Our buying guide answers whether AliExpress is safe in general. This one's for if something already went wrong on a specific order and you want to know what to actually do about it, in order.
In this guide
Check this before you panic
Before assuming the worst, confirm it's actually a problem and not just a slow but normal order. Check your tracking status against our tracking guide — a stalled customs status is common and usually resolves on its own. Then check the buyer protection deadline shown on your order page; that date, not your own sense of "it's been a while," is what actually matters for whether you have a legitimate claim yet.
Open a dispute
If the deadline has genuinely passed, or the item that arrived doesn't match the listing, go to My Orders and open a dispute directly — this is covered step by step in our returns and refunds guide. Attach everything useful the first time: photos of what arrived, tracking screenshots, and any messages with the seller. Disputes submitted with full documentation upfront resolve faster and are less likely to need an appeal at all.
If the dispute gets denied
A denial isn't final. Go back into the order and look for an option to escalate or request a second review — this exists specifically for cases where the first decision missed something. Add any evidence you didn't include originally rather than resubmitting the same case unchanged.
Going through your bank
If you paid by credit card or PayPal and AliExpress's own process is genuinely exhausted — not just slow — a chargeback or PayPal dispute is a legitimate next step, which is exactly why our payment methods guide recommends using one of those over a debit card in the first place. Use this as a last resort, though: filing a chargeback while an AliExpress dispute is still active can complicate both at once, so let AliExpress's process finish first.
Frequently asked questions
My AliExpress order never arrived — is this a scam?
Not automatically. Check the tracking status first — a stalled customs status or a slow shipping line is far more common than an actual scam. If the buyer protection deadline shown at checkout has genuinely passed with no delivery, open a dispute; that alone resolves the large majority of these cases without needing to escalate further.
AliExpress denied my dispute — what now?
You can appeal it. Go back into the order and look for an option to escalate or request a second review, and add any documentation you didn't include the first time — photos, tracking screenshots, messages with the seller. Disputes with more evidence attached the first time are less likely to need a second round at all.
Can I get my money back through my bank if AliExpress won't help?
If you paid by credit card or PayPal, yes — a chargeback or a PayPal dispute is a real second path once AliExpress's own process is genuinely exhausted, not a first step. Go through AliExpress's dispute system fully first; skipping straight to a chargeback while a dispute is still open can complicate both processes at once.
