They would probably be cheaper if they weren't subsidizing postal rates for other countries.

I find it amusing when you have a problem on AliExpress and the seller suggests you mail it back to them. Unless the product has a very high value it almost always costs more than the product's value to send it back to China.

Luckily AliExpress customer service seems to realize this and will often grant refunds without requiring you to return the product.

eBay really sucks on this regard; it's very difficult to get a refund for a defective item without paying handsomely to ship it back.