Reliability of the Chinese websites like alibaba amd aliexpress

[Dom13c]

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

[edavid]

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.

[bd139]

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.

[ebclr]

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.

[bd139]

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.

[james_s]

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.

[amspire]

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. 

I 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.

[ebclr]

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

[I wanted a rude username]

AliExpress are 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.

Taobao though, is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. For example, sellers routinely list 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 an official stamped certificate declaring that they're counterfeit.

It's an unwelcome insight into the double standards that Chinese apply to each other.

[Mechatrommer]

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.

[EEEnthusiast]

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.

[JackJones]

AliExpress are 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.

Taobao though, is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. For example, sellers routinely list 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 an official stamped certificate declaring that they're counterfeit.

It's an unwelcome insight into the double standards that Chinese apply to each other.

I'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.

[digsys]

I have bought many specialized / rare old industrial items from both over the last year - 10s $s to many 100s $s ea
I 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 covers ALL the 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 connections
ONE will be late, sometimes very late
Rarely 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 :-)

[all_repair]

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.

[amspire]

AliExpress are 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.

Taobao though, is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. For example, sellers routinely list 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 an official stamped certificate declaring that they're counterfeit.

It's an unwelcome insight into the double standards that Chinese apply to each other.

I'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.

I 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.

[RoGeorge]

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.

[I wanted a rude username]

In your case concerning a board with half the flash memory, I can understand your frustration.

You'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 buyers had mentioned 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.

[amspire]

In your case concerning a board with half the flash memory, I can understand your frustration.

You're right, I didn't react to the situation with a level head. Should've done what blueskull suggested. We learn ...

It 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.

[james_s]

AliExpress are 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.

Taobao though, is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. For example, sellers routinely list 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 an official stamped certificate declaring that they're counterfeit.

It's an unwelcome insight into the double standards that Chinese apply to each other.

I suppose you could try to turn the tables and fake an official stamped certificate for the fake parts.

[all_repair]

In your case concerning a board with half the flash memory, I can understand your frustration.

You'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 buyers had mentioned 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.

Electronics 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. 

[floobydust]

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.

[Mr.B]

OT: @floobydust
Your 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

[Mechatrommer]

Your photo has nothing to do with China Post.

even 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.

[floobydust]

OT: @floobydust
Your 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

Yes, 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.

[wraper]

OT: @floobydust
Your 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

Yes, 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.

My 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.