After placing 580 orders on Aliexpress.com within 4 months, I can tell you, without a doubt, that Aliexpress is full of scams and scammers.
Buyer beware!
Welcome to my review of Aliexpress.com.
I have a unique perspective about Aliexpress, because I worked with this site to drop-ship Aliexpress products for over 4 months back in 2013.
My review of Aliexpress will be primarily based on the perspective of the buyer, since that was my experience working with this company.
Product Name: Aliexpress
Founders: Jack Ma, Chairman. Jonathon Lu, CEO
Product Type: eCommerce website to buy Unbranded and Counterfeit Brand-name Products.
Price: Free
Best For: People who want to buy fake brand name or unbranded products at massive discounts. Not good for eCommerce online business due to poor quality control of merchandise and risk of selling counterfeit goods.
Rating: 35/100
Summary: Aliexpress can be a decent place to get a good deal on unbranded or fake product, but it’s buyer beware! You can get a decent deal but you can also get a shoddy product that doesn’t perform. The customer service and ability to get your order corrected can be a complete nerve racking painful experience that most of the time results in you losing money and out of luck.
Recommended: Not really. Only for those that want to buy cheap products knowing that it’s buyer beware. Not for online re-sale or building a real eCommerce online business.
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Product Overview
Aliexpress is a smaller sister company of the dominant well know Alibaba.com company.
Both are based on the business to the business model, providing buyers and sellers a platform to conduct business directly from China to anywhere in the world.
I promise you Victoria Secret does NOT sell their products on Aliexpress.com. As a matter of fact, you can get this bag for $10 less without the brand name on it!
Aliexpress allows buyers/importers/retailers/and wholesalers a way to find discounted “Brand Name” products at wholesale prices.
They also offers buyers the advantage of being able to buy wholesale products in smaller quantities (usually between 1 – 50 units per product).
But there are some problems with this platform.
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Ali-Express Cons:
The problem with Aliexpress – as a whole – is that there is NOT ONE single legitimate brand name product sold on the site.
It might look like there are plenty of brand name products on the site, but that’s only because the sellers use the brand’s product pictures, without the brand’s permission, of course.
In other words, they steal the official brand pictures and use them to promote knock-off products.
This is called copyright fraud.
It’s illegal.
But its so common… especially with these type of platforms, where most of the products are sourced from China.
U.S based companies can’t really take legal action against fraudsters in China, across the planet.
So they get away with it.
China is well known for their ability to create knock-off versions of literally any product.
Since so many sellers make the same mistake, its difficult for authorities to crack down on them.
And even more difficult for the original brand to sue them, considering most of the sellers live over-seas and use fake names and contact details.
I would guess that 60% of their products are counterfeit while the other 40% are just truly generic products.
Real brand name products just don’t exist on Aliexpress.com.
If you’re looking for knockoffs to sell on your website or to purchase for yourself, Aliexpress offers a huge platform to find virtually anything you want.
You could also try 1Sale.com for that matter.
With both, you might be disappointed with the quality, as well as the return policies and customer service you receive.
The Good:
1). Aliexpress offers a great website that is easy to navigate and you can find almost any consumer product you may be looking for.
2). You can easily search and find products within their system, review the seller & product ratings (Somewhat fraudulent -see below), and see product specifications.
3). Aliexpress has a great system to organize your orders, communicate with sellers, and track your order delivery.
However, it’s kind of ironic with the picture above. The first thing below All Orders is Refunds & Disputes. I didn’t mean to capture that part of the photo, but as fate would have it..
4). Aliexpress offers an escrow service to protect the buyer from blatant fraudulent orders.
5). You can find a good amount of quality products on Aliexpress but they’re usually things like bags or cell phone cases. Things that are easy to reproduce.
In short, if you need a basic product and you don’t care about brand names, Ali Express can be quite useful. The seller platform is also quite convenient.
The Bad: Aliexpress Sellers Scam
Let’s get back on topic…
In my title I state that I was a victim to 57 scams using Aliexpress in one day – and it’s true.
I had a rush of orders from my website for Micro SD Cards.
My old supplier was out.
I chose a new supplier that I hadn’t yet worked with, but had 5 star ratings.
So I gave him a try, based on the positive feedback and high ratings.
That was a mistake.
He took all my orders.
But, unfortunately, didn’t fulfill a single one.
He took my money and tried to run.
The escrow service was one of the better features about Aliexpress, and it ended up saving me a loss of $800 dollars.
However, my customers were furious with me when their packages didn’t arrive in a couple of weeks, and I was notified by Aliexpress 3 weeks after placing the 57 orders.
That makes it impossible to provide good customer service as a business owner.
China is incredible about making knockoffs, so you can get some good deals there.
The problem is when the deal goes bad.
The Bad with Aliexpress:
If you plan to drop-ship or sell these products on your website, the most difficult issue you’ll have with Aliexpress is Quality Control and Refunds/Returns.
You see, you don’t really have a sure-fire system for quality control using Aliexpress suppliers.
You can look at the Seller Rating and read Feedback about the seller and the product, but most of the time it’s impossible to tell if it’s accurate.
Why?
Because sellers constantly “Bribe” buyers for good feedback ratings when an order goes bad.
How can that be?
When you buy a product that is either sent to the wrong address or is faulty, you naturally bring your complaint to the seller.
If you have a good relationship with the seller and buy products from them on a regular basis, they will usually ask for evidence of the faulty product or poor delivery, and then refund your money.
However, this is not the norm on Aliexpress.
Instead the seller will usually offer you a refund if you leave them a 5 star rating!
I was given this option about 70% of the time with my defective orders.
That should be an alarm that you’re looking at an online scam.
If you stand your ground, and tell the Chinese supplier that you’re not going to do this, and demand your money back, they will pretty much ignore you.
Or leave meaningless generic messages in response to your messages.
It’s a shame.
You then have the option to take your complaint to Aliexpress Arbitration (this is a freaking joke).
You explain your side of the story.
The supplier states they sent out your product in good condition. Then it’s up to you as the Buyer to prove the product is faulty.
See the example below.
My customer received a 32 GB Micro SD Card and not a 64 GB Card, but to make matters worse, the card only held 4 GB of data.
This is what I had to send the Aliexpress Arbitration system in order to get my $13.20 back.
You can’t see the picture, but it’s of a 32 GB Micro SD Card and not a 64 GB card like it should be.
So if you are drop-shipping products to your customers, you then need to contact your customer, and get a picture or video of the faulty product.
Pain in the ###!
To make matters worse, uploading your evidence to the arbitration system is very limited on file sizes for photos & videos.
And even after showing considerable evidence that your product is faulty or incorrect, it’s like there’s nobody there to look over the facts.
Many times, you get an automatic rejection.
It’s ridiculous.
You eventually either lose your money or you are left with the option of shipping the item back.
Do you know how much it costs to ship something to China?
Many times, it’s much more expensive than the original item, making it a worthless endeavor.
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The Ugly:
If you’re new to importation or online business, it will be easy for you to fall victim just like I did.
You get introduced to a website like Aliexpress that offers you brand name products at discounted wholesale prices.
However, the products are just replicas, counterfeits, or whatever you want to call them.
If you don’t realize this, and you sell them as brand name products, you are committing a crime (at least in the United States) of selling counterfeit products.
If you are selling on eBay or Amazon, you can get yourself blacklisted and lose your selling privileges.
And if your products get reviewed by International Customs, you’ll lose all your inventory, AND the money you spent on that order.
So it’s a risky game.
Who is Aliexpress For?
Aliexpress is perfect for anyone who just wants to buy a generic product for themselves, to save a little money.
But the quality of the product will most likely be (somewhat to greatly) inferior to the real product.
I would say that out of the 500+ products I bought from Aliexpress, 70% of them worked well.
From a business point of view, a 30% defective rate is not good.
That’s a lot of refunds and customer complaints.
If you take this route as a online business owner, you can expect delivery times anywhere from 10-40 days.
Again, poor customer service.
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Aliexpress Tools & Training
Aliexpress does have a help center, and provides guidance on how to avoid online scams and fraudulent sellers.
But no tools or training to speak of.
You can always get ideas for hot selling products through their Super Deals and Best Selling links.
But that’s about it.
There aren’t any tutorials or guides.
Aliexpress Support
Like I mentioned above, they offer a good escrow service to protect the buyer of orders that are taken and never fulfilled.
But if you end up having issues with the products themselves, they offer basically no support to the buyer.
Some sellers are legit and will refund your money, but this is rarely the case.
The owners of Aliexpress offer NO SUPPORT, as well, there is NO COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
And as mentioned before, the arbitration system is a sham.
Summarized Overview
Name: Aliexpress
Website: Aliexpress.com
Price: Free to join as a seller or buyer
Owners: Jack Ma, Chairman. Jonathon Lu, CEO
Overall Rank: 35 out of 100
My Final Opinion of Aliexpress
If you are looking for a knockoff product for yourself and it’s something like a bag or a cell phone case, you can find some good deal on Ali Express.
But If you’re looking for anything more advanced, like an iPod, cell phone, or computer, beware that you could end up with a very poor quality product, and have little recourse to get your money back.
I was looking for a real way to sell brand name products online with Aliexpress.
Unfortunately, that system doesn’t exist.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a system that will show you how to build a business with Amazon, I’v got something for you:
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Use Aliexpress to sell generic products, but sell them honestly and don’t violate copyright laws.
It’s not a business model I recommend because of poor long-term potential.
Overall, Ali Express has it’s uses, but I do not recommend using them to try and sell brand name products.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this article.
Got questions? Leave them below.
Aliexpress
Free
Pros
- Decent Place to Find Deals on Unbranded Products.
- Great System to Organize and Track Orders
- Offers an Escrow Service.
Cons
- Has Many Untrustworthy Suppliers. Many Counterfeit Products.
- Not Much Quality Control. Lots of Refund Requests.
- Not Recommended.
How do we get aliexpress shut down? They are known for stealing money and running scams they have admitted to lieing and deceiveing customers by customers services and they are unafraid of admitting to customers that yes they lie and yes also deceive customers but they are told to do it by their management and so they are so scared of loosing thryr jobs they are prepared to lie cheat and steal.
I mean if you were any person with a moral compass you would report this to either your trade union or the authorities and find a job were you were allowed to tell the truth and not bullied into lieing for that company to try to cover up they are stealing customers money?
I’m sorry but noone can force me to lie and noone can force them, you have to want to lie because its of benefit to you? It also does not bother their conscience as they feel justified because these sort of jobs are not for honest people.
The fact they change their nzhes is also another issue! We know they use fake names!!!! A lot of them really struggle with English.
I don’t feel sorry for any agent who stare they gave no choice but to lie to customers so they can keep a job. So many Indian and Chinese people claim this us their jobs they have no choice but to lie to people or they won’t get paid. Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with the way these people justify a crime? Worse is they admit it and attitude is, we are in China you don’t know our identity so we will continue to do it because there’s noone to stop us. We’ll mztve there should be someone to shut them down. Any scammer should be stopped especially ones who openly admit they are taking part in illegal activity and don’t particularly care who knows it?
How do we get aliexpress shut down? They are known for stealing monet and running scams they have admitted to lie and deceive customers by customers services and they are unafraid of admitting to customers that yes they lie and yes also deceive customers but they are told to do it by their management and so they are so scared of loosing thryr jobs they are prepared to lie cheat and steal. I mean if you were any person with a moral compass you would report this to either your trade union or the authorities and find a job were you were allowed to tell the truth and not bullied into lieing fur that company to try to cover up they are stealing customers money? I’m sorry but noone can force me to lie you have to want to lie because its of benefit to you? I don’t feel sorry for any agent who stare they gave no choice but to lie to customers so they can keep a job. So many Indian and Chinese people claim this us their jobs they have no choice but to lie to people or they won’t get paid. Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with the way these people justify a crime? Worse is they admit it and attitude is, we are in China you don’t know our identity so we will continue to do it because there’s noone to stop us. We’ll mztve there should be someone to shut them down. Any scammer should be stopped especially ones who openly admit they are taking part in illegal activity and don’t particularly care who knows it?
I have just closed my aliexpress account. I have had sellers place orders for goods without my consent and then keeping my card details to take money. Sometimes they refuse to ship and keep money. Agents have told me buyers are not protected against fraud on the platform and if sellers place orders claiming to be the customer and take money although this can be proven the agent confirmed buyers will not get their money refunded and the seller will be permitted to continue to defraud customers it’s just tough they just tell customers they will remove fraudulent sellers but never do..
They also admitted ( and I have screenshots of their whistle blowing) that the higher team tell agents to fobb customers off and lie to them and deceive them by telling them to open disputes to get refunds on goods they never ordered and oorn disputes for fraud.
This is because aliexpress does not allow customers to raise disputes if they never placed an order or had their money stolen and unfortunately the seller gets to keep the funds and do it again.agents have bern told not to help customers and lie to them telling them to open a dispute although in reality they cannot as there’s no option so it’s automatically rejected without investigation or refund. This has happened to me every time I’ve been defrauded.
The agent told me that they are scared of aliexpress and often agree to lie and deceive customers because the higher team tells them to and they are in fear of loosing their job if they don’t lie .
Yes they express they would ike to help customers but have been told not to and to lie or deceive them . This means the platform can make a lot more money by allowing sellers to perpetrate fraud and aliexpress will benefit financially too. As an agent confessed to me I took 30 screen shots of the confession which they are happy for me to publish the warning to the public that aliexpress is a big scam site. Customers services never respond to or send emails to customers with problems they ignore them so they can get rich quick and someone needs to stop them. Because they are hiding in China they find it easy to steal peoples money.
I have just closed my aliexpress account. I have had sellers place orders for goods without my consent and then krrli’g my card details to take money. Sometimes they refuse to ship and keep money. Agents have told me buyers are not protected against fraud on the platform and if sellers place orders claiming to be the customer and take money although this can be proven the agent confirmed buyers will not get theirinry refunded and the sellet will be permitted to continue to defraud customers it’s just tough. They also admitted ( and I have screenshots of their whistle blowing) that the higher team tell agents to fobb customers off and lie to them and deceive them by telling them to open disputes to get refunds on goods they never ordered and fraud. This us because aliexpress does not allow customers to raise disputes if they never placed an order or had theonrt stolen and unfortunately the seller gets to keep the funds and do it again. The agent told me that they are scared of aliexpress and often luevti and deceive customers because the higher team tells them to and they go it on fear of loosing their job. Yes they express they wouldike to help customers but have been told not to and to lie or deceive. This means the platform can make a lot more money by allowing sellers to perpetrate fraud and aliexpress will benefit financially too. As an agent confessed to me I took 30 screen shots of the confession which they are happy for me to minludh warning the public that aliexpress is a big scam site. Customers detbhve never respond to or send emails to customers with problems they egnore them so they can get rich quick and someone needs to stop them.
Unfortunately, recently Aliexpress has become a hotbed of crooks, cheaters and scammers, and what is most unpleasant and offensive is that the site supports and protects them, and your entire platform is built in such a way that there is absolutely no one to appeal to!
Suggest
NEVER NEVER TO BUY FROM ALLIEXPRESS,
HORRIBAL EXPERIENCE , YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE AND TRACK YOUR ORDERS, THEY DISAPPEARS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT AND IF YOU TRY TO CHAT ONLINE—YOU ARE CHATTING WITH A MACHINE—WASTE TIME AND GET NO RESPECT FROM THIS WEBSITE
HORRIBLE HORRIBLE AND FRUSTRATING
I have to say I am in the minority. I am a UK resident and have ordered lots of items from AliExpress without any problems. I had one item for 9 pounds go over the time limit for delivery, made a dispute and was refunded straight away.
I have recently bought two mobile phones of excellent quality and spec at a fraction of the cost in UK.
Yes there are certain things you should not entertain but the same can be said of Amazon.
What is also worth noting is that I see the exact same sellers and sellers products on Amazon with a markup to accommodate Amazon’s markup. The only single reason I would shop at Amazon is the reasonable guarantee offered on products, which i have also used.
I ordered something from amazon took which took 7 weeks to arrive from Indonesia.
The only difference between Amazon and AliExpress is Amazon has the whole customer experience sorted out.
Amazon is still full of these same international sellers.
You are obviously an employee or have a relative there as you are the only person alive who has had a positive experience and the likelihood of this isvrty small to non existent.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing these useful info. By my experience, I’ve shopped few times on this site, and I can say that you really should not judge those products by western quality standard- they are from China. So I would recommend to buy cloths with simple design, like jeans. And for electronics, those well-known Chinese brands, such as Huawei, Xiaomi would be a better option here.
Thanks!
Dear Friend,
Thanks for the information packed review on Aliexpress. Really helpful and thanks a lot. People are afraid of many scams online. By providing people with an honest review bloggers can help people to save their hard earned money and save their time and effort. Keep up the great work. I will come back to your website to learn more information.
Your Friend,
Paul
I’ve ordered items from this online vendor dozens of times. Items aren’t always sent. Items don’t always match their description. Items are often damaged or low quality. But worst of all, the company does NOT stand by their buyer protection program. I was awarded many judgements though that program. But I guess it must have been costing them money because instead of continuing to honor it, they Terminated my account, right after I purchased $100 worth of goods. That happened twice: The first time I was told they had no idea why and to create a new account. The second time… I wasn’t going to put up with it; and so after hours of contact with customer service (via chat, which is the only method you can contact them) I was finally told that the Termination might be because my ratio of disputes to orders was too high (they never could give me a definitive answer). To anyone considering trying to get help from their customer service regarding an unfairly terminated account; Don’t waste your time. They will give you the run around and either 1. say there is nothing they can do, or 2. that they will fix it, but they will just never fix it.
I have been scammed in aliexpress.. The seller misdeclared my package without I knowing it. He scammed me for 295$ of cases. I can’t get my package, because the fine to get my item to customs is 350$. The buyer protection of aliexpress does not protect buyers.. They only protect their sellers. The seller’s name is SUNDAE STORE. Don’t buy cases from her.. The seller will just manipulate you!
I found AliExpress to be a fraud. I have placed an order for a EU converter tip for my MacBook charger for less than 4 bucks (including shipping). After I entered my info and placed the order I didn’t get neither a confirmation email nor a webpage that usually shows that my order was successfully placed, etc. Instead, the webpage I was redirected to said that I should sign up for an account for better ordering experience. But what happened to my order that I have just placed… well, no one knows.
A few seconds later I received an email stating that in order to confirm my order, I need to sign up and create an account by clicking on the confirmation link. (Note that no order number of any kind or reference to the item I’ve ordered was in the email.) So I created an account. Upon signing up, there was no indication of any kind that I have ever placed an order. So what happened with all the entering my address, phone number, cc number, etc…!?
I also needed an EU extension cable for my MacBook – which I forgot to place – so I figured now that I am registered I am going to place an order for the cable (for 8 bucks). In the EU they sell the cable to 30 bucks (!) so I figured for eight bucks I will give it a try, after all here was 149 five-star ratings regarding the cable and the shipment, so I figured it must be ok (unless all the ratings were fake).
After placing the order for the cable, my credit card was charged within 11 minutes! (I know this because I received an email from the cc company stating the charge.) So I opened my browser to go to AliExpress (just for the heck of it) to check the order. Note that I have NOT logged out from my AliExpress account from the previous session, I just simply closed the browser. This time, however, I was asked to login again in order to “verify my identity”. However, I was not able to because I was informed that there was “unusual activity” on my account and so my account is locked. In order to unlock it, I have to go through hoops of verification, of which the final one was to provide my mobile number to get a verification code. Well, I happen to be one of those rare individuals who doesn’t have a mobile phone. I do have a home phone, but that cannot receive SMS – obviously. So basically I am completely locked out of my account within 11 minutes, after I placed my first order and after my card was charged.
I decided to contact customer support. CUSTOMER SUPPORT!? Right. WHAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT!? They don’t have any!!! They have a page with 16 faces on it claiming they have 24/7 customer support, but they DON’T! There’s no email or phone number. So where is the 24/7 support!? They have an “online chat”, which is basically a bot!!! It’s not a human!!! You are talking to an AI (artificial intelligence) robot – so you are not actually talking to anyone.
There you have it. Basically I have an $8 charge for an order that I am not able to check on because my account is locked. I cannot unlock my account because I don’t have a mobile phone (and even if I did, after this $hitty experience I don’t think it would matter for they would just steal the number to send me endless amount of SMS spam). And I also can’t contact customer support because there is none.
They do have a Twitter account where I was able to send a quite unhappy DM to them. Not sure if they will react, but at this point it doesn’t matter. I will contact my credit card company and will dispute and cancel any charges.
AliExpress is a fraud. I have no idea how is it possible for them to exist at all.
Oh and lastly: don’t bother with their “customer service”. It doesn’t exist. I’m convinced by now even the people you chat with (with generic fake Western names like “Linda’ and “Steve”) are just some automated program. I have had countless promises from these “real” helpdesk chat workers in the beginning (when I still bothered with it) that I never heard anything from again. Their promises are a puff of air. Their “high office” as they call it doesn’t exist. You’ll never hear from them again. Don’t waste your time.
Find some cheap trinket or gadget you like, compare prices and buyer feedback (especially buyer photos), choose one, pay. If anything goes sour; open a dispute. Do NOT close it, even if seller promises marriage and a free castle. Leave the dispute open, if it times out without a solution, you will get an automatic refund.
If in doubt, claim item has not arrived. I’ve found you’ll get a refund quicker that way then with photos as proof of damage. (again: ignore seller’s free donor kidney and begging for you to wait 10000 days longer).
Duh.
If anybody thinks they’re getting high-quality, real brand name prodcts on a CHINESE site, they are gullible to the extreme. Of course it’s all fake.
I use AliExpress for inexpensive purchases for my jewellery making hobby, and apart from parcels not arriving (open dispute > ignore EVERYTHING the seller says or asks > wait for your automatic refund), it works just fine. You just need to keep firmly in mind that most sellers lie and that their photos are fake or very Photoshopped. I use the buyer feedback (that can include buyer photos, unlike on Ebay) as a reference rather than the seller’s own description. You can pick out the fakes easily that way.
Great review. I can’t imagine ever inserting an Aliexpress seller at at any point in my supply chain. Your just asking for a world of hurt.
At a personal I love AE and have had no issues with them. The few disputes I have had to open have been resolved with 100% refund either voluntarily by the seller or with AE intervention. Now, my buy limit is $25 and I realize in most cases I’m buying $ store quality items at less than $ store prices. If I get better than this I’m happy. I’ve seen a number of the items I’ve purchased being sold locally or through a north Americanonline store for a lot more.
As far as your “NOT ONE single legitimate brand name” comment is concerned I don’t believe this to be strictly true. I’ve had items that I’m 100% convinced have come off the brand name production line. Of course, how these items got into the hands of an AE seller could be questionable.
Hey Dave,
There is not one single item from Aliexpress that is actually a branded product. You can by similar unbranded products there.
But if you’ve got a brand name on a product being sold at Aliexpress, you’ve got a fake.
Best,
Todd
Or, they are not fakes but factory rejects of the brand products.
Recently, I received a low quality factory reject of SMSL M100 DAC.
The seller doesn’t admit that it is a defective unit.
I wish I had read this before deciding on ordering from Aliexpress. The samples arrived in good order and very quickly within a few days. When I placed a bulk order, the shipment took over 3 weeks, the items arrived damaged or broken (there were no proper wrapping for the glass jars). As mentioned by Todd, the dispute process is joke. I need to prove that I didn’t break those jars and also need to submit plus individual photo of each item and an assessment report from Fedex. It was a waste of my time.
I can confirm the escrow service works. I just got refunded after a bought an item that was never delivered. DHL tracking number was invalid. Seller was not replying until I opened a dispute. He then said that he found that the item had returned to his warehouse and asked me if I wanted himto resend it. I answered no and then he ignored me and rejected my refund petition. Aliexpress stepped in after a few days and refunded me.
It’s also true that it’s a different story with defective products. Once Aliexpress said there was insufficicent proof that the product was not ok but still the seller offered to send a replacemnet if a canceled the dispute.
On another occasion I sent the item back using an address I had to print from the aliexpress website. I initially paid for the return but submitted the postal service expense through the website to the seller and was refunded
I have been a customer for over 5 years. Agents have told me there is no escrow service and refunds are rarely given.
I have reported many sellers for fraud selling goods that don’t match anf placing orders indtezf of the customer who legally has to do it.
The reaction I got was tough you don’t get your money back of you dud not place the order or the money was stolen as the agent stated we do not protect our customers for such things thzrs why banks exist ‘so if its worked for you I’m very surprised as it hasn’t ever for me and they told me that service is definitely NOT provided by aliexpress.
I should have read this before I ordered. This article is 100% correct.
As an AliExpress customer, you will be preyed on and the company does not even pretend to care.
I ordered some gashapon (tiny, but somewhat pricey Japanese capsule toy machine collectibles). The seller didn’t have any of them – even though they were and are STILL listed in his store – and said he would not fill my order.
Initially, I received a message from someone named “ke hu”, who admitted, a week after my order, that nothing I ordered was in stock. I asked him to refund my $72.18 and he has ignored my messages.
I submitted two complains: one on Facebook and one on the site itself. I have not received any reply and I can see that no one has even read my complaint on Facebook Messenger.
It is a shocking fact that AliExpress caters to its vendors (even if they are proven to be scammers( way more than their customers.
This was my first and last purchase on AliExpress.
NewBiFo Toy Store was the seller. He still has everything I ordered listed in his shop and refused to fill or refund my money:
can’t say everything i ever bought from stores on aliexpress are bad. i’ve received some really nice stuff and i’ve received stuff that was ” you get what you paid for”. but buyer beware sooner or later you will run into the seller that is out to scam you and aliexpress does not care. the so called customer service is a joke and so is opening a dispute with stupid pictures that the seller can turn around and claim you faked them just to get your money back i ordered a small bottle of patchouli oil from the akarz official store. well i don’t know where they got the idea that what they sent me was patchouli oil but it smelled terrible and was not the dark amber color they describe on their site. so as you know to submit a dispute you need pictures. tell me how do you take a picture of a smell?? and as for the color the oil came in a brown bottle can’t tell what color it is just by looking at a picture of the bottle. i saw the color when i actually poured a drop out on a piece of paper but that would take a video to show me doing that and you know videos don’t download on the disputes. besides when i told the company of my dissatisfaction with what they sent me they said it was because of the condition the plant was grown in and then ignored any further messages from me. all the stupid popup so called help people would say to me was you have to submit proof over and over without telling me just how to do that . thank goodness it was only $11.86 that i lost. i have a good experience up till this . i just don’t understand why aliexpress doesn’t stand behind the buyer more, unless they’re getting some kind of kick back from all the sellers they deny disputes for. well thank you all for letting me rant and get my frustration out, i’m going to look for another site i can leave my rant, just so people will see what goes on at aliexpress
Some of the stuff orders has Been nice yes but that does not then give aliexpress the permission to allow customers to be defrauded out iof money and for sellers to place fake orders.
Right is right and a crime is a crime. It makes no difference if some of the goods are nice it dyes not make it ok to them commit a crime. If we all had this attitude then noone would have a business.
I think I might be dealing with a scammer, I bought 2 items from him. The tracking for one of them has been in “waiting for pick up” for over a week and the other one was the same but got cancelled after 11 days and he did not reply to any of my message so i send him a last message giving him a couple of days to respond to my questions before opening a dispute to get my money back.
Really disappointed i didn’t read the article before 🙁 . Bought a phone on aliexpress. The phone arrived defective and after a month of indecent proposals i sent it back to seller. Guess what… after two month AliExpress said that the phone did not appear and released full price to seller. Everything in this post is true . Really bad service , no customer support when you want to ask or complaint, the products almost always low quality,Aliexpress stand totally on seller side and as buyer you feel helpless unprotected… So if you like bad services and gambling 🙂 wellcome to AliExpress. For me for sure it was the last experience with AliExpress .
The most unreliable company ever. They sell items which do not match the description on their website, the quality of the item is far from satisfactory and the item is good to use only for a week. Even though they sell items under the so-called “money back guarantee”, this protection does not work and they do not want to refund anything or accept a returned item as a proof that it does not work. Instead, they ignore your emails, refuse to help and DEMAND YOUR NAKED PICTURES/VIDEOS in order to give you a refund. You can feel sexually harassed by this company’s employees and see that they are totally unwilling to help you solve the issue. Their live chat does not work at all (there is an automatic robot replying to you and NOT a real person), their employees’ English skills are too low to communicate with clients, they are the worst company that you can ever encounter!
Aliexpress is untrustworthy. Stay away. They are placing their customers’ security in jeopardy.
I wonder whether their cheap prices are a trick to steal people’s identity?
Wow, awesome review of Aliexpress. Buyer beware, couldn’t say it better.
My English is pretty bad. Nevertheless, I would like to share my experience here.
Firstly, I would like to thank you for the article and all the comments. Really very helpful.
I have 2 days evaluated all products, which I need for my production and then I ordered. 7 of maybe 50 items have been paid, then I had a message to verify my credit card. On this website I was asked to settle my passport or driver license and bank account for the credit card. If I pressed to the info buttom, I saw an example with name, address and the full balance as example. It were at the site of alipay.com. Ali had reported my card as untrustworthy because I had sold off probable to much orders. After consultation with my credit card company the card was immediately released again and also a note readable for Ali, that this card is clean. After only one order, the message was displayed again. It is unimaginable that Ali wants a passport or extracts of a credit card balance. With passport and the details of the credit card, Ali can use my credit card to do what they want. It is inconceivable, an absolute madness that somebody ask for thease documents. I spoke with at least 4 people of my credit card companies and everyone said they had never heard of such a thing.
I could imagine this from a one man company, but not from Ali.
In the end, I chat again with the support and they made clear that only with this information I can pay and this takes 3 to 5 days. I said that I want to cancel every order, which of course just I could do and I did as well.
After what I could now read here, I was probably freed from even more unfamiliar stuff.
I have ordered the same article on ebay, where I have never had a real problem with regard to buyer protection or it could be solved without compromise.
For what I experienced with Ali, I could name all the unacceptable words which I do not want to use in detail.
Thanks to chance in the first step and to all of you for the protection of even greater misfortune.
The Customer Service is Terrible and When I asked for a Refund They Refused Don’t Get The Aliplugin
Here’s my experience with Aliexpress after becoming an A4 buyer within less than 6 months and after hundreds of orders. I had my account suspended then terminated 5 days ago. I contacted customer support four times to no avail. The first reason they gave me was: account temporarily suspended due to security reasons. After contacting the infamous customer support and promising to do their best, I got the second email with a new reason this time: My account is terminated due to violations of the order protection program. This happened and I’m an A4 buyer with 50 ongoing orders! Now I cannot dispute or leave feedback for any of them!! Simply thift!! Moreover, the fact that I returned the money to some of the sellers after a dispute/refund did not seem to matter at all. I did this voluntarily after receiving some of the disputed orders after some 3-4 months!! I still had respect and returned the money through another purchase and none of that mattered! I’m beginning to think that some of the highly rated/recommended sellers have close connections to AE management and are untouchable! I doubt their rating system so much after noticing that some of the most decent sellers are not highly rated at all.
Hi everyone,
I am victim of Aliexpress fraud. I ordered one wifi projector for price of 109 dollars and when i received the projector it was without wifi and company said they can refund me 50% of value or else i need to bear cost of shipping to return the product and get full refund. but in any case i was in loss, seller accepted his mistake but wasn’t ready for refund.
At the end, i have to keep this product which is of no use for me. Their customer care is bullshit.
Please donot buy from Aliexpress
They did this to me also. With 2 different reasons. I had placed a very large order as well. There was nothing I could do in getting a bad product as I could not open up a dispute. I opened up another account, and the same thing happened. Then another and this time it was for using a sub account. I did loose money, and get items that were terrible, but in the long run most items were great and I could resell and make profit. Once you inform that seller your account was deactivated to refund you forget it. It’s a risk using them.
I have to admit, been there done that with AliExpress. Started with Tea, then 3D Embroidery, then a few watches. In each case I have been taken. But I also have the protection of VISA, and I am not afraid to File for a VISA Chargeback. AliExpress may not like it. But if you defraud me, I will get my money back! I agree about their so-called in house Disputes, and Chat-Line. Even their 800 Number is Bogus too. It’s design to wear you out, and time-out your VISA Card Right To Dispute A Charge. Working with a seller? Well you will know right away if they are telling you the truth.
I have to admit though after some trial and error. We have found a few quality Tea Merchants, word of mouth gets around fast if they are selling you low grade tea. The same for the 3-D Diamond Embroidery, and Watches in the Forsining Line. I have had good service from them because they are in the business to work with the customers. You can tell just from e-mailing with them where they stand. They too are just as ticked from all the Fraudsters on AliExpress too. For it too makes it all the harder for them to sell. The best advice I could give is get to know your seller first. Use your VISA Card! Not Debit! No! No! You will have the protection of your credit card, and it never hurts to ask VISA what your rights are if AliExpress defrauds you. Don’t use AliExpress Dispute Service. It’s a time killer, and it’s design to wear you out, and give up. Not to mention they try to time out your VISA Card Dispute Protection to file a claim. The best advice I could give is this, use your VISA Card, and never spend anymore than you can afford to loose! Also Pay for E-Packet Shipping, it’s a tad bit faster. But it is also easier to track. Good-Luck!
Unfortunately visa a d a bank will ONLY refund you so many times if a company keeps providing faulty goods or bad service. Eventually visa and your bank can refuse to regubd you because you continue to do business with a company banks gave blank listed. This has happened to me. So the visa charge back scheme is not a crutch to lean on. You have to stop shopping with thrm.
Aliexpress I denounce
I would like to inform you that several seller on aliexpess give tracking numbers
And that they do not send parcels (or much later with luck)
And I realized that several sellers practice it (what is called tense flow)
This gives them the ability to spend 5 to 7 days to more than a week to send orders
Is to be able to get the missing goods to their stock or have them sent by the manufacturer
Who give them the tracking numbers and that they do not receive the merchandise
The seller will tell you that he has no responsibility for logistics
From 17 to 29 days, even with a payment for shipping with tracking china post
We usually spend 60 days to confirm the order
And often we do not receive orders, especially when it’s a shipment by EMS
You made a quarrel 1 or 2 times with aliexpess protection
And you are lucky you have a refund, bringing well on all the evidence (screenshot)
And later, you are more credible. The result and got, you pay and finished bye bye (the seller does not even answer you anymore)
It’s dishonest It’s a more than dubious practice, it’s scam
3 example of a seller who happened to me.
Thief seller: SUN-SPEED AUTO TRADE CO., LTD https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1449007
Thief seller: Anne 3C Digital https://fr.aliexpress.com/store/1197938
Thief seller: ShenZhen EY Lighting Co., Ltd. https://fr.aliexpress.com/store/433455
Some seller are honest, but go find them !!!
Right on Anna, thanks.
Hi Todd,
You make a great point regarding brand name products. Small companies in China generally do not have access to these products at prices that are competitive, let alone low. Even if the product is manufactured in China, no major brand is going to allow the factories that manufacture their products to sell knock-offs of them. I mean, really, people need to give their heads a shake, why would a major brand do that?
I think that there is an exception to your observation that all brand name products on AliExpress are fake though. There are a growing number Chinese manufacturers who sell products under their own brand names. Some of them have stores on AliExpress,. Some allow third parties to sell their products. The quality and value of products that they sell ranges from horrible to extremely good.
Xiaomi is an example of a major brand based in China. I use my pair of Xiaomi Piston 3 in-ear headphones quite a lot, and I doubt that I could have found anything of comparable quality anywhere else without paying about three times as much.
You got the part of knock offs wrong, Jim.
For international companies to sell in China they are obliged by law to open a factory on Chinese soil. The factory management then has a number of options to their disposal. They can 1. sell the design of the goods to fellow companies (usually this starts as a “semi-legal” way to increase production throughput if demand is high) . They can 2. disassemble the machinery and with similar machines create visually matching designs using inferior ingredients. They can 3. Produce overhead (say Nike orders 2 million sneakers – they produce 2.2 million sneakers the remaining 200’000 are not declared in the production documents). They can 4. legitimatelly or falsely declare production accidents and then those faulty products just “disappear” (Try searching for “imperfect” funko pop dolls for instance).
Hi Tood,
Thanks for your helpful post.
I was also cheated by Aliexpress. I suggest you or other people setting up a web site or blog or whatever, to state all of those scammers shops from Aliexpress. So others people can avoid them.
However, I noticed those scammers used to change the name of the shop.
I was victim of shops: BeyondTech-Top-rated Genuine Mobile Phone Store, Hongkong Retevis Store.
Cheers,
Michael
Thanks Michael,
I know, it’s just ridiculous. Thanks for your feedback.
Hi there,
I also had cheating experience by BeyondTech-Top-rated Genuine Mobile Phone Store.
They sold me used (probably stolen) and refurbished HTC 10. It is about a month but dispute is still in progress. AliExpress management team is expected to step in on February 20, 2018.
On chat, AliExpress customer support team members say “sorry, don’t worry, everything will be okay, you will get refund etc. etc.”
I also reported them to AliExpress as fraudulent seller. Waiting for their response.
Dear Tood, what you would advice me to do now? I uploaded more than 20 photos + video. I paid $291 for a device and asked for $191 as a refund.
What could be best action for me now?
Hi Ziya,
I got the best results with persistence, but at times, no amount of persistence yielded better results from my multitude of returned items and issues I had with Aliexpress’s refund process.
That’s why we say, buyer beware with Aliexpress.
I think you’ve done all you can, I don’t really think anyone at Aliexpress cares about your customer service in my experience. It’s kind of the same with Alibaba.
If you’re buying personal stuff, I’d say you at least know the risks of buying knockoffs. If you’re buying to resell on a website, then the key here is quality control.
You need a good supplier and need to learn how to import properly. If this is your motivation with using Aliexpress, I’d recommend you check out this post on how to sell of Amazon.
Best,
Todd
Thanks for reply, Todd.
I am not re-seller, I just bought it for personal use. I liked this model (HTC 10) and waited about 2 years for getting it. But now some fraudulent seller gives me such a bad experience. I actually want AliExpress to improve and be a good competitor to eBay and Amazon. But such sellers ruin it. it is only reliable to buy Xiomi devices over there. Whereas, global brands such as HTC, Nokia, Apple seems to be fake. Anyway, I am going to wait one more day and see fairness and support level of AliExpress management team over its customers against such a fraudulent seller.
Will update you all with the results.
Cheers,
Ziya
Sounds good Ziya. I had the same experience with electronics. Best of luck and hope you get your money back.
I also faced with such a trick. BeyondTech is fake fraud seller. They list and sell stolen and refurbished phones as new. many people just don’t realize that it isn’t new. Nowadays, I found too many people posting negative feedbacks to BeyonTech store. Everybody’s complaints are same: phone is not new! it is strange that why AliExpress does not punish and closes this fake seller? If AliExpress keeps supporting such fraud sellers, then they don’t have any chance against eBay.
Thanks Todd for such a detailed guidance on purchase from AliExpress. Stores like Beyond-Tech pushes me out from AliExpress.
You bet Ivanov, thanks for your feedback.
Hi, TODD.
Great review on Aliexpress, very helpful.
I wonder what will arrive if at all but you take your chances. There are so many fail-safe’s built into the system that I no longer worry so much. It takes time to develop an eye for what to expect from a seller. It’s important to look at all of the images provided as many products you receive are not necessarily what you see so view the pictures near the end of each item…that is where they might sneak in the actual picture. One important note…never let a seller resolve a problem outside of the dispute
Another best way to buy from aliexpress, First you have to search for Aliexpress coupon and then use that particular coupon during shopping
I threw my clothses away and thought I will try Aliepress. Used 1500euros to clothes. A few too small items and a few thatnever arrived and few defectetive. Overall moneyI lost is about 50euros. And the orders came almost all from different seller’s (not under95% positive feedback) I also mentioned my measurements.
One suit cost 50 euros and they even tailored on me. What you get for the money is not much the quality, but what a hell. I can buy 20 of those suits with same money. why to use same clothes year after year, Everything gets old these days before it gets broken. Cicle it and let them make you a new cheap one.
Hello,
Thank you for your helpful article. I was considering using Aliexpress, but now have some serious reservations. I wanted to ask if you know if working with the parent company Alibaba.com is any better? One of the two offers products that are shipped from US warehouses and I wondered if that might still a viable option. If the customer service still originates overseas thought, it may not be any better. Thank you, Joy
No Joy,
I think of Alibaba as a better experience than Aliexpress. You can still find knockoffs on Alibaba, but the intention is to find a manufacturer to build your own brand of product.
I did a couple orders with Alibaba to find my suppliers. You still need to vet each supplier, but Alibaba does have an escrow service that you can use to protect yourself during the first order when you’re testing out a supplier.
Best,
Todd
hi , i ordered about 70 things right now , iphone replacement parts , screen protectors , keyboards , iphone cable , an expensive watch and a big number of generic prducts. I received everything , not a single item have been lost or not sent . Maybe i had luck , i dont know.. The support is awesome because even if you have no problem with your orders you can fake a problem (for example : i bought a freaking expensive watch with saphire glass [was actual real saphire , i tested it ] , i said there was a strange noise coming from the watch and that the time was not working , i recorded a video faking the problem and it worked , they just refunded me 350 dollars instead of 359.. they said that the brown leather band was still usable . Of course i accepted , i paid an expensive watch automatic with saphore 9 dollars lol)
I buy online a lot. After seeing that AliExpress promoted international shipping – I ordered about 30 items from different sellers in August 2016 to be delivered to me in Berlin, Germany. Only 3 items arrived!!!
I was told to wait long after delivery times posted came / went – giving the missing items until December to show up. In December, I complained and started asking for refunds – with proof in the tracking showing the items never were even allowed in Germany and were returned to the sellers.
So does AliExpress return the money for the all items I never received? No. Instead, they terminated my account so that I could no longer even be able to make a claim for refunds.
They sited a policy that said nothing specifically other than accounts can be terminated on their whim / will – and I did nothing but ask for refunds for items never received – which was backed up by the tracking info on the site itself. AliExpress may not have customs issues elsewhere – but it certainly should never falsely claim they can ship to (thus sell to) German buyers.
I have never experienced such a scam website before. Never buy from AliExpress – they are a scam.
I will now be taking this situation to my credit card company. I will also be writing posts about my experience in as many places as I can this weekend to try to help other avoid losing their money like I did. This is the first time I ever bought anything that was not delivered – let alone approx 27 items that were not delivered.
Sounds like par for the course for Aliexpress. Sorry to hear of your experiences, thanks for sharing though to help others.
Cheers,
Todd
I had the exact same thing happened to me. I like to know if it worked out for you and the credit card company.
Note They tend to do this on the big sales.
the same situation here , but with motherboards. even now i have 2 disputes on there fucking web site
https://dimm.me/asus-k53sa
screen with dispute – https://dimm.me/upl/?h=ffok
if you want you can add this screen to your story.
That’s cool, thanks for your feedback.
I was recently abused by an Aliexpress.com store called Colorfulstar-A ( https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1473586?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.vlZZbh ) and I’m still trying to get my money back.
I ordered sandals, the seller sent sandals that were several sizes to small. I uploaded proof they were not the correct size. They said they will send the correct size after I return ship the ones they sent and then closed the dispute when I hadn’t agreed to the terms.
As you know, shipping from the USA to China is a minimum of $24 USD using USPS, which is more than the price I paid for the sandals and the seller knows no one in their right mind would spend more money than they already lost. It would be cheaper to just buy another pair on Amazon.com, where you are less likely to be scammed.
Basically, a seller on Aliexpress.com can send you anything in the mail and then ask you to return it, knowing you won’t. They get the money, and it seems that Aliexpress.com doesn’t care.
I asked a friend from China what the sandals would cost in China, they said under $4 USD. I’m already out about $17 USD and with return shipping it will bring it to over $40 USD for a cheap pair of sandals.
I only just decided to give Aliexpress.com a try and they’re showing they don’t care if buyers are scammed when all they have to do is refund the order cost and not pay the scammer.
Has anyone here tried reporting Aliexpress.com scams to law enforcement, customs, the credit card companies, and banks? I feel like Aliexpress.com is being dishonest with their buyer protection claims. I guess that is my next step if the money isn’t refunded soon.
I’m willing to forgive Aliexpress.com, but they have to be harsh with sellers that don’t send the product that was purchased and then abuse the dispute process.
Sounds pretty standard per my experience unless you have a good relationship with a seller. Aliexpress is horrible in babysitting their sellers.
Thanks for your feedback.
Great Article Todd
I just wanted to put out there that in Any business there are scams and scammers. The Dropship game is no exception by far.
The biggest problem I see is everyone runs into drop shipping blind or with little research with the focus being on the money to be made. That said, this is how so many people fall prey to scams or low quality products.
I do drop shipping as well as wholesaling in the USA. Everyone is so fast to call Aliexpress bad and their products fake. Although there are some on there that are fake some are not. What they are is rejected items or poor quality items that the Retailer (who has someone in China inspecting these products) refused. Not saying once again that there are not factories producing fakes.
I am lucky enough to have a friend in China that his business is to consult with factories for retailers around the world and negotiate the manufacturing of products for these Brand name Companies and retailers. The thing I am seeing here is people are forgetting that most of the Brand Name products are Made in China.
China and other countries that produce goods for companies usually do not destroy rejected goods and then sell them to companies that then end up on sites like Aliexpress and the wish app,etc.
I am lucky as my friend has guided me and let me know which produce fakes and which dont. His advice on many times has saved me money and time.
That helps me Alot on figuring out which stores on Ali or any other similar site is good or not. The rest then is up to me on talking with the store owners and getting them on the phone or skype,etc. But I am a business so i buy differently than most.
The first thing I do after talking with a Store is I order a Little of a product im interested in and inspect the materials and the quality. I may even hand out samples and have people tell me what they think. Then my decision is made yes or no. Usually the good stores have a good relation with the factories and sometimes can get a flaw fixed and offer you a better product.
if you are just buying for yourself then all i can say is research that product you want to buy. See if it is actually made in China or somewhere else. As a wholesaler also I have learned that in the USA companies that manufacture their products in the USA have to have licenses to do so. That makes it easy to find out. When i first started I looked on the tags of a Product i was interested in to see where it was made,then the search went from there.
I am sorry this turned out so long but in ending i just want to say to possible new drop shippers…..You cant totally complain i you just jump in without reading All terms and if You DO NOT do Your research.
As for personal buying for yourself….a little research and listening to your gut instinct should help.
Personally my stats with Aliexpress due to my research and due diligence is at about a 98% success rate and I Always get compensated (due to relations with store) for bad products. My companies consumer complaints or refunds is at an astounding 1%(That means 99% Happy and Repeat Customers) which equals Making more than I lose.
for the rest of my business I go directly to the manufacturer.
Thanks and Good Luck to all who Bravely venture into this Business.
Thank for the feedback Robert, much appreciated. Todd
Dear I used AliExpress recently and it is full of fraud and scam people.
But if you are lucky you can get good deals there also.
One of my orders was ok and other one was like a day light robbery and AliExpress will not help you they will ask you evidence and when you give evidence they will ask more evidence and then nothing.
That’s the way it goes Sajjad with Aliexpress. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Robert, after days of research attempting to educate myself before jumping into dropshipping, I found your comment in a sea of confusion. If you happen to see this and feel inclined, I would greatly appreciate any direct advice you can give me. I’m not operating with very much money. But I know I need to establish a relationship with trustworthy manufacturers before I can scale. It’s a shot in the dark, but I’m doing my best, if you can help my at all, my email is TopherJamesMusic @ gmail .com
Bought an item recently..seller gave fake EMS tracking and item never arrived. AliExp can read communication between me and seller, but play dumb of the fake EMS. If you go to trustpilot website review on AE.. you will see many other cases mentioning their dispute process is a scam.. AE dispute complaint is just to make you feel something is working.. but in fact, it is to scam you as AE doesn’t really care if the seller gave you fake EMS tracking number. The reason why AS didn’t use PayPal, is too obvious. FILE a charge dispute with your card issuer to get your money back. Do not use fake AE dispute process. Too many cases have been reported for AE
Thanks Joe, sounds pretty much like standard behavior for Aliexpress. Absolute shit customer service and zero care for customer satisfaction.
Cheers,
Todd
I agree, I lost a lot of money with Aliexpress.
I agree,as of now I have had filed the complaints/dispute each of my order like one by one, they stamp 925 silver each of the items but in Reality are made of other materials to fake the 925 silver.The seller claimed his/her self as just the sales worker after I did not agree with his/her offer.The sad thing is the buyer protections are just for the seller,not for the buyers because once you upload your evidence the system always busy and it says try again later,I’ve successfully uploaded other evidence but it seems they don’t bother to watch the video instead they closed the dispute and said no evidence found.I tried uploading other evidence again and again until feel annoyed and give up, I lost my $200.I don’t know how these dishonest people could sleep tight?
AliExpress is a total SCAM. I ordered two lamps for a total of $226. Both were shabbily made, defective, broken and stained. They offered me two options: 1) accept a refund of $48; 2) return the items for a full refund. The catch on option two is shipping from the US back to China costs more that the items themselves, and they know this!
These people are nothing but thieves, pure and simple. If you buy from them and get burned like I did, you have no one to blame but yourself.
DO NOT buy anything from AliExpress! Never!
That’s the conclusion I came too as well Jay. Thanks for sharing your Aliexpress experience on our Aliexpress review.
That’s a great way to get the word out.
Cheers,
Todd
If you are interested in some replic products like shoes or clothes contact with this supplier by whatsapp or check his website.
Hi Guille,
Please don’t spam my website. Thanks
There are plenty of stories about buyers being scammed by the merchants listed various Chinese online directories. AliExpress.com does not turn a blind eye to such scams, but there are limitations to what they can do in order to help victims of fraud
Scam #1 Delivery of damaged or defective items;
Must say that the most difficult issue I personally had and have with Aliexpress.com is Quality Control and Refunds/Returns. Before buying anything I usually look at the Seller Rating and read Feedback about the seller and the product, but most of the time it’s impossible to tell if it’s accurate. In my situation the merchant (Battery #1 Shop (Shenzhen Herculesi Co., Ltd) has been in business for a long time changing the old store to the new one, after getting a low percentage of the Positive Feedback at the old store. All together, by me estimation, they have changed 3 (three) stores. The store manager Mrs. Tina Zhang of the (Battery #1 Shop (Shenzhen Herculesi Co., Ltd) lying and misleading person. Gives you a run around, no technical support, no answers for days. What I am trying to say THIS IS A SCUM but there are limitations to what Aliexpress.com can do against it.
I have been buying on Aliexpress for a few years now and I have to say that I have had problems (e.g. fake, poor quality, defective, etc) for about 95% of all my items. I almost always get a full or partial refund.
But I just bought 2 batteries for my Macbook pro and they were 60% of the advertised capacity and now the seller just denies it and wont give me a refund. I thought the Dispute center would side with me but they claim that there is no way to confirm the battery I have is the one they sent.
I can say that the arbitration process is a complete joke.
The only advice I can give. Buy on Aliexpress only if you are prepared to deal with a lot of hassle, mediocre/poor products and assume that you will lose some money somtimel
Buyer beware. The store is called ‘E-electricity’
Hi,
I’ve been ordering stuff on AliExpress for about a year now. To me it’s expectable (taking the prices in account) that they sell counterfeits and that they have poor (or better said no) quality control. Actually the quality control is the only difference between buying China made products in shops or on AliExpress. In shops the bad items are filtered out, on AliExpress not.
I’m buying a lot of electronic components from AliExpress, because the price is about ten times lower than in local shops (in Croatia). Even if there would be a 20% failure rate (it’s closer to some 1%), it’ would still a very big saving.
I must say that I’m less satisfied with other types of products, like textile and toys. Their quality (in my experience) is very low and often the material is different than that stated in the ad.
Greetings,
Rutger.
In the course of 1 year on AliExpress I’ve made more purchases than my eBay and Amazon account combined. Yes it is true, there are a LOT of scammers there, but that is not to say there isn’t good sellers there. Of my 500+ orders to date, about 20% have been bad experiences. Of those 20% (132) of the 500, I only lost 5% (7) where I didn’t get a full refund or any refund at all.
For stuff like memory cards, that is a hit and miss. I found one seller who sold generic unbranded cards I wanted and knowing they were generics I took the chance. Of the five 32Gb cards and six 16Gb cards I purchased, two of the 32Gb card had problems but none of the 16Gb cards had any problems. They were all class 10 as advertised but the two 32Gb cards kept unmounting themselves randomly in my devices. The seller demanded video proof this was happening even though I said I would pay to send them back at my own cost to get a full refund. Seller kept insisting video proof or no refund. But how to make a video of a random occurring event?
In another instance I purchased size 12US mens shoes directly from the manufacturer’s store on AliExpress. They sent nice shoes in only 4-days (free DHL Shipping) but under the, “12” sticker crudely placed on the shoe’s tongue was the number “8”. I demanded a full refund but AliExpress arbitration insisted I only get 30% refund because they did actually send something even if it was the wrong size which they kept insisting was the correct size.
Don’t even bother with the, “report item”, link as its criteria is a joke. Fakes, lies or misleading information are not punishable nor grounds to send in reports.
I purchase a lot of generic camera equipment and accessories and in one incident an accessory I wanted had contradicting information which I asked the seller directly for confirmation. The ad specified 1/4″ threads, and even the text on the picture specified 1/4″ threads, but the item description read, 3/8″ threads. So I asked the seller to confirm it was 1/4″ and not 3/8″. The seller confirmed it was 1/4″, so why did they send 3/8″. AliExpress arbitration failed and I didn’t even get any refund because the sellers ad did mention 1/4″ and the seller themselves confirmed it to be 1/4″ but I showed a picture proof of a calibration device showing the measurement was really 3/8″ which was also mentioned in the ad.
Those are the only two major blunders where I had losses on AliExpress, but overall I’m 80% happy with my purchases on AliExpress. Happy enough to continue purchasing… heck I just placed an order this week for $160.
p.s. ePacket estimated delivery dates are a joke – I paid for ePacket which claimed 16-26 days to my country. After 49 days the item was still stuck in delivery – why because the seller mis-declared the item so ePacket holds such packages until they show up to declare it properly. I’ve tried ePacket option a dozen times now and of the 12+ times, only once did an item show up in the estimated delivery schedule.
I ordered a watch worth 11.77 $,
And I received nothing till date but tracking system at aliexpress shows it delivered.
What the Hell, And Seller asking for proof that delivery not taken place, such illogical excuses, how can i prove that product is not delivered to me..
And Seller himself do not have any proof that product is delivered to me..
GF of my brother had same issue with aliexpress.
they even dont give refunds.
These all are thieves and Thugs and never ever buy anything from them, especially in India
Todd,
Great article, excellent summary of AliExpress’s lack of customer service, buyer protection, settlement of disputes , etc. First learned of AliExpress early this year when came across an internet article on consumer fraud, so knew pretty much what to expect.
I offer these comments as a counter-balance to all the grief others have encountered. I order items only for my own use, always from seller with 5 star rating who has been in business for more than 3 years and has sold more than 100 of the items in question. Order only items that ship free to Korea and sell for less than $15.
Have been buying from AliExpress for five months now – usually less than $40.00 per month; use a separate credit card for purchases only from them, and never keep a balance in that account for more than $20 above the charges to the card. This seems to be working, as have received every item ordered, have been generally satisfied with the quality, and have had only one glitch – seller send wrong item. When notified of their mistake, they told me to keep that item and immediately sent a replacement.
So, have had no serious problems to date. Also have another positive experience worth commenting on. Ordered an item from a dealer in the States that was advertised as ‘Made in USA’, but which some internet forums claimed was made in China. The $38 item worked for one day, then failed because of a construction flaw. Notified the seller in the States and received no response, so searched for a similar item on the AliExpress website. Found what appeared to be an identical item offered from about a dozen or so different sellers for prices ranging from $5.00 to $25.00, so ordered one for $6.00.
When received, compared it to the one purchased from States and found only three minor differences – different color, no logo, and improved construction to eliminate the flaw found in the original purchase from the States. Have been using it for several months now, with no problems. As the website in the States also offered a ‘top of the line’ improved ‘Made in USA’ model for $80, searched for one on AliExpress and again found what appeared to be an identical item offered for prices ranging from $10.00 to $45.00.
Ordered a $10 item and again, am completely satisfied. It is, in fact, a great improvement over the original model, and I use it weekly. Have about a dozen items currently on order and have fingers crossed, as laws of probability would seem to indicate I should be having some product problems by now. If that should happen, will contact you again with details.
Thanks Jas for your feedback on our Aliexpress review as well as your personal experience. It’s a bit of a guessing game and depends on what you buy from Aliexpress. Glad you’re not having too many problems.
You know, the way you write, you should look into creating a niche based affiliate website. You’ve got the gift of gab and can clearly write. If you want to learn more, click here to see how I got started and how you can do the same. It might be right up your alley if you have any desire to make an online business.
Cheers,
Todd
WHERE WERE YOU ON APRIL 1,2015 WHEN I FIRST STARTED ORDERING FROM ALIEXPRESS ? I NOW DON’T FEEL AS BAD FOR MY LOSES ( $200) AND YOU WERE DEALING WITH AMERICANS BUYERS, I WAS BUYING FOR MYSELF.AS HELEN KELLER QUOTED,”I CRIED BECAUSE I HAD NO SHOES UNTIL I MET A MAN WHO HAD NO FEET” YOUR POST HELP ME FEEL BETTER. THANK YOU, ALICE
That’s great Alice, thanks for your feedback, happy to help and don’t feel too bad. It happens to the best!
Todd
I bought items for around $7.000 Canadian dollars and the items I was buying were all electronics.I was buying SD card, memory sticks, ps3 games, cell phones, everything I got was fake SD cards that did not work, the memory sticks where 2 Gb instead of 16gb the ps3 games where burned cds, no covers no nothing I lost $7.000 I was trying to buy in small quantities but they kept pushing me to buy more because it will save me more money and will be cheaper for them to send.
Now ever since this happen I never will go to Aliexpress plus I got some threats towards me they said we know where you live because I had my home address for shipping so I even got threats and they keep calling me and kept sending me emails to buy more and more I hate that Website. I think everything they sell Is fake and you will just loose your money – take my advice and stay a way from Aliexpress.
Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your story about working with Aliexpress. I’d report the sellers to Aliexpress and see if that helps. Just spam their emails and you’ll be fine.
Live and learn. If you’re interested in making money online, you should check out how I make money online every single day.
Cheers,
Todd
I often buy from Aliexpress and all I have had was good experiences. But, you really have to dig through the site to find a good seller and a cheap price. The quality of the products sold is not the best but for the money- value it’s OK. I bought clothes – honestly, I saw better than that. And I did.
Bought one dress, took the pattern and saw it by myself- so it was worth it. The silver jewelry is fake of course, but still very pretty. Cell phone cases– excellent quality. Tools- poor quality, but still you can find something that’s worth the money.
I ordered some parts for sewing machines- work great, excellent quality- even got an original part for Janome machines- cost a bit more, but still cheaper than here. I’m from Europe, takes two weeks to get here, max 20 days.
The shipping- tracking numbers are not detectable but parcels still get here. Im asuming they they use non tracking shipping methods for cheaper shipping. I never ordered more than 50$ per order, as I decided never to spend more than I can regret loosing.
So- really dig for good deals, buy for yourself, put small orders so you don’t feel sorry if you loose your money, don’t buy stuff that can brake, don’t buy electronics. The money you save buying on Aliexpress, spend on good electronics back home.
Hi Sanja,
Thanks for your words of wisdom and that seems to be pretty much the same experience I have had. Skip electronics, stick to cell phone cases, etc. Great advice for our readers.
Best,
Todd
Just wandering if anyone has ordered anything from this site paid but order has been cancelled by them? i ordered a prom dress for my daughter on 21st march 2016, i the payment for aliexpress went out on 29th march along with a purchase and a transaction fee so i had been waiting for my item but something told me to check my emails, it said my order was cancelled for non payment, and they have no payment when i clearly sent them a screen shot of my bank transaction that it had been paid for, im getting nowhere with them does anyone have any advise or have i lost my money?
TIA
Hi Donna, I’d take your emails and receipts and report Aliexpress to your bank or credit card as fraud. Let them open an investigation and you have all the documentation. They’ll refund your money and go after Aliexpress legally.
You could try their arbitration system, but we all, or at least I know, that’s BS even when you do have the proof.
Thanks,
Todd
Aliexpress example scam and dispute joke:
1.https://kn3.net/61FA0F0679CJPG.html
2.https://kn3.net/61806F834B5JPG.html
3.https://kn3.net/6137B6EDCC6JPG.html
4.https://kn3.net/613906D5BA3JPG.html
Thanks Evan, reminds me when I used to use Aliexpress and record my transactions that went bad, and there were a boat load of them.
Best,
Todd
Aliexpress sells nothing but fakes, doesn’t mean you can’t find something of value though. Excellent review of Aliexpress.
Good work
Much appreciated Ron, thanks for the feedback on our Aliexpress review.
Best,
Todd
Really great review of Aliexpress Todd, very thorough and thanks for sharing your personal experience with this company. It helps clarify all my questions.
You’re welcome Steve.
Found your well written article after googling for “Aliexpress Arbitration”.
My experience with it had been okay, about 10% of orders are non-deliveries that get refunded as sellers had no objections. Except now I got a $1 item, yes, $1 item gone missing and the seller refused to settle and tried to scam me with a fake tracking number that was to a wrong address. Even after posting the post office evidence, their arbitration team shockingly sided with the seller. This is my first time dealing with their arbitration and as you wrote, it is a joke and a eye-opener! Don’t think there is a human being over there actually reviewing the case at all. I’ll be very wary of buying anything more than few bucks. This scam of using a valid tracking number but to a different (not your) address is win-win for those fraudulent sellers.
Hi Kent, I know your frustration, it sucks dealing with most Aliexpress sellers.
Not sure if you’re buying Aliexpress knockoffs for yourself personally or to sell retail. If you’re trying to make an online business for you, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
I make money online by helping people by creating niche sites about things that I’m into. I learned to build the foundation to my online business, rank content quickly, and develop sites that generates 500 – 1000 new visitors daily that are searching things they’re interested in using Google. And the cool thing about it, is that once you get it developed, you can make money online while 24/7, even when you’re sleeping – it’s a pretty cool thing.
If you want to learn more, click here.
Best,
Todd
Awesome review of Aliexpress and all the fake products they sell on their website. Not a brand name there but advertised as such.
Thanks for the feedback Mark on our Aliexpress Review.
Best,
Todd
I’d just like to say I used to shop with an Australian boho designer store where the garments were pushing $500 for a nylon/rayon dress etc and the workmanship was probably up there with the worst. I found Aliexpress oneday by chance and have been shopping with them ever since and I’ve had nothing but outstanding items from the sellers I’ve found everything was made well, natural fabrics etc
I think I’ve personally found worse sellers and buyers on eBay, after closing my eBay store I’ve never been happier! I think it’s just luck on who you shop with, not all on Aliexpress are bad.
Awesome, thanks for your feedback working with Aliexpress.com. I too had some good experiences, just know there are no brand names being sold on Aliexpress.
Best,
Todd
Hi Todd,
I was just looking for some advice regarding Aliexpress and found your article. I also wanted to make a business based on this, but first spent 3-4 days just experiencing the whole site.
It is easy to navigate as you mentioned above, but it full with errors too. The site itself from the side of the provider is poorly managed and not up to date in many cases. Maybe on purpose. Aliexpress even goes against its own terms and conditions because they leave a lot loopholes or bugs in the system, I believe to support the sellers.
For example it says you can only leave a feedback if you purchased the product but most of the reviews are from buyers with A0 ( no purchase history at all). A site like this which advertise full customer protection should not allow anything like this.
Also many of the feedback, like 10-20 feedback statements in a row have been posted just minutes differences from one another, and they are rating the product 5 stars. I bet there is a nice loophole there to push your ratings up by yourself.
Aliexpress is aware of complaints against their sellers and disputes regarding their service, but they take no action. The whole system is built on the biggest marketing loophole that has ever existed and it employs half of their country too.
If we would not buy their cheap replicas, they would start starving. The whole economy built on this concept. We just have to decide if we are willing to take the risk and maybe get fooled or just leave them and not support this kind of service.
Great points Blaze about working with and using Aliexpress. I personally decided not to use them. It’s been over a year and a half and I’d prefer to support honest businesses.
Thanks for your feedback on our Aliexpress review. As I said in the review, buyer beware!
Cheers,
Todd
Hey Todd,
So I only got one thing from Alliexpress and it was the worst thing to get, a phone. I only hear bad things but I have not received it and on top of that, after I paid for it, the seller messaged me that it had just gone out of stock – ugh. Yeah so I had to pick another one and it is still in processing …. But what do you think about Wish I have got a lot of things from them and they seen like they are honest.
Hi Nicole,
Any online retailer that’s offering huge discounts is most likely selling knock-offs. I haven’t hear of Wish, so I can’t say anything about them. Just realize if it seems to good to be true, it most likely is.
Thanks for leaving your feedback about Aliexpress.
Todd
Hello thank you for your review of Aliexpress, I only buy personal things from Aliexpress and still have problems on it, I got a broken phone cover so I opened a dispute after the seller asked me to glue it.
He asked me to close the dispute and he’ll send it again but without a tracking number so I think that was just a fraud, I am glad it’s not a big amount of money cuz seems I am not gonna be refunded or resend me the cover.
Anyway I’ll leave a feedback explaining exactly what happened with photos of the cover and the msgs with the seller for other buyers to be aware of that fraud seller even he has a good amount of positive feedback.
And I am still waiting for lots of gadgets to arrive cuz it’s taking more or less of two months for goods to arrive in my country.
Hi Maha,
Thanks for your feedback working with Aliexpress. Yeah, that’s pretty much the status quo when working with sellers from Aliexpress.
However, you should consider closing the dispute and seeing if he’ll re-send you a new phone cover. Many of them are just trying to avoid the bad seller feedback. I had one seller that I work a lot with and he would do this. Sometimes he’s just pay me back my purchase price via PayPal.
So talk with him and see if he’d do something like that. The worst thing that happens is nothing gets resolved and your out the little money for the case.
Cheers,
Todd
Thank you todd??
You bet Maha, thanks
Todd
Hey Todd, so you could live practically anywhere and you chose Medellin, the place with the most beautiful girls in the world. That sounds about right.
Have you been over to cartagena or margarita?
btw just ordered a lamp on aliexpress they blocked transaction because of differing billing/shipping address. Now they want copy of passport and actual card. thats too much
Hey Bran,
Aliepress does that in some locations, pain in the ###. Yeah, I chose Medellin for the spring like climate, beautiful women, great culture, friendly people, beautiful mountains, and lots of good friends that I made along my journey.
Highly recommended. I have been to Cartagena several times, but never hit Margarita, there’s always more traveling trips that I’ll want to do in Colombia. All over S. America as well. You should put Rio on your bucket list.
Safe travels and thanks for commenting on our Aliexpress Review.
Salud,
Todd
Hello, my name is Damon, I need your advice on something, I bought a gold chain and a medallion from Aliexpress.com, I would like to know if they are scamming my because the first time I tried to buy it they said that my debit card company hasn’t released the funds so I had to buy it again, here’s the link to the chain and the medallion :
(link removed for SEO purposes).
Hi Damon,
I certainly wouldn’t buy any type of jewelry online from Aliexpress, especially when you know how many fake products the place delivers. What am I saying, this is all that Aliexpress sells, fake products. Not one single product they have is a real brand name product.
It’s buyer beware.
Thanks,
Todd
I was pretty interested in your feedback. I in fact buy a lot of jewelry on this site due to the prices. I am aware now that what I’m buying as for rings are knockoffs.
I can get a ring for $15.00 but saw a USA company selling exact same ring for $1800.00. I didn’t know if it was a knockoff or a USA company was ripping people off(I know it happens).
I DO NOT advertise these rings as a brand so I’m safe in breaking any laws as far as I know. I appreciate the feedback, especially as a small business owner.
I have to admit most rings I’ve received they were in good quality so I’m pretty happy with them. 925 sterling silver chains on the other hand I don’t recommend because they turn even just sitting on my nightstand.
Great story, glad I stumbled upon it.
Hey Nicki,
Thanks for your feedback on our Aliexpress Review. I think if you’re not breaking copyright laws then your OK. I’d also consider advertising that the product is not a brand name product.
If you have any pictures from the internet that are the property or are from the brand name dealer, that’s copyright infringement. Also watch out for any patent names or parts that are part of the jewelry.
If people know what they’re getting, then you’ll be fine. I would imagine you would have more customer returns to deal with than if you were selling brand name products.
I personally think that this type of business model is OK, it can be fast cash but generally doesn’t lead to a long term business model. I instead like affiliate marketing.
Once you understand how to target your niche audience through content that gets ranked in Google, you can sell any brand name product you like without ever dealing with customer returns or investment.
It takes some initial time to invest in developing your site and content, but the long term payoff is awesome. I have posts that I wrote a year ago that still produce me income on a daily basis.
To get started with something like this requires the right kind of education, and for that, my #1 ranked training program works great. Very effective training for less than $1 dollar/day. Try finding an education like that in a college/university.
Thanks,
Todd
Hi Todd. I don’t think for my price that any ring I sell is brand. I have some pretty smart customers. Lol. I am a very small business, I’m not supporting my family 100% on this, it’s just something I’ve enjoyed doing.
I hand-make probably 75% of my products but have to buy other stuff rings etc.. Because people want them and I don’t make them so I have to please everyone. I have a huge (to me) big and positive customer following and having no issues so far.☺ I actually am in school for business management and entrepreneurship so thanks for the tip.
Cool Nicki, sounds like you’ve got a good handle on your business. Thanks for your feedback on Aliexpress and sharing with our readers how you use them to assist your current business.
When you’re ready to build an online presence and need to build traffic to your products, check out the friendly folks at Wealthy Affiliate, they’ll guide you through the process to bring tons of traffic to your jewelry.
Best,
Todd
Well, first of all, I should say that your SEO person works great and the article is pretty detailed! I was looking for something else when I came across that article and my eyes were glued to the screen for quite a while.
I am just wondering who would buy any serious electronics on Aliexpress or who would look for any ‘brand’ items there?
How would the ‘brand’ item cost so cheap and how would it be delivered from China without a distributor on other countries?
Aliexpress is a platform for items of the Chinese mass-production and nothing more.
The idea that an item from Aliexpress will be 100% authentic/with no defects or that it will last long sounds a bit naive, no offence.
On the top of that, I find that the word ‘scam’ is a bit an exaggeration in most of the cases with Aliexpress, except for the case when you never were notified on the shipping of the purchased item and when the seller doesn’t want to give you a full refund, just the same with the situation as described in the article.
When people say ‘scam’ too frequently, I guess they should look up for the meaning of this word in a dictionary.
You cannot expect neither a super high quality service, nor a super high quality good from Aliexpress sellers, because most of the sellers do not even speak English (and the Chinese characters when writing them a DM are not allowed, d’oh! ) and they have never studied any proper eCommerce or business.
In fact, having an online store on some platform such as Taobao (in mainland China) or Aliexpress is a sorta national Chinese hobby.
When it comes to clothes, the Chinese sizes are 1-2 sizes smaller than EU/US sizes, please consider that. Quite the same with the shoes. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing any electronics as the Chinese electronics yet is not that good (saying that as a person who’s been living in China for quite a while). I would not recommend purchasing any skincare/beauty products there as well.
Only small nice cheap items and non-techy things can be purchased there without any risk. Probably, it’s much more logical to create a wish list and ‘hunt’ for a particular item on sales.
As for business purchases, probably the better option is Alibaba market, as far as I am concerned, it is aimed for these purposes. Still, yet this is not the best place for purchasing tech items.
Before making a purchase, you can also ask the seller about the purchasing terms and conditions.
Don’t forget to check whether the same item could be purchased cheaper, or that the price for the item isn’t too suspiciously low. It can take a while, but you can dig out some really nice stuff.
Another thing is…logistics and shipping. Maybe it is much better in the States, but for the rest of the world logistics and delivery is screwed on soooo many levels. If that’s a large or fragile item, don’t hesitate and choose a more secure delivery method.
Just wanted to share some ideas.
Cheers,
Sophie.
Thanks Sophie for your in depth perspective and feedback about our Aliexpress review. You offer some great advice and suggestions.
Cheers,
Todd
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 $421.00, all due to AliExpress failures to protect their buyers. DO NOT purchase anything through AliExpress. There is a very good chance you will lose your money and own a worthless piece of trash .
Hi PJ,
Thanks for your feedback on my Aliexpress review and personal experience working with them. Friends reading this post, this comment is about as spot on as you can get when you have problems dealing with Aliexpress, it’s a selling platform that protects the fraudulent sellers and cares nothing about the buyers experience.
Better to just go to Amazon or eBay and make sure you don’t get products from their 3rd party sellers but from the original brand name vendors.
Sorry about your loss PJ, I went though the same thing and lost several hundreds of dollars myself so I feel your pain.
Todd
Glad to see a place for me to express my anger. I had been a victim after shopping at Aliexpress a few months ago. I asked for refund without success when the seller sold me a dead laptop battery. Complaint was made and proof of videos was provided but Aliexpress did not investigate my claim seriously. I will never shop at Aliexpress again. Buyers BEWARE!! Date: October 19, 2015
I hear ya Ming all too well. I had very similar experiences and the bottom line with Aliexpress is that you get what you pay for. You should never buy electronics from this knock-off dealer.
Thanks for your comment on my Aliexpress review, the more comments the more we expose the scams that use this platform to sell their shabby products.
Todd
I decided to order about 100 items totaling about 500$ on Aliexpress. Some clothing, mostly things like stickers, small trinkets, toys, bags and lingerie.
I must say my experience has been 90% positive, 1/10 needed action, but they were often less than 5$ items, and sellers accepted 2-4$ refunds dependent of if it was usable.
These were all cheap items, and I got what I was looking for. I think it can be okay for costumes if you’re expecting so so quality, but I would never by full out electronics.
Sorry to hear about the memory cards, I ordered 2 8gb Kingston cards, and they are legit and work amazingly. I may have lost about 10-25$ in the end, but I’m happy with the cheap products.
I think you really need to know that they are going to be cheap. And if you’re okay with that, then you’ll be happy.
Excellent summation of Aliexpress DI. That is about as perfect of summary as one could expect from working with Aliexpress. They have a lot of good sellers, lots of fair to good knockoffs and if you know this going into it, you’ll be OK.
I think you just need to check the supplier and avoid most electronics, certainly anything of high value and you’ll be OK. Thanks for your sympathy on the micro sd cards. All in all the majority of them worked fine, but if you had irreplaceable photos and they got erased, that would be a pain in the rear.
Thanks for your feedback on my Aliexpress review and have a great day,
Todd
This whole article just to promote Wealthy Affiliate?
Hi Shirley,
I wrote this article to educate people who are thinking of purchasing products on Aliexpress to warn them of the fake counterfeits that exist on their site.
At the same time, I educate people on making money online, so I promote honest educational products that help people who want to achieve that goal.
Wealthy Affiliate is the perfect place to start with. They will teach you all about internet marketing and how to build your first website.
Jaaxy helps people find and understand keyword phrases that people are searching online today that you can utilize to get fast rankings for that keyword phrase by writing quality content or providing quality video content.
Shopify helps people start eCommerce websites that are really cool.
Bring The Fresh also does a good job teaching internet marketing, but is not as complete of a program as Wealthy Affiliate.
Clickbank University is good for those that want to create their own info product, eBook, etc.
Aliexpress is good for buying cheap counterfeit products. Hope that clears things up for you.
Best,
Todd
There’s this bag I really want, and it’s from an overseas designer. It’s sold on both Yesstyle.com and Aliexpress.com. I know that Yesstyle is legitimate, but I have never heard anything about Aliexpress before i am lucky enough to read this article. The bag is $15 cheaper on Aliexpress, It’s the same product but different prices. Now you have made it very easy for me , just away from the fakes.
Hi Semino,
I’d be careful with both companies, I did a quick peak at YesStyle and it seems that they sell knockoffs/counterfeits as well.
Stick with eBay and Amazon and go with real suppliers that aren’t selling stuff directly from China.
Cheers,
Todd
I have a question! I recently made a purchase on AliExpress… long story short- I will NOT be purchasing off the website ever again. But what had initially drawn me to your article was the picture indicating in red the “refund amount”. When the price in red is indicated on the dispute and orders page, does that mean that IS the refund amount I should be receiving?
I am confused and upset, so hopefully you might be able to help out with that!
Thanks!!
Annabel
Hi Annabel,
Thanks for your comment and question on my Aliexpress Review. To answer your question, that is the refund amount that I requested because that was the total cost of the product and that was what was refunded I received to my credit card.
Once you file a dispute, you will get a decision from Aliexpress that looks like the photo in my review.
I feel you though, the suppliers there are scandalous and most of the time will fight the refund, then usually if you don’t have good documentation like photos or videos to prove the product was faulty, they’ll side on the suppliers.
It’s buyer beware at Aliexpress. Pain in the ### in my opinion.
Hope that helps and take care,
Todd
I read the AliExpress terms. Seems you can always go to the credit card company with the dispute, like they sent you a fake product, a defective product etc. And AliExpress will accept the Credit Card company decision.
I now have some brand name very cheap items on the way, and I am ready to call my bank. First tracking number delivered to postal code other end of the country. Now waiting for the rest.
I expect to get real products without the $50 worth of accessories that causes the complete pakcage to cost $100 more.
Hi P.
Thanks for your feedback on my Aliexpress Review. I don’t think you’ll be getting real brand name products from Aliexpress, but it sounds like you’ve got your back covered.
I purchased over 500+ products from them and not one of them was real. But I did get some good products. All in all, my defect rate was between 20% – 30%.
Thanks for the great advise about using your credit card company to back you up in case your products don’t come as you ordered – some of the sellers on Aliexpress are absolutely scandalous.
The moral of the story: buyer beware when working with Aliexpress – and to have a good backup plan like you’ve got.
Best of luck and take care,
Todd
Hi there.
You are spot on about electronics from Aliexpress. They really suck.. And when you receive anything in a bad condition, there is really not much to do about it. But as you say it is a good place to buy replica stuff.
Nice article, thanks.
BR
Aske
Hi Aske,
Thanks for your kind feedback on my Aliexpress Review, much appreciated. You know what’s funny, this morning I just received an email for a notice of a refund for a dispute I opened with Aliexpress over 18 months ago for a supposed Samsung 64GB Micro SD card. 18 months, can you believe that?
And here’s a testimony to the horrible customer service that Aliexpress offers. It’s impossible to contact a real person at Aliexpress and I now use a different credit card from when I made my original purchase, so there is no way to get my refund.
You can’t contact Aliexpress customer service to save your life. And at Aliexpress, they don’t accept any other way to refund the payment except via the original source of payment. In this case it was my old credit card. Now in order to get my money back, I have to fax Chase Credit Cards all this info so that they can send the money once they receive the refund rather than just imputing in a new credit card or giving them my PayPal account.
Aliexpress’s customer service is a joke.
Aske, I no longer will shop at Aliexpress.com due to numerous issues I’ve had with them. If you are going to buy something, I’d really do my homework and stick to bags and backpacks, things like that. Get to know the seller by asking questions.
I did get a really nice National Geographic camera backpack there that was of good quality.
Anyways, thanks again for stopping by and leaving your feedback on Aliexpress.
Have a great day,
Todd
Your blog post provides a plethora of useful information. I liked your infographics. Congrats on your success.
Keep it up! I have tried monetizing my own website and Aliexpress really working wonders for now. The only difference is that I use Aliexpress official program which is more useful for myself because I developed my own Aliplugin that is doing all the routine work for myself. We all use different tools, so the tasks that are simplified are also different, but the most important is to get the right results – passive affiliate income. The more – the better. Good luck with it!
Hi Craig,
Thanks for your kind feedback on my Aliexpress Review. It’s an interesting company in regards to the potential it can provide to eCommerce sites and internet marketers. For me personally, there are a lot of good products on Aliexpress and I’m truly fascinated by the widget you created to automate your business, but I’m not interested in working with companies that have high defect rates on their products. I’m not a fan of customer complaints or returns 🙂
But great to hear about your success and I’d love to see your website if you want to send me the link.
Best of luck to you and take care,
Todd
Very impressive article, Todd! I agree with Russ that you’ve written it brilliantly, with thorough research and first-hand experience that makes you completely credible.
I visited this page from your post about writing headings that capture the audience’s attention, and I’m so delighted to have stumbled upon you as a person of high intellect and integrity.
I’m wondering why the counter at the top of the article says “No Comments” when there are quite a few; perhaps there’s a setting that needs adjustment?
Also, one thing I think might be really valuable for the black and gold Summarized Overview would be to add that online marketers could find themselves in terrible legal trouble, as you pointed out in the article itself. I’m thinking of folks who might start reading, scroll down and see the black box summary, make a decision before reading the entirety of your incredible article, and not see the point about legal liability. What are your thoughts?
Thanks again for a great read and a job very well done! Gwynn
Hi Gwynn,
Thanks for your kind remarks about my Aliexpress review. That’s very kind of you.
The counter balance is being corrected, I just switched to a new theme by My Theme Shop and so I’m working out some bugs. I really like your suggestion to add the legal implications to the Summarized Overview. That would be excellent to help people avoid legal issues who are selling counterfeits, accidentally or not.
Many people are looking to work online, and drop-shipping products from sites like Aliexpress is very appealing, but unless you’re selling these fake products correctly, your not doing anyone any favors and potentially putting yourself at legal risk.
I’ll add your suggestion just as soon as I can. Thanks again and take care. Hope to see you again here at Learn To Grow Wealth Online.
Best,
Todd
Wow! This is fascinating. I had no idea this even existed. And after reading your review about Aliexpress, I’m kinda glad I didn’t! Thanks for the information, Todd.
Hi Judy,
I know, I was shocked when I learned how about Aliexpress, it’s a cool concept, but unfortunately it’s a system riddled with problems. How cool that there are real programs out there that help people without making them risk hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Take care,
Todd
Hi Todd, I purchased a new motherboard for my computer and it was perfect. Then I purchased four 1GB RAM circuit boards and voila. perfect again. On the other hand, one thing that I am noticing are deals that are too good to be true and they are fake sites. Aliexpress freezes them immediately upon notification so when you see something fishy, report it. I am waiting for some tablets to arrive and they were amazing deals. I wonder what will arrive if at all but you take your chances. There are so many fail-safe’s built into the system that I no longer worry so much. It takes time to develop an eye for what to expect from a seller. It’s important to look at all of the images provided as many products you receive are not necessarily what you see so view the pictures near the end of each item…that is where they might sneak in the actual picture. One important note…never let a seller resolve a problem outside of the dispute. For example, you buy a disputed item for $10 and they instead give you $10 off another item. You are guaranteed to have problems. Take the dispute to the arbitrators and have a third party provide documentation that you received garbage! Sometimes arbitrators are so busy, that you can tell that they didn’t read or understand the dispute. Go on chat and they will reopen the dispute again…and actually read it. Don’t complain, just do something about it! It takes time to understand the system but it truly is a great system.
Thanks for your helpful tips about shopping online with Aliexpress. I had one good supplier that would settle outside of the arbitration system, but he’d send me cash via PayPal.
Great information to post for our readers. Thank you.
Best,
Todd
Totally agree with you Todd. I have made about 120 purchases on the site in the past month and about 75% is good and 25% has a problem. I am guessing it is customary for them to bargain and take as much money as they can from you…they play the poor me card even knowing they are 100% at fault. I don’t roll over and I state that clearly in my dispute. If you can deal with the bs, you will find some great deals especially if you are looking for knockoffs but buyer beware.
Hi Sandie,
Sounds like you’ve got a lot of experience buying from Aliexpress. I would agree that the defect rate on their products are somewhere around 75% good, 25% bad. But I would avoid any of their electronic goods (computers, headphones, cell phones, etc) and stick with bags, backpacks, simple items. Products that are easy to reproduce. Thanks for your feedback on my Aliexpress Review and take care.
Todd
This morning I was all set to start my hand at drop shipping and was recommended Aliexpress as a wholesaler.
I just so happened across your page and well with a title like that I figured I better give this a read.
To make a long story short, Thank you for this information and about them and the so called “Brand Names” they offer.
You probably just saved me one big hassle not to mention the negative experience that would have went with it.
Thanks a lot,
Jason
Hi Jason,
You bet man, unless you’re into selling counterfeits or want a cheap knockoff for yourself, stay away. Glad this article helped steer you in the right direction. Thanks for letting me know as well.
Cheers,
Todd
This is a brilliant well researched article that covered the subject 100%. Having had limited experience in this area I was looking for further information on suppliers such as ‘Aliexpress’.
Todd, you’ve certainly given me a great insight into what I ‘nearly’ got involved with.
Thanks so much……..Excellent & Professional review!
Thanks Russ,
That’s really kind of you to say. Yeah, I worked with them deligently for 4+ months. I found some good suppliers who would work with me on returns, but I found their products were just too unstable. Too many returns, too many flakey suppliers. Affiliate marketing has so much more longterm potential. Thanks for coming by and have a Happy Friday.
Cheers,
Todd
Hi Todd,
very interestin article!
I would like to offer this 3D Blocks on my store and dropship them.
Do you think this will get me in trouble with disney or someone?
And if so, do you know if they just tell me to stop this or will they sue me with millions of dollars?
This is the product im talking about: (URL REMOVED – THIS IS SIMPLY BAD SEO, SORRY. THE URL LANDED ON ALIEXPRESS’S SITE FOR FAKE MICKEY MOUSE PRODUCTS)
thank you
Kutas
Hi Kutas,
Thanks for your feedback on our Aliexpress Review, much appreciated.
Whenever you are selling ANYTHING that has a copyright associated with it, and you sell it without the authorized permission of the owner, you can be held liable and be taken to court and have negative actions taken against you.
What most people don’t realize is that most anything can have a copyright/trademark associated with it. Brand names, features on the product, images, dolls like Mickey Mouse, etc.. So be careful. I know that in the case of selling fakes on Amazon, they’ll permanently suspend your account.
Most likely, you’d get a warning letter, take the product off your site, and go on your way. In general, selling knockoffs from Aliexpress or anywhere just isn’t a good long term plan to make money online. If this is what you’re determined to do, do it with no risk, little cost, and potentially limitless income potential. It does require hard work, but the reward’s are immense. Learn how I did it right here. And learn how long it will take you here!
Cheers,
Todd