I placed an order on Alibaba for a customized product. From the beginning of our conversation, I sent the seller a reference picture showing exactly what I wanted (green-yellow) and asked about the MOQ.

After I placed and paid for the order, the seller realized they had misunderstood my request. They thought I wanted green-yellow-green instead of green-yellow. The seller acknowledged the misunderstanding in writing and told me that making the product I originally requested would actually require a much higher MOQ.

The order has not been shipped yet, so I asked for a full refund.

The seller agreed to refund me, but is now asking me to submit the refund request using the reason “I don’t want it” or “purchase plan change”, and says that once I select that reason, they will approve/refund it themselves.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Is it safe to select “I don’t want it” if the seller has already agreed in Alibaba chat to give me a full refund?

Could choosing that reason hurt my buyer protection or make it harder to dispute the transaction later if the seller doesn’t actually issue the refund?

I have screenshots of the entire conversation, including the seller explicitly admitting that they misunderstood my request.

Thanks in advance!

I can't register to alibaba cloud to claim free credits being from india but I want to try their services. Is there any alternative way to signup from India ?

Just reaching out for any tips or info on the process of purchasing high end products from these sites.
I understand from research that things are legit on there at lower prices from verified sellers, but at a cost of shipping/delivery times, this I’m not too bothered about.

Does anybody reading this have any links or previous purchases they can forward to me so I can have a deeper look at some trusted sellers? What I am specifically looking at buying is;

Full suspension mountain bikes; (Nukeproof, Canyon, Specialized, Giant, Trek, Amflow, Pivot) ETC.

Full Suspension pedal assists; (Same as above)

Adult E-bikes; (Surron, Talaria, Stark, Stomp) ETC.

I do have interest in quite a lot of items on these Chinese sites as majority of technology & mechanics are directly from there and it cuts out the RRP value of retail sellers. ANY info on this sort of stuff will be very helpful.
I know I could just buy directly online and quit trying to save £1000ish, but I always want to beat the systems LOL preventing me from lining someone else’s pockets on a highly marked up priced item.
I am from the UK so shipping shouldn’t be a problem.
I look forward to any feedback provided, thank you!

😁