Any purchase on the Aliexpress trading platform is subject to the Escrow program, i.e. has some protection. And if something goes wrong with the order (for example, it is in transit for a long time or arrived defective, etc.), then the buyer has the right to open a dispute with the seller.

According to the rules trading platform the seller receives the buyer's money only if receipt of the order is confirmed or if the order protection period has expired. In this regard, it is pointless to resolve issues of compensation directly with the seller; he simply cannot return the buyer’s money, because haven't received them yet. The dispute is the only one the right way solving problems that may arise in the transaction.

Detailed information about the Aliexpress trading platform itself, its rules and operating conditions can be found in the "FAQ: Aliexpress - buyer's guide" section of our forum.

This article will focus exclusively on the procedure for opening and conducting a dispute on the Aliexpress trading platform. Since the Aliexpress platform has already completely localized and Russified the pages for opening and conducting a dispute, all the examples given in the article will be from the Russian version. The translation here is done quite well and will be quite understandable to any user.

Opening a dispute

So, you have decided to open a dispute. To do this, you need to go to the details of your order and opposite the product for which you decided to open a dispute, find and click the “Open dispute” button.


The first thing you need to do on the page that opens for selecting the reasons for the dispute is to indicate whether the ordered product was received or not. This will depend on possible reasons dispute, as well as the options for resolving the dispute that the system will offer.


If the product is received, but differs from what was described by the seller, is defective, etc., then in this case the “Yes” option is selected. Next, a list of reasons for opening a dispute will appear, from which the buyer must select the reason that best suits the situation that has arisen.




When determining the amount of compensation in a dispute, you can choose either a full refund of all money paid for the product and its delivery, or a partial refund. In this case, you will need to indicate the amount of the partial refund.

Next, you need to indicate whether you are going to return the product to the seller or not. It should be borne in mind that if the goods are returned to the seller, the costs of such return are borne by the buyer. If you do not want to return the product, then in this case it is better to request partial compensation, the amount of which you determine yourself.

In the message field for the seller, it is necessary to describe (as detailed as possible) the problem that has arisen, on the basis of which a dispute is opened. It is advisable to write all messages to English, because Sellers from China are unlikely to understand Russian, even if they use automatic translators.

If you need to attach any photo or video evidence to the dispute, you can do this using the "Add Attachments" button. The following file formats are supported for uploading to the dispute: jpg, jpeg, bmp, gif, png. File size – up to 2MB. If you need to upload a video or file larger than 2 MB, you must first upload them to the www.mediafire.com service, and then insert links to the uploaded files in a message to the seller.

After everything is filled out and all the evidence is uploaded, in order to open a dispute you just need to click the "Submit" button.

If a dispute is opened due to non-receipt of the parcel, then the list with a choice of reasons for the dispute will be as follows:


After choosing the reason for opening a dispute, you must indicate your requirements in this dispute and provide evidence of the seller’s failure to fulfill its obligations.


Please note that if a dispute is opened due to non-receipt of an item, there will be no option to specify a partial refund in the refund request section. The system will automatically set the full amount of your initial payment to be refunded.

After all the fields on the dispute page are filled in, the reason for the dispute, the amount of compensation are selected, the situation for which the dispute is opened is described, evidence is attached and the “Submit” button is pressed - the dispute will be opened.

The open dispute page will look like this:


The initial status of the dispute will be indicated as "Pending dispute approval by the seller." Further on the page the time counter will be indicated, which is given to the seller to respond to open dispute. If during this allotted time the seller does not respond to your problem in any way, then the dispute is closed in favor of the buyer.

If there is an error in the description of the dispute (the reason for the dispute or the amount of compensation is incorrectly selected, something needs to be added to the description of the problem, etc.), then the terms of the open dispute can be edited by clicking the "Edit" button. If you need to cancel a dispute (for example, a dispute is opened due to non-receipt, but the goods have already been received), then this can also be done using the corresponding “Cancel dispute” button.

Next, the dispute page will display basic information about your dispute:


Even lower on the same page, all correspondence that was conducted with the seller in order details (if any) before the opening of the dispute will be displayed:


Further correspondence in the dispute will also be conducted in this place, so there is a field for new messages to the seller and the ability to upload additional photo evidence.

IN personal account, information about an open dispute will be reflected in the My Aliexpress/Transactions/Disputes&Returns section:


In the general list of orders, the order for which there is a dispute will also have the corresponding status:

Conducting a dispute

After the dispute is opened, you must wait for the seller's response.

Options for the development of events here could be as follows:

1) The seller will accept your offer, the dispute will be closed and a refund will be issued.
2) The seller will ignore the open dispute and the time allotted for the seller to respond will end. In this case, the dispute will be closed in favor of the buyer and a refund will be issued.
3) The seller may refuse your request and offer his own solution to the problem.

The first two options for the development of events are quite unambiguous and therefore it does not make much sense to consider them in detail. Therefore, we will focus only on the third option.

If the seller refused your demands in the dispute and offered some kind of solution to the problem, then the information on the dispute will be displayed as follows.

On the My Aliexpress/Operations/Disputes&Returns page, the status of your dispute will change and options for further actions to handle the dispute will appear:


There is no need to click anything on this page; it is better to immediately go to the details of the dispute and familiarize yourself with the seller’s offers.

The dispute details page will look like this:


As you can see from the screenshot, the dispute status has changed from " Pending approval of the dispute by the seller"on" Pending your agreement with the seller's response". Also on this page there will be a reminder that “the seller did not accept your request for a dispute, but offered a solution.” Next is a time counter during which you can communicate with the seller and look for ways to solve the problem. If a compromise is not found , then at the end of this counter, the dispute will automatically be transferred to the category of claims and will be submitted to the Aliexpress administration for consideration.

Next are the dispute management buttons “Accept”, “Edit”, “Cancel dispute” and “Aggravate the dispute”. We will look at them a little later, but for now we will return to the dispute details page. After the seller's answer, it changed a little. Firstly, the seller’s response appeared on it with his vision of resolving the dispute problem. In our example, the dispute is opened due to lack of tracking information. The seller does not explain in any way why the track number is not tracked, but offers to close the dispute and he will send the goods again. In general, a standard response from a seller from China. Further, it can be seen that the seller, for some reason, changed the conditions for returning the goods. Why he did this is not entirely clear... The remaining points of the dispute remained unchanged.

Important: The most important point at this stage of the dispute is to check the amount of the refund request. Always pay attention to this. In the example under consideration, the seller left the amount unchanged. But the seller may well change this amount and put the amount there at his discretion, up to $0. If you do not pay attention to this and transfer the dispute to the category of a claim, then it will be impossible to change the amount of compensation later. Accordingly, the claim filed in such a case will be void.

Further, on the same page you will be able to view the history of the dispute, correspondence with the seller, add your response to the seller and, if necessary, new photos or links to videos.


Now let's move on to the dispute management buttons that were mentioned above: “Accept”, “Edit”, “Cancel dispute” and “Aggravate the dispute”.

"Cancel dispute" button
This action means that the buyer agrees to close the dispute. One point should be noted here. It will be possible to reopen the dispute only if there is still time left on the order protection counter in the order details. If the dispute was opened when the order protection time was already coming to an end and, at the time of receiving a response from the seller in the dispute, this time had ended, then in this case, canceling the dispute will lead to the completion of the order. It will be impossible to open a second dispute. To prevent this from happening, you first need to make a request from the order details page to extend the order protection time, make sure that the seller has extended this time, and only then cancel the dispute. If this condition is met, the dispute can be reopened.

Accept button
This action means that you agree with the offer made by the seller. Clicking this button will close the order and you will accept the seller's terms and conditions. Use this feature if you clearly understand the seller's offer and (most importantly) the refund amount specified in the seller's offer is what you want.

Edit button
This action is intended to change the terms of a previously open dispute. The terms of the dispute can change in two cases: the seller changed them or you yourself want to change them. For example, you requested a full refund, but the seller offered to refund only half. Or you opened a dispute due to non-receipt of the goods, but received the goods during the period of the dispute, but the goods do not correspond to the description, are defective, have a different size, color, etc. In this case, by editing the dispute, you can change its reason and the amount of compensation.

The dispute editing page is very similar to the initial page for opening a dispute and has the same logic and structure. Those. you need to re-indicate whether the goods were received or not, select the reason for the dispute, indicate the amount of compensation, whether you want to return the goods or not.


On the same page, below, you can also write a new message for the seller and attach any new files as evidence.

After filling out the dispute editing form and confirming it, the dispute page will look like this:


As can be seen from the screenshot, the dispute status has again changed to “Pending approval of the dispute by the seller”, the time counter for the seller’s response has appeared again, and the condition has again appeared that if the seller does not respond within the specified time, the dispute will be closed in favor of the buyer. The result of editing the conditions in this example was that the dispute was returned to its initial state. It is also clear that the dispute retains the possibility of its further editing, cancellation and translation into a claim.

Below on the dispute details page, in the “Dispute History” section, a corresponding entry will appear stating that the terms of the dispute were edited by the buyer.


Thus, by editing the terms of the dispute, you can negotiate with the seller and try to find a compromise solution to the problem.

Button "Aggravate the dispute"
This action is intended to transfer the dispute to the category of claims and means that the buyer and seller were unable to resolve the dispute between themselves. Thus, the buyer submits the dispute for consideration and decision by the Aliexpress administration.

Translation of a dispute into a claim

After clicking the "Aggravate dispute" button, the following notification will appear:


The system asks the buyer to ensure that all necessary evidence has been added to the dispute. Once a dispute has been converted to a claim, the buyer will not have the opportunity to add additional evidence. This can only be done if the Aliexpress administration requests them additionally. If you have reflected all the necessary information in the dispute and are determined to turn the dispute into a claim, then all that remains is to confirm this action by again clicking the “Aggravate the dispute” button in the notification. If you need to add something to the dispute, then in this case you can close the notification or click the “No, thanks” button and return to the dispute page for further editing.

Important: Before converting a dispute into a claim, be sure to ensure that the amount of compensation in the dispute is indicated correctly.

Claim

After converting the dispute to a claim, the dispute page will look like this:


The dispute status will change to "Heated disputes" and a reminder will appear " The dispute is transferred to the next level. Your dispute will be submitted to our dispute management team. Our claims center will contact you as soon as possible".

Below on the dispute details page, in the “Dispute History” section, a corresponding entry will appear indicating that the dispute has escalated and been converted into a claim.


On the My Aliexpress/Transactions/Disputes&Returns page, the status of your dispute will be indicated as “Aggravated”.


There is only one further possible action on the part of the buyer - canceling the dispute. It is needed if the problem has been resolved or the buyer and seller have found a way to solve it that suits both parties.

Important: Canceling a dispute turned into a claim will automatically close the order, regardless of whether there is time on the protection period counter in the order details or not. The order will be closed completely. The buyer's money will be transferred to the seller and it will not be possible to open a dispute on this order again.

Some time after the dispute is converted into a claim (usually this happens quickly, 5-10 minutes), a new status “Dispute escalated - review” will appear on the dispute page, indicating that your claim has been accepted for consideration by the Aliexpress administration.


A button to cancel the claim will also appear on the dispute page. At this point, the procedure for opening a claim can be considered complete.

To confirm that the claim has been accepted for consideration by the Aliexpress administration, the buyer will additionally receive email of the following form:


There is no need to respond to it, it is simply a notification that Aliexpress has received your complaint.

According to the rules of the trading platform, the processing time for customer claims is 15-60 days. So all that remains is to wait for the decision of the trading platform administration on this claim. During the consideration of the claim, the administration may contact the buyer to request additional evidence on the dispute or offer some alternative solutions to this claim.

Approximately 3 days after the dispute has been converted to a claim, the buyer will receive another letter from the Aliexpress dispute team:


The letter will indicate that the claim is in the status "Awaiting the other party's response". The letter will also contain information about what actions the Aliexpress administration has already taken regarding this claim. If the buyer receives If any additional data is needed to consider the claim, the Aliexpress dispute resolution team may request it additionally. Please note the notice located at the very end of the letter. This is a warning that if the claim is closed by the buyer, this will mean that the order is closed. will close and the buyer's payment will be transferred to the seller.

Decision on the claim

A decision on a claim in favor of the buyer can be made in two cases:

1) The seller will still agree with your requirements in the claim;
2) The Aliexpress administration will make a decision on the claim.

In this case, the buyer will receive a corresponding notification on email. Example:


In the example under consideration, it is clear that the seller himself agreed with the requirements in the claim, that the system automatically closed the claim and that the buyer will be refunded.

In your personal account, in the section My Aliexpress/Operations/Disputes&Returns, information about closed dispute and about the amount of refunded funds:


When you click on the “View data” link under the dispute status, you will be taken to the dispute details page, where its new status “Dispute closed” will also be indicated:


On the page with a list of all orders, this order's status will also change from "Awaiting confirmation" to "Payment processing".


Once the payment has been processed (usually within an hour), the order status will change from Payment Processing to Completed. In addition, a status about the completed dispute regarding this order will also appear:


Next, you need to go to the details of this order and go to the “Payment” tab, which displays all payment information for the order:


A new section “Refund Information” will appear here, which will indicate the fact of the refund being made and the status of this refund.

According to the rules of the Aliexpress trading platform, the refund period is 7-10 working days.

Now the buyer can only wait for the funds to be credited to his bank card(QiWi wallet, WebMoney wallet, etc.) and at this point the controversial situation can be considered closed and resolved.

And after another day, the dispute was forcibly closed, with a decision to return half of the amount paid to me.

Throughout the entire dispute, at the bottom of the page, a chronology of events is kept. This is how events developed in my dispute. The buyer's actions are marked in blue, the seller's in red and the aliexpress administration's in green.

Thus, the entire dispute system is based on "suggestions." The buyer offers to return the money to him (in whole or in part) and if the seller agrees (clicks accept under the buyer’s offer), the dispute will be closed immediately without involving the administration. Or in response, the seller can offer his own solution (for example, a partial refund or a full refund, but with the return of the goods), and the buyer will either accept or refuse such a decision. Both the buyer and the seller can propose solutions multiple times (and also edit them). But if within 7 days you do not come to a mutual decision (either the buyer clicks “Accept” under the seller’s decision, or the seller clicks “Accept” under the buyer’s decision), then the aliexpress administration will join the dispute, study all the evidence provided and offer its solution. In any case, the dispute will be closed with some kind of solution and it will not necessarily suit both sides of the dispute.

Therefore, always describe the problem as accurately and clearly as possible (preferably without emotions, politely) and provide as much evidence as possible that you are right. in this case, the probability of resolving the dispute in your favor will tend to 100%.

1.5 Filing an appeal

If for some reason you are dissatisfied with the resolution of the dispute and want to file an appeal, then you just need to click on the “Submit a Complaint” button (by the way, in the old dispute system, filing an appeal was much more difficult and not everyone could do it).

The appeal button is available within 7 days after the dispute is closed. Don't miss this time.

When filing an appeal, you will be asked to complete a standard form. There is nothing complicated about it, you choose what you are not happy with and describe the situation (as always, as detailed and polite as possible). If you're lucky, the aliexpress administration will change its decision regarding your complaint.

1.6 Refunds

Refunds based on the results of a dispute take several days (3-5 business days), sometimes longer, depending on the payment method and the bank. The money is returned to where it was paid from. If you paid by card and the card became inactive at the time of return, the money is returned to your bank account and can be obtained using your passport at a bank branch, or transferred to another (valid) card via Internet banking. You should check with your bank for more details, as rules may vary depending on the bank.

The stage of the return can be viewed in the order details on the "Payment" tab.

2. Dispute over non-receipt

Next, let's look at a simpler example. Dispute over non-receipt. The goods were paid for, but not received within the established time frame. More than 90 days have passed. I am patient and do not open a dispute until the last minute, allowing the seller to extend the transaction period. But when it becomes clear that the goods will not arrive, I still open a dispute.

2.1 Opening a dispute

To start the dispute process, you need to click on the "Open dispute" button in your aliexpress personal account, in the order properties. First, of course, you need to write to the seller your complaints, in case he wants to resolve them without opening a dispute.

Since the goods have not been received, I select the "Refund Only" claim. That is, the goods have not been received, which means there is no need to return them. But they should return the money to me, since I did not receive the goods.

From the issues drop down list I select that the track number is not trackable (because the track number is not actually tracked). And I describe my problem (in English). You can also attach photo and video evidence, if available (for example, a screenshot of the fact that there is no information on the track number).

2.2 Dispute management

The dispute procedure itself does not differ from that described in the first part of this article (section 1.2).

2.3 Dispute resolution and refund

My dispute went as quickly as possible (lucky, one might say). The seller did not answer anything (the seller’s store was already closed, and the seller himself seemed to have abandoned business on Aliexpress) and the dispute was automatically resolved in my favor. And after a few days I received the money back.

Conclusion

In this article I tried to talk only about the “mechanics” of the processes. I did not touch upon the topics of how to behave in a dispute, at what time to open, what can be demanded in a given situation, and other issues relating to the “details” of specific cases. There are a lot of situations and it is impossible to give a universal answer to each, especially within the framework of one article.

I remind you that it is best to ask questions about dispute management on the forum in the Disputes on Aliexpress section, for example in the Dispute on Aliexpress topic, help is needed. There they will answer you faster and the communication itself within the forum format will be more convenient.

You may also be interested in other articles on the topic of disputes on aliexpress:

Thank you for being with us, happy shopping and less disputes!

UPD:


Important addition.
When considering a dispute, aliexpress mediators do not see your correspondence with the seller. If you need to show correspondence to mediators, then you need to take a screenshot of the correspondence (if necessary, highlight important information) and attach it as evidence.

This article will tell you how to conduct a dispute correctly and what scenarios can happen.
And, most importantly, we will look at the main mistakes buyers make that can lead to loss of money.

So, you have successfully opened a dispute and are waiting for a response from the seller.

After you have opened a dispute, there are three possible scenarios.
1) The seller will not argue with you and will accept your offer. The dispute will be closed and the AliExpress system will begin the procedure of automatically returning you the amount that you indicated when opening the dispute.

2) The seller will not respond to an open dispute within the 5 days allotted for response. In this case, the dispute will be closed automatically in favor of the buyer and the system will also return the requested funds. You can finally make sure that the funds will be returned to you, and also find out the date of the planned refund on the PAYMENTS tab in the details of your closed order.

3) The seller rejects your request and makes a counteroffer.

We will dwell on this version of events in more detail, since it is this stage that remains completely incomprehensible and even “dangerous” for most buyers who open a dispute for the first time.

If the seller rejects your offer, your dispute status will change from "Pending Dispute Approval by the Seller" to "Pending Your Acceptance of the Seller's Decision."
And the dispute details page will look like this:

You will see a time counter.
Within this period of time (15 days) you must resolve the problem with the seller. If during this period your dispute is still open, it will automatically escalate and the situation will be considered by the AliExpress administration.

On this page you can see the entire history of the development of the dispute. You will be able to communicate with the seller and attach new photos and video evidence.

Let's consider the main elements of dispute management in this situation.

“Cancel Dispute” button
By clicking on this button you will temporarily close the dispute. You you can open the dispute again, if the order details still have time left on the order protection timer.
If you cancel the dispute when the timer has expired, the dispute will be considered permanently closed and it will not be possible to open it again. Therefore, if you want to cancel a dispute, but the timer is running out, then first make a request to extend the product protection time and after you make sure that the timer has been extended, cancel the dispute.

Accept button
By clicking on this button, you agree to the seller’s terms, and the dispute, and with it the transaction, will be considered finally closed. Before clicking on this button, make sure that the amount and terms of compensation specified in the seller’s offer are completely satisfactory to you. Do not click on this button if the refund amount is zero. Because this will mean that you will not be reimbursed a penny and the deal will be closed.

Edit button
By clicking on this button you can change the terms of a previously created dispute proposal. The edit page is logically similar to the page for opening a dispute, and you will need to re-indicate whether the product was received, the desired amount of compensation, the reason for opening a dispute, etc.
You can change the terms of both your own offer (for example, if you want to change the refund amount or reason) and the seller's response offer, changing the parameters of a given dispute. In this way, both the seller and you will be able to edit the dispute, putting forward counteroffers until you find a compromise solution to the dispute and one of the parties clicks on the “Accept” button. Also, on this page, you can write a message to the seller and attach photo/video evidence.
After editing the dispute, the page will switch to the already familiar status “Pending approval of the dispute by the seller” with a time counter for the seller’s response, during which he must take any action, or the dispute will be closed in your favor.

Button “Escalate the dispute”

If you understand that you cannot reach an agreement with the seller, then you can involve the AliExpress administration in the dispute, which will review your evidence and make a decision.
Before you press the button "Aggravate the dispute", make sure you provide all the necessary evidence, and most importantly, that you are satisfied with the amount and conditions in the last open offer for the dispute.

Remember that after you convert a dispute into a claim, it will be possible to add new evidence only if the administration requests it additionally. The administration's decision will be final. After the administration makes a decision, the transaction will be considered closed and the dispute will be reopened, or it will no longer be possible to challenge the administration’s decision.

Common Examples

Example 1. The track number is not readable for more than 15 days on any of the resources and for this reason a dispute was opened. The seller rejected your dispute, indicating a track number that is successfully read by postal services.

In this situation, the buyer must either cancel the dispute by clicking on the appropriate button (preferred option), or (if you believe that you are being defrauded) change the reason for the dispute to “Item not received” and insist on compensation.

Example 2. You received an item that you were not happy with for some reason, so you have requested a partial refund in a dispute. The seller rejected your dispute with a counteroffer for less compensation.

In this situation, you can edit the dispute by making a counteroffer to the seller with a new amount that suits you. This way, you can bargain with the seller like at a bazaar until you find a compromise solution. Or you do not intend to bargain, then, after waiting for the “Aggravate the dispute” button, submit this dispute to the Aliexpress administration for consideration.

Example 3. You did not receive the goods and opened a dispute due to the reason “Item not received”. The seller rejected your offer, extended the order protection timer, and asked you to wait for your parcel, citing poor postal service or the fact that he resent the order, which is about to arrive.

In this situation you can cancel the dispute, making sure that the protection timer has been extended or escalate the dispute, as in the previous situation.

Have a question? Write it in the comments or chat

Not long ago, news spread across the Internet that Aliexpress was tightening the conditions for delivering parcels to Ukraine and Belarus. According to their information, many buyers open a dispute over parcels that they received without a tracking number with a note that the parcel did not arrive to them. I can assume that, given the difficult situation in Ukraine, there are a lot of people who make such quick money. However, are the sellers themselves so honest in China?

How sellers on Aliexpress cheat when opening a dispute

For the Chinese, deceiving a buyer is simply a piece of cake. I even read somewhere that it’s in their blood. When it comes to money, they become very cunning and arrogant. Even when they are clearly wrong.

Didn't receive what you ordered? The quality of the product is not as stated - open a dispute on Ali. But keep in mind that here the Chinese can also cheat you. And even if you are right, Ali may rule against you. Let's tell you about the main tricks that you can get caught in the process of resolving a dispute. Everything will be clear and to the point, without any confusion.

1. Or maybe the product is not so bad?

Can you use it? Is there any problem with the product?

The Chinese will go from simple to complex - at first they will work using soft methods - they will try to solve everything “in an amicable way”. For example - well, you got the wrong color - they will apologize a thousand times, they will put sad emoticons and write every day that they admit their guilt, there is a lot of work, they made a mistake.

They may even write to you something like “I have a very strict boss, if he sees a dispute and a bad review, he will fire me, and I need to feed my sick mother.”

2. Reducing the price of dispute

For a Chinese seller, his rating is very important. And if the dispute was resolved in your favor, he did not accept your terms and then you also gave a bad review - that’s all, the cap. It is unacceptable for him that all disputes should be resolved this way (and just imagine how many people want to open them). Therefore, as a second step, you will be asked to reduce the cost of claims - by about two times.

3. Close the dispute - we will send you what you want

It’s logical - if instead of 6 pieces you only received 1, then where to go? Of course the Chinese must send the rest. But here are the nuances. Before that, he can ask to close the dispute - to protect himself, it seems that we have agreed. He may agree with you to close the dispute when he provides you with a tracking number. Seems fair too. But - do not agree under any circumstances!!! Don't be so compassionate. A brick or an empty parcel may be sent to you under this tracking number. Tell them to return the money and buy the product from another seller - that’s fair!

4. Close the dispute - we will return the money via PayPal

Dear. We refund you via Paypal account. Would you close the dispute? Waiting for your reply

Another trick. If you haven't already understood from the previous 3 points - You can not accept any conditions of Chinese sellers . Think about it - why make a return through PayPal if the same thing can be returned through a dispute? Well, maybe if you close the dispute yourself, this will somehow affect the seller’s rating, but:

• You may be asked to close the dispute before paying via Paypal. In this case you will not be able to open a dispute a second time. That's it, you just lost money on Aliexpress.
• If you are from Ukraine, you simply cannot accept money into your account due to the very conditions of Paypal - do you think the Chinese don’t know about this?

You can answer right away

Do not make a fool of me. I am in Ukraine. We can't accept PayPal.

5. Change the reason for the dispute. Yeah, right now!

They may write you something like

Honey, could you change the reason for the dispute: “Personal reasons” or “simple return(easy return)” or “shipping method is not as described.”

As you can see, the Chinese are very inventive and sometimes it seems that they act according to a manual. In this case, they ask that the cause of the dispute is not a low-quality product, but some minor reason like: personal beliefs, I don’t like the product (but don’t want to return it), it was sent by the wrong company - well, what kind of decision can they make on such reasons? Well, the shipment was from the wrong company, but did you receive the goods? The dispute can most likely be resolved in favor of the seller.

6. Blackmail - return the parcel - we will close the dispute

Then you return it, we give you a refund

Ooooh, only a short-sighted buyer or a newbie can be caught by this. Allegedly, if the goods are not sent back, the money will not be returned. This works on Ebay - indeed, if the product does not work, then you must return it if you want to get your money. There are also nuances here (in case you return the goods under the terms of the Ebay site):

• You must pay for shipping the item and approximately $2 for the tracking number. Send without a track number - the Chinese will say that they did not receive anything, even if this is not the case.
• The dispute can be open for a certain time and whether the parcel will arrive and most importantly - whether the Chinese will delay receiving it until the dispute is closed is unknown!

Since, according to the current rules, Aliexpress is on your side (unlike Ebay), it would be more correct to write

I will not pay for your mistake. Make a refund

Even if the Chinese write that they will pay for delivery (You will return the parcels, freight we pay), you are not obliged to return anything.

7. You won't get anything!

Here is the heavy artillery - the last attempts to catch you as a sucker! If before this there was just correspondence, then the Chinese will already make you an official offer. Boorish, arrogant and dishonest.

But when a solution is proposed, it will look like this

The seller offers a solution to the dispute

Here the reason for opening a dispute was that the parcel did not arrive within 3 months. If you don’t know English at all, then you may think that the Chinese agreed to your dispute, but this is not so: He offers not to return the goods and not to give you the money - No refund. You may also be offered not to return anything and return $0 - Return goods & refund US $ 0.00. This is similar to simply closing the dispute without paying you any money.

Honesty and reviews on Aliexpress

As you can see, the Chinese work according to the principle “Nothing personal - just business.” When you carry on a long correspondence with them, you simply don’t feel angry enough at how brazenly and cynically they act.

After they try to scam you, guess what they ask? That's right - don't give them negative feedback!

1. Dear~ I’m sorry — I’m willing to refund to you. Can you help me to change dispute reason？ Then I will accept the dispute. i really need your help
2. Dear~i hope you can change dispute reason write don’t receive the product，or can not find tracking information
   Then I will accept the dispute
   And refund to you, thanks for your understanding
3. Dear, Sorry for the inconvenience.
   We are willing to refund to you
   Hope you wouldn't give us the negative feedback

If someone does not understand English, they ask you to change the reason for opening a dispute - from “the product is not as stated” to something softer like “did not receive the product” or “the parcel is not trackable” and after that they will return the money.

Well, such an awesome thing - “We hope you won’t give us negative feedback.” Of course, you should leave a negative review - the seller just tried to scam you.

But what I want to say finally. There are a lot of Chinese who profit from the greed of buyers who think that for $5 they can get a power bank with a capacity of 10,000Mah and the same buyers who profit from the desire of these sellers to cheat. You know, at one time I had close contact with a Chinese - he studied with me. Once there was a conversation about Chinese goods, I said that they are cheap, but the quality suffers. To which he replied: “We have quality goods, but you don’t want to buy them.” So: be honest - open disputes for real reasons and do not buy any unnecessary fifth-rate nonsense.

Dispute on AliExpress is a system for resolving controversial issues between the buyer and seller regarding orders placed on Aliexpress. The dispute system consists of several stages. At the initial stage, the buyer opens a dispute, indicating the desired solution and terms of compensation. At the second stage, the seller must respond to the dispute or offer his solution. At the third stage, the buyer and seller must come to a common decision. If, after 3 stages of the dispute, no decision has been made, the dispute escalates with the involvement of the administration. The dispute system on AliExpress has become more automated and now there are only 5 days to conduct a dispute. If during this time no final decision is made between the parties, the site administration will automatically become involved in the dispute to resolve the conflict. Modern system disputes on Aliexpress are more practical than its earlier counterpart, since now all issues are resolved in stages without the participation of the buyer. But some users who are accustomed to manual dispute management question the fairness of the new system. Automatic dispute resolution with the involvement of the administration seems to be another attempt by the site to protect sellers from compensation. We will tell you more about the rules of the new dispute system and the stages of the dispute below.

One of the most frequently cited reasons for a dispute on Aliexpress is a dispute over discrepancy. This type of dispute opens if the product declared by the seller does not correspond in external characteristics or operating parameters to the description on the website. The satisfaction guarantee is one of the basic ones and is covered by buyer protection. This means that according to Aliexpress rules, if the product does not correspond to the description, the seller is obliged to return the money in full or in part. There are 2 types of non-conformity disputes:

• refund of the full cost of the product (Return Only) - this decision is indicated if the buyer intends to return his money, while the product itself can be kept. The buyer is not obliged to return the goods if they have minor defects and are subject to use; in return, they may demand partial compensation not exceeding 50% of the cost of the goods. The final amount of compensation is negotiated in the event of a dispute;
• refund of the cost of the goods subject to the return of the goods (Return of goods and money) - this decision obliges the buyer to return the defective or low-quality goods to the seller back to China in order to receive a monetary refund for its cost. At the same time, the sending country pays for the shipment, so it is worth agreeing in advance with the seller how the refund amount will be deducted.

The type of solution desired is determined by the buyer. Disputes regarding non-compliance are resolved on the basis of the evidence presented in the case. If the product has a minor discrepancy, the buyer can only claim part of the money. If the item is completely not as described, the buyer may request a full refund. Depending on the conditions of the dispute, there are 3 possible outcomes of the dispute:

• the seller will return the entire cost of the goods, the buyer keeps the goods;
• the seller will return part of the money from the cost of the goods, the buyer will keep the goods;
• the seller will return the entire cost of the goods, the buyer will return the goods themselves to the seller.

A fourth outcome is also possible, when the seller does not return anything. This decision is made on the basis of evidence presented by the buyer. If in the dispute a defect is indicated as a discrepancy that does not interfere with the full use of the product for its intended purpose, then the initial solution will be a partial refund. But if the product has a minor defect, the seller may reject the decision to return the money based on the buyer’s biased assessment of the product. In this case, the final decision is made by the site administration, but more on that later.

Opening a dispute

Opening a dispute over non-compliance consists of several stages. If the buyer receives a product that does not appear to correspond to the description on the Aliexpress website, he may open a dispute to receive a refund. To initiate a dispute, you need to open the “My AliExpress” section and find there the order you want to dispute. Next, indicate “Open a dispute” and a form will open for filling out the dispute requirements. The first page displays the desired solution to the dispute: “Return only” or “Return of goods and money.” Choose the solution that suits you best, depending on the condition of the goods received. For a full or partial refund, click “Return Only,” which means you only want to receive the money and keep the item. Or indicate “Return of goods and money” if you want to return the money and send the goods back to the seller in China.

After selecting the return option, a form will open to fill out a dispute request. From the point of view of Aliexpress, how correctly and competently the form is filled out determines whether the application will be satisfied or not. Despite the fact that only the description field needs to be filled in manually, most users make mistakes when filling out the dispute form, which is why they lose their money. Disputes over inconsistency are the most insidious on Aliexpress. If the product is defective, was damaged during delivery, does not appear to match the description, or is of poor quality, then these assessments are subjective. The seller may appeal the claim by offering only a partial refund. For of this type disputes on Aliexpress, partial compensation is the most frequently indicated outcome. In order to receive the full amount, you need to correctly indicate the details of the dispute. Let's take a closer look at how to fill out the form:

Terms of the dispute	Details and parameters
Expected Solution	Refund only
Have you received the goods?	Yes
Problem encountered	Product does not match description
Problem that has arisen (point 2)	Parameters do not correspond to the description / appearance does not correspond to the description / functions do not correspond to the declared ones / does not correspond to the sample
Refund amount	Product cost in dollars excluding delivery
	The item is of a poor quality, defective (Damage), does not correspond to the size chart (Do not respond the size measure), etc.
	Photos or videos where defects/poor quality, etc. are clearly visible.

It is worth noting several nuances. When indicating the reason for the dispute in the “Problem that has arisen” column, indicate the parameter that corresponds to the order. The request must be specific. If the size does not correspond to the table, indicate “Parameters do not match the description.” If the color/quality differs from those indicated on the website, please confirm your request " Appearance does not match the description." If it’s defective - “The functions do not correspond to the declared ones”, etc. Another important nuance - detailed description. From that. How accurately and objectively you talk about the problem depends on the outcome of the dispute. Let’s say you ordered an item that looks very different from the original, so you write “The item does not correspond to the order”. It is not necessary to write a poem; 2-3 sentences are enough to specify the request. Next, upload photo evidence. They should clearly show defects/poor quality/not matching the description, etc. It is better to take a screenshot from the website and a photo to show in contrast that the product does not correspond. If the product arrived in a small size, take measurements using a ruler and provide a screenshot of the size table from the website. After uploading photo/video evidence, confirm sending the request by clicking on the yellow button.

After this, the request will be forwarded to the seller. If the seller agrees, he will confirm the dispute and accept it. But most often sellers offer their own solution, for example, returning part of the money. The buyer can agree or reject the offer in the form of a dispute. The seller has 5 days to respond to the request, otherwise the dispute will be closed automatically in favor of the buyer.

Conducting a dispute

Filing a dispute takes a maximum of 7 days. The initial stage is “Request for return”. The buyer fills out a dispute request and sends it to the seller. The seller has 5 days from the moment the dispute is opened to accept/reject/offer an alternative solution. Typically, sellers offer a discount on your next purchase or a partial refund. Discussion of the dispute is carried out by personal message. Both sides can express their opinions by providing additional evidence. As soon as the seller offers his solution. The Accept/Reject button will appear. If you do not agree to the seller's terms, ignore his offer. If you are satisfied with the decision, click “Accept”.

Involving the Aliexpress administration in the dispute

The next stage is “Attracting AliExpress”. After 5 days from the moment the dispute is opened, provided that the seller has not responded to the application, or both parties cannot come to an agreement, the site administration is involved. This stage is also called “Aggravation of the dispute.” After 2 days from the moment the dispute escalated, the administration closed it. Details of the decision can be found in “Dispute Details”.

Dispute decision

After the site administration has reviewed the evidence from both sides and familiarized itself with the case, it closes the dispute. The decision on the dispute may be “Dispute closed. Refund only (amount)” or “Dispute closed. Refund only 0.00.” In the first case, the dispute is closed in favor of the buyer, in the second - in favor of the seller (without compensation). Details about the decision can be found in the “Dispute Details” section, where it will be described in detail why the administration made this decision.

Filing an appeal

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the seller or the administration, and you intend to receive full compensation for the defective product, you can appeal it within 15 days from the date of completion of the dispute. An appeal is made through the dispute form. Open the details of the dispute, there is a link “Submit a complaint”. Click on it and a window will appear with a form that you need to fill out. As a resolution, indicate “I am dissatisfied with the outcome of the dispute” or “I am dissatisfied with the level of support provided.” In the form below, describe in detail the problem you encountered, or more precisely, the reason why you want to file a complaint. After filling out, click the “Submit Complaint” button.

Refund

Refunds are processed within 3-5 business days depending on the payment method used. The refund is credited to the card or account from which the payment was made. You can see what stage the payment is currently at in the “Return Stages” section, where current information about the return is displayed. As soon as the money is credited, the status will change to “Refund Complete”.

Dispute over non-receipt

Dispute over non-receipt is the most common type of dispute on Aliexpress and the fastest to resolve. Almost all disputes opened for this reason are closed in favor of the buyer. This is due to another guarantee - timely delivery, under the terms of which, if the buyer does not receive the order on time, the seller will return the money. After this period has expired (under the new system, the period for each order is indicated in the history), the buyer can extend the buyer protection time or open a dispute. The maximum period for receiving orders from Aliexpress has been reduced from 90 days to 60 days. If there is no information about the track or when it has not been updated for a long time, it becomes clear that the parcel will no longer arrive.

Opening a dispute

You can initiate a dispute in the same way as in the previous case. Open “My AliExpress”, find your order history and click “Open dispute”. Next, select the “Return Only” solution. The seller will probably offer to extend the buyer's protection period, but if there is no track information, it is pointless. Next, fill out the form:

Terms of the dispute	Details and parameters
Expected Solution	Refund only
Have you received the goods	No
Problem encountered	Problems with product delivery
Problem that has arisen (point 2)	No tracking information
Refund amount	Product cost without delivery
Request details	The buyers protection is running out, but the item is still in transit
Please provide evidence	Take a screenshot of “Tracking Information”

Non-receipt disputes are usually initiated due to missing tracking information. In this case, the buyer is not to blame. If you indicate in the reasons for the dispute “Problems with delivery of goods. No tracking information", the seller will receive compensation through insurance. Next, confirm sending the dispute by clicking on the yellow button and wait for the result.

Conducting a dispute

The stages of dispute management are similar for all types of dispute. First, the application is sent to the seller for consideration, and within 5 days he must either reject or make a decision. 100% of Aliexpress sellers offer to extend buyer protection to wait a little longer. A patient buyer may agree and accept the terms. In this case, the dispute is suspended for the extension period and, if that order does not arrive, the dispute will be resumed and closed in an expedited manner. But, if the buyer does not accept the terms and does not intend to wait any longer, he can ignore the seller’s offer and wait for the dispute to escalate. If there is no response from the seller, the dispute is closed automatically in favor of the buyer after 7 days. If the buyer and seller cannot come to an agreement, the dispute escalates, and the site administration is guaranteed to close it in favor of the buyer.

Dispute resolution and money refund

The resolution of the dispute and refund of money takes no more than 2 weeks from the moment the dispute is opened. If the seller does not respond, the dispute will be closed immediately. If he answers, but the buyer and seller cannot agree, the administration will review the case and make a decision (always a full refund). Refund periods are the same for all disputes - from 3 to 15 days, depending on the used payment system. The buyer can learn more about the stages of return from the section of the same name or the details of the dispute. After the money is credited, the dispute is closed.

Conclusion

The new dispute system on AliExpress has made it easier for buyers to initiate and conduct disputes. Now all stages are automated, have strict step-by-step execution and are understandable even for those users who are encountering this for the first time. Now all disputes go through 3 main and 1 intermediate stages: initiation (opening) - management - aggravation (not always) - completion. Disputes have become easier and clearer. The Aliexpress website offers customers a simplified dispute management system to help resolve disputes faster. Previously, disputes dragged on for weeks, but now the maximum processing time is 7 days. It is worth noting that all discussions within the dispute are not available for viewing by the administration. To provide them as evidence. take a screenshot and upload it as an attachment.

Video: New dispute system on AliExpress

New system Disputes on AliExpress have become clearer and simpler, so users don’t have to worry about how to adapt to it. Everything has become much easier, taking into account the fact that from the moment of initiation to receipt of compensation, the buyer may not even participate in the dispute, and all stages are automated. If you still have questions about the new dispute system on AliExpress, we recommend watching the video