More than 150 million consumers favor using AliExpress to buy a wide range of low-priced, relatively high-quality Chinese products. However, many first-time buyers experience issues like slow shipping, no tracking updates, and sellers asking them to wait longer when they open a dispute. These issues often leave them questioning, “Is AliExpress safe to buy?”
In this post, I’ll objectively analyze the 6 most common questions and share practical tips to help you avoid them for a happy shopping experience on AliExpress.
1. Is AliExpress legit?
Yes, AliExpress is 100% legit. Launched by Alibaba Group, AliExpress is China’s largest cross-border B2C platform, with strict rules to ensure legal transactions.
2. Why is AliExpress so cheap?
The main reasons for AliExpress’s cheapness are:
Connects Chinese sellers directly with consumers, cutting out the middleman. So prices are much lower than Amazon. Here is a consumer buying from AliExpress for 10 years, saying that prices can be 50% lower than on Amazon for most items.
Use economic cross-border shipping–cheap but with a long delivery time and unstable.
3. Is it safe to buy from AliExpress？
AliExpress itself is reliable and a good place to buy simple and small Chinese items at very low prices. AliExpree has buyer protection to keep you safe in 3 major aspects.
- Protect your privacy from being stolen, such as bank account information.
- Offer a refund if you don’t receive the package or there’s a long delay in getting the parcel.
- Provide a refund if the items are not as described in the product listing.
That is to say, you don’t have to worry about AliExpress’s overall environment. This is reflected in the 155,067 AliExpress reviews on Trustpilot, where 80% rate it 4 or 5 stars.
4. Why do some people think Aliexpress is a scam? (4 reasons)
“Scam” is a little bit exaggerated. On each platform, you will experience good and unpleasant experiences. Just like this Reddit user put it—very objective.
By analyzing Trustpilot’s negative reviews about AliExpress, I found that 80% of the complaints most frequently mentioned delivery delays, lack of tracking, products not meeting expectations, and unpleasant dispute processes. These are 4 main reasons why customers feel insecure.
There’s a long delay in getting the parcel.
Generally, it takes 20-60 days to ship packages from China with free shipping. Delivery to some places such as the US and Australia is around 20-30 days.
But in many remote areas, it can take over 60 days, sometimes even up to 75 days. In the worst cases, parcels may get lost in transit. This can be frustrating, leading many customers to request refunds.
The tracking info is not updated in time.
You may always find the parcel at the same airport in China or the destination country without any other updated shipping information 1 to 2 weeks after placing an order. If you don’t receive the parcel after 60 days, you can’t judge if the parcel is still in transit or lost. The seller can’t check the parcel status, either, and just can tell you to wait for a few more days.
The abovementioned 2 issues happen with economy shipping options like Cainiao Super Economy. It’s the cheapest but takes a long time to arrive as it works between China Post/Chinese logistics services + postal services of the destination country. Delays and lost packages are more often in areas with inadequate postal services like Africa.
Many people shop on AliExpress because the prices are low and they’re okay with the wait. But if you don’t want to wait, you can pay a bit extra for faster options like AliExpress Standard Shipping or choose to ship from the U.S. You can also look for items marked ‘Choice’—items shipped and handled by AliExpress with faster delivery, around 10 days.
The item buyers receive is not what they expected.
If you receive the wrong items, inferiors or the damaged parcel, 99% of sellers are willing to resend products to you. But if you don’t want to wait for a long time, you can choose to ask for a refund. Sellers will agree to refund you.
But there is another situation: you think the item is inferior or fake just as it fails to meet your high expectations. Especially with branded items on AliExpress, like the “latest” pair of Nike shoes for $30 with free shipping, it’s clear they won’t be as good as the original ones. As long as the quality aligns with a $30 value, it’s acceptable. Here are 2 AliExpress users’ comments.
Some buyers think “buyer production” doesn’t work well.
Some consumers think the buyer protection service on AliExpress does not act as a qualified mediator to protect their rights well.
For example, the buyer, as shown in the image below, received a damaged item and found it unusable. So, he opened a dispute for a full refund. The seller didn’t respond. Then, the platform stepped into the dispute and judged a 50% refund, because it wasn’t completely unusable; and if insisting on a full refund, the buyer need to return it to China at his own expense.
The platform will check the submitted evidence and make judgments by points. Generally, it is easy to prove the damage to products. As for product uselessness, your evidence should be strong and sufficient enough. If not, the platform can’t judge whether the item is completely useless. This may be the reason for the decision of a 50% refund.
In such a situation, if you still want a full refund, the only way is to return the item first. The cross-border logistics cost is certainly not low. At this point, you need to consider whether the product value is worth it. Generally, if there is something wrong with your order, which is delivered from China, the common solution is to directly refund you or resend items.
5. How to select reliable suppliers to buy？
Most sellers do business honestly. However, there are indeed some unethical suppliers selling poor-quality or damaged goods, such as eBay, Amazon, etc. Therefore, you need to find a reliable supplier for safer shopping.
Start by scanning product reviews and store feedback—this is a basic step. Be cautious of stores with only one review or low order counts. Also, pay close attention to product detail pages. A good detail page should cover all the information you want. The following 2 aspects are very important elements.
Is there a detailed product description？
The overall structure, details, and glossiness of the product will be truly shown in 6 product photos without excessive beautification. Many sellers will show how to use the product in a short video. For example, the store selling fishing lures displays how to use the fishing lure in the short video.
In the product listing, all parameters of the products will be stated in the section, including material, packaging, operation instruction, delivery time, after-sales service, etc. Customers can obtain enough sense of security from such a product listing.
Taking the fishing lure store as an example, as many small sellers or startups can’t provide such a detailed product listing, especially the delivery time chart below, we can conclude that it must be a powerful seller specialized in the fishing lures.
Don’t pay sellers outside of Aliexpress.
Watch out for sellers who ask you to directly send money to their accounts outside of AliExpress. Generally, this situation is rare, but still worth your attention. By doing so, you will lose buyer protection if the seller delivers items not as described, or wrong items, or nothing.
Bear in mind that you should always pay directly on the AliExpress website. Among various international payment options, such as debit or credit card, Paypal, and Webmoney, many buyers prefer to use Paypal and credit cards, as they can open a dispute if there is something wrong with the order and get a fund after the dispute.
6. What’s the right time to open a dispute and file a claim？
There are many complaints about the dispute from customers. For example, when customers can’t receive their parcels after waiting for a long time, they will ask the sellers about the shipping situation, but they don’t get any response from sellers.
Or sellers just tell them to wait for more time or extend delivery time directly, such as changing 60 to 90 days. Under such circumstances, customers will choose to get a refund on the AliExpress platform.
But there is a rule for you to submit refund applications on AliExpress.
Click to Enlarge
The first situation
Your order is not received within the confirmation date. Confirmation dates vary according to the sellers’ stated delivery time, usually 60 days maximum calculated from the seller confirming the order has been shipped.
Hence, although you think it is urgent, you are allowed to open the dispute after the agreed confirmation date. For example, the agreed date between you and the sellers is 75 days, and you can open the dispute after 75 days.
After submitting the Open Dispute Form, the seller has 15 days to respond and try to reach an agreement with you. If no agreement is reached within the 15-day time period, the dispute automatically becomes a claim (see file a claim). Claims are reviewed and mediated by the AliExpress Case Management Team.
If you don’t hear back from the seller or if you feel negotiations are not moving forward, you do not have to wait until the 15-day dispute period ends – you may file a claim within 3 days of opening a dispute.
Therefore, really don’t worry too much, as long as you don’t get your package, you certainly can get your full refund.
The second situation
If the goods you received are not in a satisfactory condition, open a dispute, and fill out the dispute form provided. You had better explain the issue in an explicit video or photos, then communicate with the seller about partial refunds or full refunds.
If you can’t receive any responses from the seller after15 days, then the dispute will step into the claim stage. AliExpress will involve in the dispute directly. Under such a circumstance, if sellers should be responsible for the issue, you certainly can get a full refund from Aliexpress.
Because of the uncontrollable international logistics on Aliexpress, it will provide the seller with 15 days to tackle the problems. Hence, the refund process will be relatively slow. Besides, the time to get a refund varies for different bank accounts, what you need to do is just to wait patiently and check your bank account.
Different from Aliexpress, Amazon will deal with the dispute directly, skipping the communicating stage between sellers and buyers, so you can get your refund earlier.
In short, you can protect their rights on AliExpress by going through a dispute, but you should first contact and negotiate with the seller for a solution.
There are many complaints about the dispute from customers. For example, when customers can’t receive their parcels after waiting for a long time, they will ask the sellers about the shipping situation, but they don’t get any response from sellers.
Or sellers just tell them to wait for more time or extend delivery time directly, such as changing 60 to 90 days. Under such circumstances, customers will choose to get a refund on the AliExpress platform.
But there is a rule for you to submit refund applications on AliExpress.
The first situation
Your order is not received within the confirmation date. Confirmation dates vary according to the sellers’ stated delivery time, usually 60 days maximum calculated from the seller confirming the order has been shipped.
Hence, although you think it is urgent, you are allowed to open the dispute after the agreed confirmation date. For example, the agreed date between you and the sellers is 75 days, and you can open the dispute after 75 days.
After submitting the Open Dispute Form, the seller has 15 days to respond and try to reach an agreement with you. If no agreement is reached within the 15-day time period, the dispute automatically becomes a claim (see file a claim). Claims are reviewed and mediated by the AliExpress Case Management Team.
If you don’t hear back from the seller or if you feel negotiations are not moving forward, you do not have to wait until the 15-day dispute period ends – you may file a claim within 3 days of opening a dispute.
Therefore, really don’t worry too much, as long as you don’t get your package, you certainly can get your full refund.
The second situation
If the goods you received are not in a satisfactory condition, open a dispute, and fill out the dispute form provided. You had better explain the issue in an explicit video or photos, then communicate with the seller about partial refunds or full refunds.
If you can’t receive any responses from the seller after15 days, then the dispute will step into the claim stage. AliExpress will involve in the dispute directly. Under such a circumstance, if sellers should be responsible for the issue, you certainly can get a full refund from Aliexpress.
Because of the uncontrollable international logistics on Aliexpress, it will provide the seller with 15 days to tackle the problems. Hence, the refund process will be relatively slow. Besides, the time to get a refund varies for different bank accounts, what you need to do is just to wait patiently and check your bank account.
Different from Aliexpress, Amazon will deal with the dispute directly, skipping the communicating stage between sellers and buyers, so you can get your refund earlier.
In short, you can protect their rights on AliExpress by going through a dispute, but you should first contact and negotiate with the seller for a solution.
Read More:To Wrap It Up
It is safe to shop on AliExpress as long as you do it in the right way. Now I want to turn it over to you: which point in today’s guide helped you? Or do you have any other concerns about AliExpress? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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Thank you for this informative post. I am going to give Aliexpress a try, taking into account the importan points you made.