I will never use AliExpress again

[tecman]

Back in May I ordered a Miniware L1060 active load from Ali.  Everything went well, got my tracking number and waited.  Then tracking showed that the delivery was sent to a local delivery center, followed by "Delivery attempt unsuccessful".  Putting the tracking number in USPS tracking (US postal service), I get "Label Created, not yet in system".  After a few weeks I tried to contact Ali, but was forced to use their automated system "idiot AI" to eventually get a live chat.  I was told that I needed to follow up with USPS.  I contacted USPS who told me that they do not as yet have the item, and therefore have no new information in their system.  I went back to Ali who said I needed a document from USPS that it was not received.  I went back to Ali and USPS several more times.  Ali insisting I needed a letter from USPS and USPS saying we have nothing, and the message/statement on their tracking was the only information available.  Visits and calls to USPS resulted in them only having the tracking info (not received yet) and Ali insisting I needed a document from USPS.  I did forward a screen shot of USPS tracking info and a link to the tracking site, but they insisted I needed a document from USPS.  I attempted (through chat as the only contact) to expedite or get an email address of someone who cared, with the only answer being we need a document from USPS.  In the end it is now 7 months later, USPS is still waiting for the item, Ali not doing anything and me being out $200 !

I had some delivery issues with Ali in the past, but they were resolved with a refund.  Now I do not trust that Ali would follow up with any issue to a customer's satisfaction.  Still to today USPS tracking still shows waiting for the item, and Ali having closed out the order.  Ali seems to have no path to be able to contact anyone to complain, and the "wonderful" service chat contacts do not want to believe the USPS tracking website information.  I can say that from China eBay and BangGood have been reliable suppliers.

Have any of you had an issue like this with Ali ?

Paul

[dorkshoei]

I've been though pretty much this exact same issue.  Fortunately only once out of several hundred AliE orders and thankfully not for a $200 item.  Their package tracking (via Cainiao,  a sister company of AliExpress) has serious issues with respect to accurately reporting final delivery.

In my case the package arrived at A.C.I (Ali Express' delivery partner in California).  They normally then deliver direct to my destination Post Office at which point USPS handles final mile delivery.   Unfortunately A.C.I lost the package.    ACI refused to reply to emails.   Tracking at USPS.com showed A.C.I still had package but Cainiao tracking showed it was ready for pickup.

Dispute was closed with "our tracking shows it's at local post office".  Following up with screenshots showing USPS website resulted in the same rejection.  The low level AliExpress staff reviewing disputes seemingly have no clue what USPS is and/or will only look at Cainiao tracking.   If you go through the "agent dance" you can eventually speak to an agent.   Several years ago they were more competent than they are now.  They opened a case (distinct from a refund dispute) which resulted in a direct email to me "package is at local post office,  if not,  you need to get a lost item letter").  You can't reply to a case. Only go through the agent process all over again.  USPS won't provide a lost item letter for an item that has never been in their possession.

I reopened the return process and went through several rejections with same "our tracking shows it's at local post office" before bluntly stating that they needed to have someone "more senior" review the screenshots I provided else I would open a chargeback with my credit card company who would review the screenshots.  At that point the dispute went into a "document review" state that I'd never seen before.   5 days later they issued refund.   Package never arrived.

I still order from AliExpress but I'm very aware of where they suck and how badly.

[langwadt]

and it is silly when a buyer is required to jump through hoops with a shipping company, because they are not the costumer of the shipping company, the sender is

[tecman]

I am convinced that the forwarder is where it got lost, as Dorkshoei found.  I tried to get Ali to follow up with the forwarder, but was told get a document from USPS.  I have no idea who the forwarded was in my case.  Ir seems that onle the shipment gets to the forwarder, Ali washes their hand of the issue.

paul

[dorkshoei]

and it is silly when a buyer is required to jump through hoops with a shipping company, because they are not the costumer of the shipping company, the sender is

AliE shipping is now pretty complex.  Packages get assigned a USPS tracking# inside China at some sorting center.  If you have multiple orders from different sellers they often get consolidated into a single shipment (by I think Cainiao) sometimes with an updated USPS tracking# which happens without the knowledge of the actual sender.   If Cainiao native tracking properly reported the package status it would be a non-issue, but it doesn't.

[tecman]

Unfortunately the tracking info is gone.  I only have screen shots taken earlier.  No forwarder info is shown.

paul

[schmitt trigger]

Tecman;
Sorry to hear about your loss. 

OTOH, did you ever acquire the MDP-L1060? What did you think of it?

[tecman]

No I never got a replacement unit.  I was just hoping that the original shipment might turn up in some warehouse and eventually ship to me.  Plus I did not want to dish out another $200

paul

[dorkshoei]

Unfortunately the tracking info is gone.  I only have screen shots taken earlier.  No forwarder info is shown.

paul

Isn't the tracking# still available on AliExpress site under orders/tracking?    Using this you should still be able to bring up the tracking info on usps.com

[tecman]

I have the tracking number, and as of this morning I still get

[dorkshoei]

This is a totally different situation. 

It's Singapore mail.  It would enter USPS via normal means, via a USPS ISC, not through a shipping partner.

Are you sure it didn't get replaced with an alternative tracking#.    Is this still what is shown on AliE order page??

What is shown if you track on the cainaro tracking site.

How did you fund this? If via visa/MC I would be contacting them.

[tecman]

On Ali's site, the order is present, and closed.  No tracking info was available.  Putting in the tracking into USPS tracking site yields the message I posted already.

Again from earlier days:

[dorkshoei]

On Ali's site, the order is present, and closed.  No tracking info was available.  Putting in the tracking into USPS tracking site yields the message I posted already.

Sorry i had forgotten they delete all the tracking information once an order is closed.   Another truly annoying AliE feature.

What is shown if you enter the tracking# into the Cainaro tracking site.  Does it resemble what AliE showed.  https://global.cainiao.com

I really would have long ago escalated this to my credit card company.

[bdunham7]

Have any of you had an issue like this with Ali ?

I've had issues like that, but I don't remember if it was ever with AliExpress.  I just call dispute the charge with my credit card company and in a case like this, I'd get an immediate credit and probably never hear about it again.

[tecman]

Thanks for the tip/ling.  I found a new entry, which I can maybe get Ali's attention:

[dorkshoei]

Thanks for the tip/ling.  I found a new entry, which I can maybe get Ali's attention:

I suspect this is another case of the package getting lost within the "drop shipping" and Cainaro's tracking displaying BS.  It's not possible for "Arrived at local delivery center" and "Delivery attempt unsuccessful" to be true if USPS tracking shows they have never received the item.

Like I said, I was finally able to get AliE to pay attention to the above discrepancy by demanding that they escalate to someone more senior and threatening a credit card chargeback if they did not.   However my return dispute was still open.    You may have to just contact your credit card company.   I have heard that AliE may close your account if you file a chargeback but it sounds like that would not upset you.

GOOD LUCK!

[testpoint1]

I never use it, so many fake, poor product.

[KungFuJosh]

I never use it, so many fake, poor product.

Wait... Are you talking about ali, amazon, or ebay?

[xrunner]

I never use it, so many fake, poor product.

Wait... Are you talking about ali, amazon, or ebay?

 

[rhodges]

I never use it, so many fake, poor product.

Over the last year, I have ordered 300 CH32V003 MCUs, and they work as expected. Also 16 strings and arrays of WS2812B LEDs, and they work exactly as expected.

[KungFuJosh]

I never use it, so many fake, poor product.

Wait... Are you talking about ali, amazon, or ebay?

 

And they're all better than TEMU. 😉

[tecman]

Well miracles do happen.  With a great shoutout to dorkshoei, I used the link he provided for the Chinese shipping forwarder, put in my tracking number and found that my shipment was returned to the Chinese warehouse about 3 weeks ago ( posted the info in an earlier post).  I jumped on to Ali, and after hunting around there for some minutes, I went into a "did not receive" screen.  I put in my info and hoped for the best.  This morning, about 12 hours later, I received 2 emails from Ali saying that they revisited my case and are issuing me a full refund.  I checked my bank info and the refund was already in my account !.  They did apologize for "an unpleasant shopping experience".  Still the fact that they did not want to believe USPS tracking info, and that it took 7 months are still examples of very poor customer service.  My experience with Amazon is having a refund a few minutes after you send the return request.  While Ali has some great deals, they are sometimes at great risk.

Thanks again to dorkshoei.

paul

[Old Printer]

Patience is a virtue, but not when dealing with online ordering. Our best weapon is our CC company, vendors listen best when you have them by the wallet. This post has been a good reminder to me, thanks to all.

[dorkshoei]

Paul.  Well done. I'm really glad it worked out. 

AliE can be truly maddening. There is a subreddit that can be helpful in figuring out how to deal with AliE.

[Deni]

I have mixed experience with Ali - some low cost items (<10$) never arrived and I was never refunded. Once I bought a ceiling lamp which came broken.
I complained and sent the pictures of the package, which was OK, and the item itself. It was obvious item was packed broken.
They simply decided that 50% refund should do and closed the case. Now I am short of 65$ and have a lamp which I can throw into garbage, what I did.
I think I'll never use Ali anymore. As some wise guy said - "I am not rich enough to buy cheap stuff..."