Mistake 1 - Waiting Too Long to Report the Issue
Every platform has a refund window. Shein's is typically 30 days from delivery. Temu's is often 90 days. AliExpress buyer protection has its own timeline. Waiting more than a week to report a clear issue does not make your claim stronger - it just reduces your window. Report issues as soon as you have documentation ready.
Mistake 2 - Not Taking Photos Before Contacting Support
This one costs people refunds constantly. If you receive a damaged or wrong item, photograph everything before you do anything else - the item itself, the packaging, the label, and ideally a screenshot of the original listing. "I had photos but lost them" is not something a support agent can work with. The documentation needs to be attached to the initial claim.
Mistake 3 - Submitting Multiple Tickets for the Same Issue
It feels productive to follow up aggressively, but submitting duplicate tickets at Shein, Temu, or most major retailers actually slows your case down. Multiple tickets for the same issue create confusion in their system and may result in tickets being merged or closed as duplicates. Submit once, wait the stated response window, then follow up in the same thread.
Mistake 4 - Choosing the Slowest Refund Method
At Shein, selecting a Shein Wallet refund instead of a card refund cuts the wait time from 5-15 business days to 1-3 business days. At other platforms, store credit or account credit consistently processes faster than original payment method refunds. If you shop at a platform regularly, the faster store credit option may be worth taking.
Mistake 5 - Skipping In-Platform Dispute Before Chargeback
Going straight to a credit card chargeback without first exhausting the platform's own dispute process is a mistake - not because chargebacks are wrong, but because in-platform disputes often resolve faster and do not create the complications that chargebacks sometimes do with account standing. Use the platform's tools first: support tickets, formal disputes (especially powerful on AliExpress), and PayPal disputes if applicable. Reserve chargebacks for when everything else has genuinely failed.