AliExpress Free Returns: My $22.40 Shipping Reimbursement Dispute

When an order says Free returns, I expect the return-shipping part to be straightforward. With this AliExpress shoe order, I paid $22.40 to USPS to send the shoes back. The merchandise refund was completed, but getting the return postage reimbursed became a separate customer-service process.

Those are two different amounts and two different parts of the story. AliExpress displayed a $108.74 merchandise refund credited to Bonus. That does not establish that the separate $22.40 postage reimbursement was paid.

A clarification about the seller: My concern here is with the AliExpress Free Returns process and the platform’s handling of the separate shipping reimbursement. This article is not a criticism of the individual seller. I am not attributing AliExpress customer-service decisions to that seller.

Documentation status — reviewed September 22, 2026: The latest reimbursement decision documented here is AliExpress’s July 22, 2026 response closing the request. I have not independently established whether the separate postage reimbursement was paid after that response. This article does not claim that it remains unpaid today. Dates in the customer-service timeline use New York local time.

What the order actually said

The saved order page included a Free returns service commitment. It described the first return on the order as free, with a return window and a monthly limit. I am describing the promise shown on this particular order, not presenting that historical wording as AliExpress’s current policy for every buyer or product.

The shoes were returned because their appearance was not what we expected. The saved return request describes differences from the listing photographs. This was a shoe return; the condition or handling of any other purchase has no bearing on this account.

I had to pay the postage first

The saved return instructions told me to arrange the shipment and prepay the return shipping fee. They also discussed reimbursement for quality issues and processing the request after delivery and inspection. That qualification matters: the screen did not say that every self-shipping expense would be reimbursed automatically.

For a shopper, though, the practical question is still worth asking: What does “free” mean when I have to advance the shipping cost and then pursue reimbursement separately?

My USPS receipt is dated July 9, 2026 and shows $22.40 for return postage. Its tracking number matches the one recorded in AliExpress’s return history. The saved USPS tracking record shows delivery on July 13.

The receipt, the tracking record, and the return history establish different things: what I paid to send the parcel, its delivery, and the tracking information recorded in the return process. They should not be treated as interchangeable proof of what a customer-service agent received.

The merchandise refund was completed — to Bonus

AliExpress’s saved refund screen shows $108.74 and says it was credited to my Bonus account. It also has a separate return-shipping-fee section directing me to contact customer service for a refund.

That is why I separate the merchandise refund from the postage dispute. I am not saying AliExpress failed to refund the returned merchandise. I am also not describing the Bonus credit as money returned to a bank account or card.

I am deliberately leaving out an exact original purchase price because the saved order and refund figures do not establish a reconciled paid price. The $108.74 figure here refers only to the documented merchandise refund.

What the reimbursement responses said

The customer-service record continued after the merchandise refund:

• July 18: AliExpress said it could not process the shipping-fee refund because the documentation was incomplete and asked for the correct shipping receipt.
• July 20: A further response gave the same explanation and instruction.
• July 21: Another response again described incomplete documentation and asked for the correct receipt.
• July 22: AliExpress said the information or proof was insufficient and that the request would be closed for now, while directing me back to its help center if I had questions.

I have the USPS receipt. However, the evidence reviewed for this article does not independently show the exact receipt file uploaded to AliExpress or establish that the original receipt was submitted. I can document the receipt and what AliExpress said about the documentation; I cannot turn that into proof of the precise submission.

What I take from this experience

The part that stands out to me is how easily a completed merchandise refund can look like the end of a return when the shipping expense is still a separate question. My records show a completed merchandise refund and then repeated correspondence about the postage documentation.

For my own future returns, I want to know what happens to the shipping cost before I pay it: whether there is a prepaid label, whether I must advance the money, which receipt is required, and how I can keep a record of submitting it. A receipt in my files and a receipt acknowledged by the platform are not the same thing.

I also want to keep the order’s return promise, instructions, carrier receipt, delivery record, and each response together. That makes it easier to see which part of the process has been completed and which part needs a separate answer.

This is one documented transaction, not a verdict on every AliExpress return. I cannot establish the platform’s motives or assume that another buyer will have the same experience. What I can show is the gap between the Free returns wording on my order and the separate reimbursement process I had to navigate after paying USPS.

Editorial note: This article describes my own order and the records identified above. It contains no affiliate buying links. Identifying details have been removed from the public document excerpts; the private originals remain unchanged. I will update the account if verified later records change the outcome.