AliExpress Rules about “Free Return”
Article 1
In relation to offers concluded on AliExpress.com for selected merchandise with the program icon (such selected merchandise - “Participating Product”), the seller of such Participant Products who has agreed to participate in this Free Return program (“Participating Sellers”) shall provide all buyers of Participating Products with a guarantee of 15-day return without cause (“Local Return Service”) in accordance with these terms and conditions herein (“Rules”). In respect of all Participating Products, the Participating Seller shall not unilaterally declare that he/she does not support the 15-day return without cause. However, this does not prevent the Participating Seller from providing the buyer a return policy superior to the Local Return Service.
Article 2
Subject to the Rules, Buyers who satisfy certain requirements as determined by AliExpress at its sole discretion (“Participating Buyers”) shall be entitled to deliver the Participating Products to the local return warehouse specified by the Participating Seller (“Local Return Warehouse”) free of charge (“Free Delivery Service”). The Participating Buyer acknowledges that he or she will only be entitled to enjoy the Free Delivery Service once for each order containing Participating Product(s). Buyers that may not use the Free Delivery Service shall still be entitled to enjoy the Local Return Service; however, buyers that may not use the Local Return Service are automatically excluded from the Free Delivery Service.
Article 3
With the Local Return Service, a buyer can apply for a return and refund of a Participating Product without cause within 15 days from, as the case may be, 1) the date when the buyer confirms receipt of the Participating Product, or 2) the date when the system automatically confirms receipt of the Participating Product after confirming that the Product has been duly delivered, through "open a Dispute" on the AliExpress order page if the Participating Product meets the standards of intactness as stipulated in Article 5. After the Participating Product has been shipped to Local Return Warehouse and verified by the Local Return Warehouse to meet the standards of intactness prescribed in Article 5, buyer may receive the refund from the corresponding Participating Seller in accordance with these Rules. If the Participating Product returned by the buyer does not meet the standards of intactness, Local Return Warehouse will ship such Participating Product back to the buyer, with the cost of shipment to be borne by the buyer. Where the buyer applies for the Local Return Service as mentioned above and such buyer is not able to enjoy the Free Delivery Service or chooses not to use the Free Delivery Service, the buyer shall arrange for shipment by himself or herself and fill in the shipment tracking number at the “Dispute” page on AliExpress. The buyer acknowledges that if such buyer arranges for shipment by himself or herself as aforementioned, the risk of loss passes from the buyer to the Local Return Warehouse at the time of receipt of products by the Local Return Warehouse. With the Local Return Service, if the Local Return Warehouse does not receive the returned Participating Product within 7 days after buyer submitted shipment tracking number or the Local Return Warehouse does not receive the corresponding Participating Product, AliExpress shall be entitled to determine liability upon arbitration according to the AliExpress rules and protocols.
Article 4
With the Free Delivery Service, a Participating Buyer can ship the Participating Products through the delivery service provider specified by the Participating Seller after such Participating Buyer has “opened a Dispute” according to Article 3. Where the Participating Buyer uses the Free Delivery Service, the shipping tracking number will be automatically uploaded to the system. The Participating Buyer acknowledges that if such Participating Buyer uses the Free Delivery Service, the risk of loss passes from the Participating Buyer to the delivery service provider specified by the Participating Seller at the time of receipt of products by the delivery service provider specified by the Participating Seller. With the Free Delivery Service, if the Local Return Warehouse does not receive the corresponding Participating Product, AliExpress shall be entitled to determine liability according to the AliExpress rules and protocols.
Article 5
In order to enjoy the Local Return Service, the Participating Product being returned by the buyer shall meet the standards of intactness as specified below:
1. The Participating Product has remained its original quality and functioning. The buyer shall ensure that the returned Participating Product and all accompanying accessories (such as tags, manuals, and warranty cards) are complete and remained their original quality and functioning, and show no signs of damage or contamination, the anti-counterfeiting mark has not been scraped, any activation/authorization has not been made, and there are no traces of usage on the appearance or other traces which indicate unreasonable personal use.
2. The buyer’s opening of package for inspection or testing to verify the Participating Product’s quality and functioning is reasonable and does not affect the Participating Product’s intactness. Where any use of a Participating Product by the buyer results in significant devaluation, the returned Participating Product shall be deemed defective and not in line with the standard of intactness.
3. Buyer understands that the packaging is an integral part of the Participating Product and consist part of the offer from the Participating Seller; and any use of and/or defect(s) to the packaging caused by the buyer may result in devaluation of the Participating Product. Therefore, the buyer shall ensure the packaging of the returned Participating Product is full and intact. In terms of packaging with special value, design, material and/or functions, buyer and/or his or her courier shall ensure all handling is carried out in accordance with the requirement about product protection and packaging specified by the Participating Seller upon fulfillment of the transaction.
(1) Standards of intactness for regular package:
There is no missing part in the original package, and the form, shape and structure of the package is complete. However, unavoidable changes in form, shape and/or structure resulting from transportation and unpacking, including, but not limited to, minor to moderate deformation, stain and/or partial damage, shall not be considered to affect the intactness of the regular package.
(2) Standards of intactness of special package:
If the package contains value added parts, such as an anti-counterfeiting feature, special designs or functions, or markers or other indicators representing commemorative value, the Participating Seller may make requirements of special protection of the package to the buyer. Where there are reasonable package protection requirements prominently and explicitly specified by the Participating Seller, the buyer shall protect the package proactively and carefully. If the damage of such package results in devaluation and/or loss of functions, the Product will be devalued and thus deemed as defective and not in line with the standard of intactness.
However, where the Participating Seller makes requirement about protection of special packages but fails to do so in a prominent and explicit way, the standards of intactness for regular package shall apply.
Where the package does not contain any special value added parts as mentioned above, the standards of intactness for regular package shall apply.
Article 6
Loss or damage of gift and loss of invoice shall not affect the return of Participating Product. However, for damage or loss of gift, a deduction from the refund shall be made based on the gift’s market price; for loss of invoice, the buyer shall bear the corresponding tax.
Article 7
If a buyer does not use the Free Delivery Service, the buyer shall bear the cost of returning the Participating Product to Local Return Warehouse (“Cost of Return”) when applying for the Local Return Service. In addition to the Cost of Return, whether or not the buyer uses the Free Delivery Service, the buyer shall bear the cost of shipping Participating Product by Participating Seller to him or her, if the Participating Product is subject to conditional free shipping and the buyer’s partial return results in nonsatisfaction of the free shipping conditions, AliExpress shall deduct shipment costs borne by the buyer on behalf of Participating Seller from the refund payable to the buyer.
Where AliExpress determines, at its sole and absolute discretion, that the buyer has abused its rights by repeatedly applying for the Local Return Service and/or the Free Delivery Service (if applicable) or showing a high rate for orders applying for the Local Return Service and/or the Free Delivery Service (if applicable), the buyer shall bear all shipping costs, and AliExpress shall be entitled to deduct all shipping costs from the refund and may deny the same buyer’s future eligibility of the Local Return Service and/or the Free Delivery Service.
Article 8
Whether a product is a “Participating Product” with the Local Return Service offer and/or the Free Delivery Service offer (if applicable) shall be determined by whether such product(s) bear a "Free Return" icon, which may be determined and/or changed by AliExpress in its own discretion.
Article 9
Under any of following circumstances, the Participating Seller shall not be obliged in any way to offer the Local Return Service, Free Delivery Service (if applicable) and/or provide the refund (unless otherwise required by applicable laws or the AliExpress rules):
(1) Fraud on the part of the buyer;
(2) Wars, military actions, terrorist events, strikes, riots, theft, robbery;
(3) Confiscation by relevant government authorities;
(4) Nuclear reaction, nuclear radiation, radioactive or any other form of contamination;
(5) Natural disasters including, but not limited to, earthquakes, lightning strokes, fires, explosions, storms, floods, typhoons;
(6) Improper conduct of the buyer in violation of the instructions;
(7) Natural consumption or wear and tear of the product;
(8) Product recall;
(9) External causes during transportation or storage; and
(10) Defects unable to be detected with the technology in domestic market at the time of manufacture.
Article 10
Under the Local Return Service, the Participating Seller shall not be responsible for losses and costs of the following products (unless otherwise required by applicable laws or AliExpress rules), and the Participating Seller shall not be under any obligation to provide Free Delivery Service for the following products:
(1) Quality issues of a product have been acknowledged and accepted by the buyer;
(2) Products are sold after the Participating Seller has been suspended, closed down or bankrupted.
Article 11
These Rules shall take effect on August 20th, 2019. However AliExpress is entitled to amend these Rules at any time by posting the relevant amended and restated Rules on AliExpress.com, without further notice to buyers. By continuing to purchase Participating Product(s), use the Local Return Service, and/or use the Free Return Service, users and buyers agree that the amended and restated Rules will apply and are deemed to have accepted the amended and restated Rules.
Article 12
These Rules are governed, interpreted and enforced by the laws of Hong Kong, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any and all legal actions, claims or proceedings arising out of, or in connection with these Rules must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Hong Kong.
