3 Tips to Buy Safely on AliExpress and Avoid Frauds or Scams
It’s not always easy to stay safe while you’re shopping online. For every legitimate, reputable site, hundreds want to take your money and run for the hills, never to be seen or heard from again.
If you want to stay safe, it’s important to research the site you’re making your purchases on. Take AliExpress, for example. How does it protect buyers? Is it easy to avoid scams? How does the site handle disputes and refunds?
So, let’s dive into the world of AliExpress and answer some of those questions.
1. Buying From AliExpress: Buyer Protections
Buying online comes with inherent risks. Unlike doing your shopping in a physical store, you can’t see the item prior to purchase.
This removes a significant part of the buying process. You can’t feel a product to test for build quality or check an electronic item to make sure all the features work as described.
If you’re buying a well-known brand, you can read online reviews or even head to shop to negate the problem.
But is AliExpress safe to use for purchases? After all, many of the cheap white-label Chinese products on AliExpress are not available in stores; you’re on your own. Normally, you will be making your decision solely based on the description and a few photos. It’s vital, therefore, that the site has a robust buyer protection policy.
Unfortunately, as with other eCommerce sites, getting a refund for a missing, defective, or incorrect item is not as simple as merely clicking a “Refund” button. There’s an entire dispute process you need to work through.
On AliExpress, the dispute process involves three steps:
First, you need to contact the seller and raise your issue directly with them. If you’re raising a dispute either before the order has been completed, or more than 15 days after completion, this is the only option open to you.
If you’re still in the pre-completion stage and the seller refuses to cooperate, you have to wait until the order is closed and raise the issue with AliExpress. Sadly, if you’re beyond the 15-day mark and the seller refuses to cooperate, you’re out of options.
Second, if you’re within the 15-day period and you’re not happy with the seller’s response, you can open a dispute ticket. This makes the process formal.
Third, if you’re unhappy with the formal discussions, you can escalate the issue to AliExpress. It will then act as a mediator between you and the seller to reach a resolution.
3. Finding a Reputable Seller: The Feedback Page
The easiest way to avoid using the refund and dispute channels is to find a reputable seller. It makes ordering from AliExpress much less worrisome. If thousands of satisfied customers have used the seller in the past, you’re far less likely to run into problems.
The most obvious way to check a seller is to look at their history. On any seller’s page, click the Feedback tab for a complete breakdown. To safely buy cheap tech from Chinese sites, checking seller feedback is essential. Each seller has a Positive Feedback percentage and Feedback Score. The Feedback Score is the sum of all ratings, converted into points. Four- and five-star ratings are worth one point, three stars are worth zero, and one- and two-star ratings deduct one point. Further down the page, you can see star ratings sub-divided into Item as Described, Communication, and Shipping Speed. For each sub-category, you can see whether the seller in question is above or below the site average. Lastly, at the bottom of the page, you’ll see a historical look at their scores along with buyer comments.