AliExpress is a Chinese online shopping website, often referred to as the “Amazon of China”. The platform has a renowned reputation for subpar customer service offered by some unreliable sellers despite the extensive range of products. The subsidiary of Alibaba has long been criticized for the questionable business practices sellers follow on the marketplace platform. One such hilarious scam recently went viral online but this time the man fought a frustrating battle to get his refund.
Sylvester Franklin, a 68-year-old man from Georgia, USA, thought he had found a great bargain deal on a drill he had been looking for. But he was sadly mistaken. Franklin ordered a drill along with a pressure washer from AliExpress for $40. But when the package arrived, he was stunned in disbelief. He realized that the sellers had sent him nothing but a printed photograph of the drill instead. He was infuriated to find that instead of the actual drill, he had received a folded-up picture of the tool along with a single screw. Extremely upset, he immediately contacted the retailer for a refund.
Franklin decided to open up on social media about this incident because it had disappointed him to the core. He was frustrated to have paid $40 just for a printed picture of the drill and a screw! Despite contacting the seller to resolve the issue, the 68-year-old still could not secure a refund yet. He yelled at the sellers of the China-based online marketplace to “not scam nobody.”
The bizarre yet hilarious incident quickly gained netizens’ attention on the Internet. Social media was flooded with reactions and opinions from users in the form of Views, Likes, and Comments. While some sympathized with Franklin, others made some sarcastic and funny remarks about the incident. Someone wrote, “Maybe they expect you to build the drill yourself!” Another user sarcastically wrote, “They actually sent you the full drill… in 2D.” Some other person commented, “Lessons learned! Never buy from these shady online marketplaces.”
Such incidents being reported for such well-known marketplaces reinforce concerns about the risks of shopping from online platforms. Has any such thing ever happened to you?
