Why Is the AliExpress Cost Missing on an Order?

An AliExpress cost reaches a Shopify order in two steps: the Profitario Chrome extension imports the AliExpress order, then Profitario links it to the Shopify order that carries the same tracking number. Use this article when an order shows no AliExpress cost, shows a different amount than you paid, or keeps a cost you typed in yourself.

Where

Orders (the Costs tab of an order) and Suppliers > AliExpress > Orders

Who

Stores that buy on AliExpress and import those orders with the Profitario Chrome extension

Time

About 5 minutes per order

Updates

The costs of a Shopify order are recalculated as soon as its AliExpress order is imported and matched

Find Your Symptom#

Check What the Order Uses#

Start on the Shopify order. Its Costs tab lists every cost Profitario knows for the order and marks the one that counts.

The Details tab of the same order lists the AliExpress orders that are linked to it, at the bottom under External Orders.

If the Costs tab has no line that mentions AliExpress and External Orders is missing, no AliExpress order is matched to this order. Continue with the supplier order list.

Check the AliExpress Order and Its Match#

Click a badge in the Connected column to see the reason.

A matched order names the Shopify order it belongs to:

The Order Has No AliExpress Cost#

The AliExpress order was never imported. Profitario does not fetch AliExpress orders by itself. They arrive when you run the Chrome extension.

• Check: the AliExpress order ID is not in the list under Suppliers > AliExpress > Orders (all shops, wide date range).
• Fix: open your order list on AliExpress in Chrome and click Start Update in the Profitario bar, or open the single order on AliExpress and click Upload Order. Keep the tab open until the run is finished.

The import failed. Orders that could not be read are listed with the reason.

• Check: Suppliers > AliExpress > Upload Logs.
• Fix: upload the order again. If the same error returns, send it to support (see below).

The AliExpress order is imported but unmatched. See the next section.

The order has no cost of any kind. In the order list, such an order shows a dash in the Product Cost column. Point at the row and the dash turns into No Cost: the order has neither an AliExpress cost nor a product cost of your own.

Until an AliExpress order is matched, the order uses your own product cost. Enter one under Product Costs so that unmatched orders are not counted without a cost. See How to Add Product Costs.

The AliExpress Order Is Not Matched#

Profitario matches by tracking number only: the tracking number of the AliExpress order must be on a fulfillment of the Shopify order. Order numbers, products and customer names are not compared.

The Cost Differs from What You Paid#

The order was paid in another currency. Profitario converts the AliExpress amount into your shop's currency with the exchange rate of the day the Shopify order was placed, not the day you paid AliExpress.

Example: a pillow cover cost €7.90 on AliExpress. On the day the Shopify order was placed, one euro was worth $1.1391, so the order shows €7.90 × 1.1391 = $9.00. Your card statement can show a slightly different amount, because your bank uses its own rate and its own date.

Product, shipping and tax are separate costs. The AliExpress total is split into three cost types on the order:

Example: you paid €10.30 in total, €7.90 for the item and €2.40 for shipping. The order shows a product cost of €7.90 × 1.1391 = $9.00 and a shipping cost of €2.40 × 1.1391 = $2.73. Compare the product cost with the item price, not with the full €10.30.

The AliExpress order was cancelled or refunded. An AliExpress order with the status Canceled, Refunded or Closed is not counted as a cost. The order details show the notice Cancelled external order, and the order falls back to the next available cost, usually your own product cost.

Several AliExpress orders belong to one Shopify order. Their amounts are added up. Open the Shopify order and look at External Orders on the Details tab to see every AliExpress order that is linked.

The order has several products. The extension imports one product total per AliExpress order. Profitario spreads it over the line items of the Shopify order in proportion to their sales price, so the cost of a single line is not the supplier price of that item. The order total is correct.

A Manual Cost Blocks the AliExpress Cost#

A cost entered by hand on an order (with Edit costs, or through a spreadsheet import of order costs) always wins. It is not replaced when the AliExpress cost arrives later, and it is not replaced by a new import.

To let the AliExpress cost count, remove the manual cost:

1. 1

   Step 1 of 2

   Open Edit costs#

   

   1. 1Open the menuIn the order details, click the three dots at the top right.
   2. 2Click Edit costs
2. 2

   Step 2 of 2

   Remove the manual cost#

   

   1. 1Empty the manual valueA field with a value in black holds a manual cost, here Product Cost. Delete the value. The grey numbers in the other fields are the costs Profitario calculated.
   2. 2SaveClick Save. Only the cost you emptied is released.
   3. 3Or reset the whole orderThe arrow at the end of the row (Reset this order's manual overrides) removes every manual cost of the order at once. It takes effect right away, without Save.
3. Done

   The AliExpress cost is in effect#

   The order is recalculated right away and the Costs tab shows Purchase cost from AliExpress as In effect.

Which Cost Wins#

For each cost type (product cost, shipping, import VAT) exactly one source counts:

Example for one order: your saved product cost is $13.60, the matched AliExpress order cost $12.40, and you typed $15.00 on the order. The order uses $15.00. After you remove the manual cost it uses $12.40. Without a matched AliExpress order it uses $13.60.

The Costs tab always states the reason next to a value that does not count: Not applied: an override takes precedence, Not applied: external sources are preferred or Not applied: internal sources are preferred. If the AliExpress row of an order shows Not applied: internal sources are preferred, contact support.

Limits#

• AliExpress orders are imported only when you run the Chrome extension. There is no automatic import in the background.
• Matching uses tracking numbers only, and only at the moment of the upload.
• AliExpress discounts reduce the product cost. They are not shown as a separate cost.
• If no exchange rate is available for the day of the Shopify order, the AliExpress amount is used without conversion.
• The report currency under Suppliers > AliExpress > Settings changes how the supplier report is displayed. It does not change the cost on your Shopify orders. See How to Change the Currency of AliExpress Orders.

Contact Support#

If the tracking numbers match on both sides and the order is still Unmatched after a new upload, write to support@profitario.com and include:

• the Shopify order number
• the AliExpress order ID
• the tracking number as shown in Shopify and in the badge popover
• the error from Upload Logs, if there is one