The WFHW team recently completed a not-so-favorable review of the Alibaba.com website, due largely to unethical activity by certain suppliers.
Since AliExpress.com is owned by Alibaba.com, we felt it was important to let our readers know if AliExpress.com could be trusted or if suppliers are using similar tactics to those being used over at Alibaba.com.
What Is AliExpress.com?
AliExpress.com founded in 2009 is a marketplace offering products at factory prices direct from China. Orders can be as small as a single item.
The AliExpress.com website is actually featured on the main Alibaba.com website. When you sign up for a free membership with AliExpress, you are actually registering with Alibaba.com at the same time.
Unlike Alibaba.com (which has no payment tracking because they use Western Union), payments for products purchased through AliExpress.com are held by Alibaba.com in their Escrow Alipay system and are only released to the seller once the product is received by the purchaser.
This system was put in place to overcome one of the biggest challenges Alibaba.com was experiencing, the non-delivery of products.
However, it appears that the escrow system has not completely resolved the problem with products not being delivered.
There were a few customer complaints suggesting that even though the money was held in escrow, when they did not receive their product and requested a refund, the money was not released back to them.
One person, after waiting several months, still had not received their money back, nor had they received the products they purchased.
What Are The Main Differences Between AliExpress.com And Alibaba.com?
I had to take a real close look at these two sites in order to identify the main differences.
1) All the suppliers for AliExpress.com are from China whereas Alibaba.com has international suppliers as well as suppliers from China.
2) AliExpress.com payments are made online when the order is placed and funds are held in an Escrow. Buyers at Alibaba.com make payments offline via Western Union so there is no way to track where the money goes.
3) Unlike Alibaba.com which caters to companies with large orders, AliExpress.com provides products to both companies and individuals with no minimum order requirement.
4) Shipments on AliExpress.com are by air only, while Alibaba.com offers a choice of shipping by sea or air.
What Do You Need To Be Aware Of Before Making A Purchase Through AliExpress?
The use of an Escrow-based Alipay system to manage payments between sellers and customers may help to prevent the non-delivery of products – a concern of customers and one of the major stumbling blocks with Alibaba.com. However, there are problems that it won’t solve.
Buyers that purchase products through AliExpress.com will still be dealing with the same vendors that service Alibaba.com.
Because there are no regulations and quality control in place, some of these sellers have unethical business practices which have resulted in a large number of complaints issued by purchasers about Alibaba. The only difference is that sellers won’t get the money until the product is in the customer’s hand.
Sellers have also been known to replace items with similar look-a-likes that may not have the exact specification so you need to check merchandise very carefully when you receive it.
There have been a number of complaints that sellers were not able to deliver products on time. However, the time frame it takes for products to clear is an unpredictable variable that could cause product arrival delays.
Potential buyers need to examine vendors very carefully before making any purchases. The following are 5 warning signs that you should be aware of when researching a seller.
1) They Offer a Wide Range of Products.
If the sellers’ profile indicates that they sell a wide range of products, this is an indication that they are a trading company and as a result, you won’t get the best deals.
2) They’re Slow To Answer Or Don’t Respond At All To Pre-sell Questions.
If they don’t provide any pre-sell customers service, who is going to help resolve your situation if you have an issue after making a purchase and require customer service?
3) They Are Located in Fujian
While not all sellers from this region are unethical, sellers in this area have a reputation that is notorious for generating customer complaints.
4) They Don’t Use The Same Name Or Provide A Company Name Without A City
Sellers should always have a city attached to their name. Most Chinese companies do. If you come across a seller without a city attached to their name, you should be very cautious.
5) They Claim To Sell Brand Name Products
Brand name products are sold at brand name prices. It would be very unlikely that a small company like AliExpress could acquire brand-name products to sell.
AliExpress is not a scam, but there are unethical sellers so you need to be careful and do some research before considering making a purchase.
You may even consider testing the waters by making a small purchase before investing any significant amount of money in products.
Check below for further dropshipping opportunities.
~Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Marcus,
Thanks so much for your useful article here about AliExpress.com. I have just come to use this website and have made my first purchase from them within the last few days. I am due to receive my item at some point within the next two weeks, so after reading your article I am a bit cautious now about my item arriving. The website does seem a little different from the mainstream shopping websites like Amazon, Ebay, etc and I have noticed how they don’t really mention too much about any possible customs/duty charges to the UK, so I’m hoping these costs are too much. The one thing I have found strange is how each time I check my order it is counting down from about nine days, with about seven days left, and if my order is not processed within the remaining time it says on screen that my order will be automatically cancelled. I will keep you updated with how my order goes and if/when I receive my item whether everything is how it should be. Thanks for your article and wise comments though mate – they definitely get one thinking and keep us being cautious when we use new websites for the first time when making a purchase.
Kindest Regards
Alex
You are very welcome, Alex!
I do hope that your first purchase goes smoothly and it would be great to hear how things eventually worked out when you have the time.
Thanks for stopping by, Alex!
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I was surprised to see this when I was doing a search on what happens when a seller gets too many complaints from a purchase paid for via paypal.
I have been shopping AliExpress for about 10 years. Overall I find it great and prices are what I can afford due to having to live way below poverty level. Shopping for deal is a must. One thing I noticed is that the sellers are very concerned about complaints or poor reviews so when I am having problems I just tell the seller I will be leaving a bad review. More often than not they go out to their way to fix the issue before you do that. It is my understanding that if they get too many poor reviews AliExpress drops them. One such time I ordered an ultrasonic cleaner as it said 50W got it and it was only 35W ….I then sent a message to the seller stating that. End of this issue was I got a full refund and the seller didn’t even ask for the product back. You need to be patient with them most have a bit of problems understanding English. Over all I love to shop there and find it far better than shopping on Ebay which drives me nuts with all the paypal disputes I have to put in from shopping there. I am disabled and not able to just get out and shop and find good deals in the town I live in.
Hi Kat,
It’s great to hear that you have developed a solid process for purchasing goods at Aliexpress. This will definitely help my visitors with their own purchases.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, Kat!
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I’ve used Aliexpress for the last few months and generally positive experience. I search for item, sort by number of orders and only look at 4.8-5 star ratings. Next I look at product reviews and sellers rating. If unsure I ask questions note one item I asked 10+ questions all were answered. When you look at seller profile you can see 3, 6 & 12 ratings for description, communication & shipping etc. You can see if they are consistent. Don’t always go for cheap. Go for high order numbers with high star rating from a seller with a lot of historical business and feedback. I am yet to make a claim so can’t comment on resolution problems. I’ve ordered items from $2.75USD to $2,500 USD. Note I’ve had problems on other channels like eBay. I guess it’s a matter of time before it happens to me but robust process should reduce likelihood of it happening. Hope this helps?
It certainly does, Des!
Thanks for taking the time to give my visitors a comprehensive overview of how you order goods from Aliexpress.
Your process will definitely help others to reduce the risk of purchasing goods, and to source reputable and trustworthy sellers.
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I am so glad I read the reviews on Aliexpress! I’m about to wed on 7/7/17, I saw this beautiful, beautiful wedding dress that I was going to purchase at $304. I can’t even fathom how much of a catastrophe that would have been for us if anything were to go wrong! There are about 1% great comments and the other 99% AllBad.com!!!
Thanks to everyone’s reviews, you saved my Big Day!
Delighted to hear that I was able to help here, Terressa!
Congrats on seeing the light, and I wish you all the best for your big day on the 7/7/17!
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I received the wrong items and it’s been a nightmare trying to get a refund. The AE ‘chat’ people hide behind ‘process’ and in spite of photographic evidence of the wrong items being received by them, and in spite of the supplier finally (he has proved slippery and elusive too) offering a refund – with AE confirming this is the case – they continue to hold out and claim ‘the dispute is finished’. Breathtakingly BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE…and a shocking and unacceptable way to treat a customer. Seriously ‘caveat emptor’ and for sure, I shall cease purchasing from AliExpress. Not impressed.
Absolutely agree here, Murray.
For as long as this post has been up I have been saying that AliExpress have a deeply flawed system in place when it comes to processing refunds and customer service in general.
I’m sorry to hear that you have become a victim, and thanks for stopping by to share your experience with my visitors.
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I tried out aliexpress.com in November to purchase a jersey for my kid’s Christmas present. I still have not received the jersey, but the seller says it was delivered. There is no way to track the delivery and the dates don’t add up. The seller was trying to get me to change to another jersey saying “blue no goods, you change jersey”..and then said it was delivered 2 days later. Very annoyed at this site. First and last time I will be that dumb consumer.
Hi Dora,
Thanks for sharing your experience with AliExpress.
There are just so many loopholes within this company’s business model that work AGAINST the paying customer. It doesn’t make an ounce of business sense to me.
They need to start thinking more about the consumer experience and the impact it has on repeat business.
I know that many of my visitors have had positive experiences with AliExpress, but they have a process that reduces the risk when purchasing goods.
That might be a good thing…but a potential customer should not have to go to these lengths! AliExpress themselves should make it completely safe for anyone to make a purchase.
I continue to scratch my head over AliExpress and the consumer experience they have created.
All the best to you, Dora.
Marcus – WFHW
I have been using aliexpress for quite a while, and I have hit a snag or two, but tbh it’s no different than buying off eBay. I bought a 3DS off eBay and got shipped a book, and eBay refused to do anything about because I couldn’t prove it.
That said, in my experience, you should avoid electronics off aliexpress. I have never had an issue with anything else, but electronics are usually trouble.
I have spent thousands of dollars on the site and probably had 2 or 3 issues, one instance they did actually refund my money.
Great advice, Dman. Your experience with AliExpress will definitely be of some benefit to my visitors.
Thanks for stopping by!
Regards,
Marcus – WFHW
I’m an Aliexpress regular buyer. Yes, there’s a lot of bad sellers trying to cheat you. But you need to find good ones. I’ve been buying for 5 years long. I have an 19k usd order from my 5* supplier and without problem for cctv equipments. The strategy is not to buy the cheapest stuff. Keep an eye on the protection time and negotiate with seller before ordering. Not knowing some tricks, newbie buyers loose some money.
Hi Salas,
It’s great to hear that you have a process in place that works and a supplier that you can trust.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your tips with my visitors. I wish you all the best with your business.
Marcus – WFHW
I have bought a Xiaomi Mi5 phone from a seller and he scammed me by sending two dummy phones. I am still waiting for a refund, the seller won’t accept return and full refund nor a partial refund. Beware when you buy anything worth a hefty sum.
Sorry to hear about your experience with AliExpress, Vanni.
I hope everything gets sorted and you get a refund. It would be great if you could keep me in the loop for the benefit of my readers.
Have a great weekend.
Marcus – WFHW
It’s simple alibaba/aliexpress make their money off new customers that haven’t heard or read about (which is hard to understand because most ads I come across have hundreds of comments negatively describing poor outcomes) there reputation and just see the cheap prices. They don’t care about repeat customers because new ones come in everyday, so therefore don’t care if customer is unhappy.
Hi Lisa,
An interesting and most likely correct theory.
It’s actually common for businesses to operate in this way…making the new customer a priority over existing customers.
I’d like to think that they eventually get what they deserve for operating in this way. Surely they would have greater long term potential if they treated their old and new customers equally?
It baffles me!
Thanks for your input, Lisa.
Marcus – WFHW
They definitely give you the run around. Cancel any orders you placed immediately as even if you want something, it says in small print that it can take up to 60 days to get it. So ridiculous. They speak in circles and you never quite get results. Contact your cc company and have them flag the charge as this company is a fraud in all ways. They are just trying to make money, as we all are, but their practices are shady.
Hi Claire,
Thanks for your thoughts on AliExpress. I agree that when there’s a problem with an order they make it difficult to get a positive resolution. It’s such a shame they don’t place greater importance on the customer, but unfortunately it has been that way for some time.
I will just add, as many others have, not every purchase you make on AliExpress will lead to a negative situation. Many of my readers have commented on positive experiences but there should definitely be more protection in place for those who fall victim to the scammers out there.
Thanks for stopping by, Claire!
Marcus – WFHW
Buyer beware is exactly right. Buy from this site and you are tossing the dice. In my experience when you make a purchase you are at the mercy of the seller, some are legit and others are unscrupulous. I have had dealings with both. But if you do run into problems do not expect any customer service. They will always side with the seller. I ordered some items that never came and they asked me to prove I hadn,t received it. After contacting my post office they said There was no record of my order. Yet how do you show you do not have something? It was rediculous. They did nothing for me and released payment to the seller. I’ve now had a few poor experiences with aliexpress and have decided not to use this site any longer.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, S.
I’ve received many similar comments about Aliexpress in the past, so your comments will only re-enforce the views of others.
Thanks again and have a great day!
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
My credit card was charged by Aliexpress.com London GBR. I live in Australia. It was USD. Never brought online with the card. Not an Aliexpress or Alibaba customer. Aliexpress won’t assist as states privacy policy for buyer! What about my privacy that was breached by them processing the charge.
Hi Aussie,
I believe this is likely to be a case of identity theft more than anything, and probably not connected directly with Aliexpress.
However, thank you taking the time to let us know. This would definitely be something that you should discuss with your credit card supplier asap.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I purchased two Samsung S6 phones July 2. They arrived July 7. None of the chargers worked. One phone stopped working after a day. The Seller agreed to replace the phone and suggested a 4G LTE upgrade for $10.00. I had to ship the phone back ($18.00) The day after I shipped the phone the 2nd phone stopped working. I notified the seller and decided to wait till the new phone arrived. Three weeks later the new phone arrived. That phone would not recognize the SIM. Contacted seller and AliExpress. Seller would not return emails or Skype. AliExpress to me to follow their complaint process, which I did. In the process of trying to work this out. My carrier said that my phone was stolen and shut off my service. It took two days to get my other phones unblocked. As of today, AliExpress told me that the Seller was out of business and there was nothing that they could do at this point. If you look deep into their structure, there is no way to contact them directly. Only means is through their CRS and they are worthless is resolving issues. I am out $421.00, all due to AliExpress failures to protect their buyers. DO NOT purchase anything through AliExpress. There is a very good chance you will lose your money and own a worthless piece of trash .
Hi PJ,
Yes, your experience highlights the fact that buyers protection at AliExpress is the weak link. I have said this so many times before, but why would such a large company fail to place importance on this crucial part of the buying/selling process? I simply cannot understand how a company can survive without greater emphasis on customer satisfaction.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience, PJ.
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
I’ve ordered many things from AliExpress, and so far they have been up to standard. The sellers are quick to respond and they also help me with things like tracking and information about the product involved.
I find that shopping apps and websites like AliExpress can be trusted, however you do need to check things like reviews and ratings on the products, just to be sure.
I’ve also used shopping apps like Wish, who, like ALiExpress, are quite accurate and give fairly cheap prices and discounts rather than the over-priced product we get in the UK.
IT CAN BE TRUSTED, IT’S JUST WHO YOU’RE BUYING IT FROM THAT YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR!
Perfect conclusion there, IbbyDar. You need to be wary of the sellers.
In addition to that I would also like to point out my biggest concern…how Aliexpress appears to favor sellers over paying customers. It’s something that I see consistently, and I feel it contributes to the poor customer satisfaction associated with AliExpress. If they get that bit right I think they will go a long way to addressing their biggest issues.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Marcus – WFHW
DO NOT BUY FROM ALIEXPRESS !!!
I ordered a product for Android following the seller confirmation that the product is indeed for Android. When I got it, I found out that it is for MS Windows. After I placed a dispute and provided all required evidence, the so called “arbitration” decided to refund only 40% of the money, because that was the seller suggestion.
It looks like Aliexpress is a “buy and pray” site.
Hi Yanu,
Sorry to hear about your experience with AliExpress. It’s yet another example of the unfair customer service that appears to put sellers ahead of buyers.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I have just purchased my first and last item from aliexpress, it was a laptop screen, I had initially purchased one through ebay only to discover the I/O port was on the wrong side, the exchange process was painless with a full refund of my return shipping also. Now aware of the right left I/O port issue, I continued shopping and found the product on Aliexpress with a photo showing the I/O port on the correct side. I emailed the seller to confirm it was on the correct side and he replied saying it was as pictured, so I ordered. When it arrived guess what it was on the wrong side, so with no experience in how this was done I opened a dispute, problem it wanted photos and videos which I selected and “uploaded” it told me they still needed to be uploaded. I then contacted the seller directly and once again thought I uploaded a photo, 3 days later they contacted me and said they would need a photo, at that point knowing I had provided the photo I exploded and replied that I had trusted his information before purchase and found it a bit rude asking for a photo. I then tried to complain to a human being at Aliexpress, I had to google it to get through to a human at Alibaba live chat who put me through to a human at Aliexpress live chat. Instead of taking control of the situation they asked for a photo, once again I explained the situation and they said the only way it could be dealt with was through initiatting a dispute and they would show me how to do it. At that point I closed the conversation as much as I dont want to loose AUD$104, I make that in two hours work and I had already wasted between two and four hours.
Hi Matt,
Your story sums up how frustrating it can be when a buyer is let down by both a seller and the support system in place at Aliexpress. Whilst it’s great when you find good sellers on Aliexpress, the bad ones continue to sell inferior goods and basically getting away with it. I cannot for the life of me understand how a business can operate in this way.
Wishing you all the best, Matt.
Marcus – WFHW
I have been purchasing clothing, clothing accessories and simple medical devices from AliExpress for about one year. I am a careful shopper, doing as much homework and research as I can before the purchase. I study the fabric and size, taking into consideration that China goods are measured in the Metric system. One inch = 2.54 cm. You simply cannot buy clothing using the “small, medium, large” or “10, 12, 14, etc.” of American clothing goods. I also consider the rating of the seller, as AliExpress provides a grading system for each supplier.
So far, I am extremely happy with about 90% of goods received. There were only about 5 disappointments; where the product was supposed to be larger, but arrived too small (Chinese are petite); or wrong color was shipped.
When I submitted questions to suppliers, they answered in a speedy fashion. Expect a one to two-month wait for most goods, but well worth the wait. Learn the system and you can take advantage of some great bargains.
Some great advice there, Silverliner.
It definitely makes sense to be really careful when ordering goods, especially clothing were sizes can be very different around the world.
You’ve offered some great advice here and I’m sure your comment will be very helpful to my visitors. Thank you!
All the best for now…
Marcus – WFHW
I heard a positive news story about Aliexpress awhile back so decided to make a purchase. Big mistake. They made a big error on my order and wanted me to pay $25 to ship a $35 purchase back to them. I understand needing to pay return shipping if the error was on my end or I decided that I didn’t want the product for some reason that was not their fault but not when the error is on their end. Back to ebay I go…
Hi Teri,
Sorry to hear about your experiences with Aliexpress.
Your story typifies everything that frustrates me about Aliexpress and how they handle customer service in particular.
It’s a key factor that *should* be more important to them. Sadly, it’s not.
I wish you every success over at eBay.
Marcus – WFHW
WARNING DO NOT BUY!!! unbelievable this site is still online – pure rip off
buyed around 30 items in the past year. most were highly different from the desciption. sizes are pure luck someone sells an m which is an xxl from another buyer, even their size tables are totally inacurate ?! why do they have them???!!! items look good in the pictures but are ugly in real just google “aliexpress real vs expectation”. but there are also a very few good seller. if you buy 10 item i would say one or two are like expected.
big problems:
1. seller ratings are only for shipping. if someone receives an item he gives normally 5 stars. THE RATING DOES NOT REFLECT THE ITEMS QUALITY.
2. their “support” team is horrendous. i claimed 2 items who were totally rip off and had nothing to do with the description, i provided more than enough evidence and got nothing… not even an explanation they just closed my case.
in one case the seller said he shipped me the requested item and that i am a liar (only half the ordered and payed items were in the package) ok can happen right? second one was a fake Adidas shoes for 60$ it was not even with a logo and the sole was not fixed (you have seen glue…) what would you think did the support (according to their terms for fake items you get a FULL REFUND!)? yes exactly closed the case without any words why.
D O N O T B U Y T H E R E !!! if you have luck and get a acceptable item it is never ever worth the stress you have!
PS: i know NOT ONE rating site where aliexpress has more than 1 of 5 Stars! (and i know a lot!)
Gerry
Switzerland
Hi Gerry,
Thanks for stopping by.
Sorry to hear about your experiences with AliExpress, and yes they are consistent with many others who have left their comments.
The one thing that surprises me the most about such a big company is the quality of the customer support. This really should be an area of focus when you are dealing with such a large volume of customers. It should be a priority to offer the best possible support to ensure the ongoing growth of the business but it would appear that it is anything but.
Totally baffling!
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I bought Samsung galaxy mega 6.3 black for $339:99 on sunday, and on Tusday I was asking to change for a better samsung phone. i dont have no body to talk with. i was asked to go on computer to make a change or request a refound. irealy dont want that product. i am going to make case and claim through my bank right now if i can not contact them today.
Hi John,
Sorry to hear about your experience here with Aliexpress. Nothing is as simple as it should be, right?
I hope everything goes well with your claim for a refund.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
For those wanting to try I started using Aliexpress middle of last year mainly for plushies and some toys for my kids that are hard to find locally. So far I have received everything except for one item I have ordered. For the item that never arrived I lodged a dispute and got my money back a few days later (the seller gets some time to respond). Some items I ordered took a long time to arrive (over 3 months) but that was due to postal service strikes with all my stuff sitting at one of our international depots for at least half that time.
I have recently tried ordered some jewellery, hoping it goes the same way but by the general speed and professionalism in response from the sellers to queries it doesn’t seem like it will be a problem.
One warning, on the tech goods that have a price REALLY too good to be true just check if they have reviews, if not then avoid. I tried to buy a budget smartwatch for the fun of it as I couldn’t argue with price. Aliexpress actually have some type of monitoring system for suspicious sellers and the sale was paused for review. A few days later with the scam seller obviously high tailing it I was told I would be refunded, I’m expecting it in a few days, will say if otherwise but looking back so far I don’t see a problem.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for the great input.
You highlight something here that is becoming a consistent and obvious factor…smooth transactions on Aliexpress are not just dependent on the seller, they are also dependent on the type of products you are buying.
From the feedback I receive here it would appear that buying anything related to the technology industry, especially crazy cheap deals, is often where issues arise. I think you proved that with your attempted purchase of the smartwatch.
That said I am pleased to hear that you have had few issues with the purchase of kids toys and I hope this continues for you in the future.
All the best,
Marcus – WFHW
i am promoting aliexpress and now i have 3000 points , but my points dashboard showing only 5$ coupon to redeem , all opther people have 5$ , 10$ , 20$ , redeem option , then why not me.. i want to redeem 20$ coupon .. can any 1 help me ? i dont know whats wrong with my aliexpress and points dashboard. thank you
Hi duaa,
I have never promoted AliExpress so I don’t know what the issue might be here. My advice would be to contact AliExpress support, probably the affiliate dept would be the best choice, and they should be able to advise you on the issue with your points dashboard.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I ordered a lot of clothes on December 1st, 2014 and today January 26th 2015 almost 2 months I ordered stuff from different sellers and 2 sellers ship within 2 weeks but this sellers Princes et princesses never ship their item to me they keep lying and lying about they shipped my stuff how come I haven’t receive if they really shipped? I order same days with 3 other sellers I received 4 weeks ago…I think I will loose my 85 UDS what a SCAM
Hi Supunsa,
Sorry to hear about the issues with your order. The best thing you can do here is to open a dispute and claim a refund for your order. Details of how to do this can be found on this page.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I’m considering purchasing a prepaid visa at the store and paying for my ali express purchase with it so they don’t have access to my bank account. I wish they took PayPal. That’s sketchy.
Great thinking Abby! I actually do this for work from home products that I review. Not all of them, just the ones that I have concerns about.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
I placed two orders in the last 10 months on AliExpress using three different cards (a Visa Debit, and two Visa Electron). The payment went through (as it does with Amazon and Ebay and any other online legitimate store, same shipping details, same cards), the money was instantly taken from my account. A day later I received a communication informing me that the order was closed due to security reasons. The electronic items I had tried to purchase were almost 35% less than elsewhere (hence me placing the orders). That I believe is the hook, the bait for us to use our cards and let them made the transaction. I am not business insider but I firmly believe that, even though the money was returned (in one instance at least.. still waiting for the second transaction to be reimbursed), the transaction must have generated somehow a profit to them.
A scam?
Wish someone with banking backgound would look into this matter soon. I am tired of this Chinese fraud
Very scarey stuff, especially considering the transaction was closed the next day.
At least you did get your money back for one transaction, but it is a concern that your credit card details have been accepted then declined within the space of 24 hours. It makes you wonder what they can actually do with that information.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Since last 06 months I have started buying on Aliexpress but I was member of Alibaba.com since last 6 years and never tried purchasing from that website before.
Now in last 3 months I did USD1000 purchases from them found them my God too cheap prices I can never believe that someone can give me a chronograph watch which looks cost USD$60 is only USD$6, and when it receive it was amazing in quality.
Only thing which I am not happy is quality of clothing and clothes whatever you buy from them is really not reliable.
Electronics, Watches, Jewellery, Home décor rest all whatever I buy was amazing in quality I will recommend Aliexpress.
Hi Raja,
It’s great to hear of someone having a positive experience with goods purchased on AliExpress. Thanks also for sharing your thoughts on items that you have found to be of poor quality. This information will be very helpful to my visitors.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Anybody has experience of working with Aliexpress not as an ordinary buyer but as an Affiliate? I thought about trying it. Is it worth it? I mean risking my reputation and starting affiliate business instead of just my own ecommerce store (where I can check the quality of products and the delivery)?
Hi Mike,
Good thinking but there might be more than an element of risk here due to the fact that you would be relying on the supplier completing the order. As you can probably tell from the many comments here, finding reputable suppliers at Aliexpress is not easy.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Hello Marcus, Thanks for the info. Yes, I am completely agree with you that AliExpress is not a scam but few sellers are there who make buyers to fel like its a scam. So every one should check the seller’s profile and reputation before making purchase.
That’s what I know. Have a good day.
Totally agree with you there, Veer.
Using Aliexpress is not without risk so be careful and apply some common sense before buying.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
I have used aliexpress a couple of times now and i have always recieved the right products and am happy with the service but everytime i make a payment, extra money is taken out of my account. Last time it was only small amounts like $10. but yesterday it an extra $34 was taken out of my account. I could clearly see the 5 payments made to the different sellers, but there was that $34 payment made to aliexpress.com. Im not sure what to do about it :/
Hi Jess,
This is definitely something that you need to get to the bottom of. I suggest contacting Aliexpress support and asking them why these payments are being taken from your account. You can do that on this page.
The best of luck to you, Jess.
Marcus
WFHW
Beware of ALIEXPRESS
Do not buy any stuffs from aliexpress it is all fake product and send wrong product still you have to pay at-least 50% of product price that also after struggle 1 month by placing dispute case and if your right then you get only 50%. And In Chinese pink color is called red so be careful about aliexpress. I have brought the red color case with screenguard for my tablet. but they send me the pink color case without screen guard. I have made a disputed but the seller rejected it and says this color is called red in china. So I have escalate the dispute to there case management team. they are not reply me for more then 22days then I contacted them via chat and request them to look in to it. Then there case management team check the case and accepted that this is wrong color but we can make only 50% refund only and close the case. Why I have to pay for the goods we don’t want it. So Please guys do not by from aliexpress
Hi Balaji,
Sorry to hear about your experience with Aliexpress.
From what you have said it sounds very much like your issue related to the color of the phone case. I’m fully on your side here as red should be red so something should be put in place to warn potential customers if they are buying color-specific products from China.
This is yet again another example of why people are so frustrated with the Aliexpress service…relatively minor issues that should be easy to resolve.
Thanks for stopping by, Balaji, and the best of luck with all future online ventures.
Marcus
WFHW
I personally love Aliexpress. I mean… free shipping, ridiculously cheap prices… of course some stuff won’t be the highest quality but I have yet to receive something that was bad. However I do keep my purchases to relatively simple items: a stuffed animal, stockings, corsets (all the corsets I have gotten have been AMAZING quality and an amazing buy for the price) and a necklace or two. Also never had a problem with any fraud. I’d say keep the expensive and important stuff to in-person sellers and the cheap and easy things to those with free shipping.
Hi Emily,
Great to hear about a positive experience from an AliExpress customer!
You echo the opinions of those who have posted here with good advice when dealing with Aliexpress. Keep it simple in terms of expense and quantity and then if something should go wrong it is not a major financial loss. Also finding trusted sellers is very important.
Thanks for stopping by!
Marcus
WFHW
I ordered a dozen glass crystals through a seller from aliexpress. While they did arrive, the seller made NO ATTEMPT WHATSOEVER to assure that they were shipped properly (i.e., all were thrown in a bag without any wrapping around them) and as a result, all were broken either completely in half or chipped at every single facet and were unusable. I am suspicious that they may have even been broken prior to purchase, and that they did this to unload defective merchandise and extort shipping/handling fees. I send a photo pf the damaged merchandise and was told that if I wanted a refund that I had to pay shipping to return the merchandise, which I refused to do due to the fact that the costs were high, no resale was possible on their part, and that they had shown complete negligence in their shipping. The dispute process was a joke; I ended up putting a stop payment through Visa instead. As far as I can tell, there is no way to air a grievance to aliexpress on a frozen order, so I hve decided not to do any further business with them and I am sharing my experience where I can. Also, I have to say that prices on ebay are comparable if not better. Aliexpress is simply not worth the headache.
Hi Emily,
Thanks for sharing your experience with AliExpress.
Once again this highlights how buyers are at the mercy of some unethical sellers when buying goods, and in addition it also highlights where AliExpress should be sealing the holes in their leaky bucket.
Yes, there are things that people can do to greatly reduce the risk of buying dodgy goods, but it is not a 100% guarantee.
Thanks once again for sharing, Emily, and I am pleased to hear that you have at least been able to stop the payment to this seller.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
I ordered a phone, it worked for 1 week and having a hard time getting an address to return the phone after, they assure me that I have warranty on the item. There’s no customer service on Aliespress, I would advise people to refrain from buying from Aliexpress. I will never buy from them again
Sorry to hear about your experience, Diana.
This is the kind of situation that Aliexpress should be taking note of…a customer has a bad experience and as they don’t receive the right level of support, the customer will never come back.
It really shouldn’t be this way.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story, Diana.
Marcus
WFHW
I’ve never had any problems with Aliexpress and I’ve had about 15 orders there. The key is to ALWAYS check the feedback people leave! It’s really not that hard to find a good seller if you just check their feedback! You can even sort products by “top rated” and “seller rating”. If you get ripped off the fault is obviously on the sellers side, but you should have done your homework before buying.
Great advice, Anja, and it’s a logical approach that everyone should take when considering purchasing goods from Aliexpress.
Regards,
Marcus
WFHW
This is the first time that I was deceived on aliexspress.
The seller zhao yuqiao did not want to talk to me.
He did not want to give me back my money or exchange shoes,
that he send to me.He agreed that made
the size of the shoe and then simply ignored all my
questions about how to fix this problem.
Looks like aliexpress don`t care about reputations and
customer satisfaction.I Think I lost my money ,but this gonna be
last time I buying any thing on aliexpress.
Hey Oleg,
I think this has more to do with the seller rather than AliExpress. That said, AliExpress should have a process in place to deal with situations like this. It’s not exactly rocket science.
Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it, and I hope that you have better luck elsewhere with your online purchases.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Hey Oleg,
I think this has more to do with the seller rather than AliExpress. That said, AliExpress should have a process in place to deal with situations like this. It’s not exactly rocket science.
Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it, and I hope that you have better luck elsewhere with your online purchases.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
aliexpress is indeed buyer beware. the sellers are not dishonest, I have had to get my money back a few times with little problem. But honestly, unless you are an expert at what you are buying, you shouldn’t buy wholesale. Just because your local electronics store is run by teenagers who know nothing, doesn’t mean experts haven’t picked what to sell there.
Thanks for your tips, Joseph.
As has been mentioned many times throughout the replies to this post, there are a number of things that you can do to reduce the risk associated with buying from sites like AliExpress where the customer is at the mercy of the seller.
Yes, there are genuine sellers on there, but unfortunately there are also dishonest sellers – purely because the system allows them scam the buyer with considerable ease.
With that said, I am pleased to hear that you haven’t had too many problems with your purchases/refunds. As you rightly say, it is definitely a buyer beware way of purchasing goods online.
All the best,
Marcus
WFHW
Hi WFHW, i was about to make 6 purchase with aliexpress, clothes and a jewelry, now that i’ve read such comments, i’m having second thoughts. No wonder they’re price are low than the usual. And i’m having goosebumps, thanks god it was raining like dogs here, so i decided not to the send the money as of now. Whew. Thank you. Your site is very helpful.
Really glad to have helped you out here, luvlee!
You can see from the comments to this post that there are definitely issues associated with buying goods from AliExpress, and I am very thankful that people share their experiences.
Hopefully this goes some way to helping Aliexpress improve their service for the good of their business and the paying customers.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
have been using aliexpress for about 8 months now. a lot of orders. really enjoy using them, have had a couple of run in with sellers, but I am well satisfied with the co.
Hi Barbara,
Glad to hear that on the whole you have had a positive experience with AliExpress.
Best wishes,
Marcus – WFHW
I ordered 2 dresses from this company, and when they arrived the quality was so bad that I wanted to return them and receive a refund; however, it was difficult to find out how to do that and I ended up contacting my credit card company to receive a refund after I mailed the items back. This is a terrible company, and I want to warn others not to do business with them.
Sorry to hear about your experiences, Valerie, but I am glad to hear that you were able to get your money back in the end.
This is likely down to a combo of a poor seller and AliExpress’s refusal to offer more protection for the paying customer. It’s a consistent theme throughout all of the comments to this post, and it’s something that I think could be easily addressed by AliExpress.
Let’s hope they get around to resolving this…before it’s too late.
All the best,
Marcus
WFHW
Re: Ali Express
If something goes wrong: Right now I’m rolling my eyes
Let me put it this way: Some sellers are great, they are decent people and good, honest businessmen. I’ve done business with this one guy – many transactions – and everything has gone very well, and I would and will do business with him again.
BUT, if something goes wrong – and 2 other transactions from 2 other sellers did – The resolution process takes a long time, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to contact Ali Express yourself. Yes, you can contact the dishonest sellers, but that doesn’t do any good.
Ali Express’s resolution process takes a long time – so long that your ability to put the charge into dispute with your Credit Card would expire if you were to wait.
This is what has happened to me. I put the charge into dispute with my Credit Card Company because the process was taking such a long time. Now I am told by Ali Express that “my order has been frozen due to you claim a chargeback to cardholder bank”. Again, this is an “automated response” with no way to respond to them.
So thank goodness I did what I did, and I hope my Credit Card Company decides in my favor.
Out of 3 sellers I have bought things from: 1 seller is good, and the other 2 were not.
Proceed at your own risk. I will continue to do business with the 1 good seller.
Fantastic overview, Bert, and thanks so much for sharing your advice with my visitors here at Work From Home Watchdog.
Wishing you the best of luck with your credit card company.
Marcus
WFHW
The main problem is AliExpress offers NO buyer protection, especially after you have received your item. I have bought several times with no problems, however, I bought a mobile phone (my most expensive purchase from them) & although it worked great initially, after only 2 months it died. The seller advertises 12 month warranty, but I have been given the total runaround trying to get them to honour this. They finally agreed to repair the phone if I sent it back to them, but when I did, they lied & claimed the phone didn’t arrive. After investigation by China Post, the phone was returned to me with the message that the seller refused to claim the package. So, not only do I have a dead phone, but I also wasted $20 on registered post only to have it returned to me. This has been going on since February & even after four online discussions with supposedly helpful customer service people, nothing is being done. Every time I speak to them they tell me they have passed my issue on to their Trade Security Team, who will investigate & get in touch with me. They never get in touch with me & I don’t believe anything is being investigated. Basically, AliExpress couldn’t care less about customers. This seller is still operating. AliExpress states on their site that all sellers are verified, so really they do have a responsibility to ensure that sellers are doing the right thing. Unfortunately they don’t and I will not be buying anything further from AliExpress due to this total lack of customer care or recourse after you have acknowledged receipt of an order.
Hi Toon,
Totally agree with the point that you raise…there is very little in the way of buyer protection in place at AliExpress. If something like this was implemented then there would be nowhere near as many complaints as there are right now as 90% + of the complaints that I hear about each week are down to bad seller experience.
This is a billion dollar industry so you would have thought that AliExpress would make it a priority to straighten this curve out? I guess not.
Sorry to hear about your experience, Toon, it’s typical of the many that I hear about each week. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Thanks Marcus, it’s good to have a forum where we can vent a little when we are feeling invisible & voiceless as consumers.
I buy clothes off aliexpress alll the time. Of course its pretty obvious nothing on this site is legit and is definitely a knock off if it claims to be a major brand, the prices are really good for what you get if you find a cheap item with a good seller. I have got everything i’ve ordered (about 30 items from different sellers) and they have all been well worth the money and usually close to the claimed size, print etc.(Sizes are usually smaller). I definitely wouldn’t buy anything expensive off here but and you do have to be extremely careful but i’d recommend it to any careful shoppers and it is definitely not entirely a scam. :D
Great and sensible approach, Grace.
If everyone sticks to simple rules then they can greatly reduce the risk of being scammed – especially the part about not buying expensive items or items in bulk without first buying a smaller volume.
Thanks for stopping by Grace…really appreciate your input.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
There is no protection from buying from vendors at Ali Express. most are out to rip you off with crappy or not working products, and as soon as you kick you have received , orders are closed, even if you don’t, the sellers say it is you! that caused the problem
Thanks for your input, Mark.
I agree about the lack of customer protection and it is definitely something that needs addressing by AliExpress. I agree that some sellers are purely out to scam, but not all sellers.
There has to be a solution in their somewhere…and I think that AliExpress themselves are more than capable of finding it, even if it does eat into their profits.
Thanks again for stopping by, Mark.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
I cannot stress it enough: CAREFULLY CHECK SELLER REVIEWS AND THE REVIEWS OF THEIR PRODUCTS! If you want to buy something which does not have any reviews (example: this product was already sold by other seller which had nice reviews for this product, but you have found a product from another seller which is $5 cheaper but no reviews for it) — you can look through the total feedback of seller to see if he was honest with other products! Also, avoid buying expensive products from low-rank sellers: e.g. if some seller has only 15 feedbacks but they are very positive (98% or 100% maybe) — you could buy a cheap item from them to support the “small guys” and help them earn a dinner on table, but dont order a high-end smartphone from them (it would be a low-end ripoff instead)
Thanks for the great tips, John.
Common sense definitely needs to be applied when buying goods from sellers on Aliexpress, and your advice will definitely help those who are not sure about making a purchase.
I appreciate you stopping by.
All the best,
Marcus
WFHW
After recently joining Aliexpress I was flooded by china sellers on aliexpress with pricelists of products. I contacted several of them by skype and email about usb flash drives and other products. I was told they only accept western union or TT bank transfer. They convinced me that I can build trust by first ordering a sample and then buying my total items from them. I tried several of these companies that are also listed on alibaba gold sellers. After they recieve the payment they say the goods are stuck in customs and I have to pay 90percent tax on the item. They say I can only pay them the tax and not customs directly. I did a little research and found these same sellers have done the same scam on other alibaba and aliexpress members. Even after they custom tax is paid they do not ship the supplies.
Hi Genie,
WOW…that’s not good to hear.
It sounds like you took the right steps by checking out the sellers first and then ordering a sample before placing a bigger order. Maybe this is a new way for people to be scammed by building trust and then letting you down once the deal is done. If it is then I hope this post will alert people to what can happen, so thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.
All the best,
Marcus
WFHW
Hi,
So far i have ordered about 15 products from Ali express in the last 6 or 7 months. I had some of them shipped to Pakistan and some of them to UK and it was never the case that i haven’t received the shipment.
Since, i was using china air post, which is free, therefore on average the items took 3-4 weeks to reach.
However, except one, all of my items were less than £10.
Therefore, I would suggest not to buy any items which are expensive.
Great advice, Hassan, and I am pleased to hear that your experiences with Aliexpress have so far been positive.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Wow! After reading some of these comments, I’m not sure I would have ever tried Aliexpress. However, I have on a few occasions and must say, they were successful.
My son purchased tennis from two seperate vendors that were exactly as described and came in sooner than anticipated.
Now, there was one vendor that shipped sooner, but the shoes never came. She had great communication through the process and refunded my money when they inevitably didn’t come in within 50 days.
I do purchase on the side of caution. However, I’m not ready to discount the entire system altogether.
Safe shopping!!
Hi Shelley,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your positive experiences with Aliexpress.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Ali express works great if you have realistic expectations and common sense. Only buy from established sellers (6 months or longer), don’t expect an Armani shirt for $3.00, expect a $3.00 knockoff, don’t order multiple expensive items before ordering one test one. If you buy from a low ball seller, odds are there is a reason it is so cheap, don’t be surprised when you get junk. Why does everyone think they are going to get an I pad for $30, then be surprised when it doesn’t work? Use common sense and you get good deals. Too good to be true, then it is. I order stuff constantly at great deals and receive exactly what I want… i also don’t just go to the lowest seller, I buy from established sellers even if they charge more, at least you have a much better chance of getting what you want at a great price still. Never bypass ali express payment system for money order…obvious scam. People selling knockoff products are no the most trustworthy to begin with, buy at your own risk.
“My $5.00 Leather boots were not real leather”…well duh… it’s $5.00. What do you expect? The low ball seller who has only had a store for 1 week with 1 medal scammed me…really?!? Common sense, and you can get great deals.
Thanks for stopping by, ww. Your tips and advice will certainly help those who are thinking about purchasing goods on Aliexpress.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
I was a seller on both Alibaba & Aliexpress, here are some tips for you.
1. Better not buy electronics if you are very strict with quality. Price war caused very low profit and inferior quality subsequently. More complaints come from electronics transactions than other products.
However, if you find same product from Ebay/Amazon can do, then it worth a try to buy on Aliexpress, because they probably from same factory.
2. Don’t ever try to find a genuine Iphone at a lower price from China, we paid more for that than you do in the US, although it’s produced in China.
3. Read description especially for size and colors before placing order. Ask questions before order if any thing you want to know, pass sellers who doesn’t reply. How can you expect a response when you find defects after recived when there is not a word for pre-order questions.
4. Be aware of shipping time as it usually takes 20-30 days or even more to arrive. And there is a possibility (less than 1% though) that package may lost on its way. If it takes more than 30 days for shipping, contact seller and claim for refund before system automaticly release money to seller when time expired.
They don’t prepense to “steal” your money, just because they don’t know the package was lost and you never contact, so they assume it’s been delivered.
5. In my experience, I prefer not to buy from “Crown” Stores although it may be a better price.
They are usually a company, thousands or tens of thousand transactions every day, Even they don’t mean to, but being so busy don’t have much time for every transaction, that’s why sometimes you were ignored.
Most sellers on Aliexpress are credible as far as I know, but there are dishonest people too, do a little Google work as Terri said will help a lot. And remember to post on internet if you ever been cheated to warn others. If everyone does so, purchase will be easier.
Joe, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your tips. I’m sure they will be of great help to my visitors who are looking for tips on purchasing from AliExpress.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
aliexpress buyer protection is worthless :
my order was frozen and Aliexpress paid the shipper already
before my confirmation of order receipt, so Aliexpress participates
in the Scam , and violates all rules of their buyer protection. I will now reclaim funds via my Mastercard, when there
are enough cases like this, Aliexpress will be banned by Credit Card Companies.Be very carefull with Aliexpress, this was over $100
case 41530xxxx.
Dear M Bagudu,
With regard to your claim for the Order 616821791xxxx, seller has already been restricted from AliExpress due to fraud.
However, since the order has been finished with the payment released to seller, we feel sorry that we could not assist you in recovering the fund.
Best regards,
wujunjun
Online TradeSecurity Department of Aliexpress.com
I agree, and i think it’s a disgrace that a global business like Aliexpress intentionally put themselves in the position of not being able to recover payment in situations like this.
As I say, it’s an intentional act which often results in unhappy customers. How can you build a business on that? You can’t, and that is why I believe Aliexpress will one day lose all of it’s customers UNLESS it treats them with the protection that they rightly deserve.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences, Bagadu, and good luck with the recovery of your costs.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW
Marcus you are 100% right. The problem withe this site is that it is set up in such a way that it favors sellers, does not protect buyers and does not allow honest low of information. The sellers have to much control over the rating, reviews and transactions after the sale that it makes a environment ready for crooks. At least for US buyers i would advise no stay away, as we are not accustomed to possibility of: reading fake reviews of sellers, being fores-ed to leave good reviews or we loose money, getting incorrect items, having an option to complain only after we lost our money, no way to stop a transaction after 45 days and no goods received and so on. Its more of a 3rd world bazaar set up by this company….Thank god for master card and Visa fraud department.
Glad to hear that you agree with me, Predrag.
It is such a shame that there is so much risk associated with buying goods on AliExpress, but let’s hope they take notice of what is happening and start to focus more on the customer experience.
Thanks for stopping by, Predrag, and best wishes for now.
Marcus
WFHW
Aliexpress should not be promoting merchants who they know are not legitimate and scammers. IMO it makes them look bad because of the bad apples that they have in their bunch. How great can they be and trusted if they allow people who scam others to do business on their site? As soon as they are notified that they have a scammer they should ban them from doing business so I will stick to Amazon and Ebay where I know it is legit.
Very valid points, Tasha. I agree that they should have a process in place where they prevent known scammers from doing business. I would suggest a one strike system…if caught they receive a lifetime ban.
Thanks for your input, it’s appreciated and I wish you well with all future online ventures.
Marcus
Work From Home Watchdog
While you say Aliexpress is bad,
Some sellers allow you to use paypal on the side (self protection).
Also there are thousands of computerised christmas displays that buy stuff from “TRUSTED” sellers, (im one of them) we spend like $3,000 each year with them.
There are idiot sellers there tho, just like ebay.
the thing you have to relise is they earn a living from this, an $1 profit is dinner on the table to them.
They dont test the gear, but instead get them from the factorys as seconds (lower quality).
i have found some great “Trusted” sellers, an some dodgie ones as well..
but what do you expect for quarter of the normal price.
Valid points, Alec, and thanks for stopping by.
I think the main issue with AliExpress is AliExpress themselves and the protection and support that they offer their customers. If they could only improve that side of their business and take further steps to protect buyers from the bad sellers, it would be a more trustworthy service.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, Alec.
Marcus
WFHW Founder
I bought a Xiaomi smartphone from ALIEXPRESS.com, as a fist time buyer I felt very happy, received the phone yesterday, the shipment almost took a month, and turn out to be a fake one. It is functioning but the specifications are way below the original (bad AnTuTu Benchmark score, app crash, can’t download nothing, bad camera, etc). I hope that I can get my refund. This is my first time experience buying from ALIEXPRESS.com and I got scammed, I just wanna say NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM ALIEXPRESS.com
Sorry to hear about your experiences with Aliexpress, Andrea, and thanks for taking the time to let our visitors know.
Best wishes,
Marcus
WFHW founder
As most of you already know lace wigs are the “It” thing. All the celebrities are wearing them and they are so much easier to deal with than extensions. I have been ordering hair from Aliexpress venders for a year now. It has been a good experience until now. I am extremely dissatisfied. I ordered a wig from Sunnysea Hair Products Co.,LTD. The vender is Lena Wang. The wig was suppose to be lace Virgin Brazilian hair. When I received the wig it was not the hair I ordered. My stylist told me not only was it not virgin Brazilian it was intertwined with synthetic hair. It was shiny, the stitching was poor & it did not look at all like the picture. I contacted the seller, she apologized & she told me she would refund the money. She gave me instructions on how to send it back.
She required that I send it through the post office not DHL or UPS. She required that I say the item was a $10 hair sample. She said If I did not do that, she would not refund the money because the custom price would be too high. When I went to the post office I found out you can only get tracking if you pay approximately $70 for overnight. I could not afford that & given the fact that the wig was $117 that seemed crazy. In addition, I knew the vender would not reimburse such pricey shipping fees. The Post Office made me fill out a customs form and I filled it out just as the seller required. I was given a receipt & a copy of the custom form w/ the custom number. They informed me that it should be there within 7 to 10 business days. It has been approximately 5 weeks & the seller is claiming she did not “sign for it.” She never said she didn`t receive it – she said she did not sign for it…odd choice of words. Now she She is pretty much ignoring me.
When I spoke to the post office two weeks ago, they said this is a scam which happens quite often when items are purchased from certain overseas companies. I have been purchasing from Aliexpress for about a year & have made several purchases from several venders. This is the 1st time I was sent fake hair & now she is trying to not refund my money.
I need this matter rectified. I was told that going through Aliexpress was safe but here it is I am not receiving my money back & she is now ignoring me when prior to this she was very communicative. I filed a complaint with Aliexpress and they have not gotten back to me. It has been several weeks since I filed the complaint.
I am out approximately $130. This is unacceptable. Aliexpress is a SCAM. It allows venders to use their site to steal money. I do not recommend this site. There is too many ways to be scammed here without recourse.
TDD we are sorry to hear about the challenges you are having with AliExpress. If you paid by credit card you may want to consider contacting your credit card company to see if you can get a refund through them.
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
l Bought 2 bags on 4th and 7th November 2013 from your store – Luxurand Store Store No.223080, Order number:60431051130031 and 60406913820031. The Seller clearly indicates that the bags are made of genuine leather, but two months down the line the material of the bags is peeling and a test of the material indicate that it is not genuine leather. What is the recourse and what is the solution from aliexpress considering that l have written to their resolution center and have not gotten a response from them.
Regards
Elizabeth
Elizabeth thanks for contacting us and letting us know about this seller. We are sorry to hear about the challenges that you are having. Since 2 months has lapsed since you received the bags I’m not sure that there is any recourse unless the seller offers a guarantee on their products.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I ordered 5 items over a one month time frame through Ali Express from varied sellers. The first three items came at around 20-22 days. Of the two remaining items, one never came, and the other was defective and worthless. I contacted the first seller of the two items in question, (David Shi), and he was quick to respond. I told him the item still had not arrived, and that I could not find it with the provided tracking number. He responded quickly this first time, and agreed that when he tried the tracking number, the item was “not found”. Then I see that the shipping time has been extended automatically or by the seller, without my consent. After that, he emailed and asked if I wanted a refund or a replacement item sent. I responded that I would still like to have the item, but only if he could offer an expedited shipping this time, as I had already waited a month and did NOT want to wait another 3-4 weeks. So he agreed to send a replacement by expedited shipping. That was near the end of December. That was the last communication I have had with David Shi. During that time I have sent 3-4 emails to him trying to get a new tracking number, or an answer to whether the replacement item has been shipped or not, all of which have all gone unanswered. No new tracking number, etc. Just no more communication. I then asked for a refund. Still, nothing.
The other item did arrive but was defective. I sent an email explaining this and even sent a”macro” picture showing the defect. I also apprised of other problems with the item as well. Problems rendering the product un usable. The site offered a choice to keep the faulty merchandise and get a partial refund. So, since it was an $18 item, I told him I’d keep the junk item and take a $10 refund. He counter offers with $5. I told him fine, I didn’t want to waste any more time. I gave him my PayPal address and told him that when the money was in there I’d close the dispute. Then he writes back saying he has accepted the offer of $10 refund. I’m thinking, “What?” So I “accepted” the offer. Well I guess the “accept”click was like saying the matter was resolved. Only the refund was never sent, Nor were there any further communications. Too much time, trouble and aggravation over small amounts of money, but it is as they say, the principle of the thing. I was pleased with the first three items I received, but after the problems, lying, cheating, and delays over the last two, I would not recommend doing business with Ali Express until if and when they can clean up their act, hold their sellers more accountable and step up the communication and customer service. It’s like trying to reach customer service, only to get a robot who never directly answers your question. Only offering a series of variable choice, none of which pertain to or answer your problem. Finally after exhausting all the proper channels on the AE site, I contacted my bank and opened a claim. They credited the money back to my account and are pursuing the matter with AE. Buyer Beware!
Wade sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. If you paid by credit card you may want to consider contacting your credit card company about the items you did not receive and the defective one.
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri,
Thanks for the support here. You are doing something GREAT ! REALLY PROUD !
I have 2 queries –
1> I got 3 fake phones from Aliexpress so I want to initiate a refund from my Credit Card company i.e HDFC rather than Ali since we all know Ali will not help!
I never anticipated this :(
Worst part is I have bought three of them using same card for 160$ each and I am opening dispute for all three, since they are FAKES.
I want to know what reason do I have to give in the dispute form, to get the refund?
Do I need to attach my side of arguments/proofs along with the Dispute Form or just mention reason of dispute and wait for my Card company to contact me for more proofs if required?
This next is even worse :(
2> Also sadly I made 1 transaction using this “Foreign Travel Card” given by a National Bank from India called SBI. It is like a prepaid card where-in I have to deposit the amount first and then use it, just like a debit card.
So the problem is I want a refund from here too but the Bank is so sad that Customer Support does not know if there is a dispute facility for any type of transaction !!
The card is a VISA card and I want to ask you, shall I contact VISA and ask them if a refund can be arranged for this ?? Since my Bank is not helping can I at least ask VISA for help?
Bhagi sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. You’re best to contact the financial institution that issued the card. Provided as much documentation as you can about your correspondence with the seller. Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Terry
If I give all the details about the Fraud to my Bank and they open a dispute against the transactions, will I need to send back the FAKE goods ??
I ask this because everybody knows that if they can FAKE it then they can easily say that They NEVER Received the product !!
Right ??
Hi,
I have been scammed of SEK 434.17 (US$66.96) on Order No “60236380432642” I placed on AliExpress Oct 2 2013. Item was shipped with China Post registered mail “RB889234315CN”. All seemed fine at first, but since mid-October no update of goods whereabouts were made on any tracking service able to track China Post shipments. Last tracking stated it was in Beijing. Now most AliExpress sellers have a policy of offering customer “money back if goods not received within 39 days”. So did this seller (WomanWorld) too. now when I actively tried to push seller for a check where goods were by late November suddenly yhe seller extended his allowed delivery allowance. Well, beginning December I messaged seller again about what happened (>60 days after order and >45 days after last tracking notice with China Post). Since seller responded with something like “already shipped, please be patient”. Upon that I pushed the issue to AliExpress REsolution Center. Apparently they ar not able to do anything but sit and wait. According to international Post routines a registered shipment is not possible to declare lost until 90days after shipment. Now we are some time around that timeline AliExpress has decided to close the case and release my funds to the seller, not to me – even though they with their trustworthiness back the sellers guarantee on their pages “full refund if not received in 39 days. And since case is closed I am not able to contact AliExpress Resolution Center again as far as I know. This just does not make me ever wish to have to deal with them again.
Sorry that You should be the one I am posting such a story to, but I think such things should not be left int the shadows.
Thank You for running this site
Kevin sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. Have you tried contacting your credit card company to dispute the purchase with them?
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I am a seller from China selling on both eBay and Aliexpress. I saw that there were many complaints about buyers not getting the stuff they ordered, getting refund when they have issues with delivery, or no response from Aliexpress customer service. Based on my experience, if buyers are cautious and check information before they place an order, it’s safer than eBay to purchase at this site:
1. check product information before you order, including size chart. We sell clothes, and we often have buyers placing orders without taking a look at the size chart in the descrption even though the chart is right under their nose and they only scroll down the description to look at it. You are buying from an international tradking site and sizing DOES vary among countries. Some buyers buy a size M thinking that it’s the same size M in their own country.
2. fill out your full name and correct shipping information. Every month we have a few orders that are not deliverable because buyers provided wrong shipping info: missing street number, apartment number, wrong zip code.
3. use the tracking number to keep track of your order status and check your mail after it arrives in your city. Every month we have a few orders that are returned to us by post because buyers completely forget about it. They do not look into their mail box for notices left by the post office. So the parcels are returned after being held for a period of time.
4. log into your aliexpress account to check messages from sellers on the platform. When you have problems with your orders, contact the sellers first by sending them a message through the platform. This is the best way to contact the sellers. If you send an email to their registered email address, your email is very likely to be buried under tons of system email (aliexpress system auctomatically sends tons of emails every day to a seller’s reistered email account: notices for each order placed, payments made, shipping time reminded….). So if you send an email to their registered email address, chances are it won’t be read.
5. contact the seller to resolve the issue before you open a dispute. When you file a dispute, it’s counted as a -ve on seller performance. This hurts seller’s account status. And many buyers often choose “won’t return the product, but requst full refund”. There are a small portion of buyers on Aliexpress trying to use the loophole of the system to get products for free on the site. So unless you want to escalate conflicts, it’s better to contact the seller first. Check the description and size chart to ascertain whether it should be seller’s fault or you forgetting to check the description. Then you can contact the seller and propose a reasonable solution.
Kenny thanks for stopping by. It’s not often that we hear from a seller on AliExpress. It’s great to get your perspective.
Terri
WFHW Team
i ordered three products from aliexpress. The products ordered were from the same seller. They provided me a single tracking number. I have received just one of the products. Now i don’t know how to track the other two. Should i wait for the products before opening a dispute? Is there a possibility they can still reach me? please help!
p.s. There are still 15 days left for the last delivery date
Tanvi you may want to contact the seller and see what they have to say about it. See if they can give you the tracking number of the other package(s). Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi, I’ve order from december 20/2013. My order should have been hear already cause i paid for a 7 day shipment. I’m unable to contact the seller, i email them and got no response
Monique sorry to hear about your challenge with AliExpress. If the seller is not responding to your emails you may want to contact your credit card company and file a dispute with them.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi, I have not yet ordered from either Alibaba or Aliexpress is it possible to buy an original IPhone 4S on there
Thank you
Monica
Monica that is a good question. Electronics has the highest level of knock offs. If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
i am a single mom of one, i go to school part time and work a minimum wage job full time trying to support and bulid a better life for my child. with rent, bills, and etc i hardly ever have extra money to buy my child things that he needs but i found this site and knew it was just to good to be true. i ordered from this site three times the first two orders which were jeans for my child came with no problem but my third order which were a pair of boots also for my child which he needed very much (his current light up cars boots from last year are literally falling apart), came from Cherry Ye and they sent the wrong size. i message them about the problem and they first rudely started off trying to tell me that i didnt read the size chart right. i made it clear that this was not my frist time ordering from china and that i was very much aware of the differences in sizes, not to mention the site gives you american sizes instead of asian sizes, so it couldnt be any more clear. once i sent the sender pictures to prove that they had made a mistake they told me i could return them and they would send they right size boots but i would need to cover the shipping and they wanted a tracking number. now from america to china shipping with tracking is $51.34 american money, which is more then what i paid for the shoes ($32.00). i told the seller that i could not afford this and plus that and that it made no sense for me to pay so much. i might have well just bought another pair of boots. the seller refuse to pay the shipping and instead offered me only 30% of my money back for the shoes. i felt like they were trying to black mail me because they kept trying to make me leave positive feedback for them which i refuse unless i recived my money. they would say things in thier messages like “you leave good feedbaack then we will refund you money”. i confronted them about this and they said that that wasnt the case (yea right). i still havent recived my money back yet and i will leave feedback but it will NOT be good. with chirstmas coming up he wont have the snow boots that he really needed. ill give them to good will, at least someones child will be able to use them. i have to wait another month before i can buy my son another pair of boots. im sticking to ebay and amazon
Porsche if you paid by credit card you can file a dispute with them. Why not list the boots on Ebay or Kijiji? At least you can recoupe your money and buy your son and new pair off of a reliable site.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
There are problems with refund. I had 3 orders for which seller didn’t sent product at all. After 100 days no refund at all. Support is lying that it is sent but my bank don’t have any details. After few emails aliexpress start to ignore my emails. Also on all orders there is guaranteed money back after x days. In few orders that day passed and they refused to refund. A lot more for compliant and it ts really bad experience.
Ivan we are sorry to hear about your challenges in getting a refund from AliExpress. Have you tried to file a dispute with your credit card company?
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hello, we have ordered something from ali express, but it didn’t came in 60 days. Any possibility to get money back? Thanks
Mario have you contacted the seller to find out when your product was shipped? Ask the seller to give you a tracking number for your product if it has been shipped. If you cannot resolve the situation with the seller then you may want to contact your credit card company and file a dispute with them. You will need your correspondence with the seller in order to do this.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
This site is horrible. I ordered some shirts and immediately got a message that they were out of stock, should have been my first clue. They offered to send replacement shirts and I accepted. I ordered XL but when I got them they were more like smalls. I asked for a replacement or refund and they said I got XL so they would not do anything. They have horrible customer service DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY
Lee sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with AliExpress. If you paid by credit card there is always the option to file a dispute with them.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Everyone,
We went through the same situation here. We saw ad about Iphones for very cheap price and the seller claimed that he is in London, UK. We paid $450 and after sometime they told that due to minimum order quantity, they have to ship some 18 items and asked us to pay later and gave a fake tracking website ( it was a html page ) with tracking number which shows send 18 no’s and expected delivery date. But that html was a replica of other reputed courier company in UK. But fortunately, we paid through PAYPAL. We waited for 2 weeks and we got reply from these guys telling that the Customs is asking for paid receipt and we have to make rest of the payment which is nearly $1000. We opened a dispute in PAYPAL site and thank GOD, we got the full refund in less than 6-7 days. Guys, please be aware, no one in Alibaba gets any branded items for less rate. May be you can get refurbished or Chinese 1:1 copy for the cheap rate they quote. Please post more success stories with the sellers name so that others can also buy from the same seller and promote legit sellers in Alibaba.
John glad to hear you were able to get your money back. Purchasing electronics through Alibaba or AliExpress is very risky as this category has a very high rate of knock off products.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I have been looking on aliexpress and find some items I would like to order but after reading reviews I do have some reservations. Some people have good reviews about their shopping experience on the site…why don’t they help someone like me and let others know of the Good and Reliable vendors they deal with it seems that would help filter out the fakes. I would appreciate it a great deal and I know others will too.
Pat thanks for stopping by. Your suggestion is an excellent one. Amazon and eBay two of the largest market places have a very reliable rating system for their sellers so buyers can shop with confidence that they are getting exactly what they paid for.
Unfortunately AliExpress is more interested in turning a blind eye on corrupt business practices then they are in ensuring buyer satisfaction. Hopefully one day this will change.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi
I would like to say it does not matter that customers received fantastic item, I have spent a lot of money and had plenty of quality item, but i have also had a lot of bad items. The problem lies with aliexpress, YOU DO NOT GET YOUR REFUND and even worst than that is THERE IS NO WAY OF CONTACTING THEM., When you raise your initial dispute there is no way of contacting them after you have put in that complaint, NO EMAIL ADDRESS, NO PHONE NUMBER, NO CUSTOMERS SERVICES YOU CAN CONTACT. So the buyer will only realize about customer service when they have a problem with a seller. Aliexpress are still holding our money and there is no way for us to get in touch. Also you must read the small print, we just received a product that was badly mi spelt, we was communicating with the buyer to get the money back as she did not advertise the mi-spelt version, we wanted to give her a chance to rectify, she then explains that she mi-spelt them deliberately as they were copies and asked us to sell them on the market, we was getting nowhere with her so decided to report her, to our dismay aliexpress had released the funds to her, the buyer had said her delivery is 10-15 days so aliexpress just presume you have the product all other items we have bought we had authorize the release of the money, this woman obviously knew to keep us talking and our time was running out, This is a fatal flaw with aliexpress.
Can you please let me know if trading standards in the uk are allowed take complaints concerning aliexpress.
Thank you
Angela it is unfortunate that AliExpress does little to support their customers. There is always the option to file a dispute with your credit card company.
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hello,
I am sorry that you have had a problem with a supplier on AliExpress. Please understand that AliExpress is a platform that connects buyers and sellers; we are not the supplier of the goods you purchased.
With that said, I’d still like to help.
AliExpress.com has a customer service team to assist you. The best way to get in touch with them is to send an email with the particulars of your situation to buyer@aliexpress.com.
We can’t resolve 100% of customer issues, but I promise that we will try.
Sincerely,
Mark Story
Director, International Corporate Affairs
Alibaba Group
Mark it would be helpful if you would display this contact information prominently on your website so customers know how to get in touch with you. As you can see was the large volume of comments on this site there are many customers who are either unable to get in touch with customer service or they get no response to their inquiries.
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi
I have been trying to order from aliexpress. But my order kept getting closed and cancelled. I even tried reordering thinking maybe I did something wrong, but same thing happened. They wanted copies of my personal information which made me wonder if this was a scam. I assumed everything was cancelled and ordered items from ebay. Later I get an email that the very first order I made which was cancelled earlier, showed that payment was successfully made. I did not reorder after they cancelled all of my orders, so why did I get an email saying payment was successfuly made from an order that they cancelled? I am definitely going to file a dipute with my credit card company. I don’t trust this company.
A seller does not need copies of your personal information to process a transaction. This is a sure sign of a scam so kuddos to you for recognizing that. Keep us posted on what happens when you contact your credit card company.
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Terri, what do it mean when it says goods waiting for acceptance
Samantha I don’t have an answer for you. Will will have to contact the selling to find out.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
i order many item this site… many item was good..but if i receive fake item and if i didn;t receive item ,i didn;t refund at all…… at this site!!!! why this site staff help and support fake seller??
at last i didn;t receive item really… but seller insert track number…it is not EMS ..it was just economy mail with track..it can;t show detail address…. it just show country and final result…. at that case,seller can use same track with many site… if buyer;s country is same or same day……
i didn;t receive item …but seller insert someone;s track…and i request my satue many time to this site staff… but this site staff was not refund to me…. they just told me track show delively….. i told it looks like other site other buyer ;s track…..many time…but this site staff ignore :<
this site is china site and staff also china… and many seller is china…i guess they can support china seller…
and last week i receive wrong item and i was fake item…. but seller told me they can refund 40% only.. and they told me they can;t return shipping fee inspite of fake item .. :< !!!
even they told me i have to return item..if so i have to pay return fee and first shipping fee..!!! i open dispute ….but i guess this site dirty staff will support that seller!!!
Stopdf you have the option of contacting your credit card company and filing a dispute through them. You may want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I have many items off aliexpress and have nothing but praise for the service, product and shipping.
Bruce glad to hear AliExpress is working well for you.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I AM NOT GOING TO BUY ANYTHING FROM AliExpress, after reading so many negative reviews…Not at all..
I know their products looks quite tempting but i will get them from somewhere else but not there
Sushma there is always a risk when purchasing through AliExpress. You may pay a little more somewhere else but at least you can shop with confidence knowing that you will get exactly what you paid for.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
WOAH. I just want to offer my two cents here. I’m a small business owner and a designer of handmade jewellery and body care products. I buy the -VAST- majority of my supplies through AliExpress.
Satisfied customer of a legitimate website, right here. *waves hand* I am a real person. I can show you real photos of the products I’ve received and confirm that I have not been in any way ripped off by or cheated by AliExpress. In fact, I adore them, they’ve been wonderful for my business. ANYONE who wants to ask me further questions to ensure that I am a real person may FEEL FREE to ask them.
I’m all for protecting people from scam businesses but AliExpress is NOT one of them.
Sandra glad you hear that you are experiencing success with AliExpress. There are definitely ethical sellers on AliExpress but there are also many sellers who are not ethical as you can see from the number of complaints posted here.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
hello , i want to engage myself in a small business buying clothing & jewelry for resale from aliexpress , how do i differentiate from a genuine supplier to an unethical one ? if possible , propose me some genuine suppliers… thanks
Ritz I am just finishing up a review on Chinese wholesale jewelry wholesaler that has a good reputation. I will email you when the review is complete.
If you are thinking of working with a seller from AliExpress or Alibaba your best bet is to let them know upfront that you are looking for a supplier. Request samples of any product you are considering before placing larger orders to be sure the product is the quality you are looking for. Most seller have larger order limits. If they are not willing to send samples then you may want to look for someone else.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Terri,
I am from India and I liked a mechanical watch on aliexpress.com I don’t usually do online shopping, would you recommend me to buy it from aliexpress.com?
Thanks,
Shahid
Shahid our job here at WFHW is to inform our readers about Work From Home opportunities and to help them avoid scams. After reading the information on the site whether you choose to make a purchase from one of the sites we have reviewed is entirely up to you. It is not our responsibility to make that decision for you.
Terri
WFHW Team
First of all, you know you should be weary when the “testimonies” of satisfied customers with pictures, are pictures ripped off other websites.
Second, yes you may have a good experience here and there. But the important point is reliability. And it is not reliable. Even the positive reviewers here cannot say different. It’s hit and miss and so far the odds are fifty fifty at best.
Sellers can and will swindle you. Forget about warranty at the end of the sale, the seller is free to ignore you and you have no recourse. Dispute “process” is automated and a joke. Anything outside their pre-programmed cases and you are on your own with someone that is not at all motivated by repeat customers.
They have literally thousands of sellers ready to find a way to manipulate the system.
It’s a great concept, just very badly implemented. There is a reason they refuse Paypal now, because Paypal would intercede in the customer’s behalf and withdraw payment is Aliexpress didn’t respond. And well do you really want to take the odd chance of saving a few bucks, to get completely ripped off? Well flip a coin and those are your chances.
Oh and if there is a Seller you should avoid, I can name at least one: Lydia Liu.
JPL as you mentioned it is unfortunate that AliExpress is not interested in repeat customers. Although AliExpress’s dispute process is flawed there is still a recourse if you purchase using a credit card. Many of our readers have filed disputes with their credit card companies and received a refund.
You may want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I am trying to order from aliexpress.com for the first time. I submitted by order and gave them all my credit card info. They closed all my transactions due to payment verification issues. My credit cards are in good standing with ample credit room to pay for the items. I have followed their process to submit documentation that they requested on their website. It has been a week and I have had no response. Very frustrated. And there is no way to contact them other than the email address that I already sent to a week ago.
Any suggestions?
Suzanne what documentation did they request from you?
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Dear Teri,
I was going to buy this gown and even got an answer from the manufacturer abut the dress itself and when I could have it by. When I went to pay for it, I stopped the order because once I entered my credit card info, there was a validation page that asked for the last four digits of my social security number, which I have never been asked except by the phone company!
Is it safe to put that on the Mastercard/citibank validation page?
best,
Ann
Ann it is common for a payment processor to ask for the 3 digit verification code on the back of your credit card. Your social security number is never required to process a payment and you are correct you should never give out that information.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
The tracking number that the seller provided me was fraudulent. I tried to track my orders on China post mail and USPS. It said 0 data on China post mail and it didn’t exist on USPS. I filed a dispute with Aliexpress and they didn’t do anything about my situation. I filed a dispute with my credit card company and they gave me my refund. I’m so happy I came across your page! Thank you so much Terri!
Eden glad to hear that your credit card company was able to assist you with your refund.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi guys..
I want to know if this aliexpress. Com is a safe site. I never bought anything online before. And its concerns me because I see some good reviews and some pretty bad. And I would like to know how to identify a seller, that he’s good or bad.
Pleasant help.
Thanks in advance
:-)
Muhamad there is no real way to know if a seller on AliExpress is ethical or not because AliExpress’s review system as you can tell from the comments posted here is not reliable. There are definitely trustworthy sellers on the site. The question is how do you find them? My recommendation would be to make a smaller purchase if you do decide to buy.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri, it’s me Eden again. So the seller finally ships my order of purses but when I went back to the sellers page, all the items that they were selling are gone.The thing is, they did send a tracking number. They shipped it on August 5 and it takes 3-10 days to see my tracking. It doesn’t mention if it’s 3-10 business days but I’ve been trying to track it down, but nothing.
Hi Eden
There is something strange about what they are saying. If they have shipped the order then they have a tracking number and should be able to give that number to you.
Terri
WFHW Team
here is my question: i saw a few brand names on aliexpress ( samsung galaxy tab, iphone, ralph lauren , gucci, etc ) at pretty decent prices. i;ve been reading online that ALL THE BRAND NAME PRODUCTS THAT ARE SOLD ON THERE ARE FAKE!. im really tempted to buy a few of them. is it true that they are all fake, or are there actually a few “LEGIT AND AUTHENTIC ” products on there?
thanks
Hi Robert
Robert not all products sold on AliExpress are fake. There is a higher percentage of knock offs sold in the electronic category especially with phones and computers than there is in any other category. Since you can’t trust the review process at AliExpress it makes it very difficult to know whether a seller is offering a legitimate product or not.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Terri,
I need help in filing a dispute with aliexpress. They sent me beads that were totally different from the picture on the site.
I clicked on the “file dispute” button and I filled in all the info they asked for including the “please write you request detail” box. When I clicked on the “submit” button, it would not submit. I keep getting a message saying, “Please enter between 4 – 512 English characters” I’m ready to pull my hair out. I’ve tried it several times and the same message appears. I am not able to submit my dispute. What should I do?
After receiving the wrong beads, I went on a search for another vendor. I found what I was looking for but this time only ordered one strand instead of 10. I also emailed a question and she answered back. But when I saw her name, it was the same name of the girl who just sent me the wrong beads. I emailed her back and asked her to cancel my order. She told me to cancel it by clicking on the “cancel” button. I spent 15 minutes looking for the non existing cancel button. I emailed that to her also and she wrote back saying that it takes 24 hours for the cancel button to appear.
I agree with the person above, in that you email them with complaint or questions and they send back a stupid reply that does not even answer the my question…. and they keep responding with the same lame words that make no sense.
Should I forget about filing a dispute and only go through my credit card? She also defrauded the U.S. customs by declaring the value at one sixth the value.
Bonnie try clearing the browser history on your computer then try submitting your dispute again. If you still don’t have any luck then you may want to contact your credit card company and file a dispute through them.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I purchased the unlock kit for Xbox 360 on Ally express upon me purchase chin-ups item the actual merchant told me that the idol that I’m partition is an era the actual price of the item is not what is described in the description is more so I ask for refund upon me asking for the refund the merchant claimed that he made a refund to my debit account okay I waited to win a half weeks and no refund I’ll call.my debit card and he told me that is no transactions pendant from Ally express so I get in contact with the merchant and he sell it he tells me he can assure me that the actio refund was posted back to my debit account but I told him is not there and he keep assistant that he sent it to me which he have it because if he would’ve sent it to me I would’ve thought on my debit card statement is not there so that I contact Ally express any keep saying the same thing over and over and over nobody is helping me
William you will have to contact your bank to see if there is any recourse on fraudulent transactions. If you used a credit card you could have filed a dispute with the credit card company and had a very good chance of getting your money back.
You may also want to consider filing a report with http://www.ccmostwanted.com/report-cybercrime-worldwide To find a link to the authorities in your country click on the link and scroll down to find your country.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Imagine if Ebay scrapped their buyer protection policy and Paypal did the same, then imagine them giving absolutely no consideration to customers, and only caring about how much money they can make… WELCOME TO ALIEXPRESS!
I purchased an item from AliExpress about 3 months ago. The item finally arrived after a month, and it wasn’t what I ordered. I contacted the seller who pretended not to understand what I was saying and kept answering my emails with the same answer, which was nothing to do with my complaint. I took pictures of the item I received and sent them to the seller, along with pictures of the item they had advertised, and it was obvious that the items were not the same… The seller replied and said that the pictures I sent weren’t of the item they sent me, as she had personally packed and sent it herself.
I opened a dispute and escalated it to a claim… that was over a month ago and I’ve heard nothing!
James sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. Have you considered filing a dispute with your credit card company?
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I bought a laptop a couple of weeks ago, very cheap indeed, but 3 days after making the payment, Aliexpress sent me an e-mail saying they had found the supplier to be unsure, so they FROZE the order. Another week has passed and finally they tell me that the order has been cancelled and I’ll be refunded in 7 to 10 days. A total of about a month that in the case `’m really refunded, they will have been working with my money. I just think the suppliers don’t really exist and they are just made up by Aliexpress.
George if you haven’t received your refund from AliExpress you may want to contact your credit card company and file a dispute with them.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hello,
SAw some negative feedback bout aliexpress and felt the need to explain something here.
I have bought several products from aliexpress and they were all delivered.
I bought:
assault pens.
watches.
Nike shoes.
motorcycle jacket..
Soccer jerseys.
Motorcycle taillights.
Motorcycle brake pads.
Still got a bunch of things in my wishlist that i will order as well.
You just gotta make sure the buyer has a good rating.
The Feedback system at aliexpress is really helpfull.
The real trustworthy sellers know that feedback makes the buyers decide if they place the order or not.
So they do anything to get good feedback and are very willing to help you if you have any problem concerning their products quality or shipment.
Sorry for the not so proper english.
I come from the netherlands.
Greetings
T. Duijker it is great that you are having success with AliExpress. There are definitely good reputable sellers on the site. The key is to find them and unfortunately the review process on AliExpress has proven to be unreliable, so finding reputable sellers is not as easy as it should be.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hi Terri, I’m new to Aliexpress and I bought 3 purses at Aliexpress and the seller appears not to be online when I go on and hasn’t replied back to a question I asked. My payments have been verified and I’m awaiting for the shipment. If they don’t ship my order, do I automatically get a refund because they didn’t ship it out? There’s 8 more days to go.
Eden if your order status does not show as shipped within the required time period you should receive a refund. If you don’t you may need to request a refund. You can do that on this page
Terri
WFHW Team
i have ordered from ali express a few times, i ordered a lot of items from a lot of dirrent sellers. i received EVERYTHING i ordered within 10-14 days, i think it is a great website for great products at a low price!!
Ryan glad to hear you are experiencing success with AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
hi terry. my name is daryll wood.. i am hoping you can help me. i have been trying to get my money refunded and put back on my card. as i am disabled and on soc,sec disability. fixed income. i have tried to resolve it many times with the sellers. they sold me around 200.00 dollars worth of silver panda coins that were fake. that’s alot of money to me.i have no help i live by myself. i tried the dispute route i did the complaint form. i have sent messages. no answers. well im not one to go much longer to get my money back its been too long already. i am in a position to take this matter to the highest level. until i get satisfaction. or i have this site investigated. i am not usually this way. but i just recently went thru this with another company. and i am tired of loosing what little i have.
Daryll if you cannot resolve the situation with AliExpress or the seller you may want to consider filing a dispute with your credit card company.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
hey terri please answer my question orders placed on aliexpress are shipped directly to my home or they have to be collected in custom office…and how to pay custom i am a newbie in importing please help me
Sahir normally if there are customs fees they are paid on delivery of your order. In other words the courier driver that drops off your parcel will collect the payment from you. The parcel will not be released to you until these fees are paid.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
My only attempts with this company were very poor. What I received was not what was explained in the product title. In my attempts to return the product that was misleading, the vendor was very difficult to work with and did not communicate at all well. I tried to submit a claim but was unable to do so. I will never look at buying anything again from this sham.
Kip sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I’ve used AliExpress and Alibaba a lot. It’s not the website thats the problem it’s the vendors. You’ll find plenty of obviously fake 5 star comments so please treat everything with caution. 80% of the goods are great, arrive fast and have no problem. HOWEVER, if you do have a dispute….you’re screwed. AliExpress sides with the seller instantaneously and you lose your cash they supposedly hold in Escrow.
SAD BUT TRUE … PLEASE ALWAYS PURCHASE WITH CAUTION AND THE BELIEF THAT YOU MAY NOT GET YOUR GOODS OR YOUR MONEY BACK IF UNSATISFIED. THEN YOU WILL ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE
Jonathon thanks for stopping by and sharing your knowledge about AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I made 3 purchases via Aliexpress prior to my daughter’s wedding on 7/13/13. Purchase one was jewelry for the bridemaids. I ordered on 6/21/13, and purchased was received 6/25/13. Yes just that quickly. Purchase #2 was jewelry for myself ordered same day, finally received after the wedding 7/16/13 which was more than 3 weeks later. They told me it was hung up in customs then sent back to me and all kinds of things they say happen, but Purchase #3 also order on the same day was a dress for my daughter’s wedding for me to wear, When I say the dress looked nothing like the advertised dress please believe me. It did not fit and certainly did not function properly. I have been back and forth and want a full refund, they will respond and Aliexpress will not open the dispute for me on where they refereed me to go My Orders. This is sad and I don’t know what else I can do to get my money refunded. I advise that no one use the site. They do not help with disputes and no way to contact them via telephone.
Ester sorry to her about your challenges with AliExpress. If you cannot get a refund through AliExpress you may want to consider contacting your credit card company and filing a dispute with them.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Ester,
I am so glad I am seeing this post. I have to say that I have been contemplating ordering my own wedding dress online. I found the seller first just by clicking on a picture of a dress I liked in a google search. They claimed to customize so after talking with the seller many times about the design of the dress (she was very friendly and seemingly helpful – in a live chat offered by the site), I decided to ask for a more secure way of purchasing the dress. She said she could offer the dress through their other store on Aliexpress. I heard Escrow and assumed it would be more secure. But I guess it doesn’t mean that the quality would be guaranteed. And if I might have trouble sending it back or getting a refund, as in your case, I think I’d rather not. Plus there are only 5 feedback comments on their site and the only real looking one (with no bad grammar or typos) said the dress was terrible quality. I think the answer is clear. I should look elsewhere :-/
Hi there. I visited Aliexpress and was tempted to buy, when i place my order they are asking for the security code of my credit card. Is it safe to give them the code? I hope you can help me. Thank you
Moirrah most sites that accept credit cards will ask for the security code. If you are uncomfortable providing the security code you may want to consider paying with a prepaid credit card.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
hi Terri,
two months ago, i purchased a dress on aliexpreass costing more than $100+.
My payment has been well verified and at stsrt, the seller was quite freindl with me,replying to all my messages as i needed a dress of different colour and size and they told me that they will stitch what i needed then post it to me. One month later, when i did not receive the dress, i contacted them and they say that they have already ship the item and that it is still on the way, and they even provided me with the tracking number. so i kept on tracking the item using the tracking number they provided me with until the day i learned it has arrived in my country. so i waited for it impatiently… a few days later, the postman delivered a really big envelope at my place, and i knew that it was the dress. but to my unpleasant surprise, when i opened it, i find only a pair of bridal satin gloves well packed in that large envelope,which beard the same tracking number i was provided with. since them i have been trying day and night to contact the seller and aliexpress dispute center but to no avail. now i do not know what i should do. i have lost a lot of money because in my country $100= a lot of money.Please help me find a solution.Thank you
Sandy if you are not able to resolve the situation with AliExpress I suggest contacting your credit card company and filing a dispute through them.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hey all!
I made an order in June 14. I didnt receive email confirmation, neither a tracking number or order number. When i go to my account no orders appears and the payment was release from my bank account!! I have tried to contact my seller but he never answer, and you cant make a dispute without an order number. I havent receive my order, and i dont know what to do to get my money back. I have tried to call alibaba in the US but they never answer. Some body please help me, Im afraid that I have been victim of a fraud.
Alondra if you paid by credit card there is always the option of contacting your credit card company and filing a dispute with them.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Order NO:113014829 —— at AliExpress.com
I checked my bank again today, 12 July 2013 but STILL NO refund. It’s more than 15 business days already. Their FAQ says 7-10 business days refund.
I will be posting on EVERY forum that I can find including Yahoo Groups and Google Groups that “AliExpress Is A SCAM With Regards To Refunds”.
The refund was approved/cleared by AliExpress and the money is at AliPay escrow.
AliExpress also delete my postings at their forum.
DO NOT order from AliExpress.com. Their refund is a SCAM.
Noel if you do not receive your refund from AliExpress shortly you may want to consider contacting your credit card company and filing a dispute with them.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
On May 22 I ordered a hour tach from Helen YUE. The tracking number (RB584109003CN ) was unknown by China post. I claimed my money back several times – but nothing till today. It is impossible to contact Aliexpress by mail. The chat do not find the correct inserted order number.
Stay away from this company!
Arpo sorry to hear that you are having a challenge with AliExpress. If you cannot resolve the situation through AliExpress then may want to consider filing a dispute through your credit card company.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Dear Arpo,
Sometimes, China Post – USPS take a lot of time to process the shipping.
95 % are processed in 1 week but sometimes, I have some personal experience they take more than 1 month.
In your case, effectively is more than 1 month and is not normal.
Normally when package is expedited by this way, you have 45 days to open a dispute.
If you have made the dispute, don’t hesitate in your case to escalate the dispute directly at the aliexpress manager.
When you escalate the dispute, the supplier have 3 days to proof the delivery evidence.
In case of you cannot (by elapsed time or other reason) open a dispute, go on your interface and click in your HELP menú – Submit a complaint.
From my previous experience, I’m sure they resolve this problem.
Best regards,
Valerio
Dear all,
I’m an Alibaba and Aliexpress buyer form the beginning,
Actually I have 63 orders in Aliexpress for a total of 400 products.
My main remark on the Aliexpress plateform is the delay.
The majority of the supplier wiat the last moment to send the paquet, or fill a false tracking number and after correct it to gain more days in the delays.
At this moment, all items received are 100% compliant with the description of the products.
In my Aliexpress buyer experience, I have only 1 dispute and the fault is not by the supplier but by USPS who lose my paquet.
One time, I have purchased a wrong product because I have not read carrefully the description and I have asked to refund me. The process was complete in 5 days (2 days by Aliexpress and 3 days by my credit card issuer)
Personally I have an excellent experience with Aliexpress.
Valerio
Valerio glad to hear that you have had a positive experience with AliExpress.
The supplier should be upfront about any delay and should not provide incorrect tracking numbers in order to stall the shipment process.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I have had a few orders myself with Aliexpress, without any problems. Unfortunately now i have a big problem. I received my new laptop, everything looked good. I confirmed that my item had been received, a few days ago. Now the laptop has started going wrong, but i can not open a dispute, i have tried every angle, but get blocked because i have confirmed order received??? I don’t get it is that the end of their responsibility??? The seller is no help and has no intention of letting me return the goods or offer a refund. They are crooks
Barry sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. It’s risky to purchase electronics from AliExpress because there are a lot of companies that sell knock off brands and there are many things that can go wrong with the product. Trying to save a few bucks by buying from AliExpress may end up costing you more money in the long run.
If you are not able to get the issue resolved through AliExpress and you paid by credit card you may want to see if you can file a dispute through your credit card company.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
The management of alibaba and aliexpress are the source of the shambles and racket in which they aid and support lying suppliers/traders and protect them. If you dispute any order/transaction, aliexpress would block you from any sort of action/dispute against the seller, they would even lie on behalf of the seller and, sometimes even, lie against what the seller has actually said to buyers!!!
I have had 4 purchases from aliexpress and none, read this “NONE”, of them went as should be with sellers lying always about shipping, about items’ specs, about items’ support. The latest seller which i nearly fell victim to is a woman posting under the name of Cindy Lee, from a store callyed Cindy Store (on aliexpress), selling fake shoes/bags/leather-NOT clothes/etc. She would insist on the item being made of real leather but in reality all know it is NOT, even her other Chinese selling colleagues (who still have some integrity) would admit goods are of PU (synthetic leather) but she insists on lying. When I reported her and asked her to not ship, she tried to claim she already shipped the goods, which is against her own 5-minute old words!! aliexpress did refund the money (less $10 they stole) but took them over a week to do so.
So I whole-heatedly agree with you and all others who have called aliexpress (and alibaba) a scam because that is what they truly are. Just go look at any seller’s ratings and I am sure you will only see 5 star ratings (overall) for all of them even if they were the pits because aliexpress would protect them and not really post any negative ratings against any Chinese trader.
Esam thanks for stopping by and posting your experience with AliExpress. It is unfortunate that AliExpress does not support their buyers and would rather as you mentioned support the unethical practices of some of their sellers.
There are good sellers on the site but AliExpress does nothing to support these businesses and identify who they are.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I have never personally ordered from Alliexpress, my boyfriend’s entire extended family have made a business off of the website. They purchase things very cheaply off of the site, in HUGE quantities (40 cheap cutesy necklaces for approximately 60 cents each, for example), then sell them for a more on different websites. It’s ridiculous. They have never been scammed by others, but are able to sell these products for more than their apparent worth to unsuspecting locals.
I haven’t noticed any of the cheap jewelry to be of poor quality, is the really crazy thing!!!!
Thought I would share.
Hi Anna
Glad to hear your friend’s family is doing well with their business. It’s a matter of finding a credible supplier to work with. Inexpensive jewelry is a rather safe product to purchase unlike electronics.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri
I own a children’s boutique and am interested in buying branded products from Alibaba to resell. Is this allowed?
Kind Regards
Marisa
Hi Marisa
Some suppliers on Alibaba offer branded products. You’ll have to do an internet search to find suppliers that offer branding for the products you are interested in. I recommend ordering some samples first before you consider banding to ensure the product quality meets your satisfaction before you put your branding on it.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
I placed my 1st order on AE today WITHOUT reading all these posts. The total spent was less than $80, so if there is a loss absorbed it won’t be substantial. I am simply preparing to be patient and file a potential CC dispute with my CC company. Thanks for all of the information.
Hi Tara
Hopefully you will receive the products you purchased from AliExpress without any problems.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
For what it’s worth I recently ordered a phone form AliExpress. It was really cheap (unbelievably so) but I thought I’d take a gamble at the price. The payment was processed and then I was asked to verify card details (i was dubious about this so covered all details except the last 4 digits on the scanned copy of my card). I checked my account to see if the money had been debited and it had. I then received a message from AliExpress to say the order had been cancelled and the sellers account suspended. I immediately thought that would be the last I would see of my money, but 4 days later the money had been refunded to my account (in fact slightly more due to currency fluctuations).
Fraudsters are everywhere. In the past I have ordered a £500 PC from EBay only to be sent a microchip in an envelope. I did get my money back through PayPal, but it took a lot longer than AliExpress.
JW54 glad to hear that you received a prompt refund from AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered a wig from a vendor on alibaba. i paid for item on june 7th 2013. the seller lied that my order was being shipped on june 11 2013. the tracking info said it was shipped june 13th 2013. last of the tracking info states that china is preparing to ship package. my question is why has china held my package for 7 days? am i being scammed? should i open a dispute? its been damn near 3 weeks im so frustrated!!!!
Karim check the tracking number and it should tell you the status of the order. If your order has not been shipped you may want submit a complaint to Alibaba and see what they have to say. If you cannot get any cooperation from the seller or Alibaba then consider opening a dispute.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered a tablet PC through AliExpress. Here was the response:
Status: Transaction Closed
Reminder:
Your order has been cancelled for security reasons. The fund for this order hasn’t been deducted by AliExpress. However, some banks may hold this payment, and the bank will reverse the payment for up to 7-10 working days before releasing back to the card holder. To avoid order cancellation in the future, please submit a claim for payment verification.
:Here is the follow up communication:
From Me: 07:53 Jun 20,2013
Order xxxx “Your order has been cancelled for security reasons. The fund for this order hasn’t been deducted by AliExpress.” This does not make sense. I have checked with the credit card company and the payment was processed. My credit card WAS charged and payment make to AliExpress..
From AliExpress ET Sophy:
18:15 Jun 20,2013
Ali will return the payment to you within 7-15 business days.
Best regards
Sophy-Eternalteam
From me – Jun 21,2013
None of this makes sense.
1) You said the order was cancelled for security reasons. What security reason?
2) You said “The fund for this order hasn’t been deducted by AliExpress”.
3) You DID process the charge to my credit card while at the same time telling me the order was cancelled!
4) You did not answer my first response to you except to say you will return my payment in 7-15 days.
This is ridiculous. You are not communicating correctly with me and you are keeping my payment for 1-2 weeks for something you are not shipping.
I have contacted my credit card (VISA) company and will have them reverse the charges.
The bottom line: Buyer Beware!!
Tony we have heard from several readers who have had the same situation happen to them with AliExpress. We’re glad to hear your credit card company is able to resolved the situation for you.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Has anyone found a way to contact these people or resolve getting a refund when items are never received? I made a purchase for $500USD over 2 months ago. The day before the seller’s deadline to ship they input a tracking number that was for a package being shipped to someone clear across the country. I disputed and then escalated. That was several weeks ago and with no response from site or seller my complaint status is ‘closed’. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I paid with a debit card and my time to dispute with bank has elapsed. How do I get my money back?
Hi Kris
Sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. You may consider going back to your bank and let them know that the dispute process for AliExpress can take up to 60 days. I think sellers drag this process out on purpose in order to attempt to prevent credit card refunds from happening.
Your credit card company may be willing to assist you.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Hello, I have never bought from Aliexpress, but discovered the site a few days ago, since I’m looking for an item that only this site seems to have… I’ve read a lot of complaints on Aliexpress, way more than I checked for Ebay (the items I bought from Ebay never disappointed me), but I decided to ask a question here, since some people seem to like Aliexpress.
First of all, can someone tell me if it’s true that the ratings are falsified? I read someone had given a 1 star rating, but on the shop owner’s page, it was changed for a 4 star rating and instead of saying ”don’t buy there”, it said ”excellent!” I don’t know what to think. We have to rely on the ratings, but if they’re not even true?!
Also, I messaged a shop owner for the information on a product. The images always showed two pillows that were different from each other, and the name of the item is really confusing, so I couldn’t tell which one was for sale. It’s like they tried to put the most words in the title, so there can be a lot of tags. This is the question I asked:
Hello, I’m really interested in the Hello Kitty pillow, and I was wondering which colors you carried in this type of pillow. The image shows two pillows of different sizes, one red and one pink. However the item specifics show ”color: Army Green”. Is the pillow Army Green and different from the pictures shown? If not, which one between the two is for sale? The small red or big pink?
Thank you a lot, have a nice day!
And this is the answer I received. This is the first time I receive this type of answer:
hi, there is something wrong with our editing.
so let me explain, two sizes 4 types,
smaller one: 60cm*32cm Red bowknot or Pink bowknot Price: $ 22.18
bigger one: 85cm*35cm Red bowknot or Pink bowknot Price: $ 31.18
If you want smaller one, you can order and pay directly, if want bigger one, you can order and wait me change price, then pay for it.
Thank you.
However, I am wondering why they did not do two pages separately for the small and the big pillow?! Why one page for two items? What does it mean? I admit it’s weird. I don’t want to order the big one at full price and then receive the small one (scam eh). And there are no reviews on the item, which is strange. The reviews of the shop owner are great, but somes told me they were falsified. I don’t know what to think! Can you help me please? Thank you!
Hi Sophie
Does the seller have a drop down menu on the sales page where you can select the size of the pillow? Either way there is no guarantee that the seller will send you the right size pillow.
We have received several comments from readers who have used AliExpress and posted a comment to the seller’s site only to find their comment was deleted. Because it appears that some unethical sellers manipulate the feedback system it makes it tough to know which sellers have a true rating and are trustworthy.
AliExpress should be doing a better job of policing their seller rating system but unfortunately they don’t see it as important.
Keep us posted on your progress if you decide to order.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW Team
Thank you for you reply! So it’s true then, that some bad ratings and comments on Aliexpress have been ignored…
And no, on the page, there isn’t a choice of size on a dropdown menu (which is even more suspicious, now that you mention it). This never happened to me while ordering online. You are right, if there is a same product different in size or color on the same page, there should be a dropdown menu! But he really said that he would change the price on the entire page, then I’d pay the big price, and then he’d send me the big pillow (instead of the small). I guess I would have had to put my full trust in him and pray that everything goes well. =_=
To know a bit about the seller and if I could trust him, I decided to view his ratings, which were all 5 stars. However, I tried to go on a user’s profile who had left a 5 rating-star, to ask him if the seller was really trustworthy, but there weren’t any ways to contact the other buyers!! I found that more and more suspicious, so I decided not to buy. There are too many people who have been scammed on Aliexpress, and I had bought nothing yet from the site so I thought it was better to stay away from it. I am happy to have seen your site and other site reviews about Aliexpress before ordering.
Also, I didn’t mention it, but I had another suspicious reply from a seller. I had emailed the lady to get information on a Hello Kitty pillow, and she told me that they didn’t carry it. But why would they keep the page announcing the Hello Kitty pillow for sale on their site and in their store, then? What if I had ordered it without emailing her first?
I figured out there were too many unanswered questions about Aliexpress’ security to go buy there.
So thank you again for your reply. Have a nice day!
Sophie glad you were able to avoid being scammed by AliExpress. Interesting that the seller would display a product on their site then admit to you they don’t carry it. Huge red flag.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I’ve recently attempted to order a product on AliExpress.com and towards the end it was cancelled and it stated
“Your order has been cancelled for security reasons. The fund for this order hasn’t been deducted by AliExpress. However, some banks may hold this payment, and the bank will reverse the payment for up to 7-10 working days before releasing back to the card holder. To avoid order cancellation in the future, please submit a claim for payment verification”
Once I had contacted the bank, they had confirmed the money was NOT held by them, but being paid to a company named ‘AliExpress.com’. As I am from the UK I tried to contact them from their UK number and it’s just an automated message telling us to contact them online. I’ve tried their email and I’, still awaiting a response I urgently need this money back or this product to be ordered as soon as possible. The ‘claim’ the asked me to submit for ‘payment verification’ involves me having to post pictures of either my passport or the front and back of my card which I don’t feel comfortable doing and don’t think is necessary. What should I do and is there anyway of cancelling that payment to them?
Hi Toyosi
First off pictures of your passport and/or front and back of your credit card are never required for the purpose of making a purchase online. Anytime a seller asks for this type of information it should be a red flag that the seller is a fraud. I strongly advice you to protect your identity and your finances and never provide this information.
It sounds like you used a credit card to make your purchase. I would contact the credit card company and see if you can dispute the charge through them. Provide the credit card with all the information that the supplier has sent to you regarding the cancelled order and the request for pictures of your card and passport for verification.
Toyosi since you live in the UK you may want to report the seller to http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri
I got the same “story” about my purchase being cancelled and the “requirement of credit card picture front and back, bank statement and passport pictures. This really screams “identity theft”. I will never ever use my VISA card here again. BUT I am going to make sure nothing went on my card.
Hi Kathy
Thanks for letting us know about your experience with AliExpress and for helping to warn other readers about this.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Same situation here. I found that the biggest scam is not the seller but the AliExpress itself, they sent me an email about the payment successfully made but sent me another email telling me that the sale has been closed by them and denied they had taken my money, so that meant they will not refund anything to me. I think we should share our experience with others for avoid somebody to be the next victim.
Sena that is the reason the WFHW site was created. We want to help people find legitimate home based business opportunities and avoid scams. The feedback and testimonials we receive from you and our other readers is important in helping to expose companies that operate with unethical business practices and to provide positive endorsements for those who do.
Although AliExpress may think they do not have to refund you, you can always contact your bank or credit card company and launch a dispute with them.
Thank you for your feedback.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I have purchased many items from AliExpress and have been buying there for a couple years now. I have not had any issues with my orders at all. I even purchased my wedding dress and bridesmaid’s dress here as well.
As with any business you definitely need to have common sense. I know others have posted these in the past, but they are so true.
1. Keep in mind that these items are coming from China. If you bought an item with free shipping, it is understandably going to take a while longer to reach you unless you want to pay for the faster option.
2. Do a little research before purchasing that must-have item. I almost fell victim to this one. I was ready to fork over the big bucks for an item I fell in love with, but at the last moment I decided to search around. I managed to find the exact same item for a fraction of the cost that I had originally been intending to pay. The same is true of sellers as well. Look around. Most of the time, I don’t mind paying a few dollars more to get the item from an established seller with good ratings.
3. Have some patience with the sellers. First, English is probably not their first language, and it would not surprise me to find that some don’t even speak English and are using some translation program. Second, If they don’t respond to your message right away, it’s probably because there is a huge time difference to account for.
4. Don’t be hasty to blame the entire site for problems with the individual sellers. I did have a disagreement with a seller, but that will not prevent me from purchasing other goods from the site. I simply will not purchase from that seller again. I do the same when I have problems with individuals on eBay (come to think of it, I have more issues with people on eBay than I do on AE).
Ultimately, what I am getting at is that I love AliExpress, and I will continue to use it. As long as you keep these items in mind, most people should have no problems at all (aside from those who thrive on drama and create their own issues).
Hi Cassandra
Thanks for the tips. We’re glad to hear that you are experiencing success with AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi. Does anyone have a phone number for Aliexpress in the US?
Hi Micah
There are no phone numbers posted on the AliExpress site. Your best option is to try the help section by clicking here
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I purchased 1 items from vendor (xiyi Co Ltd) @ Ali Express. I never received my item (rain boots) I tried to track the item but when I went to the China Post Airmail web site it said that 0 items were found with that tracking number. I did get the number correct as I used the copy/past method. I am very frustrated with this whole process and also do not feel that there is good communication with either of these companies. What a scam. I am sure glad I did not order more and do not plan to ever order again. I was taken and seem to have no recourse. I will go back to placing my orders with American companies that I have worked with and can trust. and that are trust worthy. Neither Ali Express or Alibaba are trust worthy and others should know.
Hi Cathy
Sorry to hear about your challenge with AliExpress. Did you try and contact the supplier and AliExpress? If you cannot resolve the issue with AliExpress and you paid by credit card you can always contact your credit card company and file a dispute with them.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi again, I wanted you to know that I did just receive my order. I was very happy to finally get my order. However, I am very disappointed with the lack of communication. I do really like what I ordered but am not sure if I will order again due to the very slow shipping and no extra communication that was forth coming other than when the order was placed. So this company was trust worthy just not good at communicating that the order would be shipped but would take a very long time before it would arrive. It took 6 weeks for my rain boots to arrive, but glad they did.
Hi Cathy
Glad to hear that you received your order and that you are happy with the product.
Terri
WFHW
I have absolutely no problem buying stuff from Aliexpress. I do a few common sense things, like checking the sellers’ ratings, shopping around for the best prices. I understand that if I want free shipping, I can’t expect the product to arrive quickly, but not to worry – it does arrive! I confess that I haven’t tried filing any complaint, but that’s because I haven’t had any! One has to expect that colours may not exactly match what you see on your computer – every computer is different. One might also have to check several sellers on the same product to find a quality vendor and get the description right, since English is not the sellers’ strong point, but it”s worth that little bit of trouble. Also at this point, I’m staying away from ordering electronics or any other product in which cheap or fraudulent manufacture can be hidden. I recommend that readers do a little homework – research Aliexpress’s procedure and the sellers. I’m sensing that a few (certainly not all) of these comments are from people who don’t quite understand how the process works, or are not cooperating to expedite resolution.
Hi Judy
Glad to hear you have had success with AliExpress. Your feedback and tips are much appreciated.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Four of my orders are closed for security reason and my payment refund to western union.Aliexpress ask me to claim that money but do not provide for me MTCN western union numbers. What can do to get back my money.WHAT I KNOW , CHANCE TO GET BACK MY MONEY IS VERY SMALL ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
Hi Kabemba
You’ll need to contact Western Union. This link provides some customer support options.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
If I talk about MTCN number, it is because, we tried with western union to track all the refunded orders with my sending payment MTCN numbers ; what we find is those numbers are no longer in the system. Western Union asked me to return to Aliexpress, who is the sender of the refund,to provide the MTCN numbers.All effort to contact Aliexpress services like transaction services,security services,Alipay Escrow, seem to be impossible, because there is no answer.After almost twenty days of trying to contact Aliexpress you are the fist one to give me hope.About the SIte you gave me , I know it and have already sick help from it no success.My question is : HOW CAN I CONTACT ALIEXPRESS TO GET MTCN NUMBERS? God Bless You to try help a most sophisticated system in the earth.
Hi Kabemba
If AliExpress is not responding to your request for the MTCN number you should contact Western Union for help resolving the issue.
Inform Western Union of your attempts to get the the MTCN numbers from AliExpress. Hopefully Western Union will have a solution for you. If not you may want to contact Western Union’s Fraud Hotline.
If you believe you’re a victim of fraud, call the Western Union Fraud Hotline at 1-800-448-1492. You can also forward any suspicious emails to spoof@westernunion.com. Visit our Consumer…
This number is for Western Union USA. If you live in another country. You need to go to the Western Union website for your country, type fraud in the search box and will receive the contact information for the Western Union fraud department in your country.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Terri
WFHW
I placed an order yesterday and had a nice online chat about the product and delivery as I wanted to be sure that that the item was in stock and when they could ship. All went well and then I finalised the transaction, not 4 hours later I have received emails from both Aliexpress and the seller that the transaction was automatically closed for security reasons and I need to re-add to cart and start again.
I have checked my credit card and there is a transaction pending, which the Aliexpress site advises will drop off as they wont follow thru.
Is this True? does anyone know, and if so do I need to reorder as I am being requested by site and seller.
(Transaction Closed
Reminder:
Your order has been cancelled for security reasons. The fund for this order hasn’t been deducted by AliExpress. However, some banks may hold this payment, and the bank will reverse the payment for up to 7-10 working days before releasing back to the card holder. To avoid order cancellation in the future, please submit a claim for payment verification.)
Cathy
Hi Cathy
I would suggest contacting your credit card company and see what they have to say. See if the credit card company can put a stop payment on the transaction if it has not gone through at their end.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
thanks it is still pending so might be OK.
I was looking 3 days live chat for Aliexpress online . this is my order number 1124968864 It was not my intention to cancel the order the supplier force me to. I ask him that I need an v813 tablet PC urgent for gift how possible I can get. He suggest me to pay for shipping DHL 35 dollar and he will ship Monday and Tuesday he will give me truck number. I have not heard him till late hours Tuesday and he told me his missing HDMI cable for order and will take longer I suggest him to send without the HDMI and then send later. He offer me to send the HDMI separately for China Post I agree.
He again promise to send the Tablet PC and the rest off accessories without HDMI Wednesday again he never send. When I ask him he told me cancel I will not send you and if you do not cancel will automatic cancel after 3 days. He told me he afraid I open dispute and he told me I do not want take a chance I told him I will not get my refund in time and this is gift please send he refused.
I cancelled and I do not have my money back I was tried to chat live Aliexpress never give me a chance always generic answer and generic email. The amount was 206 USD I give him bad feedback the supplier so no one will happen he has 2 good feedback however they never posted my negative feedback I ask help center why never posted my feedback and I can’t Believed the answer: the feeback will be post only if the buyer and the supplier agree. so how he will ever get bad feedback?
I called my bank and this is the answer we will open investigation and that take 30 days. I will not recommend to buy anything from online that not have customer service nor you can chat or call really people to buy anything and even supplier will ignore you to chat with you after the purchase has completed and you pay…do not believe how nice they are the only good till they make sales. That is the reason PayPal closed to deal Alibaba and Aliexpress.
Hi Nur
Sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. Hopefully your credit card company will come through for you.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
USING ALIEXPRESS YOU ARE TAKING HUGE RISKS.
The transaction date of my order was 03/12/2013. Got order confirmation same day and seller processed the order in 2 days. With seller promised Delivery Time:15-26 Days, the item should arrive within 04/10/2013. With no Item received till 04/29/2013, and tracking# trail lost, emailed the seller asking him for a full refund if not delivered within60 days.. Sellers advised me ,” please be more patient. please do not worry about it, if it is lost on the way, we can resend you a new one.now just let’s wait and see, ok?”. The seller objective was to keep me inactive for an INDEFINITE period of time, while less than 2 weeks left, to dispute my credit card. With no order received and unsuccessful negotiation with seller to get a refund tried to open dispute with aliexpress and received Error Message. Only a dispute with my credit Card solved the PROBLEM.
Seller has Contractual Obligation with Aliexpress. Aliexpress has Contractual Obligation with the Credit Card Bank. Credit Card Bank has Contractual Obligations with consumer, based on Credit Card Consumer protection ACT.
If anything goes wrong and consumer stays inactive beyond 60 days, then everybody will be off the hook, and the Consumer WILL RUN OUT OF LUCK. While the seller will get the money, the Consumer will Get Nothing, or a Different Inferior Product, or a Fake Product.
Hi Robert
It is unfortunate that some sellers at AliExpress like to play games and AliExpress lets them get away with it. Fortunately credit card companies
want your business and most cases will work with you to resolve disputes about your purchases. As a result it is important to stay within the credit card companies timeline and take action through them when necessary regardless of what the seller at AliExpress has to say.
Purchases from overseas should not take longer than 30 days to arrive unless they are a custom order.
Thanks for sharing Robert and all the best to you.
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri,
I’m quite impressed with your kind responses and suggestions to all complainants on this site so far regarding AE.
I really cherish your selfless service. Well done for the very useful tips on how go about AE sellers. My conclusion is that AE is not a scam site, just that some sellers don’t believe in lasting customer or mutual and beneficial business relationships. I’m about beginning to patronize AE and decided to conduct a search on them whether it’s a scam site.
I hope they’ll one day come to terms with this key component of wealth building and sustenance.
Hi Ovegho
Thank you for you kind words. AliExpress although not a scam site could do a much better job of monitoring their sellers and eliminating those who do not conduct business ethically. Evidently customer satisfaction, repeat business and referrals are not important to them.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I had a similar experience, I just disputed after 40 days and will be receiving credit from my credit card company. I’ve had success with small items but this was my largest charge ($150) and I was getting one word responses from the seller along with bogus tracking numbers. no more aliexpress for me.
Hi Jeff
Glad to hear that you were able to get a refund.
One word responses and bogus tracking numbers are not a good sign. It’s assure to know that credit are companies will back you when sellers and AliExpress fail to cooperate.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi
I have used Aliexpress and wondering if the sellers are veted in anyway to avoid the pitfalls as people have described in the above messages. I have often found the photograph used is a misrepresentation of the products you actually receive. Whilst there is a dispute process this process is so time consuming and people usually end up giving up. Unlike other websites Aliexpress tend to remove negative feedback as a result the seller will continue to make sales misrepresenting products over and over again. I also have noted there are automatic feedback left of sellers accounts even though the buyer did not leave feedback they are marking them high.
There are good suppliers on Aliexpress however in my experience they are few and far between.
It also appears there are far too many sellers on Aliexpress representation themselves are corporate organisations when the could be working from a shed.
Hi Mark
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your insight about AliExpress. Your experience is similar to so many others who have commented.
It’s quite clear that buyers need to “Beware” when shopping on AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I’m absolutely livid!!! I purchased a product through Aliexpress Oct 4th, 2012… 2012!!! Not only was I sent a fake tracking number the Seller said they no longer had the item in stock and that I would have to pick another after a whole month went by and I’m thinking the package is on it’s way the only reason they told me that is because the tracking number was non existent.
It’s now April year 2013 and I STILL haven’t received my package and the tracking number they provided me was the exact same one that didn’t work. Countless messages I’ve sent to the supplier asking what’s going on yet vague responses and weeks to a month no reply. I feel ripped off and hurt anyone would operate like this and consider it good business. I can’t seem to get in contact with Aliexpress to resolve this issue, I just keep asking myself where on earth is the customer service.
Hi Brian
Sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress. It is unfortunate that AliExpress does not monitor it’s sellers to ensure they follow ethical business practices. It also appears they would rather turn a blind eye on customer complaints rather than work on resolving the issues.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
hello I was interested in buying from aliexpress, however I am from the united kingdom and was wondering if it will convert the currency from dollars to pounds for me?
Hi Turaya
I’m not sure what you mean by it. You can use a site such as http://www.xe.com to give you an idea of the exchange rate.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Its been more than 100 days no update from seller and product still didn’t received for order id 1105132748.
I cant contact aliexpress customer service, it is always directing to automatic robert service.
So posting it here. I have already escalated the dispute but no use…
Hi Tech
Sorry to hear that you are having a challenge with AliExpress. If you paid with your purchase using a credit card you may want to consider contacting your credit card company and see if you can dispute the charge.
Credit card companies allow you to dispute charges for goods and services you didn’t accept or weren’t delivered as agreed upon. This document will give you more information about credit card disputes http://creditcardforum.com/blog/credit-card-dispute
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
hi,
i was thinking of ordering from ali express but i am now in two minds whether to do so or not since seeing these negative comments about experiences with ordering and not receiving your items. it says on the webisite that they offer ship goods by ups and dhl which is better for tracking and more familiar to most of us as apposed to ems and tnt which they prefer to use.
would anyone take a chance on ordering from ali express with using either dhl or ups for shipping?
i am desperate to order as i have seen some good deals that could potentially boost my earnings but i can not afford to loose any money like everyone on here.
i have never used ali express before or anything like this to be honest, i am just a bit anxious and need some advice whether it would be more secure in ordering or not. please get back to me.
thanks
mags.
Hi Mag
Yes you would think that using UPS and DHL would be safer because of the tracking numbers however if you read through the reviews you will find many comments about the seller providing invalid tracking numbers.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I placed an order for a laptop worth USD195.00 with shipping cost of USD77.4 and I paid USD272.4 all together. But, seeing the product sent, it’s less in value to the description of what I have paid for and it was so clear on the commercial invoice that came along with the laptop sent. The invoice stated, “Mini Notebook Sample, 1pc, USD130.00 as price and USD35.00 as shipping fee and USD165.00 as the total” against USD272.00 that I paid. What can I do to claim my remnant amount of USD107.4? Thanks as you urgently reply!
I have had good experiences with Ali Express until my last two orders. One was 28th Nov 2012 and I waited till Feb 2013 to follow up. Christmas and Chinese New Year in this time delayed things. After a few emails to supplier I was sent only one item of three ordered and have not been able to get an answer from supplier since. Lost my money to boot as I cannot get to Ali express to ask for refund. Can ‘t lodge a dispute as considered “Order complete” Don’t know what I did wrong there.
Last order was not shipped within time frame so order was cancelled by Ali express. Hope to get a refund in 2 weeks.
Hi Robyn
Sorry to hear about your challenges with AliExpress.
Please keep us posted on your refund.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I had performed several purchases before in aliexpress, there were many payment options. Suddenly, moneybookers and paypal were removed. Disputes are not being managed as before. I opened one two months ago, and there is no answer from aliexpress.
Thus, I do not recommend them anymore. I will contact sellers there, but manage my purchases from outside.
Luis Ramos
Hi Luis
Thanks for stopping by. From the number of comments posted from our readers there are many people who are not happy with AliExpress dispute process.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I made some orders and tracking numbers carries no info. When tracked, it appears, “success – 0 item” with no info on the item, status, origin, destination and others. What can I do? This is one of the tracking nos: RB144815727CN…what do you think I should not hesitate to do? Thanks!
I brought an product from Aliexpress worth 98 dollars, its been 90 days still I didn’t receive the product. Seller has provided a guaranteed that product will be delivered within 45 days else money back. I have escalated the issue with Aliexpress but no proper response. I suggest not to buy from them. My order number is 1105132748
Hi Bala
I would suggest contacting your credit card company and see if you can dispute the charge. Credit card companies allow you to dispute charges for goods and services you didn’t accept or weren’t delivered as agreed upon. This document will give you more information about credit card disputes http://creditcardforum.com/blog/credit-card-dispute
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Please, can somebody tell me what it means to get “frozen orders” as status in the course of making payment for an order at AE using my debit card (master card)? No indication that the payment was successful but verification success. Though, I’ll have to confirm from my bank at day break. I’ve once made transaction and stil making transactions but just worried about what “frozen orders” as status mean. Thanks
Hi Isaac
Sorry to hear you are having a challenge with your order at AliExpress.
I recommend contacting the seller to find out why the order is frozen.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Thanks Terri. As per d frozen orders in the course of payment, the seller said it’s cos it’s been checked or verified by AE that after, I can go ahead to pay.
Meanwhile, I’ve ordered and pay for an item and the tracking number given carries no info whenever I track but stipulates “success – 0 items found”. This is the tracking number RB144815727CN and this is the order number 1116736328. You can as well track and verify and let me know which step I better take. Thanks!
Hey i ordered something about 3 weeks ago for almost $200 and it has not come yet i tried to use the tracking number they gave me and it does not work. i called dhl which is the tracking company and they said they do not have that number in there system. Im really upset and wish i never ordered from this website. i tried to call aliexpress and it just goes to voice mail. what kind of company is this.
Hi Shanice
Sorry to hear you are having a challenge with AliExpress. Take a look at the buyer protection program here.
As soon as your are eligible be sure to open a dispute.
Hopefully your situation will be resolved without having to open a dispute. Unfortunately when the seller sends you an incorrect tracking number it’s not a good sign.
Another option is to contact your credit card company and see if you can dispute the charge.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terry, I actually just orders 2 shoes and 2 handbags but im very scared because i used a credit card with a balance of $4,000. Do you think they will take more than the total balance was?
Hi Bushra
It is not likely they will charge more because you only authorized the purchase amount. Keep your transaction receipt in case you need it. Monitor your card for any future unauthorized purchases. In the future you may want to consider purchasing a prepaid credit card for these types of online purchases.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi, maybe you can help me. I just bought jacket on aliexpress, and my visa card has been charged. But when I go to my profile on aliexpress it show like I have not paid for it. They say “Awaiting payment”
What do I dp?
Hi Heida
Sorry to hear that you are having a challenge with your order. I would recommend contacting the supplier. Send them a copy of your transaction receipt and ask them to update your order status and to send you a email with the tracking number when the order is shipped.
If the supplier does not respond or update your status within 48 hours contact your credit card company. Let your credit card company know that you would like to report a fraudulent transaction.
AliExpress will not allow you to open a dispute until after you receive shipping confirmation as a result you have no recourse with AliExpress whereas your credit card company will contact the supplier while investigating the transaction.
Unfortunately the credit card company will likely cancel your credit card and re-issue a new one. This maybe an inconvenience for you. However, this will expose the fraudulent activity of the supplier and will put you in a position to receive a refund from your credit card company.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Thank you very much for your answer. I have tried to contact the supplier and (bougth from 2 suppliers) one of the has not answerd me, the other one is extremely rude. Saying it is my proublem and I have to help myself.
I have a question, is there any email on alibaba that I can send to?
I find the webside very hard to find help.. just standard helping questins but I really need to contanct real person on alilbaba about this, not computer answering :( If you have any idea how I can send them an email were I can send them copy of my visa transaction I would very much appriciate it.
My best
Heiða
Even if AliExpress is a mix of good and bad sellers, it just goes to show AliExpress does not moderate the crud that gets sold to people by scammers. Reading reviews might not even help, who knows how many positive reviews have been written by the company itself to boost its image.
My experience with AliExpress was frustrating, yet comical to say the least. I purchased a jacket after looking around at multiple styles. I had searched reviews for AliExpress and seen that they pretty much never get you what you ordered. It’s either out of stock, the order is frozen, wrong size/color, ect. I decided to take a chance on AliExpress because I figured 20 bucks was worth the gamble.
The jacket I was ordering came in two options for colors; Black, and Blue. I ordered a Medium size in Blue. It arrived in Brown, in a size Small. It hardly fit me and the fabric looked like it had been made with felt from a craft store. It only slightly resembled the image of the product when I purchased it. I wasn’t about to begin complaining to the manufacturer, that would have been like talking to a brick wall. I felt rather stupid for having spent $20+ on a gamble and ending up on the losing edge. However I gave it to a friend of mine and she was petite enough to fit into it, so it made for a very early Christmas present. I found it funny that the jacket came with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which promptly expired one day after it arrives. Just goes to show you how easy it is for a company to sell you junk.
Moral of this story: Buying from a non-credible, insecure websites like AliExpress is not worth the discount. You’d might as well play a claw machine if you decide to go through AliExpress, because chances are you’d spend more money trying to get what you actually wanted instead of just buying the item itself from somewhere credible and reliable. If you decide to take a chance of AliExpress you might just end up where I started, and you’ll probably feel the same way.
Hi Joe
Sorry to hear about your negative experience with AliExpress. Your comments are appreciated and should make others think twice before making a purchase – especially if they can’t afford to gamble.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I’ve read many comments on here, it’s unfortunate that we have so many scam artist around the world. Myself have had many successful transactions off Ali & Alibaba. I’ve been blessed enough to build great business relationships with several sellers. 2 which I’ve verified Nike has used 1 factory to produce sneakers. And 4 other well known women clothing & shoe providers has used to produce high end product.
I started buying small than cut Ali & Alababa out all together. I’ve only had to raise my voice a couple times at a supplier. I realized real sellers won’t hind information, they want your money more than you need their products.
People take note; all Asian sellers aren’t bad. We have just as many scams in the US.
1st.. I get phone contacts along with addresses, I demand SKYPE video calls etc. I want to know whom I’m doing business with. If you to cheap to make international calls, stick with buying in the US.
Learn about trading before wasting your time and money. About 12 states in the US (mainly west coast) addresses Ali won’t ship to unless the transaction is b2b. Western Union won’t transfer funds to overseas companies, this leave uneducated international buyers the only options of dealing with sellers directly.
Once this happen without fully understanding process & procdures we get complaints and Ali will not get involved. I can keep going about how I protect myself but I won’t.
I suggest fully getting to know a seller by vetting them as much as possible. Skype calls are free, use the video call also. I like to see background if its real business or not, don’t depend on Ali & Alababa payment methods. Lastly if I’m placing large orders its done b2b via my control escrow, real business providers won’t object to it.
Happy and Safe Trading… p.s. great site you’ll..
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience with Alibaba and AliExpress. Your strategies can be helpful especially to those who are looking at placing large orders.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
AliExpress IS A SCAM!!!!!
Paid several hundred dollars for item. Package arrived was very small in a hand woven sack. Item received was nothing like what was pictured. Return postage was way to0 high — about $75. So submitted complaint. They just run you through a long process and then state not enough evidence and disperse funds to the seller. In other words, if you dispute you give up your right to a refund. So realize it is cost prohibitive to return the merchandise, which is not always what is pictured. And furthermore, the seller rating is fraudulent. Even if you give all 1’s — they add the three 1st together, so that all sellers get above three stars, even if you gave the poorest rating on all three measures. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SITE IS FRAUDULENT. Also note: YAHOO Is owned in part by Alibaba — the Chinese Fraud Company that owns AliExpress.
STAY AWAY FROM YAHOO (discontinue use of Y mail) , Alibaba and AliExpress.
Hi Mike
We are sorry to hear about your experience with AliExpress. Like you many of our visits have mentioned that the dispute process has failed to resolve their issue nor were they successful in getting a refund.
You are definitely taking a risk purchasing through AliExpress.
Terri
WFHW
I would NOT advise this, a card is easier to close and replace than a bank account.
Do not give ali express access to sensitive information unless you are using an encrypted page, indicated usually bt https in your browser and a lock icon, if you absolutely must give out this information, one tip is when placing orders use an alternative phone number that your bank does not use, in order to track where follow up correspondence comes from, if you are suddenly receiving correspondence regarding your financial information to your alternative phone number, then most likely it is via alibaba/aliexpress..
The site (company) and it’s merchant accounts also knowingly engage in phishing which to my understanding may even go as far as to being a partnership.
Their credit card processing merchants, use the details of your transactions to make fraudulent contact in order to phish for sensitive financial information. If you receive phone calls coincidentally from “Bank of America” or “Wells Fargo” etc, after shopping on this site, know that their card processing merchants are actually phishing. This has been reported to aliexpress/alibaba several times, but of course continues to occur.
Be very, very careful
Hi Lynda
AliExpress/Alibaba do not monitor their seller’s nor to they have any policies to deter sellers from engaging in unethical business practices.
Phishing or any type of suspected fraud related to your credit card or debit card should be reported to the credit card company. A bank or credit card company will not call you and ask for personal information. As a result you should never provide this type of information to anyone who calls.
If ever in doubt ask for the caller’s name, phone number, title and the organization they represent. Let them know you will call them back. Most fraudulent callers will not provide this information and if they do, call the financial institution they claim to represent and inquire about the call.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Actually Terri,
That is not the case.
The phishing I am referring to is not done through the sellers, as sellers do not access to information such as Credit Card Issuer, it is done through the Ali Express system.
Ali Express is engaging in illegal activity as they are aware of the problem, it has contracted several MERCHANT ACCOUNTS, i.e companies who process credit card information, who engage in these phishing attempts.
It is in fact these companies that engage in phishing attempts in this case and NOT the “sellers” who are using the AliExpress platform, hope this clarifies.
Lynda thank you for your clarification. I understand what you are saying. When you make a transaction in person you can see the merchant’s logo on the pin pad when enter your pin number. Unfortunately with AliExpress because the transaction is made digitally you cannot see who processes it. However, you should still report it to the fraud department of your credit card company.
If reported by enough consumers, credit card companies should take notice and will likely investigate these companies. Once they see what’s happening these merchants companies will be shut down. They may also ban AliExpress from any future credit or debit transactions since as you mentioned AliExpress was aware that these companies were committing fraud and did nothing to stop it.
Credit card companies do not take fraud lightly. It is our responsibility as consumers and victims of fraud to report these activities so they can be taken care of before more people become victims.
Terri
WFHW
I just wanted to chime in with my experiences with China. I am a Canadian citizen, living in Shenzhen for three years. The Chinese are masters at copying. Fakes are everywhere, and by that, I mean electronics, purses, wallets, clothing, accessories, etc. The Chinese are bent on becoming more “western” and by western, they think “brand name”. So everyone wants to wear and own brand names here, but very few can afford them, hence the huge copy market. The culture here is very different than the west, and when a westerner learns that the Chinese have mastered the fake egg, we think “why?”……whereas the Chinese think “clever”. My own experience here is that most Chinese will rob you blind if given the opportunity. There is also huge quality and safety issues with fakes that are produced here…..dyes and plastics with toxins in them, leather treated with substances that would be banned in Canada, same with jewellery. I could go on and on……
My take-home message is this: be very wary of what you are ordering from any site based in china. My experiences with china would leave me to believe you will likely be purchasing fake products, especially electronics and clothing/accessories, or you will be sold outdated/expired items, or you will be sent “seconds” or damaged products. You may be lucky enough to receive a genuine item, just as ordered…….I have known some ex pats to have come across legit items that have simply “fallen off the delivery truck”, but those are usually sold at a higher price, and are rarities.
I hope some folks find this information useful.
Hi Kim
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience with China.
It’s unfortunate that this type of mentality exits. As so many of our visitors have mentioned you take a chance when you purchase
products from AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I love AE. Have been using them for 3 months small orders selling online from home. No problems. My questions all awnsered promptly helpful people good quality on the products some better quality then others ratings on who is doing well. Excellent site.
Hi Randy
We are glad to hear that AliExpress is working well for you.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi there
First time buyer from Aliexpress and wont be 2nd time buyer. I bought 4 Andriod tablets that were all missing files one wouldnt even charge. Chargers were doddgy by Australian standards. Sent them back and was told i would get a full refund plus shipping costs and i am still waiting. On the feedback for the seller .. if one doesnt acknowledge shipment and make the payment then one can not leave ‘feed back’ so if you get doddgy goods and request a refund you don’t get to leave any negative feedback, so it is almost impossible to tell if the seller is bad.
In my case the seller received his goods back and then ceased communications with me and now i am waiting for the response team to get back to me which seems to take some time.
I do know of people that order there regulary and have not had any problems, but i for one won’t be returning.
Thanks Julie
Hi Julie
Thanks for stopping by. We are sorry to hear about your negative experience with AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
@David
I was wondering aloud about this statement of yours:” All you ve got to do is be careful when doing so and be in constant communication with the seller before making your order or purchase”. In the Internet, how careful can one be? They have the so-called escrow system, but, please don’t take their words for it. They are not reasonable people.
These people will promise you gold, but at best deliver you gold-coloured.
I ordered some items from a certain seller. During the ordering process, it was clearly stated that my order will be shipped free through DHL. Delivery was stated as 4-8 days plus an addition of 3 days of processing. All is fine, until I did not receive my items after 16 days. In between, I enquired if my order has been shipped, and was told to be patient. Guess what, when I threaten to cancel the order, the seller straitly told me I have to wait between 20-30 days! When I put request to void the order, the so-called arbitrators (of Aliexpress) told me to move on and accept delivery if it was delivered within 30 days. This is despite my showing them the screenshot of what’s promised during ordering. This is obviously biased, unethical and all their so-called customer protection is more of a make-believe. My suggestion is, if you are really itching to buy from these people, go and buy through your local buying agents, don’t deal with them direct. Just a side note, all prices at Aliexpress are quite highly inflated; I saw the difference when I was in China.
Hi Hamsap
Your testimonials are an eye opening example of how AliExpress treats its customers.
I want to thank you for the taking the time to share this with our visitors.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hello everyone,
My case is a very simple: I received Android Tablet Novo 7 in December 2011 with the broken screen and sent out it back to a seller. During the open dispute the seller had confirmed that he had had received the product back and he was going to send me money back. However, the dispute had been closed by Aliexpress and since then I have got nothing, no money no Android Tablet back.
I sent many emails to Aliexpress and to the seller, have got no responses at all,
what would you advise me please?
Thanks in advance
Hi Nikolay
Did you make your purchase in December 2011 or 2012? If you made your purchase in 2012 you may want to consider contacting
your credit card company and see if you can get your money back through them.
If the seller starts getting pressured by credit card companies they a lot more likely to respond as they do not want to loose
their credit card processing privileges.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi
I have purchased a marble fireplace, 3 four wheelers, many pairs of boots, 300 neon clocks, neon NASCAR items, I have purchased many items over the last 4 years and have never had a problem. Thanks
George
Hi George
Thanks for stopping by. We are glad to hear that AliExpress is working well for you.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Ordered pen refills from a seller on Aliexpress. The seller had no exact measurements and just a note saying that they would fit a certain type of pen. That should have been the first alarm bell right there but, because they were cheap and matched the ones I was looking for (to refill a nice promo pen I’d been given), I ordered them.
They arrived fine but didn’t fit, being a good couple of centimetres too short. Emailed the seller, offering to return them for a full refund. Seller refused, offering only a partial refund and telling me I should have known they could only fit this kind of pen (They’ve now added a photo of this pen to their description but still no measurements). I again asked for a refund, stating that they offered a no-argument guarantee. Seller started getting abusive so I’m now refusing to speak to them and am waiting for the 3 days to elapse so I can open a dispute with the site (not that I’m holding my breath on getting any further).
However, I called my credit card company and because it was such a low amount, they instantly credited my card and are, from what I can gather, opening a dispute with the company. I explained exactly what had happened (items not what I wanted, seller not willing to offer a full refund and becoming abusive). No matter what the amount you’ve spent, it’s worth giving your credit card company a call and getting them on your side.
Hi Rae
We are sorry to hear about your challenge with AliExpress. We’re glad that you were able to get a refund through your credit card company.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Folks..I notice that Ali Express offers a large number of Italian carbon racing pushbike frames for sale (Pinarello, Bianchi, Cipollini etc) at bargain basement prices (approx 10% of real frame costs). An associate of mine repairs carbon fiber bike frames etc and has come across quite a few of these “Fakarello’s” and was alarmed to find that a substantial quantity of the “carbon fiber” was in fact fiberglass which is considerably weaker than carbon. I stupidly got “stung” buying a replacement carbon fork for a bike only to find that I couldn’t purchase a suitable bearing to match the steerer tube. Whilst I am sure that there are some great bike frames for sale at very low prices, (allegedly coming from the same factory as the Italian companies use), please do your research first as finding yourself riding at 40KMH+ and having a major frame component fracture (or snap completely) could turn out to be a costly and dangerous exercise
Hi Garry
North American bike companies would not get away with this type of false advertising. The potential for injury is way too high.
Thanks for alerting us about this. Everyone definitely needs to do some research before purchasing a carbon fiber pedal bike from AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered an item from AliExpress a few months ago and it was an item from China. Still havn’t received an item nor refund, even after a dispute has been opened. It was the first and last time I ordered something from that website.
Moritz thanks for stopping by. We are sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience with AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I have placed 3 orders from 3 different aliexpress shops over the last 15 months or so:
#1 – Sent a bogus tracking number, never answered inquiries. Dispute filed, money refunded.
#2 – Flawless transaction. (Would have ordered order #3 with them if they had what I had wanted in stock)
#3 – Both of the items arrived, 1 was missing an ordered accessory. Dispute filed, cost of accessory refunded.
I have never lost money but I carefully read up on how to conduct myself. The most important things:
* Understand how your buyer protection works. Never let the store trick you into doing the wrong thing.
* Never click confirm delivery until you are 100% satisfied. Once that happens the store gets your money and will never respond to you again.
* Never let the timer on the confirm delivery button expire, its the same as clicking the button. Open a dispute by the last day if there is no sign of your order.
* Once in the dispute process, never click the End Dispute button unless you are 100% satisfied. Once you do the store gets your money and all communication from them stops.
Hi dvancleef
Glad to hear that AliExpress is working well for you.
We appreciate your tips on how to use the buyer protection program.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I placed my second order for Aliexpress yesterday.
The first order I placed in October 2012 consisted of three parts, and every single part arrived unscathed within a month of the order placed.
I only usually order jewellery making supplies, and I usually do not spend that much money. My experiences of aliexpress so far are encouraging, but the language barrier puts me off.
Now I’m not bilingual, and give major props to people who are. But during this last order I had to ask a question about a product I wanted to order, and the person on the other end of the chat wasn’t able to understand the question I was asking. See http ://goo.gl/q8zo4
If I end up with 100 blue cabochons, I can live with that. But I’m less likely to buy from that supplier in the future if communication is impossible.
So far, I give the company a thumbs up, but from a communications perspective, I wouldn’t order anything too dear from them.
Laura thanks for sharing your experience with AliExpress. We are glad that your shopping experiences have been positive.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I wish i read this before hand… I asked 21 questions before placing an order ($100 u.s)
they shorted me on the order sent me wrong items and the items they did send were wrong in size thus unsellable or even useable. Ke ke’s store is a scam 100% i disputed it provided pictures and even a video and they still have not refunded my money. Its been 2 months!
Hi Octav
We are sorry to hear about your negative experience with AliExpress.
Your comment will help other readers to void doing business with unethical suppliers like Ke ke.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi Terri!
I found out about Aliexpress.com not too long ago and I loved the deals there! I researched on different websites about this platform bc there seem to be a big gap between the lover and the hater of Aliexpress. Till now I haven`t found out if it`s possible to shop there as a private customer without getting any probs. I saw that a lot of customers buy only 1 or 2 pieces so quantity shouldn`t be a problem.
Please reply to my inquiry bc I have really no idea how to find out! Your site is amazing and I`m sure that many many ppl found help here!
Thank u & all the best
Hi Tina
Yes anyone can make a purchase on AliExpress. There are no minimum order requirements.
If you decide to make a purchase feel free to drop by and let us know about your experience.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
i bought some Items from Aliexpress the sent 2 of them and 7 items not received,
i tried hard with them ,you can read one word WAIT,i wait 4 monthes and nothing.
they are scam,and when i tried contact with anyone in the website you contant with EVA !!!!!!!!!!! who is EVA ? she is no one.
Hi Zainah
Sorry to hear about your negative experience with AliExpress. It’s unfortunate the company does not quality control in place to weed out unethical sellers.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I bought from AliExpress some mobile phone batteries, which were charged to my MC card on 4th nov 2012, received their confirmations *Full Shipment Made for Order No. 1018303061* and +Full Shipment Made for Order No. 1018303060* inmediately, but those products never arrived and AliExpress website does not find those order numbers, which blocks any chance to claim payment back..
I call it FRAUD !!!
Stay away from those scammers !!!
Ricard
Hi Ricard
We are sorry to hear about your negative experience with AliExpress. It’s unfortunate that AliExpress does not monitor sellers and eliminate those that pursue unethical business practices.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi there, im interested in doing business with aliexpress… but i am in south africa, how can I make a bank deposit to singapore? any advice please?
Hi Riaan
You can check with your bank to see what payment options are available. Many people prefer using pre-paid credit cards for their AliExpress purchases.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
don’t buy from aliepress store “Yaoqi huang’s store” site is scam no buyer protection . recieved different item than on their website, no help from staff lost 150 usd.
Thanks for sharing with our visitors Lena, and we are sorry to hear that you have had such a negative experience with this store.
All the best,
Marcus
WFHW
Hi I ordered from aliexpress and had a great experience! And I’d like to add to that I have ordered about 7 times from them and all of my orders have had great timing and I’m very happy and satisfied! They can be sure I will keep ordering!
Hi Jowanna
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to share your experience with Aliexpress. We are glad to hear that you are a satisfied customer.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
My previous post from last week got removed from this blog so we will see how long this lasts. This also tells you something about who the folks running this forum are batting for.
First off all I strongly disagree with the assertions of the OP that AliExpress is legit. This is a site run by scammers, for the scammers with the intent to defraud and cheat people. Here are the facts of my case.
Placed orders on 09/10. They were marked shipped on 09/11. Based on tracking info, contacted my local PO on 10/12. PO incdicated that there was no trace of these shipments and these no’s were either wrong (read fradulent) or the items were lost.
Opened a dispute with AliExpress on 10/17. Their message under my order list read…” someone from AliExpress would contact me in TWO days”
After a week, no emails, no contact and suddenly a new message showed up about “delays in items being shipped”
Note, the tracking info indicated that the items were shipped almost a month back. I tried contacting AliExpress, no response. Their Phone no herein the USA (area code 425) is a voicemail which is full. Ali Express was still advising me to contact the shipper and resolve with them. Really!!! what happened to your mediation and Escrow?
I finally contacted my CC provider on 10/27, who was more than willing to help and were aware of the practices of this website.
Meanwhile trying to pursue through Aliexpress as well, I was surprised to see that all disputes were removed from my account, the orders closed and disputes erased as if they were never opened, no history, nada, nothing!!!!
This confirmed my suspicion about the website and its practices. This is a bunch of scammers providing pictures of products and low prices to lure and scam. There is no protection, whatsoever.
Moreover AliExpress is falsely advertising that they are working with Paypal whereas the fact is that PayPal booted them after their unscrupulous practices.
My advice, run away with your money of you see AliExpress or Alibaba and save yourself a lot of aggravation
Hi Sh Will,
Let me just start off by saying that we do not post all the comments that we get, simply because it would take us a long time. This in no way reflects what we feel about the comments that are made, and if you take a look around the site you will see that we believe in freedom of speech – good or bad.
Your own dealings with AliExpress certainly raises some concerns, and we thank you for taking the time to share your experience and helping our visitors.
It would be great if we could get someone from AliExpress to take a look at what our visitors are saying about their service, and make changes that address the problems. We might look into the possibility of making this happen, so we will keep you posted.
Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your experiences.
Marcus
WFHW
I was looking forward to buy some good first copy sunglasses on aliexpress.com as the original price is out of my reach.
Help if anyone had a good experience with such sellers on aliexpress.
Please forward their link if any.
Thanks
Regards,
Sonu
Hi Allasdhi
Hopefully one of our readers will be able to help you out with your request. If you decide to purchase from AliExpress please take a few moments to come back and share your experience with us.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I don’t think people should read too much into the star rating. I recently placed a couple of small orders and left my honest opinion about a purchase. I was then hounded by the seller begging me to alter the rating. Also, there is a rating that is done by default which appears quite high, but potential customers should be aware that if there is no written feedback or it states its a default rating, then its just an arbitary one.
Ish
Hi Ish
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience with AliExpress. Potential customers frequently rely on the ratings and feedback from other customers to determine the credibility of a seller. It’s unfortunate that some sellers feel the need to contact their customers and ask them to change their rating in order to improve the seller’s image in the eyes of future customers.
Ish did you change your rating? If you left the rating as initially submitted was your review deleted?
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I agree, do not use this web site. It is run by a bunch of liars! I purchased two cycle frames from Great Keen Cycles. Because of their lack in communication I was sent two frames the same size. I had to pay to ship one of the frames back. I was told by the supplier, Jerry Wang, that he would refund my shipping costs. We had lots of contact by email but as soon as he got the frame back he wouldnt reply to my emails. I did get my refund from Aliexpress as I opened a dispute. I have tried to complain again to Aliexpress and again they will not respond to my emails. This site should NOT be used. They cant be trusted.
Hi David
Thanks for stopping by. Sorry to hear that you are having problems with AliExpress and seller Jerry Wang.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Under no circumstances should anyone buy from AliExpress. They say they have buyer protection, but both the seller and AliExpress will make you jump through hoops and still not refund you if some goes wrong. I was sent a different item than what I ordered. The seller would not refund and wanted me to pay to ship the item back to them. I filed a dispute with AliExpress, but that is just more of the same communication with the seller. Finally, I was able to file a claim with AliExpress, but they denied it, asking for evidence of the wrong item that I received even though the seller was not disputing that she sent the wrong item. In fact, she admitted it over and over again in our dispute. If you think you can always go through buyer protection when something isn’t right, think again. AliExpress will NOT refund you. Worst online experience ever!
Has anybody purchased from Shanghai KISIS Wholesale Store? They have really good ratings and a lot of products I’m interested in. I also Googled ‘scam’, ‘complaints’ and ‘reviews’, but couldn’t find anything – nothing. Feedback from people here who purchased from them before (more than once), would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!
Maxie if you decide to purchase from Shanghai KISIS please keep posted about your experience.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi, I know this chat is old but if anyone is still reading….
Would it be smart to request the alibaba seller’s email address and head over to paypal and pay that way? I have never used paypal beyond ebay but I know they have a service like what i just mentioned and I’m sure it’s monitored and secure ( I trust paypal a LOT). My only concern with alibaba is pretty much….everything. I dont feel comfortable with paying with my visa card- I dont trust alibaba enough for that. I also dont really know how moneygram works in terms of safety precautions, and I’ve heard of other paypal-like sites but….. why use them when i can try to use the real thing. If alibaba forces me to give them ANY visa information then too bad I wont be buying from them…..
Hi Jusblaze
We appreciate you stopping by and sharing your opinion. It would be great if sellers on
AliExpress accepted Paypal but unfortunately most don’t.
You’re not alone, many people do not feel comfortable using their credit card on AliExpress.
Some readers have mentioned that they purchased a pre-paid visa or mastercards specifically for
their AliExpress purchases.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered a few items 2 month ago form Aliexpress, got them in 15 days, I sold them all, then I ordered a lot more, and sold them all again, I’m placing my 3rd order and it’s gonna be even bigger. I’m very happy now that I’m starting my business, and aliexpress has been a really good resource.
Haven’t had a single problem with Aliexpress, I did my research on every company I bought from, and read a lot of reviews, I spent sometime on it, but it was worth it.
I wish everybody good luck with you businesses.
From Vancouver, Canada
Hi Jose
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your results with AliExpress. We are happy to hear that you are experiencing success.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Do you know anything about Yiwu QQ Jewelry? I received a shipping confirmation on 9/11 but as of today 9/26 still no product. I know it’s coming from China so I’m trying to be patient but it seems excessive.
Hi Nicole
Did the seller provide you with a tracking number? Did they provide you with an estimated delivery date? If not contact the seller and ask them when you can expect the shipment to arrive. Also ask them if they can provide you with a tracking number.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Im considering buying a wedding dress off of aliexpress.com through supplier Golden Lily. Its a wonderful price and has good ratings but I saw on here that negative ratings are possibly not posted. The dress I want does have one negative posting saying that the person didn’t like the dress because it wasn’t the same color and material. The store is based China (Mainland) (Jiangsu).
So before buying I’m wondering is this provider/supplier reliable?
Hi Kit
This link will give you a better idea of Golden Lily’s reliability. Notice how long the seller has been in business, the number of reviews, break down of review scores and overall review rating. http://www.aliexpress.com/store/feedback-score/206404.html
If you decide to make a purchase please keep us updated on your results.
Congratulations on your wedding.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I have just stumbled across all this feed back and now i am worried… I ordered a phone case from a supplier on aliexpress and have paid for DHL express shipping I used my pre paid credit card, I ordered on the 14th I think and it says my payment has been accepted I went back into my account to check on things and it now say’s the supplier has 2 days to ship the item or it will be cancelled so i messaged the supplier and he tells me not to worry my friend and to give it one more day, am i being scammed? If so what can I do? Please Help
Hi Abra
If you paid for DHL express shipping you should get a tracking number. Contact the supplier and ask for the tracking number. If the supplier doesn’t provide a tracking number within the shipping time line I’d be concerned but not before then.
Keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hello friends,
I had a lot af email exchange with a seller that seems to be a producer, and that sell on aliexpress for ‘sample’ selling. I am not concerned with the shipment of the product, but about giving to aliexpress my credit card number, as they do not accept paypal payments.
Do you think that I can trust them from this point of view?
Thanks,
giorgio
Hi Giorgio
Thanks for stopping by. Most sellers on AliExpress accept payment via Western Union. If you are not comfortable using your credit card there are other options.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Thanks Terri,
Wester Union is very expensive. I will get a prepaid card.
Best regards,
giorgio
I seen a travel trailer online for sale and the seller who moved out of state to the UK said she is selling it through Aliexpress escrow buyer protection. I have seen the pictures she sent and she said it is at a storage in El paso,Texas and that the shipping is included in the price.My question is how can i check to make sure this is a legit purchase and all the things to make sure this transaction goes smoothly and that i wont be scammed out of thousands of dollars?
Craig check out AliExpress buyer protection program here. Take a look at who the seller is who is selling the travel trailer. How long have they been in business? What kind of reputation do they have?
AliExpress does not have quality control in place to discourage and eliminate sellers who partake in unethical selling practices, as a result there is always a risk when purchasing through AliExpress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Well, I guess that I will place my comments about AliExpress here to keep it all up to date with what is happening. I was a Gold buyer with DHGate, but left them as they would not do anything at all about a supplier that sold rubbish to us. So I then have gone to AliExpress where I am now a Platium Buyer. We have made many thousands of dollars in purchases with not many problems to date. There are a few things that worry me though. One a recent Order from 3 different suppliers of about 15 different items and their relievent Item Numbers. Some were not as they should of been as well as being short shipped. When I went onto the site to check on this I immediately noticed that all the part numbers that I had ordered were now not used, in other words they had been dropped for some unknown reason? That reason is I think – is that even though I make a negative feedback on the items, no one is ever going to see them, as all have been de-listed changed to another description! A clever way to avoid any bad press by the sellers who obviously know that it is coming. Also, just try to get a email address in which to complain to either DHGate or to AliExpress! It is impossible! And if you have already made a past complaint to the select a box compliants input with no person there of course – then check your account for past complaints, you will be amazed like me to find that it is nil. In other words it has not even been entered, so all that work in entering it goes to no one – that is why you get no refund or answers. I am no seriously considering in de-camping from these sites, as I have no trouble in direct buying from the actual manufacturers from MadeinChina.com, sure I have no escrow as such, but when it comes down to it, you will not be given any refunds or help in any case. So why not trust the makers. Almost all sellers on the DHGate and AliExpress are just Drop shippers in any case. They operate from an apartment or a small office with nil stock on hand and then only order it in once you place an order with them – this explains the usual shipping delays shown with the items. It allows them time to get it in, also the photo’s of their factory and busy businesses are always fake of course. So I hope that this clears the air and shows you the direction that they are headed now in order to avoid any bad feedbacks, just get rid if the item number immediately and re-place it with the same item but another part number. Does DHGate and AliExpress know about this – sure they do! Do they choose to do anything about it? Nope!
Hi Graham
Thanks for stopping by an sharing your insight and experience with AliExpress.
All the best in your future endeavors,
Terri
WFHW
oh and 6: Watch for “Minimum Purchase Amounts” like must purchase $12 or 12 items to be eligible for free shipping or else they may send you an email asking for more money to ship when it said it was free, when it’s actually only free under those guidelines, so watch for that.
I found the site by accident when I was looking for gift ideas and inexpensive jewelry, I excitedly made a few purchases. It’s only been two weeks and I got one of them already, am expecting the other three lots of items soon. At first I didn’t realize how big the site was but when I saw that they also offered clothes I went straight to the girl toddlers and was blown away by the awesome prices for such interesting pieces. I would not buy electronics from them or fine jewelry, I will keep it to small orders of clothes, costume jewelry, and trinket/gifts. I stopped buying Christmas presents for people a long time ago because $5 each wasn’t enough to get much else than the dollar tree, walmart, or dollar store and it felt like a waste of money 35-40 times over every year finally said enough already. Finding Ali Express has made me consider buying for a few people again if my $3 spent is the same as what you get at walmart or target for $15.
1. Check the ratings and understand you are taking a chance when only a few ratings showed.
2. Google store name with review or scam and see if there’s a “ping”
3. Understand that shipping just takes a while sometimes
4. Don’t order too much from one place so if you do lose your money it’s not a total wash
5. If the retailers can do it so can we, don’t let a few bad apples spoil the value of wholesale shopping.
Hi Stacy,
Great advice there for our visitors, and we are pleased to hear that things are working out for you so far.
It would be great if you could stop by in the future and keep us updated with your purchases from AliExpress.
All the best for now,
Marcus
WFHW
Hey again, so i was looking for denim button ups for my clothing brand.
i wanted to ask for your opinions. It says their from China (Mainland) (Guandong) not from Fujian
ive also looked for another denim shirt exactly like this but they are the only ones who i can find it from.
should i buy from this person? or should i not? Thanks again!
Hi Anthony,
The supplier has good ratings and typically purchasing clothing is less risking than purchasing electronics, however you must decide whether you wish to the buy the shirt or not. The WFHW Team is not responsible for making purchase decision for you.
Terri
WFHW
This is very handy, thank you for the effort.
Nina thanks for dropping by. We’re glad you like the site.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
So what do you mean by a wide variety of products?
Most of them have 10-20 products on aliexpress im not sure. If you could be more specific about the quantity of a wide variety. Thank you
Thanks for stopping by Anthony. To answer your question…if most sellers on AliExpress offer 10-20 products and you see a seller that offers 30 or more products be sure to do some research on the seller and check out their credibility before you consider doing business with them.
All the best,
Terri
As always online, it’s buyer beware. Research is required before purchasing from any supplier. I’ve had good and bad results from purchasing with Aliexpress, and also with supposed ‘legit’ companies in America who took my money and disappeared. Always contact the company first and no reply means no purchase. Secondly, ask for a copy of their business licence. No copy, no purchase. If they send it, check the company name and address matches what they claim. For larger purchases, contact a buyers agent and have them do the checking. It’s worth the up front cost.
I have bought thousands of dollars of goods via Aliexpress and other online wholesalers. I have had my money stolen and goods never delivered, but not from Aliexpress. I have had goods not as ordered and have had no success getting my money back from the supplier on Aliexpress. I had one issue with a phone that turned out to be used, when sold as new. It appeared new when I purchased, so I confirmed receipt. When it turned out to be second hand, and died as soon as my customer used it, they told me to contact the supplier directly as they were no longer involved. The supplier promised to exchange, so I spent a lot more money returning the goods and then never got a refund or exchange.
Rebecca thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience and suggestions with the WFHW readers.
We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Terri
WFHW
I have a large pile of failed or just plain useless tablets, phones from aliexpress suppliers today 30/8/12 my dispute since April was knocked back(I rec’d a pkg which had been obviously looted Australia post refused any responsibility singpost stopped answering emails aliexpress when they talked to wanted more than the jpgs as evidence therefore total loss, escrow dispute seem obvious sham) however finally managed to get a phone from high rated supplier with them so no more as why push my luck? cheaper in long run to buy from local over counter suppliers.
Ron thanks for dropping by and sharing your experience with AliExpress. I’m glad you were able to get the phone you were looking for but it’s unfortunate you had to jump through so many hoopes for that to happen.
AliExpress should be monitoring their sellers more carefully and weeding out the unethical ones. They are loosing a ton of business as a result of lack of quality control.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Also i have used Aliexspress 3 times. the first two times i had no problems at all. I was very satisfied with everything. My third order was a few days ago so i am not sure how it will be…iv just read your info about it along with a few other bad reviews, so now im afraid of not receiving it. We will see..
Heather there are good suppliers on AliExpress who deliver the products they advertise on time as you’ve experienced. If at all possible stick with them when making future purchases. Unfortunately it’s the unethical sellers that spoil the reputation of the program. Keep us posted on the progress of your 3rd purchase.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I actually only got turned to this site due to a seller that was well known in the things I wanted to purchase. But I went searching through the site and bought something that never arrived.
Please, please, just call your credit card company.
My credit card company (visa) gave me two options, I could either put in 15 days after my payment, that I never got the product and than Visa contacts them and allows them 30 days to deliver the product. OR. When you receive the product and it is not what you asked for, Visa will open a dispute and refund your money.
In my case the product was not what I had asked for so I contacted the site, they did not reply to me so I contacted Visa, explained my problem. And they contacted the suppler. The supplier actually just agreed to a refund because they did not want to deal with the problem anymore. If they don’t reply to visa, than visa usually refunds your money in about a week.
Check your credit card company’s policy on things like this.
Niki sorry to hear that AliExpress did not work for you. Thank you for stopping by and sharing this great suggestion.
The WFHW readers will appreciate your recommendation.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Let the buyer beware !
When I placed an order for a tablet from a seller on this site, I thought I would be backed like I am with eBay and most US based sites.
1) First the seller out-and-out LIED about the product, advertising false spec’s and promising to send out within 2-3 days, when it took over 2 weeks.
2) Next the seller FALSELY entered a FAKE tracking number, so that he wouldn’t get the order AUTOMATICALLY cancelled.
The seller communicated well, however, after 10 days from initial contact, I had to make a decision to either start over, or accept what he was finally offering, which was quite a bit different than what he advertised. I also ordered additional items to go with that tablet, and that is what I have a problem with.
3) When you order on Ali-Express, the dealer doesn’t get paid until you acknowledge receipt of the item. Once you do this, YOU HAVE NO MORE RECOURSE !!!! That applies to both warranties and merchandise shortages.
I should have been more diligent and take a couple of days, let the dealer sweat it out, you don’t have to acknowledge right away. I was trying to be considerate to the dealer, but in retrospect… be absolutely sure before click that CONFIRMATION BUTTON !
In the bigger scheme of things, I got a decent tablet, with chargers, and a case, and was only shorted the least expensive of all items “a stylus and a soft bag” which were only a couple of dollars compared to the rest of the order, but I was UNABLE to get the dealer to send them to me, and more importantly I COULD NOT GET ALI-EXPRESS to do anything about it !!!
So let the BUYER BEWARE !
And look at the quantity of orders processed for anyone you are considering to buy from ! All these dealers are buying from the same manufacturers most of them drop-shipping directly from the manufacturer, irregardless of what they say, and where they are located.
Sincerely,
John Martoccio
Ingleside IL
John thanks for stopping by and sharing your tips about AliExpress with the WFHW readers.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I have made a purchase and its has still not arrives from that ching chang company from China. I need my part and have paid for it that was order Aug 3 and they said it would process on Aug 10 still no products. Thank you for the information. And I will never order from this website again. Still need my stuff! Any phone # that I may contact someone there?
Darlene sorry to hear you are having a challenge with AliExpress. Shipments can sometimes take upwards of 3 weeks to arrive from overseas.
Take a look at AliExpress buyer protection policy here.
Please keep us posted on your progress.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi,
It seems that people have different experiences with Ali Express. I realized that AE has several individual sellers. Fortunately for me, my transaction went well and the seller was good.
I ordered biking shorts on 7/27/12 and they arrived 8/13/12, around three weeks after. Since the package will be coming from China and mailed using regular postal service, I knew it would take quite a while to get here. Plus, my seller provided me with a tracking number through USPS (I’ve been tracking it and content with it).
So overall I had a great experience with AE but if you need an urgent delivery, not sure if that will be guaranteed.
Trixie
Trixie thanks for sharing your experience with AliExpress. The details you provided about shipping will help others get a better idea of the time frames involved. A tracking number is very helpful. I will recommend that others inquired about whether the seller provides tracking numbers before they make a purchase.
All the best in your future endeavors.
Terri
WFHW
With all respect Sir. I think Aliexpress is a scam. I purchased their fake Sabenza knife. The knife is a piece of garbage. I gave the supplier bad feedback so Aliexpress sent me an email that requested I pull back my bad ratings which I never did. I will never buy anything on Aliexpress again.
Valdi thanks for dropping by and sharing your experience with AliExpress. It’s unfortunately that AliExpress does not take purchaser’s feedback seriously and does not take action against these unethical sellers.
Your rating will help others avoid a similar experience with this seller.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered biking shorts and a shirt 6/13/12. Here it is 8/11/12 and still no delivery. I’am out $40.00. Not a good deal after all. No more AliExpress for me…
Robert sorry to hear about your misfortune with AliExpress. Have you tried contacting the supplier or AliExpress about the situation?
Terri
WFHW
dealing with aliexpress, I found there are very good deals. also a few scams that promise free shipping, then later asking for money.
Aliexpress has a very very poor way of looking out for your interest. to them a scam is normal part of business. I see a few of these suppliers are trying it on EBAY and of course are not doing very well.
stay clear of this supplier :
Lixin Electromagnetic Clutch Co., Ltd.
Maxx123 thanks for dropping by and sharing your experience with AliExpress. Sorry to hear it was not so good. Your feedback will help others avoid this unethical company.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I ordered a product from Aliexpress but currently I have not received it though it is still within schedule.
Here are come things to check out before purchasing from ALIEXPRESS.
-The supplier should either be a VERIFIED SUPPLIER or a GOLD MERCHANT.
-Their rating should really be high.
-Feedback left by customers should be 90% positive.
-The supplier should reply to your mail in due time.
-Their online chat service should be active and reply should be immediate.
I got all this from an EBOOK I bought online. At least 4 of 5 of the above criteria should be met before you think of purchasing from any merchant.
Chibuzor thanks for stopping by and sharing these valuable tips with our readers.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I wanted to order two backpacks from there and I just wated to know if it was a good idea since no other website has those exact bags?
Carolina check the reviews on the seller to see their reputation for delivering products. If you decide to order keep us posted on your results.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi,
I have made over 50 purchases from aliexpress and they’ve all been successful. Shipping can be a little long but that’s when you opt for free shipping. I love the great deals that I get. I hope others enjoy the success that I have.
Malissa thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience. This is very encouraging news. Do you use the same seller or multiple sellers?
Terri
WFHW
Well.. I tried my self and AliExpress delivered my item quickly and without any kind of problem no delay.. no damages… nothing at all…
Actually they have improved their quality service and the issues has gone… So let me keep my good faith in AliExpress.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us Sarah. We hope your future shopping experiences with AliExpress are as good.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Actually, a lot of the information here is inaccurate. Aliexpress is not specifically chinese manufacturers, it is for SMALL ORDERS as opposed to retail clients who want to make large bulk orders.
It is not ONE company, but more like an Ebay. Little distributors buy from manufacturers and sell in small lots.
And it absolutely can be the brand name. Where do you think Asos and zara and H&M produce their products? I’ve purchased many things from this website, and a couple of times, I’ve received H&M items that weren’t even labeled that way on aliexpress.
It’s pretty safe to order because, like Ebay, it’s a service for manufacturers and your money is held in escrow. You have to mark your items received before the seller receives payment.
Hope this helps your understanding!
Hi Betty
Thanks for stopping by. Glad to hear you’ve had success with AliExpress. Most of the information that is provided in the review comes from the AliExpress site. If you look at the shipping information for each product you will see that the rates are based on shipment from China.
As was mentioned in the review just because money is held in escrow does not mean that money will be release back to you in the invent you are sent the wrong product or an inferior product. Several buyers have requested their money back for these reasons and never received it. If these same people had purchased on EBay they could put in a dispute ticket with paypal to have the situation resolved.
All the best with your future purchases.
Terri
WFHW
Dear Terri,
Thankyou for helping many buyers thru your site.
Now,please help know if Lenovo A750 phone is a genuine and not a counterfeit coz I want to buy one but I fear our govrnment would lock it if a counterfeit.Most seller that have asked tells me its original but hearing from a nonseller like you is more satisfying.Waiting to hear from you.
Evans, one of the risks you take when purchasing from AliExpress is may end up buying from a supplier who sends you inferior products. If you are considering buying a product on AliExpress that could get you in trouble with the government, so you may want to look at purchasing from a source you know you can trust.
I always believe when making a decision if you are not comfortable with the potential outcome then don’t do it. Sometimes saving a few bucks in the short term may not be worth it in the long run.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
Hi
I have been trying to buy some virgin peruvian hair from aliexpress. I ask the vendor if he would send me a PAYPAL invoice for the hair, that way i am protected if they send me anything other then what i have ordered. You HAVE to be so careful with a lot of sellers on that site. Without paypal, if you are silghtly concerned DONT BUY
Michaela paying via Paypal would definitely remove the risk of purchasing from an AliExpress supplier. Unfortunately AliExpress does not accept Paypal, so as result there is always risk involved when making a purchase.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I have never had a problem with them and I am all the way in Jamaica. One thing I try my best not to purchase are electronics and other gadgets. I am too scared for that. I just stick to small items. I do not even purchase shoes or clothes from the site but so far I have received every single item I have ordered.
Dionne thanks for sharing your experience with AliExpress. We’re happy to hear that you’ve had success with the program.
All the best,
Terri
WFHW
I am exploring AliExpress as a potential source of pearl strands, and have exchanged emails with a couple of suppliers with outstanding reviews. Some product descriptions, however, were lacking essential specs, such as length of strands for example, and responses to my questions have been hasty, superficial, and incomplete. I have no reason to trust their quality classifications. I was shocked to find out they don’t accept Paypal as form of payment. This looks like a dead-end, I am afraid. Did anybody have a great experience buying pearl strands from AliExpress vendors? If so, which suppliers? Thanks much.