opinion on shipping from Alibaba,Ebay or Aliexpress

Not necessarily man. Some come through normal mail and get directly to your post office. Unless the package is designated as a customs good.
I’ve had something as small as a matchbox held by customs and something as big as 3-inch performance air filter sail through like a keyholder.

@Gratified,@1776 and @gobshite how long does it take for goods to reach here in Kenya and also are there duties?
Kindly advise

depends on the shipping, time and type of package. read my previous post.
using shippers like ups, dhl etc you will ALWAYS be charged duty. EMS and normal post, ongea na watu vizuri you’ll slide through.

nice.So do you always need akina dhl or they just an intermediary?

Between 3weeks to one month.
Duty usually applies for handsets laptops. Utaambiwa Kwa your notification if you need to pay duty; at least thats what the lady told me while picking.
Another option ni kuambia seller atume as gift. But still description of item is written on package so kuepuka labda ngumu
Kama ni electronics Tumia village smugglers hapa. Have heard good reviews

On AliExpress, although there are rare instances where you can be given the option to choose which way to ship your consignment, it is usually the seller who decides which company to use. Ole wako if your seller used Turkey Post! It is the slowest of them all! Even within Turkey Items can take months to be delivered!

Vitu ndogo zinakuja kama barua na haulipii duty,hizo za free shipping… huge stuffs, duty lazima kulipia

Do packages get from Aliexpress get lost.

If you don’t pick that call when Posta calls you (City Square Post Office), then yes. They don’t respond to emails either.

End of January.

Buying through ebay or amazon is easy. Just get the link of the item to [email protected]. They will send you a quotation. Pay via paybill expect the item in a week or two. 1kg they charge usd15.