Ordering something on AliExpress is exciting, but sometimes, circumstances change, and you may need to cancel your order.
Whether you’ve found a better deal, changed your mind, or need to return an item, AliExpress offers several options for cancellations.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about canceling an order, from before it’s paid to after it’s shipped, ensuring you have all the steps and tips for a smooth process.
Also Read: How to Change Your AliExpress Account Password?
Steps How to Cancel an Order on AliExpress : A Step-by-Step Guide
The process for cancelling an order on AliExpress depends on whether your payment has been verified and the order shipped:
Scenario 1: Order Not Paid or Payment Not Verified
- Log in to your AliExpress account. Go to the AliExpress website and log in with your credentials.
- Access your "My Orders" section. Click on "My Orders" or a similar option to view your order history.
- Locate the order you want to cancel. Find the specific order you wish to cancel from the list.
- Click "Cancel Order." Look for a "Cancel Order" button next to the order details. Clicking this will initiate the cancellation process.
- Confirm cancellation. A confirmation window might appear. Click "Yes" or "Confirm" to proceed.
Scenario 2: Order Paid and Not Shipped (Awaiting Shipment)
- Follow steps 1-3 from the previous scenario. Locate the order you want to cancel in your "My Orders" section.
- Click "Request Order Cancellation." Instead of "Cancel Order," you'll see this option for paid orders.
- Choose a reason for cancellation. Select a reason from the provided dropdown menu for why you wish to cancel the order.
- Click "Submit." This will send a cancellation request to the seller.
Important Notes:
- The seller has 72 hours to respond to your cancellation request.
- If the seller approves your request within 72 hours, your order will be cancelled, and a refund will be initiated.
- If the seller doesn't respond within 72 hours, AliExpress will automatically cancel the order and issue a refund.
- You cannot cancel an order after it has been shipped. If your order shows "The seller has shipped your order," you cannot cancel it through this method. However, you can still try contacting the seller directly to see if they are willing to accept a return or get in touch with AliExpress.
Seller Cancelled Order on AliExpress
Sometimes, when the seller takes too long, usually more than the standard time to send your product, it is possible that your order gets automatically cancelled. Even after you've already bought it and paid for it, it can happen.
On your personal dashboard, you’ll be shown a timeline that displays how long the seller has to begin shipping the product to you.
If the seller doesn’t do it in the allotted time, AliExpress reserves the right to cancel it. Normally, if the order is automatically cancelled, you don’t have to apply for a refund or open dispute, it is automatically transferred to the account you used with your preferred mode of payment.
What about redeeming discount codes?
But naturally, some of you may want to challenge this kind of cancellation and refund, especially if you’ve used a discount or coupon code you earned after multiple orders. Before the clock is going to be out, you can anticipate whether or not the seller is going to ship your product.
In such cases, decide what you want: whether you don’t care enough about it and you don’t mind it being cancelled and would rather have the money back, or you really want the order and contact the seller and urge them to extended the preparation time so it doesn’t come to cancellation.
It is possible for some sellers to undergo a shipment problem after you’ve placed the order. It could be a lack of stock to an influx of orders during a busy time like annual discounts, New years, Christmas etc.
In the case where you want your money back because you want to either pull out of the purchase or don’t trust the seller anymore, the best option for you to do is requesting for the cancellation of your order, or wait for the preparation time to expire.
If you cancel the order on your own, you’ll have to wait for the approval of the seller and wait for 7 to 15working days for the refund process to begin. Sometimes, it is best just to wait it out so that you can have a hassle-free refund process after a self-cancellation of the order.
In the case that you purchased your order with a coupon, there are certain conditions. If all the products purchased via the coupon are cancelled, only then can the coupon be retrieved.
This is only valid as long as the coupon hasn’t expired. In the cases that you used promotional codes from sellers to purchase your product, you won’t be able to retrieve those coupons either.
When the order is cancelled by the seller
There are many responsible sellers on AliExpress as well. Those that will take the time and inform you that due to a particular reason, they will not be able to send you your order. They might have some issues with inventory and realized they can’t make your order.
In these cases also, you will have to request the cancellation after the seller has contacted you. They’ll tell you what to do. Usually, as a custom, the sellers ask you to opt for ‘cancellation for other reasons’ so that they can avoid any penalties against them.
It is best that you choose that, especially if the seller has contacted you. It won’t affect you in any way and also, the seller won’t cause any problems and would just approve the request quickly. There is no other way for the seller to cancel the order other than to request a cancellation from you or to wait out the preparation period and let it expire.
When the order is cancelled for security reasons
Sometimes your order may be cancelled because of issues revolving around your payment. AliExpress is a very stringent platform with roles and protocols especially when privacy and security are involved. If it detects the slightest of activity, they will double-check.
Your order will be closed for payment security reasons if there is a strange movement after the verification of your payment and order.
Reused coupon code
One of the reasons for this ‘security reason’ to arise is if the order you’ve just placed has been made with a coupon code you've already used with another order. In such a case, AliExpress will cancel your order and ask you to place it again.
Fraud of payment
The other reason could be that AliExpress has sensed some sort of fraud on the payment, with regards to whether or not the person who is placing the order is the owner of the payment account being used. An error message would appear if some wrong details have appeared and AliExpress would require you to go through a verification process that would involve validating your identity and the ownership of the card. This doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. Knowing what to do in such cases can help you make the claim you need to make from Alipay after sending the verifying documents
Whatever the case may be, the order you placed will be cancelled automatically. To be able to continue shopping on the site, you will simply have to follow the instructions that came with the error message and go ahead and place the order again. If you’re looking to find out more information about why your order was cancelled, and more about the security reason involved, you can enter the order details to know deeper information about the cancellation of your order. Once again, you’ll receive the refund for your order in the same mode of payment you used to pay for your order.
What to Do When you Receive a Message About the Cancellation?
Sometimes, after you’ve placed the order and have made your payment, users receive a message saying “cancelled shipment”. This message appears either when the package has left the seller’s inventory warehouse, or when it has already begun on its way to your home. This can happen for one of the two reasons.
- It could be because someone from the Chinese Post (In China) hasn’t come to pick up the package
- There has been an issue with the customs and has been returned.
None of this would be your fault, so you don’t have to worry about the refund, you will get it back. The seller is responsible. You can just constant the seller and ask him about what happened to the order. You can easily contact the seller by going to your list of orders and navigating to the “Contact Seller” icon. The seller often apologizes and recommends submitting the order. Just make sure to get a new tracking number for the same order so you can keep track of its whereabouts.
Of course, at this point, you can choose not to proceed with the order and ask for your money back. But then again, the seller might just ask you to cancel the order because he ran out of stock at this point. In both those cases, to get a refund, you will have to open up a dispute. Next time, it is important to make sure you place your order with a more serious seller.
How to Contact the Seller for a Cancelled Order?
The most viable option in any case of cancellation is to contact the seller. So the next question arises: How to contact the seller and what to write to them?
If you head to the “My Orders'' section on your dashboard, you'll find that under each item, there will be listed a ‘contact seller’ button that will enable you to message the seller.
Another way to do that is to go to the seller’s home page and click on the ‘contact now’ button. When you send a message to the seller from the store's page, you cannot view it again, so make sure to take a screenshot every step of the way.
In the message you’re going to send to the seller, make sure to attach a screenshot that clearly shows what your problem is, and in some words, write a description that informs the seller what you’re talking about. You might have to wait up to a week to get a response. It is normal to wait that long.
Things to Remember
Keep in mind that there is a buyers protection clause that protects you for a while after the order has been made and placed.
If you’re well within the protection time frame, you can wait. If not, I would recommend opening up a dispute and filing a claim for a refund.
If the seller replies, you’d probably have a conversation that determines whether you’ll get a refund or he would be shipping it to you again with a new tracking number. The seller usually replies, so you don’t have to worry.
Remember that you can contact customer service and file a dispute at any time you sense something shay or are not comfortable. If the order has been cancelled on its own, you most likely will get a refund.
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