When we hear about the cancellation of an order, the first thing we assume is that the buyer is the one who canceled the purchase. However, sometimes these processes are initiated by the sellers themselves or by the AliExpress shopping platform.
As it’s something unusual, it generates doubts, and many times users do not know what actions to take. Here we explain how and why these cancellations happen and what you should do in each case.
Automatic cancellations on AliExpress: Why do they happen, and what can you do?
The AliExpress system is automated to cancel orders that aren’t reported as shipped. In this sense, if your products take longer than usual to arrive, they are probably canceled. To find out for sure, you can check the details of your order on the page.
If this is your situation, you have two options:
Request shipment of the product
If you still want to receive your order, we recommend you contact the seller. By contacting the seller you’ll know if the cause of the delay in shipping is due to lack of stock, problems with transportation, or saturation of the company due to busy periods such as Christmas.
In case you buy on dates like that, you should know that many stores do not deliver even though they do accept orders. If so, your product will arrive after the company resumes its regular activities. Check availability before ordering.
Money refund
In case you no longer want to receive the product, you can expect to get your money back. To do so, you just have to let the preparation time run and expire. Letting this period expire is better than requesting the cancellation of the order because if you do so, you will need the seller’s response.
On the contrary, if you decide to wait, AliExpress will automatically cancel the order and the refund will be initiated.
Refund details: refund waiting time
After the preparation time has passed and your product hasn’t been shipped, the refund may take 3 to 15 days. No need to panic if your money hasn’t been sent yet, just wait for this time to pass. If you feel that the refund is taking too long, you can contact AliExpress to find out if there was any inconvenience.
On the other hand, remember that when you pay in a currency other than dollars, the amount varies according to the rate of the day. Thus, the amount of money that was deducted from your account when you made the purchase, will not be the same amount that you’ll be reimbursed. The difference may not be very noticeable, it may be a few cents. And just as you can gain a few cents, at other times you can also lose a few cents.
What to do if your AliExpress order says “canceled”?
When your order has this message, it means that there was an error in the shipment for different reasons:
- Maybe the courier in China didn’t look for your purchase.
- Your order was shipped, but it was returned in Chinese customs.
As you can see, this message appears whether your package has been shipped or not. However, we advise you to take it easy, as you’ll receive your money back in case it’s what you want.
On the other hand, if you wish to get the canceled product you can do the following:
- Contact the store that sold you the product and come to an agreement. Sellers usually offer apologies and propose to reship the package. Remember that this other shipment has a different tracking number. Ask for it if they don’t give it to you so you can track your order.
Contacting the seller is not difficult. To do it you must go to this section. Then, as you see in the image, click on “contact the seller”.
If you don’t want to wait any longer and prefer to get your money back, you can open a dispute. This is recommended if the seller doesn’t respond to your calls. AliExpress will mediate and look for a solution to your problem.
What happens when a seller cancels an order on AliExpress?
The reasons why a seller cancels an order can be due to lack of stock or because of delivery problems. If this happens, the seller may contact you and inform you of the situation.
Once the reason for the delay has been clarified, the seller may ask you to request the cancellation of the order. This is because sellers don’t have the option to cancel purchases manually. They can only wait for the deadline for shipments to expire or contact the user.
On the other hand, the seller will ask you to specify in your cancellation reason the option “Other reasons”. By doing so, you’ll speed up the process and the refund will be faster. In case you specify the cancellation reason, the company will be penalized by AliExpress and the refund process will be extended.
Other reasons why orders may be canceled
AliExpress can cancel orders not only automatically, but also when it detects fraudulent or suspicious activity. To be more specific, this type of cancellation can occur if:
The seller is suspicious
AliExpress is a secure platform precisely because of this type of action. When the system identifies strange activity in a seller, it cancels their orders. However, this type of cancellation is becoming less frequent, as stores are constantly evaluated to avoid risky situations and other frauds.
The user is fraudulent
AliExpress not only checks if sellers are trustworthy, but it also makes sure that its users are honest and thus avoids fraud on both sides. The AliExpress system will consider that there’s a problem with your profile when your personal or credit card information doesn’t match or appears to be false. In such cases, the site will cancel your orders and ask for verification of your data.
How to prevent AliExpress from canceling an order?
Most of the time when an order is canceled, it’s due to inconveniences that the seller has had. In such cases, there is nothing you can do but check the merchant’s reputation. However, even the best seller can run out of stock.
On the other hand, what you can do is to have all your registration information in order. Verify that the information you provided on AliExpress is correct. You should also check your bank account and make sure everything is in order.
To conclude, we’d like to recommend that if you’re new to AliExpress, read everything you can about the platform. This way, you won’t have any doubts when using their services. Find out about warranties, shipping and currency accepted. For now, we can assure you that it’s a reliable and safe site.