So I got my money back through quite a few steps over 6 months and about 100 hours of work. This is a lesson in scamming. It was a valuable learning experience, for which I would like to thank Aliexpress with this post. Here's the story.

Product:

I ordered a "gaming" mousepad from China to Europe through Aliexpress. The seller page said free returns, so I thought, “Let’s test this.” The mousepad was sticky plastic, such that you could not move your hand over it so it was completely unusable and I started looking into the return.

Instructions:

Asking customer support, I was told that I would have to pay for the return shipping fee first, but that the seller would pay it back once the package was delivered or Aliexpress would pay for it. The product was 17 euros and the return shipping fee was 60 euros. This procedure sounded so insane to me that I was too curious to find out what would happen if I did this. So I purchased the return shipping from my local post office.

Refund:

The package disappeared in the Chinese customs after a few months since nobody actually wanted to receive it. I got a refund for the product, but not the shipping fees.

During 17 requests to the Aliexpress customer service for the return shipping fee, they promised each time to pay it. Every time the next day I got an email giving a different reason why they couldn't pay, asking for more evidence or that they will pay and they gave me an ARN code to track a refund that didn’t exist.

Scams:

Here are 12 jokes Aliexpress uses to waste customers’ time when they will actually never pay anything.

Aliexpress asks for pictures and evidence of the product being not as described by the seller. This has nothing to do with the refund as the seller page says free returns. Even so, I provided the evidence that the product was not usable for its described use.

Aliexpress asks for evidence that the product page says that the return shipping is free. Screenshots of the seller pages will work here.

Aliexpress asks to provide evidence for the status of the delivery from their own page, your local post office and an international postal tracking service. Here you have to provide the screenshots of their own page as well as public tracking services with the tracking number they can see themselves on the return shipping fee receipt.

Aliexpress asks for evidence that the product has been delivered. The whole return process is designed to fail as the seller never wants to receive the return package, as they would then have to pay for it, so the package can never be delivered to the seller. Regardless, the package was delivered on my end as instructed by Aliexpress.

Aliexpress asks for evidence that the seller hasn’t paid for the return shipping. Screenshots of the chat with the seller not responding or declining to pay will work here.

Aliexpress asks for the return shipping fee receipt. I sent a picture of the physical copy and a screenshot of the email receipt. Aliexpress invented an idea for an app that doesn't exist where you would have to get a screenshot of the receipt. This was their favourite repeat question and sometimes they accepted the provided receipts and sometimes not.

Aliexpress asks for bank records showing that the return shipping fee has been paid and the refund has not been received. Screenshots of your bank records will work here if you don’t care about privacy.

When they accept the refund, Aliexpress says that it will take up to 30 days for the payment to appear when they provide an ARN code that your bank can use to follow the refund status. Once you ask your bank to track the code, you find that the code relates to the refund of the item, not the refund of the return shipping fee.

Aliexpress asks for an official bank statement that the refund is not found with their provided ARN code. A screenshot of the chat with your bank will work here as an official statement when they say there is no money coming.

Aliexpress says that the previous customer service agent had mistakenly asked for a refund for the item and not the return shipping fee. Then they will redo the request. If at any point you speak of the word “refund” instead of the phrase “return shipping refund” or even let the customer service agent use just the word “refund” without correcting them, they will always refer to the refund of the item and not the shipping fee refund and you will have to redo the request.

Aliexpress says that the team that handled the return shipping refund had made a mistake and they will correct the refund. They will never correct the refund despite what they say and actually just move to another reason to deny the return shipping refund.

Aliexpress asks if you would accept a coupon in place of a refund and to reply to their email if you accept. I would not reply to this email to decline the coupon as the reply itself could indicate that you accept the coupon despite what you say in the email.

Conclusion:

After each request for the return shipping fee refund Aliexpress answers with either a different question, a repeat of one of the previous questions, a disapproval or a fake approval of the refund without explanation.

At this point the hamster wheel was done and there was no new information from Aliexpress. I had a lot more in me to run for longer in their monkey show to see what they came up with but the case ended in another way. This is where Aliexpress failed in their scam the most.

I thought that I could not ask for my money back from the bank as I had paid the post office for the return shipping and not Aliexpress. This was actually not the case.

Once I contacted my bank about the ARN code, they advised me that I could file a chargeback or in other words, a card dispute. This works so that the bank can demand the money from Aliexpress with the evidence that I have of them not holding up their end of the agreement to pay for the return shipping fee.

I filed a chargeback through my bank and provided the 200 pages of chat history with Aliexpress, along with all the other evidence Aliexpress had me gather of their scam. A few weeks later I got a message from my bank that the chargeback was accepted. The next day the money appeared on my account. This made me smile.

So I ordered a towel and a sports headband on AliExpress. Simple enough, right?

Here’s the breakdown:

ORDER1

• Product A (Towel category)
• Product B (Sports headband category)

ORDER2

• Product A (Towel category)
• Product B (Sports headband category)

Since they are two different product categories (HS codes), under EU tax rules, I should be charged tax per product category when buying—so 2 charges max.

What actually happened? I bought 2 towels and 2 headbands (2 times). They all arrived in ONE single package 📦.

Instead of charging tax per product category ($3 + $3 = $6 total), Ali's old system added $3 on ALL. ITEMS (choice) meaning I now paid tax 4 times. 4 items = $12 in taxes! Double what I actually owe! 💸

The Customer-service Circus 🎪

When I messaged support to get my $6 back for the platform error, they hit me with the classic NPC response: Dear customer, please send us official customs release documents, import invoices from your local post, and a signed letter from the Pope to prove you paid tax."

BRO. IT WAS PAID THROUGH IOSS AT CHECKOUT. The package cleared customs automatically. There are no local customs documents! Finnish Customs doesn't write you a handwritten note when an IOSS package glides through automatically!

I’ve explained this to them 4-6 times now. I even broke it down like they were 4 years old: "1 package (2 kinds of toys = 6 magic coins. Not 12 coins!"

They still opened a ticket asking for the same non-existent documents or threatened to close it in 24 hours.

Currently preparing to hit them with a final Dispute / Partial Refund request because asking Ali support to understand consolidated shipping tax calculations is like asking a fish to solve trigonometry.

Wish me luck on getting my $6 back from the void.

I got really excited when i saw that AliExpress added a new category for shipping inside the EU. Checked the prices... Are they insane? It would probably be cheaper to buy with shipping from China and pay the customs than pay whatever this shit is.

(One picture is the new 'Fast&Free' the other is the regular price from China)

I'm using AliExpress on my phone and two iPads. On my phone it usually shows a lower coin discount percentage, on my iPad, usually the level is much higher. From today, all 3 devices are showing very low level coin discount. : ( is it happening to everyone? Or l might have triggered something. Very sad.

Aliexpress is doing a good job with bundle offers. If you buy 3 items, they get a €3 discount (almost the entire duty), and if you buy more, they get a €4 discount. I checked 10 electronics products from slightly different categories from different sellers, all bundled together (alligator cables, large alligator clips, toggle switches, soldering mat, SMD tweezers, mini breadboard, normal breadboard, LED strips, alligator clips, BNC connectors). And they charge me the correct total with the duty applied only once and with the final discount. With no additional fees

That's not the first time we observe that AE launches special events like World Cup event where participation gives you real rewards (shopping credits). A lot of AE defenders say "oh, yes, all of the gaming had already been budgeted, and not a lot of people play games for credits, or what do you expect? AE is not obligated to give you credits for free?" and similar BS. That is just nowhere near the truth. First, AE doesn't give you credits "for free" you need to sweat out the credits wasting your time playing. Second, if AE thoroughly budgeted the gaming credits there wouldn't be such utterly unfair actions as:

1. restricting diamond exchange chances, and even removing red coupon options!
2. removing $0.5 and $1 options for converting Merge Boss ATM credits,
3. lowering Coin credits to a ridiculous level.
4. increasing overall prices and removing discounts when people in AE's opinion accumulate "too much" of the credits after such events like World Cup.

All above show that there is no "budgeting" of gaming credits whatsoever! AliExpress look like total buffoons giving people option to earn credits and then boldly robbing them of their credits and diminishing their efforts. Disgusting!

I preordered a product back on Aliexpress back on July 9; the store resells toys, collectibles and whatnot. It's expected to release on September 30, which is fine by me, but out of curiosity, I searched up the name of the product. In another listing for the same product, I noticed that a lot of people had already received their order (there were even reviews with genuine photos). I clicked again on the listing of the item I pre-ordered and noticed that it switched from "pre-order" to "buy now," so now I'm worried that I might have gotten scammed. The store I preordered this product from had already made 1000+ orders and they have a 4.7 rating, so I thought they seemed pretty trustworthy, but now I'm dreading the thought of having to wait until November 19 to get an automatic refund from AliExpress in the case that I may have gotten scammed 😭

Hace 2 días más o menos, apareció un descuento que descontaba 3€ en la compra en Bundle Deals de Aliexpress. Ahora se agrupa todos los artículos en un solo tipo de articulo, por lo que se supone que se elimina la aduana ¿Esto es verdad? Los artículos son de 3 categorías totalmente distintas.

Is this normal located in the uk

It is a large package

Hi! I saw on Aliexpress an e.l.f lip oil and the reviews look nice, I'm just wondering if some makeup they sell is safe since I see brands for cheaper like Rhode or Kiko, They may be fake but is it safe?

does this mean my parcel is actually moving, or is it just an automated thing?

So I was scrolling through the AliExpress app a few days ago and saw this saying "no extra duty." I went for it—and no duty feeo at checkout.

Got my order yesterday, and honestly, the shipping was way faster than I thought it'd be.

Not sure if I just got lucky or if AliExpress is actually rolling out some new thing for the €3 duty threshold. Anyone else seen this? Or is it just a one-off deal?

Apparently writing a one star review on a product automatically results in a blacklist for some shops.
l've been using AliExpress for about 2 years. I have came across many crappy sellers, but this is a new to me.
I just wanted to buy some doll hair to reroot and decided to buy from a shop that I have brought many stuff from before. Unfortunately, this time when I got the hair, it was horrible quality. I couldn't return the item, so 1 decided to throw the hair away and write a one star review about the issue. I never had issues with writing one star reviews and most of the time, I get contacted by the seller and usually ends up working out. However, unfortunately this time, the seller basically decided to blacklist me from their whole shop over one star review. I know because I tried buying different hair from them and ended up getting the blacklist message.
Sucks because I had good experiences with them before. It sucks that one negative feedback comment resulted in a blacklist.

The new taxes more than double the price of my cart, I already don't have lots of money i just can't pay that much

Hello everyone. I purchased Switch games from Switch Global Store (I've purchased from before and was happy with the purchase) I've purchased 2 more games from them. Both arrived today 1 game was missing the art book that all physical copies of the game includes and the other game has the cartilage (game card) looks worn. If it were just lines (the usual lines when game card is inserted) I wouldn't care but this looks like the card is worn. I messaged the seller sent them video unboxing. Then right after messaging the seller I messaged AliExpress support one agent said how I can upload the videos etc I did one of the methods uploading the video via mediafire. I will speak to a new agent each time because the chat will time out.

I started speaking with another agent and she opened the dispute but the reasons in the dispute were in reverse, she said the refund was processed automatically etc and that I do not need to return. I checked the dispute and it says I need to return, she then says to disregard it and it will close automatically. I said I wanted to work out a solution with the seller first etc but it was too late, I did say to a previous agent that I also do not want to open dispute now. Like I said sometimes when I try uploading the time will run out and the chat expires.

The thing is I messaged AliExpress because I'm not very familiar with how the dispute system works and was trying to see what solutions I can work with the seller in case we work out something and AliExpress can work around that. (Does this make sense?)

When I open the dispute page it says refund issued, return by .....

I messaged AliExpress support again and this time they're saying I have to return. I explained the situation and he said that AliExpress will contact me within 48 hours.

I wanted to work out a solution and I read horror stories of people returning and the seller trying to fight it etc. I legit want to cry.

I didn't think I would experience this with a seller I actually purchased from before and had a positive experience with, that's why I made a large purchase with them I usually wouldn't do because I trusted them. The support agent that said wait 48 hours also said We apologize for any inconvenience you've encountered throughout this process. Our records indicate that your case has been escalated and is currently being addressed to send you the full refund no return of the item.

Kindly allow some time for resolution and keep an eye on updates via email.

Anyone on here to give advice would really appreciate it.

Not advising anybody to buy this, not sure about the forum rules. almost though about posting the link but decided against it and instead posting the screenshot. Why do alibaba allow listing like these?

It must be nightmare for them to deal with refunds and tracking down the sellers and punish them and make sure the buyers are protected. or they don't care about the buyers?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get advice from people who have experience with AliExpress disputes.

I bought an Android car head unit that was advertised with certain hardware specifications. After installing it, I found that the hardware appeared different from what was advertised.

The seller asked me to send screenshots from hardware diagnostic apps, checked with their supplier, and then admitted that I had actually received a lower-spec configuration than the one I purchased.

The seller has now offered me a 50% refund if I keep the unit. The unit is already installed in my car, so returning it would be a lot of work.

I’m trying to decide what to do next.

My questions are:

If I open an AliExpress dispute instead of accepting the seller’s offer, can AliExpress decide on a higher partial refund than what the seller offered, or do they usually follow the seller’s proposal?

Has anyone had AliExpress increase the refund amount after the seller admitted the item didn’t match the advertised specifications?

The seller also told me they can only process the refund after the 90-day buyer protection period ends. Is that normal?

Is it generally safer to resolve everything through an AliExpress dispute before buyer protection expires, rather than relying on a seller’s promise to refund afterwards?

Would replying “Yes, I accept the 50% refund” in chat affect my position if I later needed AliExpress to step in?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

Thanks!

I got caught buying an N150 mini pc that actually has a 10yo i3 processor in it. They did the usual fake bios trick but was pretty obvious it's a fake.

But seems impossible to leave a review? There is a section "Review" but no button to add one. And no reviews.

On a side note, is there any way of determining if they are dodgy? Apart from buying, checking and returning at their expense?

First time ordering from Aliexpress, does anyone know an estimate for UK what import fees will look like? Its about £400 of goodies if that helps at all