Reliability of the Chinese websites like alibaba amd aliexpress  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Dom13c
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 07:08:48 pm
content: After spending a day of searching I've finally come up with the usage of dds vfo instead of the old school all analog vfo for my general coverage hf receiver . Wadley design is just way too complex to be utilized to stabilise the vfo.What I want to ask is that how reliable are those chienese websites e.g. alibaba, aliexpress etc. to order things from. The price they ask are quite reasonable ( okay, cheap) . Have any of you guys ever been scammed or are given counterfeit goods? I wanna buy not much but a Si5351 breakout board and a bunch of 45 MHz crystal filters and some specific frequency crystals (in a quantity of like 100) for ssb filters

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 07:38:55 pm
content: It's not unusual to get parts that are bad or not as described. However, the buyer protection is pretty good. So, don't buy anything unless you are prepared to test it yourself before the buyer protection period expires.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 07:43:18 pm
content: What you're attempting to buy usually comes out fine. I've had at least 5 Si5351A boards from aliexpress with zero problems. Hundreds of crystals, zero problems. Not tried 45MHz filters.Just build myself literally what you're thinking of building the other day:Software is not off the shelf or raduino though - custom stuff I'm working on as I need out of phase signals.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 10:02:34 pm
content: Aliexpress is safer than eBay, the refund is much easier, and take a long time to expire and can be extended, I use frequently and never lose a cent.You get what you paid for, don't expect to buy a 100 USD thing for 2 USD, But a 100USD thing for 30 USD it's a quite viable and real possibility.If you are the "fake paranoid" don't buy anything and pay much more on the so-called safe channels, without any assurance that the supposed to be good and "expensive" one is any better than the supposed to be "fake" and cheap.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 10:06:52 pm
content: I'm not so sure. Aliexpress users tend to try and play around with partial refunds or the store user disappears sharpish after ripping off a few thousand users. ebay almost always side against the seller from experience.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2019, 10:33:36 pm
content: I have not had any trouble myself, but I'm low volume. Certain parts are counterfeit everywhere, stuff like Dallas RAM/RTC modules and a lot of vintage/exotic transistors and ICs like analog delay lines and such. Modern commodity parts are normally just fine.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 01:10:39 am
content: Quote from: ebclr on September 28, 2019, 10:02:34 pmI have bought over 100 items on AliExpress and I find it safer then eBay as well. AliExpres will make you wait longer then eBay if the item seems to still be in the mail, but so far, I have had refunds every time I have had a problem. The last was oled display - I had ordered white displays and the seller sent blue. There was no protection time left, so AliExpress just gave me a full refund.eBay's refund request system just annoys me - you find yourself looping around help files and wizards that suggest you contact the seller. They want to make you work for a refund.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 03:05:48 am
content: Agree 100% the eBay idea is to have you tired, and forget the refund or lose the time for that, while Aliexpress is a much better system without a lot of endless loops, All sellers on Aliexpress are obligated to have a save deposit. It's near impossible to lose anything on Aliexpress unless you do stupid things. One time I have a seller who sold alike fluke probe, but they send me the cheapest one totally different from the picture ( those one od DT830 ), The seller refuses to refund, and even worse try to fight with a lot of lies, Aliexpress step in, read everything and force seller to refund. It's a much better system than ebay

author: I wanted a rude username
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 03:28:07 am
content: AliExpressare pretty good with refunds. They generally have more scams than eBay, e.g. several times I've ordered two or three units of an item and received only one. They make you jump through a few more hoops than eBay, but they tend to side with the buyer.Taobaothough, is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. For example, sellersroutinelylist STM32 blue pills with STM32F103C6T6 chips blacktopped and remarked as STM32F103C8T6s (and of course all the specs are of the C8T6). Taobao will refund you ... if you get anofficial stamped certificatedeclaring that they're counterfeit.It's an unwelcome insight into the double standards that Chinese apply to each other.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 03:44:58 am
content: i recently moved to aliexpress due to unavailable part in ebay (and lelong) and sellers (china) become more and more incompetent there. older shop like ebay system is we pay directly to seller's account, but newer shop like aliexpress (and lazada or shoppe) will hold the payment until we receive the goods, and only then release the money to seller on good feedback and received confirmation. with ebay system, if seller runaway before paypal can take back the money, the money will be gone with them, with aliexpress they cant run, so theoritically its safer. i recently got a aliexpress seller who cant deliver, initiate cancel order, and my money got refunded by aliexpress in a few days. but it will be the current currency value, so i lost about 30 cents during the process but nevermind, better lose 30 cents than risk losing hundreds of dollars in ebay. this new system will also encourage seller to take appropriate action if there is problem, i have another seller who i bought 3 items from, when received its only 1 items, so i disputed with him, and he send the 2 items later. if i hit dispute button on aliexpress, he will risk sending free item to me, since his money is still with aliexpress. another thing is, aliexpress is so cheaper than ebay i can save up to half of my money on some items, so i've missed all the fun part for this many years. ymmv.

author: EEEnthusiast
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 04:14:56 am
content: I had ordered hundreds of parts from AliExpress but never had any issues so far. Few errors if any were due to the lack of English communication skills of the seller, rather than the intent. For e.g. in some cases the part colour may be different. Ebay is not that trustworthy in my opinion. I had been conned on ebay multiple times. Note that the sellers on AliExpress are registered businesses in China and not individuals. So that makes it more reliable.

author: JackJones
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 04:25:59 am
content: Quote from: HaywoodJablowme on September 29, 2019, 03:28:07 amI've had Aliexpress demand me a statement from the manufacturer that the parts are counterfeit. I've send clear and obvious evidence that they are, yet it has not been good enough for them. I no longer trust Aliexpress with refunds. They also often give just partial refunds even on stuff that is dead on arrival claiming it's some use to me.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 04:36:47 am
content: I have bought many specialized / rare old industrial items from both over the last year - 10s $s to many 100s $s eaI buy from 3! separate suppliers each time (for any 1! part I need), if it is a "rare" IC, I buy 5-10x each time. I make sure my service quote coversALLthe purchases.My "running average" experience is -ONE supplier will send a wrong part, completely or different enough, not to be useful.ONE supplier will send a faulty part, or broken pins, or missing important connectionsONE will be late, sometimes very lateRarely will all 3 orders be correct and on time. I NEVER bother complaining / giving only neutral or slightly positive feedback, NEVER lodge a dispute.I have learned the system :-)When I have a carload of "extra spares" built up, I'll just give them away, like I've always done. This system works fine :-)

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 04:37:02 am
content: I was a heavy ebay buyer, now eBay is my last place to go to. Some seasoned sellers with high rating can game the eBay ssystem and play the system without loosing their money and their rating. You can be sure that their communication of no-content is immediate before the feedback window is over, and shall mislead you to go against eBay rule to resolve the dispute. And when the window is over, they are gone, and if you trust eBay or PayPal, then you cannot be more wrong. All the "money-back" promises when tested, are all broken. You would think the communication messages can let ebay or PayPal side with you, you shall be wrong. Ebay and PayPal are all BS, the Chinese aliexpress and taobao do that like a real businessman, they shall refund you and take the risk of getting back the money from the seller. If both sides they think have their points, then they absorb the losses and trying to get seller to absorb some, and buyer to absorb some. I rank aliexpress and taobao as good as Amazon for customer care. Of course, pricing wise is a one sided thing.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 04:43:55 am
content: Quote from: JackJones on September 29, 2019, 04:25:59 amI think it is very difficult for companies like AliExpress to understand if a chip is counterfeit or not. I think if you want genuine parts, buy from a distributor you trust. In the cases where it is obvious that the item you ordered and the item received are different - such as an item that does not match the original photo - AliExpress are pretty good at protecting you.In your case concerning a board with half the flash memory, I can understand your frustration.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 07:06:24 am
content: So far I bought many times from AliExpress. Very reliable shop, with good protection for buyers. Quality of the products, on the other hand, varies widely from one seller to another, and from one order to another.Before ordering, you need to read the negative reviews first, those with 1,2 or 3 stars mostly, and see what could go wrong. 4 and 5 stars might be fake reviews. Avoid sellers with low ratings or low sells volumes.- You'll get what you pay for. Don't expect to get diamonds when you pay pennies.- Don't buy very expensive brand name items, those might be fake.- Be very careful at the description and the photos of a product, and consider the worst specifications first.- The quality may vary widely for consecutive orders even when they are from the same seller. One order might be perfect quality products, next order might be crap. It's kind of a lottery.For hobby level electronics, to me AliExpress was always a good deal. For something reliable, production level, I'll stay away from AliExpress.

author: I wanted a rude username
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 09:17:41 am
content: Quote from: amspire on September 29, 2019, 04:43:55 amYou're right, I didn't react to the situation with a level head. Should've done what blueskull suggested. We learn ...blueskull's comment also explains why buyers weren't leaving negative feedback. When I checked carefully afterwards, some other buyershadmentioned the discrepancy, but still gave the transaction a thumbs up. Now it's clear why. This form of corruption means you can't trust seller ratings.The sellers are unrepentant though. They would say essentially, "you got a good price, what did you expect?" And some buyers' comments suggest they were accepting this, which is astonishing.Using Chinese language sites is like eavesdropping on some fantasy civilisation, 95% familiar and 5% orthogonal.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 09:24:25 am
content: Quote from: HaywoodJablowme on September 29, 2019, 09:17:41 amIt happened to me years ago when I ended up with a bunch of Arduino boards with the AtMega168 chip. I ended up replacing all the microcontrollers with the '328 chips myself.I am more careful now. If a price seems suspiciously low, I often go for the more realistically priced item.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2019, 11:53:32 pm
content: Quote from: HaywoodJablowme on September 29, 2019, 03:28:07 amI suppose you could try to turn the tables and fake an official stamped certificate for the fake parts.

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2019, 02:05:19 am
content: Quote from: HaywoodJablowme on September 29, 2019, 09:17:41 amElectronics components have the most problems. It is difficult to police, and difficult to arbitrate. It require deep technical knowledge. My suggestion to you is stick with non Chinese distributor, or go with some more reputable Chinese sellers that shall charge you at least 5 time the China street price. They also need to cover their risk. But if you want to enjoy the benefits of China Street price, which can be easily 1/10 or 1/20 of E14 price, then there shall be some things to learn. For hobbyists, the lesson is not worth it.E14 or RS have some value to add. As one learns more, they have lesser and lesser value.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2019, 02:51:14 am
content: Aliexpress is not great lately.For many low dollar vendors, I find the item never arrives. They give a fake tracking number that says the item supposedly made it into the country after a couple weeks and it ends there.Their trick is to "extend buyer purchase protection" several times when the order is near late cutoff, until you forget the new cutoff date. Then it's surprise- "transaction closed".Vendors will only give a refund if you give them a 5-star review.I get emails from Aliexpress saying the seller gave feedback about me- but this cannot be viewed.Aliexpress and eBay both need to email out reminders on the last day so you can track non-shipments.

author: Mr.B
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2019, 03:29:33 am
content: OT: @floobydustYour photo has nothing to do with China Post.It is the grounding of the Rena on Astrolabe reef off Tauranga, New Zealand in 2011.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rena_oil_spill

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2019, 04:45:13 am
content: Quote from: Mr.B on September 30, 2019, 03:29:33 ameven if it has, its one of the possibility happening to shipping transport, including airplane etc. if it happen that one of our parcel is inside that transport what will we do? blame the china seller? i think that will be ridiculous, nobody want nor expect disaster. i never use sea transport, but for air transport i've set the limit to within 2 weeks to a month, 2 weeks is average, a month is quite late from experience. if tracking number shows no movement in the first week i'll poke the seller, and if the 2nd week still the same i will start giving him hint about dispute process, 3rd week no progress? i hit dispute button regardless, its just a waste of my time. but if tracking number shows movement indicating the parcel left airport, i will think many times, or wait sometimes if i want to blame a seller.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 07:10:53 pm
content: Quote from: Mr.B on September 30, 2019, 03:29:33 amYes, it's a pic for what happens to your Aliexpress shipments. They mysteriously vanish into the ocean after waiting several months.Followed by more weeks of "Hi,dear, we extend the buyer protection time for you by 9 days, and please keep in touch, we will help you to receive the product. thanks!"I'm mentioning it because I've wasted more time with products that never show up, than low quality.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 07:42:16 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on October 02, 2019, 07:10:53 pmMy shipments don't vanish. Extending protection is a usual thing, for me it's more like reminder that I did not confirm goods received in time.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 08:49:06 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 02, 2019, 07:42:16 pmQuite contrary, on Aliexpress, if you don't open a dispute, the transaction will be closed by default as OK, no matter you received the goods or not.Only if you open a dispute during protection time, the seller usually extend the protection for a few more days. It happened to me 4-5 times in total. Once it was extended 2 times in a row, and 2-3 times it was extended only once, the product still didn't arrive, money were returned, then the product finally arrived after another week or so, and I bought generic voucers just to pay them again the product that was just refunded. In theory, if it's not in time but arrives later after refund, you can keep it for free, but I never do that.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 10:32:19 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on September 29, 2019, 03:37:02 amSo one thing I don't understand about Taobao, literally no one leaves reviews for electronics. I will see USB connector with ~200 sales, and there is hundreds of "no response received default positive" and then one "good". Compare this to aliexpress, its never that bad you'll get a few comments and sometimes photos people have taken.Quote from: floobydust on September 30, 2019, 02:51:14 amDo not use sunyou/yanwen/free shipping any more, they never arrive. This is 100% a problem with CBSA or the shipping company and not the sellers fault. I do not believe it is a fake tracking number (most of the time, unless tracking showed say never leaving china), as the issue is within Canada and not as much elsewhere.You need to switch to paying $1-3 for china post or epacket it will arrive quickly. Another option is to consolidate your items in China, then bulk ship them, but that may cost more than it is worth.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 10:37:56 pm
content: Quote from: ebclr on September 28, 2019, 10:02:34 pmYeah. From a sales POV, I've had better experience with Aliexpress overall than eBay as well.Now as far as products and sellers go, it's pretty much the same. You're still completely on your own. There's good stuff to be found, and really crappy stuff, counterfeits, etc. Usually the pricing is a good indicator of a given product having a chance of being legit or not...Regarding pricing, don't let yourself get fooled. At first you may be tempted to think that yeah, this item is a bargain, but hey, it's normal, it's direct from China, and you know, they are so much cheaper...unfortunately, the cheap stuff, even from China, is often crap. Legit and good products on Aliexpress (and there are) are not necessarily that cheap.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 11:53:01 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on October 02, 2019, 10:32:19 pmif item not arriving in due time, i consider that as seller's fault for choosing broken courier (unless if its me who did the choosing then i have to blame myself). i will demand refund from shop management (ali or ebay) and advice the seller not to use that courier again. this happened to me once in ebay.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 03, 2019, 03:27:28 am
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on October 02, 2019, 08:49:06 pmOf course it does. Because otherwise seller won't ever receive the money as it is released only after transaction is closed. Or do you think that buyers confirm all purchases they actually received? I doubt that even half of goods physically received are confirmed.IMHO you either order something really dodgy or packages simply get lost or stolen in the way to you.I remember a long time ago someone complained here that ebay banned him from purchase protection. Something like 70-80% of ebay purchases did not arrive to him and he disputed all of those until ebay got full of it. Like "I'me not guilt they get lost/stolen". Maybe, but sellers are not guilty either for being unfortunate you buying something from them.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2019, 08:57:59 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on October 02, 2019, 11:53:01 pmYou can demand a refund if you want, thats OK. But I don't believe its the sellers fault here that the "courier is broken" its an issue with our country and how mail is processed. If there was a single shipping option I would understand, but, with alix you have the choice of often 5+ shipping methods.So ultimately what ends up happening: sellers stop offering these methods to ship to Canada, or they completely block Canada from purchasing items (a few sellers have done this already). First option is good, I don't like the second option though.

author: wasyoungonce
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 01:29:07 am
content: Digging up old thread....I usually buy from the proper stores, digikey, RS, E14......sometimes Aliexpress or Bangood, if I must.But I need some TFT displays, Formike KWH028Q28-F01. Very specific these and only these. I can only get these from Alibaba (which is odd unless I purchase large qtys from OEM) and I have never purchased form them. Only need 2-3https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Formike-QVGA-240x320-2-8-inch_1968462774.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.5387350dj0oepGI know its a stupid question...is Alibaba safe, similar like Aliexpress

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 01:31:20 am
content: It's similar but less consumer-oriented. I bought some hard to find displays from a seller there several years ago and I received what I ordered. That's only one data point though.

author: wasyoungonce
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 02:40:25 am
content: Thanks James

author: Microdoser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 11:21:29 am
content: Personally, I tend to go directly to the manufacturer or a reputable parts distributor if I really want a genuine part.If I don't mind getting 'same-same but different' I will go with AliExpress.I have not had issues with items not arriving, often they arrive quite early compared to the predicted delivery date.Now the UK has abolished the lower limit for VAT on imports, I will note how deliveries are affected and adjust my buying habits accordingly.