Frequently Asked Questions
How to make a purchase (Payment Methods, Buyer protection)
The most common methods of payment, credit card and Alipay, offer Buyer protection. This means that you are protected by AliExpress if anything happens with your order. When you order something, AliExpress retains the money until you have received the product and you are completely satisfied with it. Only then will they release the money to the seller.
These are systems which Aliexpress acts as an intermediary retaining the money, and only gives the money when we have confirmed the reception or when the protection time of the order has passed.
AliPay – (No risk)
AliPay method is very similar to PayPal. When you use Alipay the money is retained by a third party and will only release it once the buyer confirms his / her satisfaction with the product. Alipay is a very popular payment method in AliExpress as well as in general online purchases as it is a system that protects both the consumer and the seller. The only thing you need to do if you want to use this payment method is open an AliPay account and top the virtual card with the amount of money you want in the account. As mentioned, it's system created by AliExpress, and you will have lots of guarantees.
Card – (No risk)
When paying with a credit card AliExpress will also use Escrow, so your money will be completely protected till we confirm we have received the product. It is a very easy way to pay. AliExpress accepts Visa credit and debit cards, Mastercard credit cards and Maestro debit cards.
And if you are afraid to pay with a card, you can also ask your bank about the famous “virtual cards” or “prepaid cards”, which are specially designed for online shopping: they have a limited amount of money that we will recharge ourselves, but do check if they are Visa or Maestro.
Bank transfer – Risk for buyer: Medium
It is a less used payment method, and in addition, orders can only be paid with an amount larger than $20 (and only in USD), so we do not recommend unless you have no other way to pay, as banks usually charge a fee for making transfers, even more if it is in a foreign currency and an international transfer. Even so, if you choose this form of payment, your money is also protected because AliExpress keeps it until you confirm it.
Other methods of payment
AliExpress also accepts: WebMoney, Western Union, Yandex.Money, QIWI, DOKU, MercadoPago, Ticket, American Express… But above all, and most importantly, never pay outside AliExpress because if you have a problem with the seller, they will not be able to help you. If you want more information about the payment methods offered by AliExpress click on the link and you will be taken directly.
Disputes and claims
Sometimes the product you ordered might have a defect, if this is the case you will be able to do two things. The first is to open a dispute with the seller, to solve the problem. To do this, all you have to do is go to the order and look for the button “open dispute”, fill in a simple questionnaire where you have to upload images o proof so the seller sees the problem and offers a solution.
What happens once a dispute is raised?
If the seller agrees with you (which is common as the sellers don't want to have dispute issues with Aliexpress), the dispute is resolved in your favor and in some days you receive your money.
If the seller gives you a different solution, for example, less money and, it seems reasonable, all you have to do is click on “accept”, the dispute will be closed with this decision you will receive your money in a few days.
The seller gives you a different solution and you don't agree with it. In this case you can reject the offer and offer a new proposal, or if you really think you are right, wait some days until AliExpress mediates automatically in the dispute to offer a new solution.
We want to make a very important point: pay attention to what you put when filling out the form, as we can choose between “only refund” (ie only ask for money) or “refund and return” with which we are agreeing to send the product back, so we have to pay the shipment to China, so shipment can be more expensive than the product itself.
Another thing that you have to notice is the following: if the seller asks us to close the dispute to be able to send the order again, you have to hit the “cancel” button, never “accept dispute”, because when you accept a dispute, AliExpress will close the order and you can not claim it again if the end does not reach you.
Shipping times
Another frequently asked question is: How long will it take for my order to arrive? There is no single answer because this time depends on the shipping method, the country of destination, etc. But the time of protection of the order is 60 days, so that is the maximum time it can take, it is very important that, if we have not received it in that time, we open a dispute to claim our money or extend the term of protection.
AliExpress Purchase Guarantees
For some time now, AliExpress has introduced a guarantee for many of its technological products: mobile phones, pendrives… But what does is it? Well, this guarantee, which has an additional cost that is usually included when you buy the product, is an independent service to the seller, so you do not have to worry if you have a bad seller, because you can use it without having to speak him. You can see more information here.
You will only have to make sure that the product you are buying includes this guarantee (since it is not available in all countries). If your product fails within one year of receiving the order, you will have to look for the order in your AliExpress account, click on the “request guarantee” button and fill in a form. Once they receive the request, you will have to send the mobile to a national warehouse and within 10 working days you will receive your new mobile.
Important note: As of July 2017 AliExpress no longer offers this guarantee for its mobile devices. We believe it is a temporary measure until they find a new SAT that can offer a quality service, so we will continue to inform you if AliExpress offers the guarantee again. If you bought your mobile and paid for this guarantee you will still be able to use it. It is also possible that the seller offers some kind of guarantee, so we recommend you review the ad, although we will still have to send the mobile to its warehouse of origin.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
In this guide we have tried to include everything you need to know to buy, but there are some questions you ask us often in the blog comments, so let's review the most popular ones to help you. If your question doesn't appear here, we recommend you go to this page where AliExpress solves most of the frequently asked questions you ask on the blog.
AliExpress / AliPay cancels my order when I pay by credit card and asks me to send documentation…
Lately we are seeing an increase in blog comments on this particular topic. Seeing this, at AlixBlog we have taken matters into our own hands and contacted AliExpress directly for explanations. Also, as a result of your comments we have given them a list of things that should be improved in the platform. They have sent us a rather long e-mail and we have chosen the most important parts:
AliExpress – “We have noticed an increase in questions about the AliPay payment system. We are aware of the problem and apologize for any inconvenience it may cause. We are working hard with AliPay to solve this problem as quickly as possible to make the shopping experience much more intuitive and comfortable for AliExpress shoppers.”
We also made them understand the general frustration you feel when the order is cancelled. We mentioned that buyers feel a bit helpless in cases where money is withdrawn from the bank account and then the order is cancelled. They answered this:
AliExpress – “Please note that the money is safe. The money is held back due to security checks, AliPay will not make any deduction on the amount paid”.
It seems that AliExpress knows that there is a problem and wants to solve it as soon as possible because they know that it is harming them a lot. They also want us to know that if an order is cancelled our money will be safe.
As a result of the e-mail we received, we sent them another e-mail asking more specific questions. When they answer us we will extend this section :). For now, we leave the steps you have to follow, which are explained on this page.
Can I cancel an order?
Another very frequent question is this one. And it has an easy answer: currently, AliExpress allows you to cancel an order automatically while payment is being verified (a few hours after the payment) and the money will be automatically refunded. But if you have already passed the verification process, you may ask you to cancel the order, but the seller will have to accept it, and there is a possibility he won't if he has already shipped it.
I haven't received the money for a refund
Whether we cancel the order or have won a dispute, we will receive the money in the same payment method we used. But it is not an immediate process, as AliExpress will first have to make certain arrangements and then start the return process, which may take a few days.
To find out the status of your return, go to the order (from your PC) and hover your mouse over the “Refund Status” button. When the 3 points are orange, the return process has already begun and we will receive the money in about 3-15 working days. You can find more information about returns by clicking here.
The most common methods of payment, credit card and Alipay, offer Buyer protection. This means that you are protected by AliExpress if anything happens with your order. When you order something, AliExpress retains the money until you have received the product and you are completely satisfied with it. Only then will they release the money to the seller.
These are systems which Aliexpress acts as an intermediary retaining the money, and only gives the money when we have confirmed the reception or when the protection time of the order has passed.
AliPay – (No risk)
AliPay method is very similar to PayPal. When you use Alipay the money is retained by a third party and will only release it once the buyer confirms his / her satisfaction with the product. Alipay is a very popular payment method in AliExpress as well as in general online purchases as it is a system that protects both the consumer and the seller. The only thing you need to do if you want to use this payment method is open an AliPay account and top the virtual card with the amount of money you want in the account. As mentioned, it's system created by AliExpress, and you will have lots of guarantees.
Card – (No risk)
When paying with a credit card AliExpress will also use Escrow, so your money will be completely protected till we confirm we have received the product. It is a very easy way to pay. AliExpress accepts Visa credit and debit cards, Mastercard credit cards and Maestro debit cards.
And if you are afraid to pay with a card, you can also ask your bank about the famous “virtual cards” or “prepaid cards”, which are specially designed for online shopping: they have a limited amount of money that we will recharge ourselves, but do check if they are Visa or Maestro.
Bank transfer – Risk for buyer: Medium
It is a less used payment method, and in addition, orders can only be paid with an amount larger than $20 (and only in USD), so we do not recommend unless you have no other way to pay, as banks usually charge a fee for making transfers, even more if it is in a foreign currency and an international transfer. Even so, if you choose this form of payment, your money is also protected because AliExpress keeps it until you confirm it.
Other methods of payment
AliExpress also accepts: WebMoney, Western Union, Yandex.Money, QIWI, DOKU, MercadoPago, Ticket, American Express… But above all, and most importantly, never pay outside AliExpress because if you have a problem with the seller, they will not be able to help you. If you want more information about the payment methods offered by AliExpress click on the link and you will be taken directly.
Disputes and claims
Sometimes the product you ordered might have a defect, if this is the case you will be able to do two things. The first is to open a dispute with the seller, to solve the problem. To do this, all you have to do is go to the order and look for the button “open dispute”, fill in a simple questionnaire where you have to upload images o proof so the seller sees the problem and offers a solution.
What happens once a dispute is raised?
If the seller agrees with you (which is common as the sellers don't want to have dispute issues with Aliexpress), the dispute is resolved in your favor and in some days you receive your money.
If the seller gives you a different solution, for example, less money and, it seems reasonable, all you have to do is click on “accept”, the dispute will be closed with this decision you will receive your money in a few days.
The seller gives you a different solution and you don't agree with it. In this case you can reject the offer and offer a new proposal, or if you really think you are right, wait some days until AliExpress mediates automatically in the dispute to offer a new solution.
We want to make a very important point: pay attention to what you put when filling out the form, as we can choose between “only refund” (ie only ask for money) or “refund and return” with which we are agreeing to send the product back, so we have to pay the shipment to China, so shipment can be more expensive than the product itself.
Another thing that you have to notice is the following: if the seller asks us to close the dispute to be able to send the order again, you have to hit the “cancel” button, never “accept dispute”, because when you accept a dispute, AliExpress will close the order and you can not claim it again if the end does not reach you.
Shipping times
Another frequently asked question is: How long will it take for my order to arrive? There is no single answer because this time depends on the shipping method, the country of destination, etc. But the time of protection of the order is 60 days, so that is the maximum time it can take, it is very important that, if we have not received it in that time, we open a dispute to claim our money or extend the term of protection.
AliExpress Purchase Guarantees
For some time now, AliExpress has introduced a guarantee for many of its technological products: mobile phones, pendrives… But what does is it? Well, this guarantee, which has an additional cost that is usually included when you buy the product, is an independent service to the seller, so you do not have to worry if you have a bad seller, because you can use it without having to speak him. You can see more information here.
You will only have to make sure that the product you are buying includes this guarantee (since it is not available in all countries). If your product fails within one year of receiving the order, you will have to look for the order in your AliExpress account, click on the “request guarantee” button and fill in a form. Once they receive the request, you will have to send the mobile to a national warehouse and within 10 working days you will receive your new mobile.
Important note: As of July 2017 AliExpress no longer offers this guarantee for its mobile devices. We believe it is a temporary measure until they find a new SAT that can offer a quality service, so we will continue to inform you if AliExpress offers the guarantee again. If you bought your mobile and paid for this guarantee you will still be able to use it. It is also possible that the seller offers some kind of guarantee, so we recommend you review the ad, although we will still have to send the mobile to its warehouse of origin.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
In this guide we have tried to include everything you need to know to buy, but there are some questions you ask us often in the blog comments, so let's review the most popular ones to help you. If your question doesn't appear here, we recommend you go to this page where AliExpress solves most of the frequently asked questions you ask on the blog.
AliExpress / AliPay cancels my order when I pay by credit card and asks me to send documentation…
Lately we are seeing an increase in blog comments on this particular topic. Seeing this, at AlixBlog we have taken matters into our own hands and contacted AliExpress directly for explanations. Also, as a result of your comments we have given them a list of things that should be improved in the platform. They have sent us a rather long e-mail and we have chosen the most important parts:
AliExpress – “We have noticed an increase in questions about the AliPay payment system. We are aware of the problem and apologize for any inconvenience it may cause. We are working hard with AliPay to solve this problem as quickly as possible to make the shopping experience much more intuitive and comfortable for AliExpress shoppers.”
We also made them understand the general frustration you feel when the order is cancelled. We mentioned that buyers feel a bit helpless in cases where money is withdrawn from the bank account and then the order is cancelled. They answered this:
AliExpress – “Please note that the money is safe. The money is held back due to security checks, AliPay will not make any deduction on the amount paid”.
It seems that AliExpress knows that there is a problem and wants to solve it as soon as possible because they know that it is harming them a lot. They also want us to know that if an order is cancelled our money will be safe.
As a result of the e-mail we received, we sent them another e-mail asking more specific questions. When they answer us we will extend this section :). For now, we leave the steps you have to follow, which are explained on this page.
Can I cancel an order?
Another very frequent question is this one. And it has an easy answer: currently, AliExpress allows you to cancel an order automatically while payment is being verified (a few hours after the payment) and the money will be automatically refunded. But if you have already passed the verification process, you may ask you to cancel the order, but the seller will have to accept it, and there is a possibility he won't if he has already shipped it.
I haven't received the money for a refund
Whether we cancel the order or have won a dispute, we will receive the money in the same payment method we used. But it is not an immediate process, as AliExpress will first have to make certain arrangements and then start the return process, which may take a few days.
To find out the status of your return, go to the order (from your PC) and hover your mouse over the “Refund Status” button. When the 3 points are orange, the return process has already begun and we will receive the money in about 3-15 working days. You can find more information about returns by clicking here.