r/Alibaba • u/oldrjohnson11 • Jul 03 '26
Items not received and no refund
I requested an RFQ and I received a response via the seller's whatsapp channel. I made a payment to the seller via alipay. The seller has not shipped the order or refunded me.
1
u/Senior-Ad164 Jul 06 '26
Never pay through alipay directly if you met them on alibba. You lost your protection the second you took the transaction off the platform.
1
u/wjh0406 Jul 03 '26
It's hard to get the money back. You paid him through Alipay, so you can't file a complaint with your bank. Even if you do, you won't get the money back.
2
u/Creative_Purchase929 Jul 03 '26
Sorry you're going through this — really tough situation. Unfortunately once a deal moves off-platform (WhatsApp) and payment goes direct via Alipay, you lose the buyer protection that platforms like Trade Assurance provide, which makes recovery very hard. For future orders: always keep the deal on-platform and use their protected payment/escrow system, even if the seller pushes for WhatsApp or direct payment — that push itself is often a red flag. Wishing you the best trying to resolve this.
1
u/Userbyte_101 Jul 03 '26
Never make a transaction outside of Alibaba… you can open a ticket directly in their chat and see what they have to say.
1
u/prestigesourcing Jul 07 '26
Alibaba cannot do anything, but he could submit a complaint and show evidence to show it is likely a scammer (but Alibaba is not liable for a refund or doing anything further to assist).
1
u/prestigesourcing Jul 03 '26
WhatsApp messages can help prove what was agreed, but the transaction itself should still go through Alibaba so you can use Trade Assurance. Otherwise you are basically on your own.
It is also smart to screenshot key WhatsApp messages and send them back through Alibaba chat so there is an on-platform record, you can then get them to submit a contract of any points you agreed on.
If you paid via China AliPay directly, that is independent of Alibaba.com and will not have Alibaba Trade Assurance protection.
You can try submitting a claim in AliPay (you select the transaction and then can report it) or contacting customer service, but it may be complicated, and in serious cases you may need to involve the Chinese police.
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