Who offers better guarantees for my purchases: Amazon, eBay or Aliexpress

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Online commerce giant eBay has kicked off the business year with a few new features. A series of changes that at first glance do not seem entirely substantial to the average user. The first of these concerns the exchange (regulated purchase and sale) between individuals of second-hand mobile phones. Baptized as QuickSale, this new service wants to accelerate the purchase and sale of used mobiles. A volatile market and sector in which products go out of style quickly, exchange is presented as an essential requirement.

But in any purchase on the Internet, security, reliability and trust must be far ahead as an essential basis for a quick sale . Offering a strict and regulated intermediation by electronic commerce (especially if it encourages marketplace work, where it is bought and sold between individuals) is essential not only to solve certain contingencies with users, but to lay solid foundations that are the responsible for the buyer loyalty in our store.

That is the second novelty that eBay presents this week . The new measures have been initially implemented only through the PayPal payment service (which in turn owns the company) and they have the following way of acting.

First, mediation leads you to contact the seller directly and seek a non-mediated solution between individuals (this option is available from the eBay purchase history, by clicking on the product in question). For each specific purchase, you will be able to press the Return Item button, which forces the seller to contact you within a maximum period of 8 calendar days to offer you a solution to your claim.

If the previous step does not offer you a satisfactory solution as a customer or simply does not respond to you, you have the possibility to request help directly from eBay , directly with the customer service (via chat, email or by phone). eBay is committed to answering within a maximum period of 48 hours , and in the event that the sale has been problematic or has not met your expectations, it will refund the purchase money directly to your PayPal account.

And it is that today, after sales service and customer service are gaining weight in sales through the Internet. Especially between big stores. That is why we have searched a bit between the lines that talk about buyer guarantees to see which sites offer the best and safest service.

Amazon

The Oregon giant is quite basic in the policies that refer to the direct sale of its products: the buyer has the right to exercise the return during the next 30 calendar days . The protocol to carry out the return is extremely simple and is fully managed from the Returns Center. You just have to print the label and the authorization, insert it in the original packaging together with the product in question. Close it, label it, and mail it. These are the original conditions, which vary slightly depending on which products (for example, unopened discs and video games). The cost of the refund will be free as long as the error is on the part of Amazon. If you return a product because you simply do not like it or it is not what you expected, you will have to bear an expense of 3 euros if you take it to the Post office. 5'50 if you want it to be picked up at home or for international shipments.

Amazon return

Amazon between individuals

Things get slightly complicated when buying and selling products. And we can say that the new eBay policy is clearly inspired by Amazon's. Although without putting the emphasis on the speed of response. Since Amazon establishes a protocol by which the seller has the obligation to answer within a period of three working days. From here Amazon refers to the particular conditions of each seller . Although, if the claim is successful, the management is always carried out through the same Returns Center. If the seller does not give you an answer, you can file a claim in their Guarantee section from A to Z.Without establishing a very clear protocol, his policy explains that the costs of all returns between individuals are usually paid by the buyer . As long as there is no defective or erroneous shipment involved. Case in which the refund of the money will also entail the transport costs.

AliExpress

The explanations and guarantees covered on the Aliexpress website are much more sparse . Just a couple of paragraphs that tell us that there is a rigorous return and refund protocol. No link. You have to search and each page change you have to specify that our language is Spanish (even though you have previously selected it). In Customer Help we find a box that presents us with several options : Monitor our purchases, check our payment balance ... There we find the Dispute & Claims and Refund tabs . The first is the one with which we manage reimbursement claims. Here AliExpress does not say that it will give us an answer in a period of seven working days. Although it already warns you that it may take longer if they have "a lot of workload" and apologize in a preventive way.

Another condition that the Chinese shopping center indicates very specifically is that  you only have to press the "Confirm receipt of order" button if you fully agree. Since once pressed it denies you any right to claim even if only a few hours have passed. In addition, the estimated average delivery time is a maximum of sixty days, at which point they will refund the money if the product has not reached your hands and as long as the problem is not yours or the seller's. That is, if you buy a Chinese mobile and it stays in customs, you have to know that it is your problem.

Gold, silver and bronze

Without a doubt, of the three large online stores operating in Spain ( after the closure of the Japanese company Rakuten last August ), AliExpress' delivery, return and refund policies are the most volatile. Although its geographical distribution and its products are also. It should also be noted that with these latest modifications eBay is moving towards the “Amazon style” in customer loyalty.

Other options

Although we tend to buy from the large transnational brands, there are several shopping centers that also offer their services in Spanish territory, such as Gearbest or Jet . Without forgetting all those stores that sell their products grouped by sector, whether they are clothing, furniture or certain geographical areas.