Singles Day 2026 (11.11): date, participating sites and traps to avoid

Singles Day 2026 takes place on Wednesday November 11, 2026, hence its nickname "11.11". In France, the event is driven mainly by AliExpress, with promotions that often stretch over several days around that date. Before ordering, keep in mind that parcels shipped from outside the European Union are subject to VAT and, since July 1, 2026, to a flat customs duty, even for small amounts.

This guide covers the calendar, where Singles Day comes from, which sites take part, the import rules now in force in the EU and how to tell whether an 11.11 deal is genuinely good, sixteen days before Black Friday.

When is Singles Day 2026?

Singles Day is set on November 11 every year. In 2026, it falls on a Wednesday. It opens the end-of-year sales season:

Event	2026 date	Day
Singles Day (11.11)	November 11, 2026	Wednesday
Black Friday	November 27, 2026	Friday
Cyber Monday	November 30, 2026	Monday

The official date is not the whole story: on AliExpress, the 2025 edition included a pre-launch phase a few days before November 11, followed by offers running for more than a week. The 2026 programme had not been detailed at the time of this update, so rely on the conditions shown on each offer.

Where does Singles Day (11.11) come from?

November 11 started as a student celebration at universities in Nanjing, China, in the 1990s: a "singles' day", its date echoing four "1"s standing alone. In 2009, Alibaba turned the date into a shopping event on its Tmall platform, with only a handful of participating brands.

It has since become one of the biggest online shopping events in China, and spread abroad through the group's international platforms, including AliExpress. In Europe it is less established than Black Friday, but it works as a first price benchmark for the holiday season.

Which sites run Singles Day in France?

• AliExpress (Alibaba group) is the main player: 11.11 is a yearly highlight there, with promo codes, coupons and time-limited deals.
• Other marketplaces and retailers sometimes borrow the "11.11" or "Singles Day" label for their own promotions. There is, however, no official list of participants and no shared calendar in France.
• Major French retailers tend to focus their efforts on Black Friday, two weeks later.

In practice, a large share of Singles Day offers come from sellers based outside the European Union, which changes how you should calculate the real price.

Customs and VAT: what changes for non-EU orders in 2026

This is the point most often overlooked. Several rules apply to purchases shipped from a non-EU country:

VAT on every parcel since 2021

Since July 1, 2021, the VAT exemption that covered parcels under €22 has been abolished across the EU. For shipments up to €150, the seller or platform can collect VAT at checkout through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS). Otherwise, VAT may be charged on delivery, sometimes with a customs clearance fee from the carrier.

The €3 customs duty since July 1, 2026

Parcels under €150 used to enter the EU free of customs duties. Since July 1, 2026, the EU applies a flat €3 duty per category of items in the parcel. According to the European Commission, five identical T-shirts incur a €3 duty, while three T-shirts and a watch incur €6. It is a temporary measure pending the wider EU customs reform. In France, it replaced the national €2 small-parcel tax that applied from March 1 to June 30, 2026.

A handling fee announced for November 1, 2026

The French government's Service-Public website states that an EU handling fee is due to apply to small distance-selling shipments from November 1, 2026, just before Singles Day. At the time of this update, its terms were still to be specified, so check the final price shown at checkout.

Parcel value (non-EU)	VAT	Customs duties
Up to €150	Due, collected at checkout (IOSS) or on delivery	€3 per item category since July 1, 2026
Over €150	Due on import	Standard duties depending on the product

Even when the seller pays these amounts, they can be built into the displayed price. Always compare the total delivered price, not the headline price.

Singles Day traps to avoid

• Vague reference prices: displayed discounts are sometimes calculated from a starting price that is hard to verify. France's 30-day rule regulates struck-through prices, but enforcement is harder against a seller based abroad.
• Coupons with strings attached: minimum order thresholds, validity of a few hours, no stacking. Work out the price after the coupon, not the "up to 80% off".
• Unknown sellers: on a marketplace, two near-identical listings can come from very different sellers. Check how long they have been selling, their reviews and their return policy.
• Delivery times: a parcel shipped from Asia can take several weeks. For a Christmas gift, plan ahead or favour offers shipped from a European warehouse.
• Costly returns: sending an item back outside the EU can be expensive. Read the terms before buying.
• Product compliance: for chargers, toys or electrical devices, check the CE marking and the seller's reliability.

For more warning signs, see our guide on how to spot a fake discount.

Singles Day or Black Friday: which is cheaper?

Neither is systematically cheaper. The two events do not quite target the same products: Singles Day shines mainly on items sold through international platforms (tech accessories, small gadgets, Asian brands), while Black Friday 2026 draws more French and European retailers, Amazon among them.

For a branded product available everywhere, November 11 is above all a chance to record a reference price. If the Singles Day price is already the lowest you have seen in recent months, you can buy without waiting. If not, the sixteen days between the two events give you time to compare, and Cyber Monday offers one more chance on November 30.

How to check an 11.11 deal in a few minutes

1. Note the current price of the products you want now, with the date.
2. Look for the same reference at a European retailer: a similar price, delivered faster and with no customs surprise, may be the better buy.
3. Work out the total price: item, coupon, delivery, VAT and any duties.
4. Check the price history where available. For Amazon, our guide to Amazon price history shows where to find it.
5. Set a target price and only buy if it is reached.

Doing this by hand for several products on several sites, from November 11 to Cyber Monday, quickly adds up to hours, and an overnight drop is easy to miss. UniverTrack automates that part: paste a product link, and it checks the price regularly, keeps a dated history and emails you when your target price is reached. Amazon and Cdiscount are supported, and other online stores on a best-effort basis by reading the product page: the free preview on the home page shows you in seconds whether a link can be read.

Put it into practice: prepare Singles Day and Black Friday in one go

With UniverTrack, one round of preparation covers the whole of November:

1. Paste the link of each product you are after, ideally several weeks before November 11.
2. Set a realistic target price, based on the prices you have seen rather than the percentage on the banner.
3. Get the alert as soon as the price is reached, on Singles Day, on Black Friday or in between, then buy.

If you track a few specific products, the Découverte plan is enough. If you compare the same reference across several retailers (an international marketplace and a European retailer, for example), the Pro plan groups those offers on one product page and shows the best one. Details on the pricing page, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no commitment.