Unwarranted Alibaba / AliExpress Transaction Service Fees?

[Sillyputty]

I've had one order for 280Ah cells on AliExpress which I was refunded for after non-receipt, and one order pending receipt from Alibaba. In both cases I've been charged a separate "transaction service fee" by the website (not the vendor) of around 3% which was added after the fact to the credit card. The fee isn't listed in the contract or on payment to the vendor, but rather "tacked on" after the fact - i.e., if I agreed to $1000 for cells shipped to USA with the vendor the vendor would accept that payment amount, but my credit card would show $1030 charged, with no breakdown of that transaction fee anywhere on the order or the contract. Later on I did find that there is an invoice hidden in the order details (again, after the fact) outlining that Singapore E-Commerce is billing me for this.

In the Alibaba case, the only notice of any fee is found in the Trade Assurance contract which notes that there are "No hidden or recurring fees. A 3% transaction fee is charged to the seller per order (tax exclusive), and nothing else."

The credit card doesn't have any "transaction fee" associated with these orders, so this seems like just a way for Alibaba to get a fee while saying otherwise.

Is anyone else getting these after the fact fees from Alibaba or AliExpress?

 

[TRW]

I have not had any issue like this. But my first thought is that "Trade Assurance" should have prevented this, and I think they would if you could let them know. I also think that you can protest to your credit card company to not pay that charge, but that may have consequences on your order. Either way let us know what happens, and good luck!

 

[Sillyputty]

my first thought is that "Trade Assurance" should have prevented this,

From what I can tell, "Trade Assurance" is an Alibaba policy to protect buyers and they (Singapore E-Commerce) are the ones charging me, not the seller. Based on my discussion with sellers (but not in so many words) they "know" this but are unable to change it. Also from what I've seen so far, there isn't a link provided or way to dispute this seperate charge on Alibaba, so I've disputed it with my credit card company and they've promptly covered it.

The dispute still somehow shows up in my "orders" as "disputed" despite the seller (I think) or me knowing anything about it until after it happens. The amount I paid the seller is exactly the amount we've agreed, the charges are always only shown on the total credit card bill as one combined charge. Pretty shady practice that won't help their business.

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

Westerners sometimes mistakenly believe that Chinese society and it's norms and customs are equivalent to theirs.
That is not the case.

The point being, check carefully where the charge came from. I have doubts you would be the only one receiving that charge out of the orders they process daily.

I suspect you have a vendor who is skimming this as profit or recovering their own fees.

 

[Sillyputty]

I have doubts you would be the only one receiving that charge out of the orders they process daily.

I agree, as I do with assessment that Chinese society and norm's ≠ American or those of other countries. To be crystal clear, I'm not saying this is a race, country, society, or any other kind of issue unrelated to how companies worldwide bill for services. It is, however, something I've found, however uncommon, only with both Alibaba and AliExpress.

This "transaction fee" seems equivalent to a PayPal fee or credit card use fee that every company I've ever done business with, irrespective of their location on planet Earth, clearly delineates upfront before purchase, and notes clearly on the final invoice as separate from the order of goods or services, yet nonetheless a part of the purchase agreement.

This didn't happen now for several separate orders, and it shouldn't be.

I suspect you have a vendor who is skimming this as profit or recovering their own fees.

Would Amy do this? I don't think so. In this case, the entire charge (including the unmentioned fee) is one transaction billed by Alibaba, and I'm guessing that the payment goes from Alibaba to first the vendor for the battery (Amy), and then to Alibaba (Singapore E-Commerce) for the "transaction fee" but I really don't care how it's handled on their end - just that I know beforehand all the charges that I will see on the credit card bill.

Whatever the case, the written contract for the amount of the order covers none of this and it should.

 

[Sillyputty]

An update: I spoke with Amy at Shenzhen Luyuan Technology Co., Ltd about the additional "transaction" charge and she did not know who made it. She contacted Alibaba who informed her that the extra charge was not from Alibaba, but was from my credit card company, and the credit card company charged it because it was an "international payment," aka a "foreign transaction fee."

This was a lie, as the credit card I use doesn't charge a transaction fee for international purchases. I confirmed this with the credit card company this morning. They clearly saw that the additional fee was charged by, and paid to, Alibaba directly.

I suspect you have a vendor who is skimming this as profit or recovering their own fees.

If Amy is telling the truth, and I have no reason to think she isn't, it's not the vendor (her) skimming this as profit, it's Alibaba.

I have doubts you would be the only one receiving that charge

I do too. This is the second time this has happened with purchases made on Alibaba. People may want to check their orders and subsequent charges, as Alibaba has charged me this additional fee in 100% of the orders I've placed.

If you have been specifically charged an additional fee over an above the amount of the batteries and shipping and it shows on your original order from the vendor then that's OK. The way Alibaba has been doing it is not.

 

[Pierre]

I have been charged a transaction fee on all my orders from Alibaba. It is clearly stated on the invoice when you make payment. Is this not to cover the Trade Assurance on the order ?

 

[Bud Martin]

According to Alibaba, they charge 2.99% processing fee.

Help Center

service.alibaba.com

 

[Sillyputty]

I have been charged a transaction fee on all my orders from Alibaba. It is clearly stated on the invoice when you make payment. Is this not to cover the Trade Assurance on the order ?

Strange. On neither order did the fee show up on the invoice, it only shows the battery and shipping fees which was said to be the "Total Order Amount."



It also doesn't show up at all in the "Trade Assurance Purchase Contract."

Only on the credit card statement did the increase above what the original order amount show up, and even then it wasn't itemized as a separate fee, it was all one single transaction.

Can you screenshot an invoice showing this fee along with whatever you purchased with the personal info blanked out?

 

[Sillyputty]

According to Alibaba, they charge 2.99% processing fee.

That may be the case, but again, In my case nowhere was this fee listed during the payment process. Not in the "Total Order Amount" (invoice) which is what you agree to pay the vendor, and not in the "Trade Assurance Purchase Contract." I have no issue paying for things that are clearly listed on the invoice at the time of payment. It's such an easy thing to remedy and I can't understand why it's not happening in the instances I've mentioned.

 

[Bud Martin]

You will see the total charge when you make the payment, but the invoice will not show the transaction fee which I do not know why.
As you can see on my payment, the fee is 2.99% of $140, the 2.99% seems to be what Alibaba is trying to cover what the CC company charges Alibaba for the CC service, CC company charges merchant 3% fee for the service charge to the merchant is typical.
Seems like Alibaba charges transaction fee but not Aliexpress.

 

[Skid]

My battery from Amy was $1779 including shipping. When paying online there were several options including Western Union, PayPal, Apple Pay, Visa etc. All had about a $50 fee added +- $5.00. There are also sometimes foreign transaction fees using a US card where I live of about 4% so I never use one here.To me it's the price of doing business but in my case I don't think it's the fault of the seller.

 

[Sillyputty]

You will see the total charge when you make the payment,

Thanks - for whatever reason, not in my case.


Either of them. One has been refunded. The other is pending.

I don't think it's the fault of the seller.

It's definitely weird that others invoices show this fee clearly, but in several cases mine does not.

There are also sometimes foreign transaction fees using a US card

Yes, when I asked who was getting the additional money, this is what Alibaba told Amy it was, and that the credit card was charging it - except that's a lie, because Capitol One doesn't charge these fees. They were pretty upset, too, that they'd been used as the bad-guy here. Basically the shoddy and inconsistent invoicing practices and the lying about where the money goes isn't Amy's fault and is all on Alibaba.