I ordered a flashlight on Ali.
It was sent, the tracking showed in on the way. After some time I got a PM from the seller - they were told by the shipping company that the item is being returned to them and will never reach my door.
They want to refund me….but they want to do it on PayPal.
I see why they might prefer to wire the money on the side even if it’s actually somewhat risky to them. They’d rather avoid a dispute and the related loss of rating.
And I much prefer them going forward when issues appear instead of silently waiting and hoping that I forget about the package.
It doesn’t seem to be the usual “cancel the dispute first, we’ll pay you later” scam. If it is I’m not falling for that.
I know I should file a dispute. I would almost surely win. But at the same time I’d rather trade the “almost surely” to “money is in my pocket already” - and agree to their terms.
They are willing to cover the PP fees and wire a little more.
I’m not sure what are the fees. At least some fee calculators that I’ve seen are outdated and there seem to be regional differences as well. It seems to me that the amount is high enough.
Now…is there some risk for me?
Can they file a PP claim to get the money back? Can I prevent it somehow?
If they said they will refund you, tell them you accept their offer for a refund (Paypal, whatever), and ask for a timeframe for the refund to take place.
You should get the same amount of money you paid to them.
You have up to 180 days to file a dispute in Paypal if you paid through them.
As far as I know there are lists of “difficult customers” shared among Chinese companies. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ali acted different depending on customers reputation.
My reaction would be to try and accommodate the sellers needs if there is no evidence of foul play.
A lot of the sellers on Aliexpress are very small, so i see it as a transaction between individuals.
Also I’m pretty sure Aliexpress has most sellers on a short lease, dictating rules.
That is not nice and yet onother reason for me to try and accommodate the sellers specific needs.
They can try and get the money back through PayPal if its sent via friends and family they can create a claim. Then you still have the option to file a dispute on Aliexpress so it should be okay. Question is some one has to cancel the order on Aliexpress so who does it then?
Did you order batteries with the light?
You may also have the option to file a dispute with your credit card vendor and force a charge back?
I have been refunded a few times. You know, when you found out too late you clicked the wrong item.
Or when weeks go by and you still have no indication of the item being shipped.
Whenever I was refunded, it was always marked as such bij the seller.
So there was no doubt who was the original seller and who was the original buyer.
I hear there is a scam where people get refunded by a seller. By simply sending money back to them.
And then this seller opens a dispute, saying he never received the goods he was paying for.
But the legit seller will earmark his payment as a refund, and you are okay.
And PayPal knows this payment cannot be followed by a claim from either party.
