My U.S. based advice is whenever possible only place your orders through PayPal or such other. It’s a little extra cost but adds another layer of Buyer Protection besides the AliExpress offerings.
Be leary of placing larger $$$ orders until you really know the Seller.
IMO AliExpress needs to start better weeding out unscrupulous Sellers. If not they will lose most of my larger $$$ future ordering from here on out. Small $$$ stuff is another story.
One bad apple doesn’t necessarily mean the entire orchard is bad. But you should IMO consider that with these trade wars picking up steam there is a likelyhood that unscrupulous Seller shenanigans will also pick up steam. No hard evidence per se that this IS occurring but it’s conjecture based on recent personal experience.
Caveat Emptor anyway and at all times. :disguised_face:
That’s good. Really neither have I until recently.
But if ya think about it the ebb and flow of trade potentially getting disrupted by tariffs means that there’s a IMO higher probability that money in whatever form is gonna get tighter.
Just something I wanted to throw out there especially with bigger $$$ stuff.
I understand where you’re coming from. But Ali has been and will always be, a platform for me to buy cheap stuff. I have never spent more than $200 on a single transaction. Even if I do spend that $200 on a single item, I always make sure its a reputable seller. I never check out without checking up the store 1st
I have had several bad experiences myself with them in the past, I have bought several items that that either didn’t work or defective and they refuse to do anything about. I no longer shop with them at all for anything, it is same with Banggood tho also for me. I purchased a light off banggood several years ago, light came in with a defective led. Contacted them and was told they will send me an LED for to replace with, i told them I didn’t have the equipment or the knowledge at the time to do this and asked for a replacement head. They ignored all future responses from me and never sent anything
Not a bad topic to remember when making purchases in the time before the end-of-year holidays. Having Paypal’s protection or using a credit card that covers bad transactions is a good rule to follow. Paypal had my back a few different times with a few different sellers in the past and would have been out a decent sized chunk of change if I hadn’t.
I thought AE was great, only bought cheaper items. But in recent months I noticed more and more items not coming through. They have all these promotions and I believe some of them are automatic price adjustments? Or the seller tool is not that user-friendly?
I have purchased so many items recently on promotions and a good portion was never shipped or never came in. small items/prices, still a bit disappointed.
Shopping at Ali is like fishing.
Most of the time you catch good one’s and once in awhile when your not paying attention they drag your bait, fishing pole and reel down into the deep to never be seen again. :rage:
Ali had better get its fishing act together. 26,000+ BLF members alone may sound paltry small to big global outfits but that kind of thinking if it does indeed exist isn’t smart long term.
I have been ripped off by Aliexpress sellers several times an they almost never get me ANY KIND ofrefund. If they find in my favor, only returns are offered. Shipping from California USA to China is extremely costly and they know it.
I vowed never to give them another $0.10 of my money.
If you insist on gambling with them, buyer beware and use PayPal only!
On the other hand, Banggood and Gearbest are usually very legitimate and their prices are nearly as good.
Some sellers have a very good understanding of the terms in the User Agreement and they are well aware of how to navigate the system
Beware , sometimes Ali sellers will told you to cancel and offers to refund me through PayPal. He then refund as a “goods and services”, after you close dispute will open a case ON YOU for services not delivered.
Once a dispute is closed it can’t be reopened. Next he sends you money as “goods and services” - from PayPal’s perspective - this would appear as you are the seller. The sender then opens a dispute against you claiming what he paid for was not delivered. PayPal then refunds his money - it’s a scam but, it uses the policies in place to protect you against you.
IMO this BS though it’s been around a long time is getting more unsustainable. Enough people eventually pack up their wallets, then they go buy elsewhere, and this business model of jacking over the customer goes down the toilet.
More word gets out to stay away and soon enough there’ll be no AliExpress because something better will replace it. They can’t grow if these type of scams continue unabated.
The more the word gets out and more impact is made financially, the more likely they will remedy their shady business practices like: peddling fakes, advertisement and horrendous customer service. literally, Aliexpress guarantees mean nothing.
BTW, A lot of people here are members of other light forums such as CPF, Techlampen, etc…
Another type SCAM which I personally experienced…………
Say you order 3 Pieces 18650 size flashlights with their car chargers, AC chargers and battery adapters.
Yellow interior bubbled typical E-Package arrives to you. White shipping labels attached with all the info typed clearly. Yellow package is SMALL. About 6” x 6”.
Only ONE flashlight plus chargers and adapter is inside this dinky envelope. Better way of putting, it’s STUFFED in there. Quantity on shipping label shows 3 Pieces. Weight is stated as 0.007Kg. Why, that’s awfully light for a supposed total of three lights, plus accessories, right? Well, yes it is Ms. Seller. And kisses emojis right back at ya.
You ordered and paid for Quantity 3 Pieces. You ask Seller where are the other 2
Flashlights, etc.?
Seller then sez, you have already received entire order on XYZ date. “See Logistics Information show delivered”.
You open dispute proceedings because you already KNOW where this Seller is heading.
BIG ADVICE:
ALWAYS keep the shipping envelope/package and its labels intact. Don’t tear up the package getting it open. Then ALWAYS take a photo of what you actually received along with packaging clearly next to it. Put a ruler at the bottom when ya take the pic. Then place the original contents into the top of the envelope so it demonstrates what was shipped to you in that packaging.
I’ve noticed lately that a lot of items aren’t getting through.
My Monthly account for last 2 months (64 days) shows 9 items.
Usual shipping is around 26 to 32 days.
So far. only 3 items arrived. They took the money though, over $185 so far.
With EVERYTHING going through PayPal only.
I’ve stopped ALL China buying till this lot is sorted out.
Fishing gear etc still going well though.
Some reels and Custom jig rods are near and over $1000 each. Japan. US and Malaysia.
Never had any problems with them. SO Far.
It seems only the China syndrome is at fault so far.
Too Many. Too Cheap. it had to stop and be charged for at some time.
The volume is massive. NOTHING is free for long.
Well, I’m letting the AliExpress dispute process go through its entire cycle from A to Z. I have provided more than plenty of hard evidence supporting the Seller’s underhanded shenanigans.
This is a BLATANT black and white fraud case. 110% blatant fraud.
So, if the AliExpress dispute “Buyer Protection/Guarantee” system doesn’t force the thieving Seller to refund the balance owed me then I will let you know.
This could be a game changer for me and AliExpress.
Two orders from Aliexpress from different sellers, both were problems. I got fake merchandise from one seller and a bad tracking number from the other. The one with the bad tracking number showed the order was shipped to a city about 400 miles away from me. The seller eventually shipped replacements after I opened a dispute and long after the trip I needed the items for and after the “guaranteed delivery or your money back” date. Ali just left the dispute open until the replacement package was delivered.
I’ve been ordering from Banggood and Gearbest for years and have had a few issues, but they were quickly resolved.
