Are there scammers on Aliexpress? (fraud and unscrupulous sellers on Aliexpress). How to get scammed on AliExpress and what to do about it

Described in detail in our article) Have you not thought that the buyer can deceive the seller? You will say it is impossible, but in fact, it is possible, and now we will convince you of it. The buyer can receive the product absolutely free!

Is it possible to deceive the seller?

In fact, there are many schemes for deception by sellers, and their number is increasing. But we will analyze the most proven and popular ones.

1 way, and the easiest one is after we already have the goods in our hands. But how can you prove in this case that the seller is really wrong? Everything is very simple, we either find a photo of the same product on the Internet that came to us, but with defects, and send the photo to the seller, or, if we are good at Photoshop, we add some defects ourselves. Let's say you bought a phone, but it has cracks on the screen. Next, we tell the seller that the conflict can be resolved if some part of the amount is returned to our account, and sellers, in most cases, agree, because they do not want to spoil their reputation because of one client. Using this scheme, you can get a small refund on almost any item.

Method 2. Using the second method, you can “recoup” not part of the money spent, but the entire amount spent. That is, the purchase will be absolutely free for us. But there is one detail here. In most cases, the Chinese send goods that cost less than $10 without a track number (they save money, so to speak). But they don’t do this with expensive goods, because they understand perfectly well that the buyer can also turn out to be a fraudster.

But let's get down to business. So, the long-awaited package arrived to us, and then we immediately said that no package arrived to us, therefore, we want to return the money. In most cases, sellers literally “tremble” for their reputation and reviews. So we boldly demand from him a full refund of the money we spent, hinting that you will not just leave such a situation and will do everything to make the seller regret it. Most likely, the seller himself will immediately offer you a refund of at least 80% of the amount of money from our purchase.

But you shouldn’t immediately run and try to deceive every seller, even if you’ve been scammed. Think about it, the Chinese are people just like us, and they often earn mere pennies on sales, and if every buyer tries to deceive them, then there will be no honest sellers left on the Aliexpress service, that is, there will be no one for us to buy from. , but we hardly need it. Yes, you can deceive the seller who “cheated” us, so to speak, to take revenge. And yet, you shouldn’t rely on some “super-quality” product.” Because there are buyers who buy watches called “Rolex” for a few dollars, and then wonder why they don’t look like the original for several thousand euros.

Friendly and friendly, at first glance, Chinese sellers often take advantage of the ignorance and inattention of buyers, as a result of which they are left without money and without the ordered goods from China from AliExpess. Therefore, when making a purchase, do not rush to pay for the product you like, pay attention to the negative reviews regarding the seller and the product he offers on AliExpress and do not believe the promises. In this article we will talk about some methods of deception practiced by dishonest sellers of the AliExpress website, and also tell you how not to fall for their bait.

Ways to cheat on AliExpress.com:

2) Price increase after the product has been ordered.

3) Sending goods from AliExpress to the wrong address.

4) Providing the buyer with a fake or someone else’s track number.

5) Fraud with early confirmation of order receipt.

Cheating the rating on the official website of AliExpress

What tricks do sellers of goods from China on AliExpress go to in order to earn their ratings? And it doesn’t matter that these actions are akin to fraud. The main thing for them is to attract more customers.

1. Increase the store’s rating by changing the assortment

Many new Chinese sellers start their sales with various little things at cheap prices. Often they literally give away these goods at cost, organizing sales with global discounts.

What is their goal? The answer is simple - the official AliExpress website has a rating system, according to which the seller is awarded points for each transaction. The transaction can be rated on a five-point scale.

The buyer, who has received his order, leaves a review and evaluates the seller’s work in the following categories:

Product quality - Item as Described.
Level of communication and communication with the seller - Communication.
Delivery speed - Shipping Speed.

If the buyer rated the seller’s work at 4-5 stars, then 1 point will be added to the seller’s rating, 3 stars correspond to 0 points, and for 1-2 stars, the seller’s rating will lose 1 point.

So, before moving on to selling expensive goods, these sellers sell all sorts of necessary little things at meager prices, thereby gaining a positive rating, and then change the assortment and no longer offer cheap goods, but more expensive ones.

Buyers, in turn, look exclusively at the positive rating of the seller and absolutely do not pay attention to the history of its sales. :21:

2. Substitution of one product for another

This trick is absolutely simple. The seller sells a certain good quality product, resulting in buyers leaving positive reviews on the product page. After the number of reviews has become impressive, the seller changes the photographs of the specified product to others, also changing the description. And since they cannot change parameters such as statistics, reviews and title, they remain inherited from the previous product.

It is possible to detect such deception on the AliExpress website in Russian if you scroll through all the reviews, starting with the earliest ones, and find photos or any inconsistencies in them. For example, on the specified page the seller sells dresses or sets of clothes clearly for girls, and the review clearly states: “I bought this suit, the threads do not stick out. Bright and beautiful. My son really liked it" or "The applique on the pants did not come off after washing", and on the page they are offered on this moment exclusively panties without appliqués. Yes Yes! If you do not want to be deceived, you need to pay attention even to such nuances.

3. Boosting product ratings using unrealistic reviews

IN in this case dishonest sellers leave only positive reviews for themselves in order to increase their ratings. To do this, they create new accounts, place orders, then cancel them and give high ratings. Thus, both the product page and new accounts gain ratings.

Calculate this method deception is quite difficult, but possible. And for this you will need to spend a lot of time and maximum care.

Buyers from Russia and CIS countries have very strange names;
Users who left reviews have the same registration date;
Absolutely identical reviews were left for the same product, but from supposedly different users;
There are many reviews from one country, located one after another.

4. Gifts to buyers for positive feedback

In order to gain a positive rating, the seller offers buyers gifts in exchange for leaving him good feedback, even if the product was not of the best quality. The most offensive thing is that after posting a review on AliExpress with 5 stars, the buyer may not receive the promised gift, because the seller, in fact, did not even plan to send it. Do not forget that the website www.AliExpress does not provide the ability to change a positive review to a negative one.

5. Fraudulent cheating of sales history and reviews on the ru AliExpress website

This method is designed for buyers who, having seen a product for a penny price or with a 90% discount, are more likely to rush to purchase it, without even looking at the store page on AliExpress and not paying attention to the lack of reviews.

The seller’s calculation is to wait until the order is processed and not send anything. In this case, the money is returned to the buyers’ account, and the sales history will be updated. Of course, such History does not shine with beauty, but, according to at least, she is.

Price increase after goods from China have been ordered

This type of deception is akin to SUPERMARKET FRAUD (you can add a link to the article). You add items to your cart, paying attention to the price tags, and when you pay at the checkout, you discover that the cost of some products differs significantly from the stated price.

This situation can happen to you on the official AliExpress website.
The website ru.aliexpress.com allows the seller to change the price after the product has been ordered but not yet paid for. Of course, in some cases, this works in the interests of buyers. For example, if they agreed with a Chinese seller about a discount and he provided it in this way.

But sellers often change the price of the product to benefit their loved ones, as shown in the example below:

Sending goods from AliExpress to an incorrect or distorted address

What fraudulent sellers will come up with in order to make a profit by fraudulent means at the expense of buyers’ wallets.

In this case, sellers send parcels from AliExpress to a deliberately incorrect or distorted address, packing unnecessary junk in a box or bag with a weight similar to the ordered product.

Simply put, the package is sent to your city (you see this on the tracking site), but to a non-existent address. For example, instead of st. Embankment, building 15, he will write to the recipient's address: Berezhnaya St., building 155.

For what purpose is this being done? :19: It’s simple - This is necessary so that the parcel remains in transit for as long as possible. The buyer, in turn, can track the parcel on the website and see that it is heading to his city.
Please note that if the post office receives a package to an address that does not exist, it is sent back to the sender.

The seller’s calculation is that the buyer, seeing that his package is moving in the right direction, forgets to monitor the order protection timer, as a result of which it ends, the deal is closed and the seller receives his money for the “wandering package”.

Providing the buyer with a fake or someone else's track number

In the first case, the seller provides the buyer with a set of numbers or a track number belonging to another product, counting on the fact that he will not monitor the order protection timer. Don’t be surprised, this situation happens to many newbies and as a result, the seller receives money without even bothering to send the goods.

In the second case The scammer shares the same tracking number with multiple buyers. Moreover, the parcel may go to your city, but only one of the buyers will wait for it.

Again, in this case, the dishonest seller is counting on your inattention and forgetfulness in relation to the order protection timer.

What can you do if you discover that the parcel is not at your post office or has already been assigned the “Delivered” status?

Remember that if you find yourself in this situation, you should act immediately. First of all, you need to call the post office where the parcel is currently located and ask to check the track whether it is registered in your name. It happens that parcels sometimes end up in other departments by mistake. In this case, you need to ask to send it to you.

If the package was not sent to you or it has already been received by someone else, you should immediately open a dispute, attaching screenshots from tracking sites and other evidence.

Fraud with early confirmation of order receipt

This is the most popular deception scheme on trading platform AliExpress works as follows:

You order the product and choose the express delivery method. The seller gives you a track number that cannot be tracked, or informs you that the express service did not accept the parcel and he can refund you part of the shipping costs and send the order by mail. The amount of compensation is usually small. “But don’t refuse,” many buyers think.

Please note that on the official AliExpress website, the seller can issue a refund only by opening a dispute. And as you already know, the dispute on which a decision is made closes the transaction and the remaining amount after deducting the refund is transferred to the seller. And, therefore, the buyer automatically loses the opportunity to open a dispute regarding this order in the future. As a result, the seller is left with both the goods and the money, and the buyer with a meager amount of compensation at his own expense.

Remember!

NEVER confirm an order before receiving it.

A new way to cheat on Aliexpress You place two orders from one seller. In your personal account
two orders and tracking appear. Receive one order and write a review. In the future, for an order that you have not received, the tracking number is changed by the seller to the number of the received order and it turns out that you have already received your two orders in one parcel. It turns out as if the seller sent two of your orders in one package. But in reality you only receive one order. And they just paid for the second one and didn’t receive it at all.

It is possible that the aliexpress website is directly involved in this, because it allows you to change the track number and does not respond

To bookmarks

AliExpress is not only one of the largest online malls in the world, but also a whole subculture around it. Netology editor Pavel Fedorov figured out why the site is so popular and how to choose the right products on it.

A moment of history Russia is the most important market for AliExpress. This country accounts for 60% of all site sales. November 11th during the huge Singles' Day sale total amount

Sales on AliExpress amounted to $14.3 billion. For lovers of statistics and thoughtless extrapolation: on average, every inhabitant of the Earth bought something worth $2 on AliExpress on November 11th. AliExpress began its entry into Russia with the Russification of the interface and the creation of a community on VKontakte. First confirmation of the official status of the public appeared

Alibaba Group, which owns AliExpress, has a branch in Russia headed by Mark Zavadsky, a former journalist for RIA Novosti and Expert magazine, specializing in Asia. And in China itself, a department was formed that oversees work with the Russian market.

The secret of popularity

The first association that comes to mind when mentioning AliExpress is price. Many things that are gathering dust in Russian offline stores can be bought several times cheaper with free delivery from China. Earrings, rings, bracelets, cables, flash drives - all this is sold on AliExpress at a bargain price. If you see a product for 90 rubles, then in a Russian store it costs at least 300. And on AliExpress itself you can find the same one for 30.

While the site was not popular in Russia, enterprising citizens brazenly took advantage of such a price difference. They ordered goods in bulk from China, and then sold them through VKontakte communities at exorbitant prices.

The price is the main thing driving factor AliExpress. There is an unspoken rule among fans of the service: do not ask each other “Why do you need this bullshit?”

Every week, as part of the sale, the site launches the “Almost for nothing” promotion: several products in limited quantities are listed for less than 50 cents. They sell out in seconds. The main rule in this case is to take what you have, not what you need. A classic example: “I bought an iPhone case for five rubles, but I don’t have an iPhone.”

The assortment is no less important. Many things simply cannot be bought in regular stores. It’s not because they are in short supply, they just don’t sell. For example, a couple of weeks ago I picked up from the post office a vital device that separates the whites from the yolks in eggs. It cost 25 rubles, I couldn’t pass it up. Things that would never ordinary life no one bought them, they migrate from China to Russia in “small packages”.

Adding fuel to the fire have become popular in Lately community “Look what I found on AliExpress.” Initially one public, but others quickly realized the beauty of making money on an affiliate program, and clones began to grow by leaps and bounds.

Communities act as curators, providing already excited fans with interesting and vitally needed Everyday life goods. For example, a ring opener.

How and what to buy

You can find almost everything on AliExpress. The main thing is to use your imagination and search. Do you need a CNC machine? Please, only 1.5 million rubles.

Not everyone knows about this, but there is even food on the site, although not all of it. Parcels from China to Russia still take a month, so it’s impossible to find perishable products. But teas, coffee and nuts are popular. And goji berries, of course.

If you try, you can also find Chinese convenience foods like mushroom soup or duck appetizers.

Now about how to buy. Use filters. The simplest set: " Free shipping", "Highest rating", "Piece only". They significantly narrow the output, but the risks of buying a bad product become less.

Read the description. Pay special attention to the weight, size, quantity. Perhaps this curtain costs half as much simply because an entire window would require two of them. Often goods are sold in packages or, conversely, in parts.

See reviews. If a product does not have any reviews, it is better to look for something from another seller. If there are only a bunch of ratings, but still no reviews, then you should avoid such a product. There are cases when the Chinese have made comments too big, but it’s hard not to notice.

Scroll through and look at several pages of reviews. Many people rate and write standard set letters, only to receive positive feedback from the seller. A five-star rating does not guarantee that the buyer received the product at all. “The product did not arrive, the money was returned, I will not order here again” - and a five-star rating. Among dozens of lazy people, there will definitely be someone who will honestly describe the pros and cons of the product.

Look again. Don't buy the first product you need. You can almost always find it cheaper. If you find a case for 300 rubles, it is likely that somewhere there is the same one for 30.

Use coupons. If you buy from the same seller multiple times, ask for a discount coupon. AliExpress itself sometimes gives or raffles off coupons.

Check sales. The list of products has a “Sale” filter - a useful thing.

Check out "Last Minutes". Previously, this section was called “Group Purchases” and operated on the purchasing principle. Sellers who list their items for this sale significantly reduce the price. In return, they receive a promo on the main page of the site and thousands of orders. Even the Last Minutes interface is different - there is no Add to Cart option, only Buy Now. All the most interesting things are snapped up almost instantly.

"Quick Deals" This section is in mobile applications- the same purchases, but with a time limit of an hour. Again, the most delicious goods disappear in seconds.

“Mall” is the standard of quality on AliExpress. A section with high-quality goods only from trusted sellers. Here the rest of the rules can be neglected. But you won’t be able to find something at a bargain price - you have to pay for quality. Products from Russian stores are also displayed here.

Delivery and returns

The average delivery time for goods from AliExpress is a month. Some sellers manage to complete it within a couple of weeks. The seller attaches a tracking number to each order: you can use it to track where your package is stuck.

If tracking is not tracked, do not panic. This is fine.

As a standard, each order has buyer protection of 60 days. When you received the goods, you must confirm this in your personal account. If not confirmed, the order will be automatically closed when the protection expires. It is at this moment that the seller receives his money from the system.

If the protection is coming to an end, the goods are not tracked and the post office says that there are no small packages in your name, feel free to ask the seller to extend the protection. Perhaps the parcel got lost somewhere along the way and will still arrive. Why miscellaneous goods delivered in different ways - an eternal mystery. For example, I don’t understand at all why a child’s dress from China came to Amsterdam, from there to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and now it’s stuck somewhere else.

If you are completely tired of waiting, you can open a dispute. First of all, the seller will begin to beg you to close the dispute and offer to resolve the issue amicably. For example, he will send the goods again. Or he will ask you to wait. Every dispute decided in favor of the buyer affects the sacred cow AliExpress sellers- rating. Therefore, they are afraid to argue.

If the seller agrees with the claims, the dispute is closed and your money is returned.
By official information, all parcels that were not picked up from the post office will eventually be sent back. But as the heads of several departments said, this does not apply to parcels from China - returning them is too expensive. Where the uncollected packages go is another mystery.

Dark side

If you wish and have no conscience, you can get it for free good product. For example, a telephone. To do this, after receiving the whole device, you can spoil the packaging, take a photo and open a dispute. Some sellers will indiscriminately agree to return the product so as not to spoil the rating and receive positive ratings. Of course, there is a chance that they won’t buy into such a scam, and will even leave a negative customer review - other sellers will definitely pay attention to it in the event of a controversial situation. Naturally, if you use this black technique too often, you can come under suspicion, or even get banned.

A well-known gray scheme is to catch the seller in bad faith. If you have chosen delivery to China Post, but the tracking number is not tracked after sending, you can file a complaint and convince the arbitrator that the seller is a fraudster. This way you can return the money, and then also receive the goods.

Another gray scheme is the breakdown of the order. You negotiate with the seller and pay for the goods in installments using coupons. The seller doesn't care - coupons do not affect the price of the reward he ultimately receives. But the platform is against it - if you open a dispute and it turns out that the order was broken, there is a high risk of getting banned.

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 - first they will work 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 you then also gave a bad review - that’s all, cover. 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 half.

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 this, he may 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 conditions 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.
A dispute can be opened 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!

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

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

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. One day 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 on real reasons and don’t bother buying any unnecessary five-grade nonsense.

A store's rating is the first thing a buyer looks at. Read more about how it is calculated. The bottom line is that the higher the rating, the higher the degree of trust in the seller. You're unlikely to buy an expensive phone from a retailer with 30 or 50 points. You will go to someone who has 4-5 crystals, or better yet, a couple of crowns.

This is not prohibited by the rules. There doesn't even seem to be any deception. But, you must admit, points earned in this way have a taste of fakeness.

Danger level: short.
What to do? Go to the store page, select “Products” → “View all products” → “Number of orders”.

You will see what the store sold and sells. Items that stand out sharply from the current assortment - indirect sign rating boosts.

Substitution of goods on the lot page

On AliExpress it's like charades. Will you notice if a couple of words change? Some sellers also use this.

For example, there was a page that sold watches with a strap made of genuine leather and Swarovski rhinestones. The product was in demand. Many people bought it and left grateful reviews. But the seller changed the description a little, changed a couple of photographs - and now it is a watch with a leatherette strap and the most ordinary beads.

The actual product is different, but the URL remains the same. This means that the product will be higher in search results, and most importantly, it will have many positive feedback. This may provoke a thoughtless purchase.

Danger level: short.
What to do? Go to the last page of reviews and carefully read what people have written. Pay attention to the nuances. If you notice a discrepancy between the review and the product description, refuse to purchase.

Browser extensions will help you quickly find a similar product.

With their help, you can find a product by picture, and the first one also simplifies the search by keywords.

"Typo" in the delivery address

Suppose you live on Stroiteley Street, house No. 2. But the seller sends (if he sends) the order to the following address: Stroiteley Street, house No. 222. The most unscrupulous ones send polystyrene foam instead of real things. For what?

It's simple. How longer package will wander around post offices in search of the addressee, all the better for the dishonest seller. The expectation is that the buyer will not monitor the timer on AliExpress and open a dispute. When the buyer's protection period expires, the transaction is closed and the seller receives the money.

Danger level: average.
What to do? Keep an eye on the buyer protection period. You can do this through notifications that regular customers receive by email, or by looking at “My Orders” on the website.

You can open a dispute on AliExpress no earlier than 5 days from the moment the seller confirms the shipment and no later than 15 days from the date the order was closed.

If you start a dispute, do not agree to resend the goods. Only ask for a full refund.

Extensions for tracking the location of the parcel also help to control the status of the goods. They are convenient because you don’t have to copy and paste tracking numbers back and forth.

Fake tracking number

A track number is now assigned even to cheap goods, but not all of them work. Sometimes for technical reasons, sometimes due to the seller’s malicious intent.

Again, the calculation is based on the inattention of the buyer. If you miss the protection period and do not open a dispute on time, the transaction will be closed automatically and the seller will receive his ill-gotten gains.

If you have time to realize this, such a would-be seller may begin to press for pity. “Please close the dispute, the goods are about to arrive,” he will cry. Under no circumstances should this be done. If you refuse the dispute, the money will go to the seller and nothing can be done. If the seller had actually sent the goods and there were delivery delays, he would have extended the protection period himself.

Danger level: average.
What to do? Monitor the buyer protection period, request a working track number from the seller and monitor the movement of the parcel.

Change of delivery method and partial refund

You can encounter such deception when purchasing goods with express delivery. Since "" is not known for its careful handling of parcels, paid delivery is usually chosen when ordering expensive status items.

Let's say you bought a phone for $200. The fee for EMS or DHL was $50. And soon you receive a letter: “Dear customer, unfortunately, the express delivery service did not accept the cargo due to problems with customs. Don't worry: I'll send you the phone number by regular mail. Let me refund the shipping. Open a dispute and ask for a $50 refund."

Caring, right? In fact, such a message is a reason to be wary, and not to be touched by the cordiality of the seller. The trick is that by closing the dispute, you will get your fifty dollars back, but the phone may never come to you.

Danger level: high.
What to do? Carefully check the reliability of the seller. What is his rating? Are there any complaints about him?

Browser extensions will come to the rescue again. Thus, AliExpress Tools and AliExpress Seller Check warn about complaints when visiting the page of a particular seller.

Changing the cost of goods after placing an order

In an article about Lifehacker, he said that you can negotiate a price reduction with some sellers. To do this, you need to register, but not yet pay for the goods. The retailer will see it and change the price.

Unfortunately, there are also impudent people who change the price tag in their favor.

Danger level: high.
What to do? Take a screenshot of the correspondence with the seller and complain about the dishonest seller via the AliExpress support chat or by e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].

Don't like to bargain? Then just install a couple of extensions and receive notifications about price reductions on the products you like.

Also, don’t be lazy to track price dynamics. These two extensions, as well as the above-mentioned AliExpress Tools and AliExpress Seller Check, will help with this.

Product does not match description

Products from China are sometimes so long-awaited that buyers give the seller five stars without testing the item. Everything has arrived, everything is intact - what else do you need? This is what scammers are counting on.

You may receive a product that does not meet the stated characteristics. For example, instead of a USB 3.0 flash drive, you will only get a USB 2.0 one. At risk are products whose properties only become apparent during use: memory cards, hard drives, seeds, and so on.

Danger level: high.
What to do? Don't rush with feedback. Check whether the item meets all the requirements stated when ordering. If you find any flaws, open a dispute. When a product is not as described, a partial or full refund may be available. In the latter case, it will have to be sent back to the seller.

Be careful, save your money! And if you have encountered the described or other methods of fraud on AliExpress, be sure to write about it in the comments.