I've found many items on ali-express are within %10 of the ebay or even amazon price. The ali-express discount is not as major as you think for many items.
Competition has driven it down to "cost of item + warehousing + shipping + tiny profit" in many cases.
The one advantage you still get via indirect ordering is often smaller lot sizes. I'd rather pay $1 for a bolt than $50 for 5000 bolts, even if the piece cost is much higher.
