Extremely disappointing experience with Alibaba — I would not trust their buyer protection.
I purchased a commercial phone-case printing vending machine for USD 10921 from WIDER MATRIX through Alibaba Trade Assurance. The machine had serious problems from day one and has never become reliably operational. I spent weeks troubleshooting, paid technicians, travelled repeatedly to test the machine, and suffered financial losses and damage to my business reputation. Despite providing extensive evidence and cooperating throughout the process, Alibaba's customer service repeatedly directed me back to the seller to continue troubleshooting. After all this time and effort, Alibaba closed my dispute without even wait for my feedback, offering only USD 400 for a machine that cost over USD 10,900. Did not get any in the end since they close the dispute. What is the point of paying through Trade Assurance if, when a product is seriously defective, the dispute process does not provide meaningful protection? The customer service was extremely disappointing, and I felt that my evidence and losses were not properly addressed. My total investment has reached approximately €15,000. I am left with a faulty, unreliable machine, financial losses, and the feeling that I have been abandoned by the very platform that was supposed to protect my purchase. Based on my experience, I would strongly advise businesses to think twice before making expensive purchases through Alibaba. Do not assume that Trade Assurance guarantees a fair resolution when something goes wrong. My experience has completely destroyed my confidence in Alibaba as a safe platform for purchasing expensive commercial equipment.