What Does Frozen Order Mean on AliExpress?

Many buyers on AliExpress are familiar with most of the order statuses including Order Received, Dispatched, and Awaiting Shipment. However, there is also an order status called Frozen Order, which not many buyers are aware of.

Frozen Order on AliExpress means that the order has been put on hold, due to a variety of reasons and that AliExpress is working on investigating it for buyer or seller protection.

In most cases, a frozen order indicates that there has been a back charge through the bank, the buyer or seller is under investigation for suspicious or fraudulent activities, AliExpress needs manual verification, or the buyer has an unsettled dispute regarding the order. 

To shed light on this topic, we’ve created an article that will help you understand what frozen orders are, explore reasons your order might have been frozen, and suggest steps you can take as a buyer to resolve these issues.

Meaning of Frozen Order on AliExpress

A frozen order on AliExpress indicates there is an issue with the order and is temporarily put on hold by AliExpress, as they are working to resolve it, in order to protect the seller or buyer.

Take note that orders are rarely frozen unless there are grounds for AliExpress to believe that either the buyer, seller, order, or payment requires an additional step for verification.

Reasons for Frozen Orders

In this section, we will explore the details of the most common reasons why an order on AliExpress gets frozen. The most common reason is that there has been a back charge through the bank and AliExpress requires manual verification.

Other reasons include buyer or seller investigation on the basis of fraudulent or suspicious activity, or if there are open disputes from the buyer.

1. Seller Is Under Investigation

The AliExpress marketplace has a vast network of sellers, but not all of them operate and conduct transactions ethically. AliExpress can have grounds to investigate a seller if they undertake suspicious and unsafe activities that go against the platform’s policies.

A seller under investigation may have been part of a scam or fraud on AliExpress. If your order has been frozen due to the seller’s involvement in dubious practices, AliExpress will liaise directly with them to settle any issues.

In most cases, you will be provided a full refund, as your payments on frozen orders are held in escrow until you receive the order or the order is canceled (in which case it’s returned to you).

2. Back Charge Through Bank

An order can be back charged with the full paid amount reversed to the buyer due to an anomaly or the buyer’s request to their bank. If an order is back charged, AliExpress will not be able to process the order further since the payment step is disrupted.

If AliExpress does not receive payment for the order, it temporarily freezes it until payment from your side has been cleared.

3. Manual Verification from AliExpress

In some cases, AliExpress may need to verify some sellers, buyers, or specific orders. If you have placed an order for a huge quantity of products or there has been an issue with the payment gateway, AliExpress may freeze your order to look into all details manually.

There are also rare cases when the order can get frozen if the user (seller or buyer) is new or if any other unordinary issues arise while placing the order – the order is placed from a suspicious location, or an unfamiliar device, for example.

Similar to most renowned online marketplaces, AliExpress has algorithms that flag these issues and automatically freeze orders until their representatives resolve the matter through manual verification. This usually takes 3 – 5 business days.

4. Unsettled Dispute

If a buyer opens a dispute with AliExpress regarding an order, its seller, or the goods involved, AliExpress will freeze the respective order to process the buyer’s complaint. The order is kept frozen until the dispute is resolved.

Once the dispute is resolved, you can either proceed with the order shipment or cancel the order as you like.

What Should I Do If an Order Gets Frozen?

Although a frozen order may cause you to worry, there are a few simple ways you can unfreeze the order. It typically takes one to three weeks to resolve a frozen order status, depending on why the order was frozen and how fast it takes to process.

If the order is closed after being frozen, you can rest assured that you will receive a complete refund amount within 3 – 20 working days. If your order has been affected and is currently frozen, you may find actions on how you can solve them below.

Reason	How to Solve it
The Seller Is Under Investigation	No action is required from your side. AliExpress will verify the seller and look into their practices independently. If the seller’s account is banned or closed, you will receive full reimbursement in about 3 – 20 working days.
Charge Back Through Bank	The best thing to do here is to contact your bank for more details. If the chargeback has been processed by the bank, your order will be closed, and you will receive a full refund. In case the bank does not charge back, your order will be unfrozen and processed as usual.
Manual Verification from AliExpress	No action is required from your end. You need to wait until the details of the order, payment, and seller have been verified by AliExpress. If you do not hear back after some time, you may file a dispute regarding the frozen order on AliExpress. Manual verifications can take between 1 – 2 weeks to resolve.
Unsettled Dispute	If your order has been frozen after you filed a dispute in the past which remains unsettled, you must wait for the order dispute to be resolved by AliExpress. The platform will not pay the seller or process the order until they resolve your issue.

If AliExpress is unable to offer support to your case, makes a decision against your wishes, or does not allow you to close the order, you can request your bank to charge back the amount.

This will allow you to receive the full refund of the order under the condition that the order has not been shipped yet and you did not engage in any suspicious or illegal activity.

Your bank or payment processor may ask you for evidence and invoices regarding the order to process your request.

Do Frozen Orders Get Refunded?

If the order is frozen due to suspicious seller activity, payment method, or other reasons pertaining to the seller or platform, the total amount of the order payment is refunded to the buyer.

AliExpress reviews the reason for freezing the order and after reaching a conclusion, issue a refund or resumes the order process accordingly.

What Happens When an Order Is Frozen but Has Already Shipped?

When an order is frozen, due to any of the reasons previously mentioned, the seller receives a notification to hold the order. This also means that the shipper will not ship the order unless it is no longer frozen.

However, due to oversight, a seller may still accidentally process and ship the order to you. In this case, the seller may contact the shipping agent or forwarder to hold the shipment at their facility until the investigation by AliExpress is completed.

In the event that the order was accidentally shipped, you may receive the order, even though it’s marked as frozen on AliExpress. Take note that this scenario is rare and unlikely to happen.

What Happens If Only Some of the Orders Are Frozen?

All orders on AliExpress are processed separately. This means that only those orders that are frozen are placed on hold by AliExpress, while the rest of the orders get processed and shipped according to standard practices.