you do it:
1. Don’t import hundreds of obviously broken-English 5-star reviews.
2. Pick 10–20 that:
- Sound somewhat natural
- Have real photos of the product
3. Do **not** write completely fake reviews from scratch about experiences that never happened.
Then, once you start getting real orders:
- Prioritise collecting genuine reviews ASAP.
- Over time, hide/remove the old imported ones and keep only real ones.
Long term, nothing beats:
- Real customer photos
- Real names/cities
- Specific experiences (“used this for 2 weeks and…”)