A Savannah, Georgia, man says he received a printed photo of a drill after ordering an actual drill from the Chinese online shopping website AliExpress, and that he has been trying to get a refund for months.
“They sent me this. A picture is what they sent me,” Sylvester Franklin told WTOC, holding up a printed photo of the drill he ordered.
But the drill wasn’t the only item in his order that was incorrect. Franklin also told the outlet that he purchased a pressure washer from the website, only to receive a single screw.
“I paid $22.97 for a pressure washer, and this is what I get — it’s a screw,” he said, holding up the item.
Franklin added that he has been going back and forth with AliExpress since receiving the wrong items in November, but still has not gotten a refund.
AliExpress is a subsidiary of the Chinese company, AliBaba, which is known as the Amazon of China.
In 2021, the Office of the United States Trade Representative added AliExpress to its list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, WTOC reported, adding that the company has a D- rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Last year, Georgia’s Consumer Protection Division received three complaints against the Chinese website. Similarly to Franklin’s dilemma, one of those complaints reportedly involved an individual saying they “never received the item purchased.”
In another complaint, an individual said they were given a “fake tracking number” and never received their order, which cost them more than $400.
Also similar to Franklin’s situation, all three complaints included the assertion that they had contacted AliExpress for a refund, but never got their money back, prompting them to contact their state’s Consumer Protection Division.
While Franklin says he is only out around $40 due to this incident, he hopes that others can learn a lesson from his experience.
“This is not good. This is real bad,” Franklin said. “All this is bad, you know what I mean? Don’t scam nobody. I just don’t like to get scammed, because if you spend your money, you want to get what you paid for.”
Notably, the three individuals who filed complaints in 2024 ended up getting their money back after speaking with the Consumer Protection Division. People can also contact their credit card issuer and try to get a chargeback if they find that they have been scammed.
WTOC also advised checking a website’s status on the Better Business Bureau before purchasing something online.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
