How to stay safe when shopping on Aliexpress

Posted by Felix Okoli on Saturday July 11, 2015 at 9:48:42:

Aliexpress is a very popular shopping destination for people who love buying things online and many items being sold on the website really come at good prices and they deliver to many nations globally too with reduced shipping costs. Aliexpress allows buyers from around the world to buy things from sellers in China and is owned by Alibaba.

In reality Aliexpress doesn't sell items directly but basically is a marketplace that allows sellers to list products for sale and buyers to buy them. How the buying process really works is with the buyer first paying money into an escrow or temporary account held by Aliexpress as the middleman and then the seller sends the goods to the buyer. When the bueyr finally receives the goods and notifies Aliexpress, the funds will then be released to the seller. The funds would also be released to the seller after a specified time period has elapsed without the buyer notifying Aliexpress of the receipt.

It can be a bit tricky for new buyers who want to shop at Aliexpress as they may not know how to protect themselves when shopping. While there are good number of reliable sellers on Aliexpress, there is also the possibility that some sellers could be fraudulent and may want to defraud buyers of their funds either by sending the wrong products or not sending any product at all and yet get paid for it. A buyer on Aliexpres should protect himself by taking advantageof the buyer protection system offered by Aliexpress.

Yes, the ideal way to stay safe when shopping or buying things from Aliexpress is to take advantage of the buyer protection system. You need to know how it works so as to protect your funds.

I have to confess that I've lost some money on Aliexpress because there are at times when I've paid for certain things but did not receive the item and yet I did not get a refund. It was basically becasue I didn't know how the system worked then as a newbie.

Payment protection:
The buyer protection which Aliexpress offers allows buyers to avoid showing their credit/debit card details to sellers and that is automatic by default. When paying for items on Aliexpress, you should follow the normnal routine by clicking the purchase buttons and checking out using their secure card processing portal. Make payments only on that secure site and the funds will be received by Aliexpress. If the seller contacts you later on for your car details, you should not oblige but rather tell them to ask from Aliexpress. You don't need to tell anyone of your card details even if it's the seller because Aliexpress has successfully received your funds and it's now the duty of the seller to send the goods. All you need to do is wait for him to send it.

Delivery protection: When purchasing for a particular product on ALiexpress, one of the things you should look out for in that offer is the estimated delivery time which should not be above 60 days. You have a right to complain to Aliexpress if you have paid for the goods but have not yet received it from the seller before the 60 days. You will normally be notified by email from Aliexpress if your buyer protection period was expiring and you should take advantage of it while it has not yet expired. Aliexpress will not be able to protect your if you didn't complain during that period. Even if the seller sends you a message that you should be patient and that the item will arrive, don't believe him but make your complaint before the 60 days has expired. You can normally check if the buyer has shipped the goods using the tracking number he provided and the location of the goods before the end of that 60 days. If tracking is not available, it may be a sign that the seller is unreliable and may be fraudulent. The formal way to make a complaint to Aliexpress is by going into your account and raising a dispute. If the seller accepts that he was wrong he would accept and you will be refunded else he would have to prove that item has been delivered to you in good condition. The deliver protection is not just about ensuring whether the product was delivered but also if the delivered product was in the prescribed condition e.g. a 32GB flash drive was ordered for but 16GB flash drive was received.

Refund protection: If you are not satisfied with an order you made on Aliexpress for reasons such as not receiving the item before 60 days, receiving the wrong items, missing items and other valid reasons, you can always ask for a refund from Aliexpress and they will credit back your account.

So, if you feel you've been cheated by a seller on Aliexpress, don't delay to raise a dispute before your buyer protection period ends because timing is very crucial and Aliexpress may not be able to protect you after the buyer protection period. You can raise a dispute by going to the order history or your purchase and clicking on the "Open Dispute" button.

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