AliExpress- dispute process

soolin

Not strictly an ebay issue but I know the experts for importing will be here.

Does anyone have any experience of the dispute process on Aliexpress? I have been buying quite happily for a couple of years, it's slow but I got used to that. I now have an order almost 3 months old, low value craft item. I asked the seller a month ago about it, and they merely extended the delivery dates to avoid a dispute. Those delivery dates came and went and seller stopped responding so I opened a full dispute. It stated that 'We will contact you at the complaint center within 2 calendar days.' and that was a week ago, doing a google search sugegsts that is as far as it ever goes and it will just sit there with my money apparently stuck in escrow for ever.

I can find no contact details for the site, the live help just tells me that if i open a dispute (which I have done) and seller has no tracking the case will be decided in 2 calendar days.

So that's it, what now? The money is not large , less than £15 but it is the principle of it. I also have another order now just going into the 3 months, so am obviously worried that soemthing has happened to AliExpress.

onetwothree123

I imagine they have no processes to get funds back seeing as they have no morals or ethics.

just google aliexpress scams

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=138767

soolin

onetwothree123 wrote: »

I imagine they have no processes to get funds back seeing as they have no morals or ethics.

just google aliexpress scams

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=138767

Out of interest how can unbranded craft items be counterfeit. They have no packaging, no brand name , are not designed for young children and are used legitimately for a UK craft centred business (not mine).

I do not support pirated or fake items, but I do not believe that by merely coming from china these items prove any danger to the UK market.

I can buy a similar item from any UK based £1 shop, but alien press was cheaper as the items are not in pretty packets that are designed to be sold 'as is'.

Edit: I responded to your accusation that I was buying fakes which had been seized by customs , before you edited your post.

RFW

soolin wrote: »

Out of interest how can unbranded craft items be counterfeit. They have no packaging, no brand name , are not designed for young children and are used legitimately for a UK craft centred business (not mine).

I don't know specifics, but the design could be a copy. Burberry is a good example, their tartan is exclusive but gets copied a lot, some are similar and can get away with it, others are identical. There's even copying of fonts to make products look similar.

ballisticbrian

I was toying with the idea of using it, until I discovered we have to declare all the small packages and pay VAT on them in bulk. Suddenly it was a whole lot more expensive. It's interesting to read about all the problems there, I'm not overly suprised.

RFW

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I was toying with the idea of using it, until I discovered we have to declare all the small packages and pay VAT on them in bulk. Suddenly it was a whole lot more expensive. It's interesting to read about all the problems there, I'm not overly suprised.

As far as sellers go it isn't too much different from Ebay, each seller having a rating. I've found some sellers who sell on Ebay too and are usually cheaper there.

Brooker_Dave

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I was toying with the idea of using it, until I discovered we have to declare all the small packages and pay VAT on them in bulk. Suddenly it was a whole lot more expensive. It's interesting to read about all the problems there, I'm not overly suprised.

Why do you have to declare anything?

It's the worlds biggest market place BTW.

Brooker_Dave

soolin wrote: »

N
So that's it, what now? The money is not large , less than £15 but it is the principle of it. I also have another order now just going into the 3 months, so am obviously worried that soemthing has happened to AliExpress.

Airmail is taking forever at the moment.

I had one land today that I ordered a month ago, 6 weeks ago it would have been here in 5 days.

Nothing has happened to Aliexpress, the only issue I had was when someone could not supply what I had brought and wanted double, I raised a dispute, and got refunded on my next statement.

I'd no worry too much, but things can take a while.

soolin

Thanks Dave, I've never had issues before and tend to just accept the delays. None of this stuff I buy is urgent so waiting 6 weeks (usually) isn't an issue.

I was just worried this time as the dispute process seems to have just stopped and I thought that if the item is lost I am stuck.

As I said though the amount is very low , definitely below any interest to HMRC.

The only other thing I can think of is that the address labels recently have been quite poorly written, tiny weeny little characters and on quite flimsy labels, so it may well have disappeared somewhere within Royal Mail.

Ill wait and see what happens now, I have no other choice. I have about another 4 items due to arrive, on of which is also getting a bit late.

Brooker_Dave

soolin wrote: »

Thanks Dave, I've never had issues before and tend to just accept the delays. None of this stuff I buy is urgent so waiting 6 weeks (usually) isn't an issue.

I was just worried this time as the dispute process seems to have just stopped and I thought that if the item is lost I am stuck.

As I said though the amount is very low , definitely below any interest to HMRC.

The only other thing I can think of is that the address labels recently have been quite poorly written, tiny weeny little characters and on quite flimsy labels, so it may well have disappeared somewhere within Royal Mail.

Ill wait and see what happens now, I have no other choice. I have about another 4 items due to arrive, on of which is also getting a bit late.

All mine have taken ages, but only of recent.

They seem to print out labels off the website somehow, just tiny, but it all seems to get here in the end.

Todays one was posted on the 19th of the 4th, one 3 days ago on the 22nd of the 4th and yesterdays on the 20th.

From what I can gather these parcels have to be inspected before they leave, and we're at the mercy of the chinese civil service, hence tracking takes a while to become live.

They should refund you though, I got mine same day on the promise of not leaving bad feedback, that seems to be a big problem for sellers on there, so could be an option for you.

soolin

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

All mine have taken ages, but only of recent.

They seem to print out labels off the website somehow, just tiny, but it all seems to get here in the end.

Todays one was posted on the 19th of the 4th, one 3 days ago on the 22nd of the 4th and yesterdays on the 20th.

From what I can gather these parcels have to be inspected before they leave, and we're at the mercy of the chinese civil service, hence tracking takes a while to become live.

They should refund you though, I got mine same day on the promise of not leaving bad feedback, that seems to be a big problem for sellers on there, so could be an option for you.

The seller I am in dispute with was quite pleasant at first, but they kept extending the time for delivery and the system finally warned me I only had 4 days to escalate the dispute otherwise acceptance elf the goods would be presumed and my money released to the seller. At that point the seller started to,ignore me

I opened the dispute and have heard nothing from anyone at all since. I have no doubt the item was sent , it just has been lost or very badly delayed en route.

Like you though I was used to getting my stuff in 2- 3 weeks or so, then suddenly earlier this year that started to slip towards the 5- 6 weeks buti had also heard that their customs were delaying outward items.