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? How does the site handle disputes and refunds? Can you trust AliExpress overall?

Let's dive into the world of AliExpress and answer some of these questions.

What Is AliExpress?

AliExpress is part of the Alibaba Group. The group is a Chinese eCommerce company that offers a variety of retail services to businesses and consumers around the world. In April 2016, it overtook Walmart to become the largest retailer in the world.

Alibaba launched its AliExpress subdivision in 2010. It's an online-only company that sells mainly Chinese products. It functions more like eBay than Amazon: it's a host platform that lets third-party companies sell their wares. It doesn't sell products itself.

AliExpress is the most popular eCommerce site in Russia and is also widely used throughout Latin America and mainland Europe.

1. Buying From AliExpress: Buyer Protections

how are buyers protected on aliexpress

Buying online comes with inherent risks. Unlike doing your shopping in a physical store, you can't see the item prior to purchase. This leaves a lot to the imagination. How does the product feel? Is the material high quality? Is the sizing right? Can you return a product if it falls short of your expectations or needs? In the case of online shopping, you sometimes have to take a leap of faith with the products you buy.

If you're buying a well-known brand, you can read online reviews or even head to physical shops to test the product before buying and resolve problems after your purchase. But some online stores have a more ambiguous reputation, with many mixed reviews. AliExpress reviews can vary from overwhelmingly positive to deeply critical, so it can be hard to know what kind of site you're dealing with. Many stores even use AI bots to write fake reviews. The same goes for other cheap clothing websites like Shein.

So, is AliExpress safe and legit to buy from?

Many of the cheap white-label Chinese products on AliExpress are not available in local stores. In addition, you are purchasing from sellers based thousands of miles away. All of these add elements of risk to your purchase. Normally, you will be making your decision solely based on the description, a few photos, and reviews. So, it's vital that the site has a robust buyer protection policy.

Luckily, it does. The company offers two important guarantees:

  1. A full refund if you don't receive your order: If the item does not show up, or even if it does not arrive within the timescale the seller specifies, you can apply for a full refund. You will get a full refund within 15 days.
  2. A full or partial refund if the item is not as described: If your purchase differs significantly from what you expected, you have two options. You can either return the item for a full refund or keep the item and receive a partial refund.

In both cases, you are allowed three free returns per month. If your return requests exceed three in a month, you will need to bear the return shipping fees.

2. How to Resolve Disputes on AliExpress

aliexpress dispute process

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 directly 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. The company will then act as a mediator between you and the seller to reach a mutual resolution.

3. Find a Reputable Seller: The Feedback Page

check out seller feedback on aliexpress

The easiest way to avoid using 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 subdivided 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. As a default, you will only see comments from top raters from all over the world. After viewing those comments, you should sort for the latest ones as well as those from buyers from your country. Doing this will give you clearer expectations and mean you can check if the product meets the standards of customers where you live.

Besides this, you can sort by negative comments to see just how far the product falls short of others' expectations and if it's a deal-breaker for you.

4. Check Seller Guarantees

buyer protection on aliexpress

Sellers can also offer buyers specific safeguards. As a general rule, the more guarantees provided, the more confident you can be in your purchase. Again, it helps to make AliExpress a more reliable store.

Sellers offer guarantees on a per-item basis. Just because a seller offers lots of assurances on one product doesn't mean the same assurances are replicated across other products in their catalog. So, make sure you do thorough research before you commit to a purchase.

There are four different guarantees sellers can offer:

  1. On-Time Delivery. The seller promises to provide a full refund if your purchase does not arrive by a pre-agreed time.
  2. Returns and Refunds. The seller promises to offer a full refund if the product is not as described.
  3. Domestic Returns. The seller has a warehouse in your country. You can send returns to it without needing to worry about shipping costs or customs fees.
  4. Guaranteed Genuine. If you're buying a big-ticket electronic item, this is one to look out for. It means the item has been verified as genuine by AliExpress itself.

To see which guarantees are provided for an individual item, check for the Buyer Protection information in the Quick Info part of the product page, or click the Seller Guarantees tab below the product image.

5. Be a Smart Shopper to Avoid Fraud

No matter how much security the site puts in place, you always need to take some responsibility for your own actions.

AliExpress offers some helpful hints to make sure you avoid fraudulent sales. Most of them are common sense, but it's still prudent to recap some of them:

  • If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Sorry, but you're not going to get the latest iPhone for $10. You're probably buying an iPhone keyring instead. Check the small print so you don't fall victim to AliExpress scams.
  • Never send money to a seller's bank account. If a seller wants you to send money directly to them rather than through AliExpress, do not proceed. Sending money outside of AliExpress means the site will not cover you under its buyer protection policies.
  • Never share your card or banking details. An offer to make purchases on your behalf is most likely a scam. You should not trust a stranger with your card or bank account details for any reason. Besides the risk of stealing money from you, you could further fall victim to identity theft.
  • Do not confirm delivery before receiving the order. Never say you've received an item before it's in your possession and you've thoroughly checked it for problems.

You should also make yourself aware of formjacking any time you're shopping online.

Can You Trust AliExpress?

Chinese products often have an unfair reputation for being cheap and of poor quality. But this is not always true. Many of the products on AliExpress are well-made and available for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for an equivalent item in the shops of North America or Europe.

AliExpress can be a great website to buy legit products; you just need to exercise the same caution as you would when using other online shopping sites.