The reason i used Alibaba was because …
The reason i used Alibaba was because of the strong guarantee they appeared to offer and it was a porthole to Chinese business. I am disappointed with the convoluted way they conduct business in general but the issue here is they expired my trade assurance contract prior to my receiving my goods. They do not have an email contact and any issue you need to address must be in a chat with someone who might not resolve but rather offer "on the fly" suggestions which is not the way to address some problems. Can merchants just game the system and delay your delivery and you are no longer covered? I have not received my package yet and to be fair, there is still apparently a 15 day dispute mechanism but if there is an issue like the package disappears or is damaged in delivery and that type of thing, i don't know how that will be fixable. Basically, it is nothing short of bizarre that Alibaba would "expire" their delivery insurance the day before the goods are supposed to arrive and they don't have an email address to deal with customer problems!!! Wow 10/dec/17 update, Apparently there has been some changes to the period of coverage for "trade assurance" guarantee. It is now extended until after receipt of goods for 30 days. That is very positive news.and for me, it makes all the difference. A guarantee is absolutely necessary for me. I will likely do more business under these conditions