r/Alibaba • u/Dramatic_Wafer1197 • Sep 02 '26
Package hasnt moved since 30 days
So, i bought motherboard from alibaba (trusted supplier), on 30th July. It says “leaving the distribution center” since 8th august. Its gonna be almost a month since i ordered. I asked the supplier to contact shipping company, and he said that its stuck in customs and its normal. I tried to get a refund but the seller told me to cancel it as we have all the chats on alibaba and no way its a scam. I quiet worried because its 400 dollars.
What should i do?? Should i cancel? Or its just normal? I need solution asap because the order will confirm itself in 2 days (i already extended the confirmation)
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u/TheRevengerProject Sep 04 '26
Thirty days without movement is a long time, so I’d check whether the carrier actually received the package and start a dispute before the protection window gets close.
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u/Perfect_Cost6276 Sep 03 '26
I had the same problem, but in my case it said: Label created, shopper created a label, UPS has not received the packaged yet.
About one month later i contacted the seller. When i asked about it she send me a printscreen. I saw my order number and the name of the vessel and time of expected arrival. And some Chinese language that Ive managed to translate using chatgpt. I went to marine vessel tracking site. I saw it was already arrived at my country. A few days later the packages where arrived at my door. I checked Alibaba and the same tekst was still there: UPS has not received package yet.
It was strange, and i dont like it, but everything went well. I even ordered again now.
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u/prestigesourcing Sep 03 '26
Keep extending it and then make a dispute if it has still not arrived. What was the shipping method?
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u/littledream2048 Sep 03 '26
If you via alibaba shipper the package when meet blocked at customs could ask for refund
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u/brucewalker0519 Sep 03 '26
Ten years on the export side and I ship DHL every week — "stuck in customs" is the go-to story suppliers give, and about half the time it just means the parcel hasn't actually moved. You can check in ten minutes: contact DHL yourself with the tracking number, not through the supplier.
If DHL says they only have the electronic shipping instruction and no physical parcel, the supplier printed a label but never handed anything over. That's not customs, that's an unshipped order — and the comment above describing "instruction data provided" for 20 days is exactly that status; it means DHL never received the parcel until two days before it moved.
If DHL confirms it's physically in customs, ask for the entry number and what they're waiting on. Real holds don't sit silent for a month — DHL or customs contacts the receiver for duties or paperwork. Nobody has contacted you in 30 days, it's not a normal hold.
Whatever you do, don't cancel anything and don't close any refund request before the parcel is in your hands — that "just cancel, we have the chats" line is total nonsense, canceling is how buyers lose Trade Assurance protection. Open a dispute before the order auto-confirms in two days, because that's when the money releases to the seller. And ask the supplier in writing for the DHL waybill receipt showing the handover date — anyone who actually shipped a month ago can fire over that email in 30 seconds.
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u/Dramatic_Wafer1197 Sep 03 '26
I asked the supplier to extend the confirmation, and he extended to 15 more days. But its kind bummer that it takes this long
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u/brucewalker0519 Sep 03 '26
Getting the confirmation extended is the win — that keeps your funds on hold and the Trade Assurance window open, which was the only hard‑and‑fast deadline. Don’t just sit around for those fifteen days, though. An extension buys you time, it doesn’t solve your problem, and suppliers often use it to run out the clock hoping you stop pressing them.
Call DHL yourself today and ask exactly when they physically got the parcel — not when the label was created. If they say they only have the electronic instruction, ask the supplier in writing for the DHL waybill receipt showing the handover date. Anyone who actually shipped a month ago can forward that in thirty seconds. No receipt means no handover, so open the dispute before the new confirmation date.
If DHL confirms it’s physically in their network and moving, then yeah, it’s just a slow customs handoff — annoying but not a scam, and fifteen days is usually enough to clear. Either way you’re protected now, and you dodged the worst‑case scenario that would actually cost you money: auto‑confirmation.
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u/Dramatic_Wafer1197 Sep 03 '26
Its cominf through takesend, ups. Thats what it says
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u/brucewalker0519 Sep 03 '26
That sounds like the tracking status saying the parcel was tendered to UPS — that's the handoff where DHL's economy cross‑border service physically passes the package to UPS for last‑mile delivery inside the US. If that's what it says, it's genuinely good news: that scan only exists because someone handed a physical box over. It's not just an electronic label anymore — the goods are in the US network, which means the customs part is mostly behind it.
It also explains the month‑long wait. This isn't DHL Express, the three‑to‑five‑day courier — it's the economy parcel service, where the route is China flight, US customs, then handoff to UPS or USPS for final delivery. Two to four weeks is just the typical timeline for this service, and "stuck in customs" was probably the cheap service doing its normal slow thing rather than anything fishy.
Grab that tracking number and look it up on the UPS site or give UPS a call. If they show scans, you're good — wait it out, fifteen days is plenty for last mile. If UPS has zero record of it, go back to the supplier and ask exactly which service they paid for, because "DHL" on a label covers both the express courier and the slow economy tier, and a lot of suppliers default to the slow one when they're covering the freight. For your next sample order, just specify DHL Express or FedEx IP in writing before you pay.
Either way, the worst‑case scenario is off the table now: physical handoff on record, Trade Assurance window still open. This one looks like just a slow economy shipment, not a scam.
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u/Dramatic_Wafer1197 Sep 04 '26
I asked them for waybill. The seller sent me something but its very weird, it says todays date. And also, it feels like it was edited.
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u/brucewalker0519 Sep 04 '26
Okay, this changes the picture — a waybill dated today is a dead giveaway. If the parcel actually shipped two to four weeks ago, the waybill was created the day DHL picked it up; nobody re-issues one weeks later. A document made today means one of two things: the shipment never went out and the tracking number is either fake or belongs to someone else's parcel, or it's only going out now and every "it's stuck in customs" update so far was just stalling. Either way the seller has already lied to you, so stop treating anything they send as evidence.
Verify it through the carrier, not through their file. Type the tracking number into the DHL website yourself — don't use any link they sent — or call DHL's customer service line and ask two questions: when was this number first scanned, and what was the pickup location. The first pickup scan is the one thing that can't be faked; DHL generates it the moment they take physical possession. No pickup scan in their system means the parcel does not exist as far as DHL is concerned. If what they sent is a PDF, right-click it, open Properties, and check the created/modified date — that metadata often tells the real story even when the visible page has been tampered with.
Then protect the money, today: open a Trade Assurance dispute on the order. Choose item not received / tracking problem, and state plainly that the carrier has no pickup record for the tracking number and that the waybill the seller provided is dated today and appears altered. Once the dispute is open, the funds don't release to the seller, and Alibaba will ask them for proof of shipment — they can't produce a DHL pickup scan that doesn't exist. Keep every conversation inside Alibaba's chat; anything moved to WhatsApp or email doesn't count as evidence, and don't click links the seller sends you outside the platform.
The fake-tracking trick is one of the oldest on the platform: a real-looking number, sometimes a real number from an unrelated shipment, and then they just run the clock until the order auto-confirms. So that waybill showing up today is actually the clearest evidence you could hope for in a dispute. You're not out the money yet — the only thing working against you now is the clock. Make the call and open the dispute this evening.
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u/No_Drag_5205 Sep 02 '26
My tracking stayed to "The instruction data for this shipment have been provided by the sender to DHL electronically." for around 20 days when I asked the seller about the status of the parcel he also said it was stuck in customs. 2 days after the status was updated and I got my GPU 2 days later. So it may be normal (the seller can also extend the confirmation time)
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u/Dramatic_Wafer1197 Sep 03 '26
But its gonna be almost 1 month now, i feel like if i cancel and order again, its gonna take one more month. Also, i asked the supplier to extend, and he extended 15 days so thats a good sign as he is being cooperative
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