"Free" multimeter ($5 shipping) what's the catch?

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Biddle Corp

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#2064538 29-Jul-2018 13:02

MichaelNZ:

sbiddle:

Out of the hundreds of packages I've had from China I've never had a single product that was never what it claimed to be. I've also only had 1 product (a $2 cable) that was faulty.

I'm not sure what sort of dodgy places you're buying products from if you're not getting what you paid for you should be looking for more reputable retailers or online stores.

It's most commonly an issue with custom products or products which have to conform to a particular specification. These are utterly fraught. If they can find a way to nickle and dime the customer, they will send anything they think they can get away with.

I know plenty of people who have things custom manufactured in China who have no issues. If you're going to deal with them you need to understand their culture and the way things work.

If anybody is dumb enough to outsource their products and supply chain and not ensure standards are met that says a lot about them, not the Chinese.

There was council in NZ who got ripped off buying the cheapest possible xmas lights in China, which IMHO reflects badly on them, not the Chinese.

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#2064541 29-Jul-2018 13:09

sbiddle:

I know plenty of people who have things custom manufactured in China who have no issues. If you're going to deal with them you need to understand their culture and the way things work.

If anybody is dumb enough to outsource their products and supply chain and not ensure standards are met that says a lot about them, not the Chinese.

There was council in NZ who got ripped off buying the cheapest possible xmas lights in China, which IMHO reflects badly on them, not the Chinese.

Wow. Is that blame the customer or so addicted to cheap stuff giving a false sense of luxury on a paupers budget? (or both?).

Your analysis also misses that what you advise is not conceivably practical for any other than large businesses.

I have a better solution though. Jump across the strait to Taiwan and pay the extra. South Korea is also a good option if they have xyz available.

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tripper1000

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#2064875 30-Jul-2018 11:25

sbiddle: Out of the hundreds of packages I've had from China I've never had a single product that was never what it claimed to be. I've also only had 1 product (a $2 cable) that was faulty.

I'm not sure what sort of dodgy places you're buying products from if you're not getting what you paid for you should be looking for more reputable retailers or online stores.

When I first discovered AliX I went on shopping sprees and got dozens of things that were faulty or completely misrepresented - a photo of the genuine item and something else showing up - battery banks outputting 3.7v only - digitizers that with one half dead - "genuine" LCD's with severe left to right eye colour distortion etc.

What I found was NEVER buy the cheapest item, it is ALWAYS deficient in some way - always buy an item whose price fits in with the average and preferably has lots of positive feedback.

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#2064878 30-Jul-2018 11:28

tripper1000:

What I found was NEVER buy the cheapest item, it is ALWAYS deficient in some way - always buy an item whose price fits in with the average and preferably has lots of positive feedback.

I go on feedback and I have been caught out a few times. Some sellers have mastered the art of sending something which looks similar but is not the product they offered (and is inferior).

I think a lot of sales are drop shipped and the buyer just gives maximum stars with no explanation.

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Varkk

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#2064911 30-Jul-2018 12:25

I have found on Wish a ton of stuff that is "Free" but then you pay $5.00 shipping. You will often find the same item on AliExpress for $4.00 with free shipping.

There is also some outright fraud, e.g GFX cards for $1.00 that you know will never arrive.

1101

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#2064920 30-Jul-2018 12:36

Ive bought things from Ch and been sent counterfeits .
Ive been sent $5 Chinese parts/brand that were fakes . They will fake even the cheapest of parts , I guess its just they way things are.

Also, in general, Ch quality control is appalling (of course there are exceptions) . Expect a much higher than usual failure rate. Thats the chance you take when buying direct from Ch.

I bought a $5(free shipping) watch from Banggood not long ago. I just wanted to see what a $5 watch was like.
Not too bad, it did run & looked quite flash, but had fake buttons & dials . The strap or batt alone would cost me more than $5 locally :-0

Also, there is the chance of buying that m.meter & having it rejected by Ch customs.
I bought a clampmeter from Ch, Ch customs rejected it as they thought it had AA batts in it (it didnt ) . Got a refund & bought same thing from a US seller .

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#2064927 30-Jul-2018 12:50

The good feature with AliX is the buillt in escrow. If it doesn't arrive or is faulty or misrepresented you get refunded.

MichaelNZ

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#2064928 30-Jul-2018 12:53

kryptonjohn:

The good feature with AliX is the buillt in escrow. If it doesn't arrive or is faulty or misrepresented you get refunded.

It's not worth the (virtual) paper it's written on.

All the seller has to do is claim the item is a "custom" item and AliExpress washes their hands. The seller could send a brick and as long as it's a "custom brick" they will get off their scam, scot free.

Another case, a friend of mine was sent a totally fake Linksys item. AliExpress wanted the product returned back to the seler. This person ended up getting a refund via their bank.

AliExpess is a haven for scammers quite frankly. One day some of the people in this thread may wonder why there is no job for them. Hopefully they will put two and two together.

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kryptonjohn

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#2064932 30-Jul-2018 12:58

MichaelNZ:

kryptonjohn:

The good feature with AliX is the buillt in escrow. If it doesn't arrive or is faulty or misrepresented you get refunded.

It's not worth the (virtual) paper it's written on.

All the seller has to do is claim the item is a "custom" item and AliExpress washes their hands. The seller could send a brick and as long as it's a "custom brick" they will get off their scam, scot free.

Incorrect. I've twice had refunds from AliX - once for something that was late arriving and once for an item (SD memory card) that was not as advertised. In neither case was I required to return the item either.

MichaelNZ

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#2064934 30-Jul-2018 13:02

kryptonjohn:

Incorrect. I've twice had refunds from AliX - once for something that was late arriving and once for an item (SD memory card) that was not as advertised. In neither case was I required to return the item either.

What I have posted absolutely does happen.

Often one has to be as ruthless as the sellers on AliX are by going straight to charge back at their bank. This is becaue both AliX and some of their sellers are well versed in playing games and will keep up the nonsense until the buyer gives up.

It's the same way they do business there.

AliX stuff is not "made in China", it's "made for China".

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muppet

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#2064943 30-Jul-2018 13:16

A pair of jumper cables walks into a bar.

The bartender says,
"I'll serve you, but don't start anything!"

Edit: I've bought about 10 things from AliExpress. Haven't had a single problem yet.

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tripper1000

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#2064944 30-Jul-2018 13:22

Don't worry, if the jumper cables were from Wish they wouldn't start anything.

cshaun

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#2065008 30-Jul-2018 15:19

Well both sides of these arguments have merit. Yes there is complete garbage on Aliexpress, and there are fraudulent fakes too (e.g. SD Cards). Most of the time you can spot it before ordering - but you need to pay attention. If you're buying from a seller that's got some decent feedback, and been around for a while, and the price isn't in the realm of 'too good to be true' - you'll most likely be fine. The escrow system is great, and works very well. I've used it a hand full of time, no issues.

You need to realize that a huge amount of SD cards are fake however, can easily sneak into retailers and Amazon too. It's crazy if you read up on it. This is not something you should even try buy on Aliexpress, it's going to be 10x worse there.

So once you realize what sort of products Aliexpress is good for you have few issues.

Perhaps the worst is when trying to buy something cheap and it is cheap junk. Not good enough for your purposes but is it bad enough to get a refund i.e. not fit for purpose? Third time was a charm when I was trying to get a pair of needle nose tweezers - still probably 10x cheaper than buying from retail here. Oh and when looking for something and there are hundreds of the same product from different sellers at different prices - a pain to just get the cheapest option from a reputable seller.

cshaun

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#2065009 30-Jul-2018 15:23

MichaelNZ:

It will be drop shipped from China and you and your fellow countrymen will pay by way of New Zealand post jacking up prices and reducing services to compensate for all that cheap crap coming in, which they are loosing money on delivering.

Additionally, coming from China, there is a 50% chance it won't be what they claim it is. Keep in mind that stuff bought in China is their domestic market rubbish, not the (higher grade) export stuff bought in NZ.

I can't see NZ Post losing money on delivery items. My understanding is China would have negotiated some bulk deal. They're not forcing NZ Post to do something they don't want to.

As to export quality - well if you're buying from a retailer here, they have consumer guarantees etc, they will have checked the product out. They'll (usually) just avoid the rubbish products.

Buying direct from China you're simply removing that filter, but also buying at a lower price.

MichaelNZ

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#2065011 30-Jul-2018 15:27

cshaun:

I can't see NZ Post losing money on delivery items. My understanding is China would have negotiated some bulk deal. They're not forcing NZ Post to do something they don't want to.

They are loosing money because they have to deliver the items.

It is also the case NZ Post could screw CN / HK / SG Post in the same way. Problem is, there just isn't that much stuff going the other way.

It's a suck deal and NZP isn't the only ones with this problem.

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