AliExpress Buyer Protection: What It Covers, the Deadlines, and What to Do When a Refund Stalls

What does AliExpress Buyer Protection actually promise?

Here is the official page, summarised without the marketing:

Source: AliExpress Buyer Protection page, read September 29, 2026. Terms can differ by country and by listing; the order page is the final word.

Two details trip people up. The guaranteed delivery window is specific to each order and printed on its detail page; it isn't a single number for the whole site. And the free return applies only to eligible items — look for the return badge on the listing before buying, especially for clothes and shoes where size is a risk.

Verdict: Screenshot the order page on the day you buy: it holds the delivery guarantee and the return eligibility you'll need later.

How to open an AliExpress dispute

Opening a dispute is done from the order itself. The steps are the same whatever went wrong:

1. Open the order in your AliExpress account and choose the option to request a refund or return.
2. Pick the reason carefully — not received, not as described, damaged, missing parts — because it decides what evidence is expected.
3. Upload evidence: photos of the item next to the listing's photos, a short video of any fault, a photo of the parcel and label.
4. Say what you want: a full refund, a partial refund, or a return.
5. Answer promptly. Sellers and AliExpress respond within set time limits; if you miss yours, the case can close in the seller's favour.

Keep everything inside AliExpress's messages. A seller asking you to cancel the dispute in exchange for a promise, or to move to another chat app, is a seller asking you to give up your protection.

What to do when AliExpress won't give a refund

'AliExpress won't give refund' is one of the phrases people search next to 'AliExpress spreadsheet', and AliExpress's own Trustpilot page — 1.9/5 from 188,401 reviews, 29% one-star — is full of refund complaints. If a dispute stalls or closes against you, you still have options:

1. Appeal inside AliExpress if the dispute page offers it, with any new evidence.
2. Contact AliExpress customer service through the help centre, quoting the order and dispute numbers.
3. Ask your payment provider. Card issuers offer chargebacks and PayPal has its own buyer protection for eligible purchases; both have time limits, so don't wait months.
4. Use your country's consumer rights. EU and UK consumers have statutory rights on goods that are faulty or not as described, and consumer-advice services can help with cross-border disputes.

Verdict: Don't let a stalled dispute run out your payment provider's deadline. Escalate while you still can.

AliExpress protection against an agent's QC

AliExpress protects you after delivery. A shopping agent buying from Taobao or Weidian protects you before shipping, through QC photos. The two models suit different purchases:

Sources: AliExpress Buyer Protection page; agent terms on this site's agent pages.

The evidence that wins disputes

Most refund disputes are won or lost on evidence, so collect it as you go rather than after something goes wrong. At purchase, screenshot the listing — title, photos, size chart, price, return badge — because listings are edited and removed. On delivery, photograph the parcel with its label before opening anything expensive, and film the unboxing if the item is costly. If something's wrong, photograph it next to the listing's own photo so the difference is obvious.

The order tracker is built for this: it records each order's delivery date and works out the 15-day claim and return deadlines, so you know which orders are still protected at a glance.