Wife and I shop at AliExpress frequently for inexpensive items, compare to other outlets such as eBay, AliExpress is more trustworthy and has great buyer protection including quick shipping. I may write another post about how to get the most out of AliExpress. Since almost all the items coming from AliExpress are from China, we treat all purchases as “Final Sale”. For that reason, we tend to keep our purchases amount low.
Starting in September 2019, AliExpress is offering the option of Free Return service in countries including United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Russia. Similar to Fulfilled by Amazon, where the goods are shipped and returned via Amazon. Free Return in AliExpress allows buyer to return the purchases for free within 15 days of receiving it from China to a local warehouse. See the sample for Free Return eligibility:
The seller must participate with Free Return program like above. I just used this service to return a motherboard because the condition is not as described. The experience was great and if not similar to Amazon. I am going to share that experience for Canadian shoppers. It only takes a few steps from My Orders:
Once the dispute is filed like above, within the hour the page will refresh with a button to generate a CanadaPost label (it takes a couple minutes), then click on the button again to print the expedited parcel label. I packed it up and took photos of everything just in case, I dropped it off at CanadaPost.
For me, the return package went to a company called “Goodie Trading Ltd”. Google search returns a metal recycler in Chilliwack, BC ????♂️. They received my package the next day and I received a their confirmation from AliExpress that afternoon.
Overall, the free return service is easy to use. It is a little awkward because I have to “Open Dispute”, but at the very least I do not need to deal with the seller. If those of you who shopped with Chinese sellers, they are not the most communicable people. With this service, I am a little confident on higher ticket items ????.
Finally, as with any Chinese site. I highly recommend spend some time to understand the terms and condition to avoid any issues.