Since 2010, AliExpress has been connecting consumers outside of China with Chinese sellers willing to ship their products to their countries. I have no direct experience to share, but a look at the reviews on various comparison websites suggests consumers appreciate the great variety of products offered for very low prices and complain about terms of service, quality and delivery failures.
Some complaints must have reached the Dutch consumer authorities Autoriteit Consumenten en Markten, which launched a coordinated enforcement action aided by the Dutch consumer association and the European Commission. The result is a commitment by Ali Express to bring its offer in line with European consumer laws, in particular (quoting from the Authority's press release):
- The cooling-off period (the right of withdrawal);
image from pixabay.com - Legal guarantees: EU rules regarding guarantees must be indicated, and complied with;
- Extra costs: it must be indicated whether any taxes or other fees need to be paid, for example customs duties at the border;
- Sellers: information must be provided about the identity of the seller.
- Ranking: it must be indicated whether payments have been made in order for a seller to appear higher in the search results.
- General terms and conditions: these no longer violate the relevant laws;
- Complaints: information must be provided about where consumers can turn to if they have any complaints or disputes (no longer the Court of First Instance in Hong Kong, but in the consumer’s own country).
