When I came across the so called “AliExpress scam” complaint in one forum, I couldn’t help laughing. The angry buyer claimed that AliExpress sent him a wrong item he never ordered. Based on my knowledge about AliExpress, it is no way possible as AliExpress is only a wholesale transaction platform – it does not sell any item, not to mention ship out any item to any customer. Obviously, this buyer was either ripped off by a seller doing business on AliExpress.com or encountered an unprofessional operation carried out by the seller.
In this case, the buyer should report the problem to AliExpress for mediation or contact the seller first to solve the problem. Given such misunderstandings about AliExpress, I think I should share all of my familiar facts about AliExpress, which may help you more clearly identify whether AliExpress scam is a reality or not.
Facts about AliExpress.com
1. An express wholesale channel of Alibaba.com, which was founded in 1999;
2. Officially went live in April, 2010;
3. Mainly serving small businesses, including Chinese small suppliers and global small re-sellers.
4. Accepting PayPal, credit card, MasterCard and bank transfer (TT payment);
5. Offering Escrow service to protect payment from buyers. AliExpress will only release funds to the supplier after the buyer confirms satisfactory delivery of your order. If the buyer is unhappy about the item or purchase, he or she can submit a refund request to AliExpress to ask for a refund or a solution;
6. All orders placed on AliExpress will be processed quickly, mostly within 1 week.
7. Small quantity orders are extensively accepted while for some items, minimum order quantity starts from 1 piece only;
8. AliExpress adopts a set of strict policies to verify each supplier before they are accepted as registered members and start to list their items there. In Chinese foreign trade communities, many suppliers complain that they can’t pass the censor by AliExpress and thus are not able to successfully register with the website.
But as the number of suppliers there is huge, some may willfully escape the verification by difficult-to-spot means. Before you trade with any seller, do remember to check every detail of the supplier, including feedback score, membership tier, item specifications, etc. Besides, in case any problem occurs, make sure to save a record of all communication with the supplier, which will be used as powerful evidence in the event that a dispute between you arises.
9. Once you open a dispute against a supplier, AliExpress staff will take care of the mediation work. However, the whole process may need some time as the platform needs to collect enough evidence to make an impartial ruling. So if you happen to encounter such unpleasant experience, you’d better be patient enough before AliExpress helps you solve the problem.
I personally believe that it’s unfair to spread the “AliExpress scam” voice everywhere while the company is trying its best to help you get through the issue. Nothing is born perfect — AliExpress is still young in cross-border express wholesale business and needs time to improve itself. After all, the wholesale website belongs to the world’s biggest wholesale group and its credibility is unquestionable.
My advice: shopping at AliExpress.com should be cautious to avoid scams committed by certain suppliers – following the guidelines about how to find good sellers there may help you out; before doing enough research on the suppliers, items and services on AliExpress, never assume that the AliExpress scam complaints are 100% true, otherwise you may miss out really fantastic business opportunities; the best way to make sure you are trading with a reliable supplier and will get satisfactory item from the supplier, is to place a very small order to test all the details before you place a bigger order.
Complaint DetailsGeneral Information
Case Number: 410808971 Website: Aliexpress.com (Order Number: 1020724796)
Their Contact Information
Company Name: junfeng chen Website/Product Url: hwww.alibaba.com/member/cn1001445505.html
Contact Person: junfeng chen Email: aliexpay@hotmail.com
Complaint Description
Complaint Type: Order not as described Product(s): 2012 free shipping Features collar Men Korean Slim Paul shirt cotton long-sleeved polo shirt cotton men B02 black drown gray
Transaction Amount: US $ 30.00 Payment Date: 27/11/2012
Payment Method: wp101
Current StatusStatus Details Action
Processing To move forward with this case…
To move forward with this case, buyer needs to provide enough evidence such as clear pictures, videos and any other relevant information to support this claim within 3 calendar days. Any forged or modified evidence will not be accepted.
Dispute Order On Aliexpress
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
Please log in to to provide the evidence to AliExpress before the due date.
Dear ,
Thank you for contacting Alibaba.I am sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with your order .
1. Your previously-submitted request is rejected due to no evidence provided.
2. As you claimed that the items are not as described, much more effective evidence should be provided. Please provide clear pictures/videos to show the difference within 3 calendar days. (Please don‘t provide pictures instead of video if video is requested). If it is not same as picture, we will ask seller to provide the address.
Failure to provide the valid evidence before the deadline, this case will be closed with full payment released to the seller.
Notices:
1) Any forged, modified or repetitive evidence will not be accepted.
2) The size of the evidence should be limited to 2 MB; if your evidence is oversized, you can upload to Mediafire (mediafire.com) and provide valid website link to us.
3) How to create your Mediafire account and use Mediafire? Please click this website (help.AliExpress.com/how_to_provide_evidence_to_support_your_claim.html) and refer to “5.Mediafire User Guide”.
PS: If there’s any agreement reached with the supplier before this case is closed, please provide your supportive evidence on the complaint centre. Or AliExpress shall have the right to proceed to handle the Claim based on the supporting documents available and/or the settlement terms reached in the Order Messages within the Time Limit between the Buyer and the Supplier.
Your understanding and cooperation will be appreciated.
Best regards,
Berlin
AliExpress Case Management Team
Please note that when you cancel the claim, we will assume you agree to release the payment to the seller.
Cancel Complaint
If you are still unable to resolve the issue or reach an agreeable settlement with the other party five days after a complaint was submitted, you can choose to request help from Alibaba.com by clicking File a Claim.HistoryFrom Date Details Attachment(s)
anura Lawson 04/01/2013 I emailed the seller immediate…
I emailed the seller immediately after I received the package, I was under the impression that I could send the item back return to sender. The USPS service explained that I needed to pay and that I needed to email the company. I showed USPS the package and they expressed to me that I needed an English address in China in order to successfuly return the package with postage paid by me. I amended my dispute do to the fact that the seller refuses to communicate with me in regards to giving me the shipping address so that I can return the item back to him, in essence the seller is forcing mw to keep a product that I do not want and that looks nothing like the picture. This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my husband, he was not able to enjoy this gift because it looks nothing like the picture. I have included pictures of my husband who is very small. I have attached photos of the product which looks nothing like the shirt on the seller’s website. The quality was a very poor quality and the sewing was horrible. As you can see from the pictures my husband is very small and should be able to fit the shirt if it was properly made in accord with the pictures as advertised. All I want is to return my order and receive my money back. I have asked for the seller’s return address many times and they refuse to give it to me. This is not professional at all if you sell a fradulant product allow the customer the recourse to return the product if they are not happy. I am not happy and this is not professional.
Conversation Details for Ali Express Chen.doc
Your Dispute Details Ali Express Chen.doc
Item specifics and Product Picture Ali Express Chen.doc
Product Image with current reviews.doc
Anura Lawson pictures 126.jpg
Administrator 03/01/2013 To move forward with this case…
To move forward with this case, buyer needs to provide enough evidence such as clear pictures, videos and any other relevant information to support this claim within 3 calendar days. Any forged or modified evidence will not be accepted.
Dispute Order On Aliexpress
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
Please log in to to provide the evidence to AliExpress before the due date.
Dear ,
Thank you for contacting Alibaba.I am sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with your order .
1. Your previously-submitted request is rejected due to no evidence provided.
2. As you claimed that the items are not as described, much more effective evidence should be provided. Please provide clear pictures/videos to show the difference within 3 calendar days. (Please don‘t provide pictures instead of video if video is requested). If it is not same as picture, we will ask seller to provide the address.
Failure to provide the valid evidence before the deadline, this case will be closed with full payment released to the seller.
Notices:
1) Any forged, modified or repetitive evidence will not be accepted.
2) The size of the evidence should be limited to 2 MB; if your evidence is oversized, you can upload to Mediafire (mediafire.com) and provide valid website link to us.
3) How to create your Mediafire account and use Mediafire? Please click this website (help.AliExpress.com/how_to_provide_evidence_to_support_your_claim.html) and refer to “5.Mediafire User Guide”.
PS: If there’s any agreement reached with the supplier before this case is closed, please provide your supportive evidence on the complaint centre. Or AliExpress shall have the right to proceed to handle the Claim based on the supporting documents available and/or the settlement terms reached in the Order Messages within the Time Limit between the Buyer and the Supplier.
Your understanding and cooperation will be appreciated.
Best regards,
Berlin
AliExpress Case Management Team
Please note that when you cancel the claim, we will assume you agree to release the payment to the seller.
anura Lawson 27/12/2012 The order received looks nothi…
The order received looks nothing like the order placed. The seller refuses to give the buyer an address to send the product back to. “This is my third request for you address. I am trying to send a package back to you, I have a dispute and I need your address to send your package back to you. Please send me the address in English. I will have to escalate this to a claim if you refuse to provide me with an address to ship the product back to. ”
To move forward with this case, buyer needs to provide enough evidence such as clear pictures, videos and any other relevant information to support this claim within 3 calendar days. Any forged or modified evidence will not be accepted.
Dispute Order On Aliexpress
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
Please log in to to provide the evidence to AliExpress before the due date.
Dear ,
Thank you for contacting Alibaba.I am sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with your order .
1. Your previously-submitted request is rejected due to no evidence provided.
2. As you claimed that the items are not as described, much more effective evidence should be provided. Please provide clear pictures/videos to show the difference within 3 calendar days. (Please don‘t provide pictures instead of video if video is requested). If it is not same as picture, we will ask seller to provide the address.
Failure to provide the valid evidence before the deadline, this case will be closed with full payment released to the seller.
Notices:
1) Any forged, modified or repetitive evidence will not be accepted.
2) The size of the evidence should be limited to 2 MB; if your evidence is oversized, you can upload to Mediafire (mediafire.com) and provide valid website link to us.
3) How to create your Mediafire account and use Mediafire? Please click this website (help.AliExpress.com/how_to_provide_evidence_to_support_your_claim.html) and refer to “5.Mediafire User Guide”.
PS: If there’s any agreement reached with the supplier before this case is closed, please provide your supportive evidence on the complaint centre. Or AliExpress shall have the right to proceed to handle the Claim based on the supporting documents available and/or the settlement terms reached in the Order Messages within the Time Limit between the Buyer and the Supplier.
Your understanding and cooperation will be appreciated.
Best regards,
Berlin
AliExpress Case Management Team
Please note that when you cancel the claim, we will assume you agree to release the payment to the seller.
I’ve purchased many items from Aliexpress sellers over the last several weeks. I’ve had very good experiences with almost all of them. For the few incorrect shipments I’ve received, I opened a timely dispute and was given refunds very quickly. I do not feel that I have been ripped off or scammed in any way. Of course, I’m careful about reading seller feedback and placing only small orders the first time. If I am satisfied with the integrity of the seller and the order I will increase the amounts in my next order. If I’m not satisfied with the seller, I will not purchase from them again. I use the Aliexpress escrow payment method and, as yet, have had no problems. Many of the sellers on Aliexpress, at least for the products I am purchasing, are also selling on Ebay. Thus far, I don’t think Aliexpress sellers are any better or worse than most that I have dealt with on Ebay or other websites. In fact, I would like to see Aliexpress give Ebay a run for its money. I’m fed up with Ebay and its Monopoly on this sort of internet trading.
There are some honest seller also on aliexpres.i do have some bad experiences but mainly i got into contact with good supplier.
As they sell goods very cheap so quality is according to price.
The worst thing about chinese seller is that they treat u like an idiot.they think they r very clever.
they pretend not to understand english than they do appologies.
Aliexpress can be a very good site if admin take some seriouse action against scammers.
Only authentic, reliable and 100% verified supplier should be allowed to sell goods.
complains should be handled very seriously . And customer should get refund asap.
Hi Carlo,
In case other people are interested in the case like yours, I’ve published a post as a reply to your question and concern, please read it here: http://www.danviews.com/reply-to-readers-is-aliexpress-com-a-fraud/
ITS A SCAM!…I recently put a purchase order in and was told the next day my order has been canceled for security purposes..
Then I got an email saying I need to be verified
What do they want
Copy of my id and my credit card details
Yer right as if im gonna provide that….
Y would they ask that/
Seems like im not the only one who has had this happend to
Come on we are constanly told NOT to give out our details
On top of that there is no one u can call email Nothing
Ive purchased from DH Gate No prob
These guys can go to hell
Check their forum page, c that im not the only one
STAY THE HELL AWAY!
‘AliExpress will only release funds to the supplier after the buyer confirms satisfactory delivery of your order.’
NOT TRUE.
AliExpress releases funds even if the order does not arrive.
Seller Milooney wedding dress company took money for a custom order, did not change the order and sent me the worst piece of crap imaginable.
And then when you say you did not receive what you paid for, AliExpress allows sellers to ‘reject’ your claim. Oh, so sellers can just call me a liar, and AliExpress protects them?
SHAME ON YOU
I just had a very bad experience with Aliexpress, I purchase a Haipai MTK 6575 cost $219.91 from a shit store call ShenZhen Saddle Technology Co., Ltd., the order take more than 2 month to reach me, and it did not work at all, contact with seller and Aliexpress for refund for weeks, I get nothing but tell me to wait. Shit. be carefull of this seller:
ShenZhen Saddle Technology Co., Ltd. is a scammer:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/505576
Also, I took look at his feedback, the feedback with big problem, they are not untrusted:
One buyer purchase from ShenZhen Saddle Technology Co., Ltd. more than 10 orders with in one day(exactly, the orders were placed within 5 minutes), and more than 30 orders within one week, most of the orders are 1 piece each order.
Do you think it’s reasonable that a client place 10 orders to the same seller in the same day? and the client place more than 30 orders within one week? and all feedback are good from this buyer.
The most untrusted is the client order 10 orders for the same item from the same seller and 1 piece for each order, please don’t forget, it’s free shipping item, why the client doing like this?
If you are a buyer, and you want to buy 10 same item, will place your order one piece by one piece? I am sure 99% clients will buy all 10 items in one order.
So what is the balance 1%, the balance 1% is seller and buyer are from same store, or the buyer work for seller and seller pay commission to “BUYER”, they buy and sell continuously, in that case, the seller can earn lots of positive feedback.
Totally, the feedback from some Aliexpress not trusted, I also check on Chinese website by google translate, there are many agent helping Aliexpress or taobao(another website like aliexpress under alibaba company) seller earn positive feedback, what the seller need to pay is a small commission, say RMB1000-4000 for 1000 positive feedback.
Last I would say, please be away from ShenZhen Saddle Technology Co., Ltd., they are a scammer.
If possible, please also be away from Aliexpress, the feedbacks are not believable, if you have problem with the seller, Aliexpress can do nothing for you, because it’s seller pay for Aliexpress, they must protect buyer,and close their eyes for the scammer.
As we always remind buyers who want to trade with sellers at Aliexpress.com:
1) do remember to read their dispute policies carefully before you start your shopping there; otherwise, once a dispute is incurred, you may miss the deadline of opening a dispute and as a result can not get the refund.
2) never trust sellers’ suggestion to change the negatie feedback for them in order to get the refund. This is always a lie!
3) when a dispute happens, open a dispute in time and solve the prolbem through the platform. Let the Aliexpress dispute customer support team handle our case. Don’t try to get a solution through a negotiation with the seller only.
Scam. I bought a pair of “genuine” leather boots that turned out to be hiddeous plastic pieces of S…
The seller said that if I changed my review and give them 5 stars, they would refund me. I was stupid enough to do it and of course they never refunded me.
I made 2 complaints to Ali Express:
– First one on they “complaint” platform. AliExpress replied it was my fault because should have opened a dispute in the first place. They also said that since the vendor advised me I would get a refund, I should be happy! Great news indeed. Seems like Ali Express protects these crooks.
– Second complaint and last chance was to report an abuse (the order was not completely closed yet). Second reply from AliExpress: my fault for giving the vendor 5 stars.
I believe Ali Express doesn’t care about their customers. This is sad because I purchased some great items from good sellers. However, I’m not going to take any risk anymore and I won’t purchase from this site.
I have bought a few items through Aliexpress 2 of the items were recieved in less than 12 days. I am still waiting on a third item for over 70 days now. I opened a dispute before the deadline and requested a refund for unrecieved order. They have done nothing to help me.
So you may save money on items purchased through them but you will certanly loose more money in the long run for an item you will not recieve and still get billed for.
My advice don’t use Ali Express if not willing to loose money.
You will get ripped off.
I don’t buy through them anymore.
Again, I remind all global buyers that paying by Western Union is highly risky as you can not get back your money once any problem occurs.
Jessie
Danviews.com
SCAM SCAM SCAM!!DONT BUY FROM CHINA BOTTOM LINE! made-in-china.com – SCAM, esaleschina.com-SCAM , ewin-factory.com -SCAM , i bought a netbook from esaleschina.com for $119 and on the product they said free shiping by DHL world wide, so ordered the item, made payment through western union and provided them my shipping address information and i awaited my product , 2 weeks later my product never arrived,so i contacted the sales people to inquire about why my product and why it had not arrived they said they were confused about the shipping information and asked me to send them again my shipping address, i did that and they said my address was in remote area and DHL couldnt reach it and i should add another $35 for shipping, i told them i didnt have the money to add on the shipping and they should refund me my money, they said maybe is i provided them with another address they wil ship my goods by hongkong post or china post without any cost to me, crazy uh? i only have one address and its the one i gave them and i just needed my refund, they send they couldnt bear the cost of western union charges and would use part of my money to make the transfer, so i wrote the to say, why in hell should u charge me with the refund?i used my money to cover western union charges and you do the same, they wrote back said if only i could give them a different address, i told them that you people dont understand , 1.i dont have money to add on to shipping by DHL and 2. I dont have another address. i just need you to refund me my money but if it makes you happy to put western union charges on my account then do that and send me the rest of the money, they never replied and didnt send my money. i order 6 computers from ewin-factory.com they charged me $630 i asked them for a tracking number, a day later when they sent it, i entered it and it wasnt working, i emailed to tell them it wasnt working they said i try later,told them i tried it 10times and it wasnt working. they stopped replying to my emails and since i havent heard anything back from them. so total got scammed ot of $741 and the last supplier came from made-in-china.com between to contact suppliers coz they sll your information to scams and spam your inbox.
Aliexpress taking parts for sellers. You can not file a claim when you discover that you have been scammed. You can only file a claim if you do not receive the item.
I have been scammed by Aliexpress. I have bought many electronics and ALL of them become
broken after a few times use.
My suggestion DO NOT buy electronics from Aliexpress. They look cheap but they do not
work. And warranty is a joke.
Hi there,
Sorry to hear that you got such awful shopping experience with Aliexpress.com. Hope their service team can see your review here and provide you a solution.
Thank you for your comment. Good luck!
Jessie
Danviews.com
Hi
I agree that there are good reviews, negative reviews and neutral reviews for all Chinese suppliers but I also think that a company cannot satisfy all persons. Of course there will be some people who will be dissatisfied either with quality or with service of any site (not only Chinese, but also US site or Indian site) but here the case is that of the number of complaints and the type of complaints (Aliexpress does not respond to customers for refund of payment). In my previous post (which has not yet been published), I gave you a list of 8 sites that has a large number of complaints against Aliexpress and yet you say in your blog that it is a genuine site.
Also as you say that you are staying unbiased, can you show me any review for any Chinese site by you people on which you have given your negative opinions. Of course, you also know that there are many Chinese sites that are cheating people but I do not see any negative reviews for them on your website. You only give positive reviews on your website.
Of course I do agree that there are many good Chinese sites that are doing good business and providing excellent service and products.
It was good to know that you also agree with me that Paypal is the best option to pay for the Chinese sites.
Randeep
Hi Danyel,
Sorry to hear that you encountered a terrible shopping experience with the seller. We have reminded our readers again and again that when you trade with Aliexpress sellers, never bypass the site to solve any dispute between you and the sellers, especially if they ask you to change your feedback for them in order to solve the problem. It is very likely to get scammed if you do follow what they suggest. Instead, you should report the case to the Aliexpress customer service team — they will rule the case based on the evidence you provid.
Jessie
Danviews.com
Hi there,
To avoid spam reviews, we moderate each review before it is published. It may be delayed as we do not handle comments every day. Anyway, if you read more posts at our site, you will find good reviews, bad reviews or neutral reviews against Chinese suppliers everywhere. As a review website we are trying our best to stay unbiased.
Thank you for visiting our site and sharing your review.
Jessie
Danviews.com
Hi there,
Western Union is the last payment option I personally would suggest you use when shopping from Chinese suppliers. To keep your money safe, you are encouraged to use Paypal or credit card.
Good luck.
Jessie
Danviews.com
the so called secure payment my white albanian ass aliexpress in a bounch of con freak’s dealing with them is a night mare they told me to pay via westerunion kuick pay soon as i do that the seller tells me they dont take westerunion payment from aliexpress and they know that so why the fuck did this mf let me pay via westerunion i lost round 20 dollars in fees and onother 20 in internet point chating to the mf robots and gess what is now 10 days still no refund every time the castomer service gets back to me with a answer is waite a ferther 7 monkey bessness days wish i had one of those mf here right now i well teach they how to deal with peaple worst experience ever wach out not from the sellers bout from aliexpress it self scamers and icopetent mf during bessness with others people money
So I got it right. You people do not post negative reviews over here. What I had written against China websites was not digestable to you so you did not let me post my views. GOOD!!!. That proves that Chinese people and Chinese websites are just fraud.