Aliexpress Disputes

[Hikertrash]

I have a couple items I've been waiting for over a month. Aliexpress expects you to wait over 3 months before opening a dispute. Most credit card companies only give you sixty days. I don't plan on waiting over 60 days, only to find out it's too late.

Have any of you waited over 60 days only to lose money ordering through Aliexpress? Or have you ordered any items and waited over 2 months to get them?

 

[FoxTrot]

I do not have any experience with Aliexpress or Alibaba. However, I had a conversation with the owner of The Counterfeit Report recently. He says that the vast majority of items purchased from these two sites are counterfeit items. You should look over this list and see if your items are there:

The Counterfeit Report

Don't be deceived by a fake, check The Counterfeit Report before you buy, counterfeit product alert, counterfeit warning, counterfeit products, fake products, report fake products

www.thecounterfeitreport.com

 

[FoxTrot]

BTW, I am not affiliated with his site or him at all. He called our company to purchase some equipment and we ended up having a wide-ranging conversation about counterfeit goods. He talked about counterfeit lithium ion batteries being the culprit in many of the hoverboard fires that occurred. I know that a lot of people won't charge their ebikes indoors due to the risk of fire.

 

[byunbee]

I've also ordered from AliExpress, and yes, minimum 5-6 weeks and usually 2-3 months. It's really for people that aren't in a hurry to get their products and want to save some money. One example is buying brake pads in bulk.

 

[Hikertrash]

I do not have any experience with Aliexpress or Alibaba. However, I had a conversation with the owner of The Counterfeit Report recently. He says that the vast majority of items purchased from these two sites are counterfeit items. You should look over this list and see if your items are there:

The Counterfeit Report

Don't be deceived by a fake, check The Counterfeit Report before you buy, counterfeit product alert, counterfeit warning, counterfeit products, fake products, report fake products

www.thecounterfeitreport.com

I didn't order any name brand items so I'm not worried about that.

The problem I have is it says on the website an item should arrive in 33-33 days or 20-38 days (both over) but you can't open a dispute until 90 days or more. Also, often their tracking isn't available. One item "arrived in country of destination on 6/25" and ends there, hopefully it's the US and should be here soon.

Another item that cost $311, plus $32 shipping, says 5-8 days and it's been 3 weeks. It says it's shipped (FedEx IP) but tracking isn't available.

 

[byunbee]

I didn't order any name brand items so I'm not worried about that.

The problem I have is it says on the website an item should arrive in 33-33 days or 20-38 days (both over) but you can't open a dispute until 90 days or more. Also, often their tracking isn't available. One item "arrived in country of destination on 6/25" and ends there, hopefully it's the US and should be here soon.

Another item that cost $311 ($38 shipping), says 5-8 days and it's been 3 weeks. It says it's shipped (FedEx IP) but tracking isn't available.

You usually don't need to worry about losing your money as AliExpress will provide full refund if you don't receive the product. The biggest issue with buying from AliExpress is that it's a crapshoot on whether the package will ever make its way through the delivery maze to your door. It's mainly an annoyance.

 

[harryS]

My first aliexpress dispute did not go well. I was a newbie and didn't realize that there is a time window. The seller gave me some fake promises, and as soon as the window expired, he disappeared. Demand your money back before the window goes away.

My next one was amazingly fast. I received a defective item, clearly seen in the photo I attached. Aliexpress ruled in my favor that same day and sent a refund, and said I could keep the part.

I'm a bit leery about spending big bucks (over $100) on aliexpress, unless it's a known vendor like PSWpower (motors/controllers) or Unit Pack Power (batteries).

 

[Hikertrash]

OK, I received my big ticket item today, a 48 volt 14ah battery with charger. An email soon after I ordered said 4 weeks and that's how long it took. It was well-packed, nearly identical to the stock battery and even came with the male end connector.

The I'm still waiting for a tire repair patch kit and wider handlebars (53 days) but since they totaled less than $20 I'm not all that worried. I just don't want to have to order from another vendor. Maybe this week!

 

[Hikertrash]

The I'm still waiting for a tire repair patch kit and wider handlebars (53 days) but since they totaled less than $20 I'm not all that worried. I just don't want to have to order from another vendor. Maybe this week!

The handlebars arrived in country of destination on 6/25. Today I see:

Shipment dispatched

2020-07-15 09:27:00 [SAN BRUNO,94066]

Hopefully, I'll receive them by next week.

Still no info regarding the patch kit.


Tracking information is temporarily unavailable.

Logistics company:
China Post Registered Air Mail
Shipment time:
2020-05-26 21:40:10

That's one slow plane.

 

[Hikertrash]

Still no info regarding the patch kit.


Tracking information is temporarily unavailable.

Logistics company:
China Post Registered Air Mail
Shipment time:
2020-05-26 21:40:10

That's one slow plane.

Of the 5 items I ordered on Ali Express, the least expensive never arrived. After 3 month I was able to file a dispute, still pending.

 

[Gionnirocket]

I've ordered from them many times and have never lost any money. If items don't arrive or are not the quality described you should easily get a refund. You do have to follow thier policies and supply photos /videos for quality issues.
If you order items that have Aliexpress Shipping or ePacket shipping I've received those in as little as 10 days and typically less than 20 days. There's usually a drop down window on items to select different shipping speeds as well.
With the pandemic things were a bit slower and the usual 60 day waiting period was changed to 90 to make it fair for their sellers. I've started receiving things relatively quickly again the past month and it's near back to 10 - 20 days for the Ali and ePacket shipping.

 

[tomjasz]

For me it’s all about the store and their rating. Top rated stores have never burned me.

 

[Hikertrash]

I've ordered from them many times and have never lost any money. If items don't arrive or are not the quality described you should easily get a refund. You do have to follow thier policies and supply photos /videos for quality issues.

All I provided was tracking info. Ordered on 5/20, the tracking showed, and still shows the item reaching the US on 6/6.

I only filed a few days ago, shortly after I wrote my last post, Ali Express issued a refund.

I feel a little badly about the dispute since the seller has decent reviews and great prices but they wanted me to wait.

 

[Gionnirocket]

I had a few items arrive very late and had to dispute which ended in my favor.
The items that did eventually arrive I PayPal'd the money back to the seller or purchased it again and told them not to ship. You'll have to mark the item as arrived on your order page
If your items do arrive you can send the seller a message.

 

[Handlebars]

My first AliExpress purchase.
They sent me a charger that causes a spark from the battery when connecting. I didn't connect all the way to find out if it worked after that.
I don't even want a replacement from the same bad crew because I'm not going to subject my home to dangerous junk from that seller. Seller refuses return or refund, claiming they tested it and it was fine. That's just a lie.

 

[fooferdoggie]

My first AliExpress purchase.
They sent me a charger that causes a spark from the battery when connecting. I didn't connect all the way to find out if it worked after that.
I don't even want a replacement from the same bad crew because I'm not going to subject my home to dangerous junk from that seller. Seller refuses return or refund, claiming they tested it and it was fine. That's just a lie.

a spark is pretty normal for the lower end batteries and charger. both my electric scooters would have a spark when i plugged them in.

 

[Hikertrash]

Spark is normal.

If you would like to prevent spark, make sure to connect the charger to outlet first to stabilize the electricity.
The spark was caused by differentiation in voltage.

I have my charger plugged into a surge protector with the switch off when not charging. When I need to charge my bike, I plugged that end in and turn the surge protector/charger on.

 

[Handlebars]

Spark is normal.

If you would like to prevent spark, make sure to connect the charger to outlet first to stabilize the electricity.
The spark was caused by differentiation in voltage.

For example, if your charger isn't connected (0V) and if your battery has some voltage left (say 47.2V) there's a possibility of spark right there.

However, if you connect your charger to your outlet, the charger will now have voltage (54.6V) and if your battery has some voltage left (47.2V for example), that's not a huge difference in electricity to cause spark.

Thank you. The charger that came with the bike has instructions whcih say to plug into battery first, THEN to outlet. It never causes a spark.
I have also connected that original charger to the wall outlet first and then to the battery, and that doesn't cause a spark either.
Also the instructions on the AliExpress charger say to plug to the battery first.
I guess that means my original charger is better quality.

For my AliExpress complaint I would have thought that the company would say a spark is normal for their charger if it is normal under their own stated method in the instructions. The pic I showed them was with the power cord to outlet still wrapped up, so their response wasn't in sync with the alternative procedure, of plugging to wall outlet first.

Since you guys report that sparking is not a sign of malfunction in your experience, I guess I will just put the new charger aside for backup in case my old charger fails.
Thanks, guys.

Later... I tried plugging the charger into the outlet first, contrary to instructions. Confirmed, no sparking.
Still, isn't insurance coverage nullified or questionable if you do the opposite to the electronics safety instructions?

 

[Gionnirocket]

Thank you. The charger that came with the bike has instructions whcih say to plug into battery first, THEN to outlet. It never causes a spark.
I have also connected that original charger to the wall outlet first and then to the battery, and that doesn't cause a spark either.
Also the instructions on the AliExpress charger say to plug to the battery first.
I guess that means my original charger is better quality.

For my AliExpress complaint I would have thought that the company would say a spark is normal for their charger if it is normal under their own stated method in the instructions. The pic I showed them was with the power cord to outlet still wrapped up, so their response wasn't in sync with the alternative procedure, of plugging to wall outlet first.

Since you guys report that sparking is not a sign of malfunction in your experience, I guess I will just put the new charger aside for backup in case my old charger fails.
Thanks, guys.

Later... I tried plugging the charger into the outlet first, contrary to instructions. Confirmed, no sparking.
Still, isn't insurance coverage nullified or questionable if you do the opposite to the electronics safety instructions?

Please understand that the spark you saw is more likely caused by a cheap battery than a cheap charger especially if you are following the instructions given which are correct.
A few reasons for the spark are a battery with no BMS or an inexpensive BMS.
Another would be that the switch on the battery is ON or was recently ON and there is some residual current in the BMS. To drain this just turn the bike ON with the battery OFF and the display will use it up in a few seconds. Leave the battery switch OFF while you plug in the charger.
Same goes for the charger... If it is plugged in or was recently plugged in with no load there can be some residual voltage present. Not necessary but if you wanted to dissipate it you could short the connector or connect it to a voltage meter with the charger unpluged.
All these are exacerbated by the cheap 5.5mm plug.
Correct procedure to plug in your charger....
Plug the charger in to the battery with the battery switch OFF
Plug the charger into your house electric.
If it doesn't start to charge, cycle the battery power switch ON

Sorry @Timpo ...though your theory on differential has some validity, it is not the correct procedure to plug the charger in.

 

[Handlebars]

Please understand that the spark you saw is more likely caused by a cheap battery than a cheap charger especially if you are following the instructions given which are correct.

The original charger ("SANS" brand) that came with the bike doesn't create sparking under any conditions so far.