💸 AliExpress Refunds & Disputes

Every order carries a Buyer Protection period, shown on the order itself. Within it you can open a dispute and AliExpress holds the money until the case is settled. This deadline is the single most important thing on this page. Once it lapses the money has been released to the seller and your options shrink dramatically.

• Check the exact date on the order - it varies by seller and shipping method.
• If the parcel is late, ask the seller to extend it. Many agree; it costs them nothing.
• If they refuse and the deadline is near, open the dispute anyway - you can close it if the parcel arrives.

• Message the seller first through the order chat. Many refund quickly rather than take a case.
• In My Orders, open the order and choose Open Dispute.
• Pick the outcome: refund only (nothing to send back) or refund and return.
• State the problem in one or two plain sentences and attach evidence.
• If the seller's counter-offer is unfair, escalate so AliExpress decides.

Cases are decided on what you can show, not on how strongly you argue.

• Photos and video of the item as it arrived, including the packaging and label.
• A screenshot of the tracking if the parcel never came or shows as delivered wrongly.
• The product page if what arrived does not match what was advertised - size, colour, quantity, specification.
• A short unboxing video for anything fragile or expensive. It is the strongest evidence there is, and it costs nothing.

• An approved refund returns to the original payment method; card refunds typically take a few working days to appear.
• For a return, weigh the postage to China against the item's value - on cheap goods it rarely makes sense, and 'refund only' is often the right ask.
• If a seller stops replying, escalate rather than wait. Silence runs down your clock, not theirs.