Don't trust their trade assurance guarantee - very bad
We are a long-time user of Alibaba and issue tens of thousands of dollars in orders regularly on their platform. For the longest time, their platform was great, matching up business with vendors in China. But three months ago we had a terrible experience with one supplier. They took our money and refused to send us proofs of products, then shipped incorrect products to us almost a month late without even an acknowledgment or an apology. So this is the first time we have had to use the Trade assurance guarantee because the vendor ignored our requests for a remedy. This is an open and shut case. The Alibaba timeline shows that we asked the vendor for proof five times, and they ignored us, then they shipped the wrong product, which cost us thousands of dollars in rework in the USA. So, we tried to dispute the order with Alibaba using their Trade Assurance Guarantee. It has been three(3) MONTHS without any help or resolution from the dispute mediator. I have filed three separate complaints to Alibaba about our experience, and they committed to escalate and remedy, only to be ignored each time. The mediator, Zack, does not answer any questions from us, refuses to make a decision, and has truly been incompetent. This is an open and shut case. We proved that the supplier did not send us proofs; they shipped us what they wanted, which was wrong, and Alibaba has done nothing to help. I'm suspicious that there is something illegal going on between the mediator and the supplier. It's that bad. So, I've been online looking for new alternatives to Alibaba. We will take our business elsewhere. DON'T RELY ON ALIBABA TRADE ASSURANCE; their folks are not competent or qualified.
Date of experience: June 28, 2024