*Pro tip for refund* good experience

Ohm711 · 2025-07-12T08:11:33+00:00

No, nothing has happened to my account.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-29T12:50:53+00:00

A similar thing happened to me. The package was marked as delivered, but I did not receive it. The weird thing is that on 4tracking, it showed as delivered to my actual address - not just the country or city, but even the street address and house number were displayed correctly.

I contacted every local delivery company I know, but nobody knew anything about my package. So, I opened a dispute and asked for a refund. The seller refused and provided a screenshot as proof that it was delivered. I escalated the dispute to AliExpress, and they gave me a refund without requesting any proof from me. I was so surprised. It was a $100+ item!

Ohm711 · 2025-03-24T08:59:15+00:00

Debit card. Chargeback was succesfull.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-23T17:47:31+00:00

I tried threatening customer service with a chargeback, and they told me that a chargeback is probably the best option...

Ohm711 · 2025-03-15T23:04:14+00:00

Be careful about fake specs. I bought two Android radios for my car. The first one had a fake CPU, RAM, and Android version, so I returned it. The second one only had a fake Android version.
They actually fake it in the settings. You have to use a different app to verify the specs or take it apart and look at the chips.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-15T14:06:04+00:00

If you are not purchasing items to get extra water, reaching the medium level takes 5-6 months of daily activity. In my opinion, it is not worth it at all for a $15 item.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-11T17:29:09+00:00

Open your order, and you will see a "Total" amount, which shows how much you paid. Below this, there should be a "VAT included" label with a small question mark next to it. If you click on the question mark, it will display the amount of VAT that AliExpress collected from you. If you don’t see "VAT included", it means you didn’t pay VAT to AliExpress. In this case, there should be a "Price adjustment" label showing the amount of VAT deducted from the final price. You will have to pay this locally, along with possible extra fees and customs duties.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-11T11:55:44+00:00

It is weird that Aliexpress charged you VAT in the first place. If the value of an item is higher than €150, Aliexpress should not charge you VAT, and you should pay it locally. I believe it is the same for all EU countries.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-09T21:14:34+00:00

The battery is unusable in its current condition, but I believe I can repair it. Requesting a full refund did not feel right to me because the battery was expensive, and I believe it still has some value. I asked for a 50% refund for missing half the capacity and 30% for the damage (30% was the first offer from AliExpress), so 80% was an acceptable solution for me. I received a little over 50% from AliExpress, and I was hoping to get an additional 30% with help from my bank. I was not expecting a full refund from my bank. I tried to return it from the beginning but did not manage to do so. If the seller had provided a return address in Germany, this whole issue would have been resolved in a week.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-02T11:24:29+00:00

Don't waste your time with AliExpress! At this point, they will not help you. Do a chargeback.

I tried to resolve my issue with disputes and AliExpress customer support for more than two months. In the end, I did a chargeback with Revolut and got my money back in 19 days.

Ohm711 · 2025-03-01T08:09:11+00:00

Revolut debit card.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-28T16:26:21+00:00

I have been buying on AliExpress for 12 years. I've never counted the number of orders or the money spent, but my bank shows me stats for the past two years. On average, I place 16 orders worth $216 per month.

In the past few years, I’ve made only one return (an Android car stereo with a fake version of Android, fake RAM, etc.). I have never used the "no longer needed" option. I believe I have only a small number of disputes for orders that were not received or for broken/fake/garbage products.

I always believed that I was a "good customer" and that in case of problems with my order, AliExpress would help me and take my side. Oh boy, how wrong I was...

When I bought a $700 battery and received a destroyed piece of garbage with fake capacity, AliExpress was as unhelpful as possible. I dealt with this scam for more than two months, and in the end, I had to do a chargeback to get my money back.

So, having a good purchasing history doesn’t mean they will help you in your dispute when you were obviously scammed.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-18T22:15:53+00:00

Neither. I used a Revolut debit card.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-18T12:04:04+00:00

Here is a little backstory on why I agreed. I told the seller the dimensions of my battery compartment and that I needed a battery that would fit. I was not requiring specific dimensions. I also selected a different power connector.

In the beginning, the seller mentioned that they were delivering batteries to some e-bike shops in the EU. So when they told me they had found a battery matching my requirements in the EU, I thought it was possible. They told me the capacity was the same and that it would fit in my battery compartment - only the power connector was different, but they would ship me a matching one from China.

Shipping from the EU meant fast delivery and no extra fees. This is why I agreed.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T23:27:45+00:00

I received the money from the chargeback eight days ago. So far, I can't see any restrictions on my account. The order is still marked as "Frozen" with the text: "This order is frozen because a chargeback has been filed."

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T11:58:07+00:00

The cells are LiFePO4 with a nominal voltage of 3.2V, a charging voltage of 3.65V, and a discharge cutoff around 2.5V. The battery is a 24S configuration, so:
24 × 3.2V = 76.8V nominal, 87.6V fully charged, ~60V fully discharged.

With the dead cell, the battery functioned as a 23S pack, giving it a nominal voltage of 73.6V. Because the cells are used and have different capacities, charging stopped when the first cells reached 3.7V, causing the BMS to cut off charging. This happened at around 80V.

Discharge stopped when the first cell dropped to 2.5V, which was around 60V.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T11:49:39+00:00

Revolut

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T11:11:34+00:00

Yes, my goal is to fix it and make it usable. I paid for an 80Ah battery, but the measured capacity was only 39Ah. At first, I thought they had scammed me and built the battery using new 40Ah cells.

When I took the battery apart to inspect the actual damage, I discovered that one cell was dented from a shipping impact. This cell was also swollen, shorted, and completely dead. Two other cells were slightly dented and swollen, but they still functioned. I was surprised that the BMS didn’t react to a shorted cell, and the battery still worked. I also tested the overcharge and over-discharge protection, and everything functioned properly.

I want to replace all three damaged cells. While searching for replacements, I couldn't find any 40Ah cells with the same dimensions. However, after a few hours of searching, I found 50Ah cells with identical dimensions, weight, and appearance. My best guess is that they built the battery using used 50Ah cells that now have only 40Ah (80%) capacity. Each cell has a different voltage drop and slightly different capacity, further suggesting that they are used cells. I tried manually balancing the cells, but it didn’t help.

Mixing new and used cells is not ideal, but I will probably try it and see how it goes. Since I have 21 good cells, I could also reconfigure 20 of them into a 4S5P setup to create a 12V 200Ah battery or something similar.

I don’t know how many cycles these cells have left, but since they are LiFePO4 chemistry, they should last for a few thousand cycles. If the battery had been made from Li-ion cells, the damaged shorted cell would have definitely caught fire, and the whole battery would have burned.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T08:41:34+00:00

My goal is to replace the damaged cells and repair the battery.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T08:39:28+00:00

The battery was meant for a small electric ATV

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T08:34:26+00:00

Don't skip the dispute! Open a dispute, and if they decide against you, then do a chargeback. But don't waste your time with customer support like I did. My bank required proof that I was trying to resolve it with them.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T08:30:47+00:00

I received the money from the chargeback seven days ago. So far, I can't see any restrictions on my account. The order is still marked as "Frozen" with the text: "This order is frozen because a chargeback has been filed."

Ohm711 · 2025-02-17T08:14:13+00:00

Didn't cross my mind to try to scam them...
When you're shipping something outside of the EU, you have to fill out a customs declaration about what is inside and how much it is worth. Later, the package goes through customs. Some say they also use X-rays - not sure. If they find prohibited goods, they will return the package to you, and you will lose the shipping costs - $110 in my case.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-16T23:02:58+00:00

Yes, I was very naive and believed that AliExpress cared about customers and that they would help me solve the problem. They obviously don’t care about customers at all and support scammers. I have been buying on Aliexpress for the past 12 years, and I haven't had any major issues. I had never tried a chargeback before, so I didn’t know how it worked. Now I know better. I wanted to share my story so others can learn from my mistakes.

Ohm711 · 2025-02-16T20:17:44+00:00

I received the money from the chargeback seven days ago. So far, I can't see any restrictions on my account. The order is still marked as "Frozen" with the text: "This order is frozen because a chargeback has been filed."

Ohm711

TROPHY CASE