Sensible Topic Overseas Ordering

banny32

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I am thinking of ordering something from Alibaba
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. Is it safe, any does, don't or other peoples experience?
 
I am thinking of ordering something from Alibaba
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. Is it safe, any does, don't or other peoples experience?

I have brought loads of stuff from there...it is dodgy as hell mate but you take your chances..
I've been okay luckily but others have not been so lucky with nothing turning up or goods are not as advertised and sellers disappearing etc..
Pay with paypal or a method you can defiantly get your money back or offer some sort of buyer protection..
 
I have brought loads of stuff from there...it is dodgy as hell mate but you take your chances..
I've been okay luckily but others have not been so lucky with nothing turning up or goods are not as advertised and sellers disappearing etc..
Pay with paypal or a method you can defiantly get your money back or offer some sort of buyer protection..

Thanks for that, much appreciated... The old saying if it sounds to good to be true... :/
 
I have brought loads of stuff from there...it is dodgy as hell mate but you take your chances..
I've been okay luckily but others have not been so lucky with nothing turning up or goods are not as advertised and sellers disappearing etc..
Pay with paypal or a method you can defiantly get your money back or offer some sort of buyer protection..

I think you've got definitely got defiantly on the brain m8!
@banny32 I don't know about where you are, but assuming you're in the EU, there are limits on how much you can 'import' before having to pay duty (VAT) and these limits vary by country. Here it's a paltry 22€!! UK was £150+ last time I asked, that was a while ago.
 
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See what you mean without being defiant..dam spell check thing on iPad ha ha..that's my excuse and definitely sticking to it.My army brain...

On the point of VAT or your country's version there are sellers who will/can ship with no tax to pay at your end..you pay $25 upfront but they refund it..don't know what they do but you end up with it getting through customs without paying duty...
Last box I got a solo2 clone cost me £11 in duty paid £4 import tax and £7 vat with DHL.
Had one shipped via FedEx and that cost me an extra £23.
 
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I think the best thing to do is to avoid directly commenting on your observation, it will definitely blow over much quicker.... doh
 
Bearing in mind previous posts, I've ordered one or two things from Alibaba and they've all turned up fine. They're a massive company about to launch an IPO but, just like fleabay, there are some dodgy sellers.

As AJT suggests, buy with protection :)
 
Bearing in mind previous posts, I've ordered one or two things from Alibaba and they've all turned up fine. They're a massive company about to launch an IPO but, just like fleabay, there are some dodgy sellers.

As AJT suggests, buy with protection :)

I seem to recall they wanted payment via western union, which means no cover, ill go back to em and say unless they change payment method... no deal
 
I seem to recall they wanted payment via western union, which means no cover, ill go back to em and say unless they change payment method... no deal

Rule 1 on Western Union - you use them when 100% sure you know the recipient personally, end of!
 
Rule 1 on Western Union - you use them when 100% sure you know the recipient personally, end of!

And even then NOT if they're (allegedly) emailing you from a hotel in some far-flung place asking you to bail them out!
 
I don't know what your thinking of buying tbh but fasttech are a good company i have ordered a couple of bits and got them ok but be warned if you don't pay the extra postage then your looking at a slow boat from china (10- 30 days)
 
I must be lucky because I have purchased 2 telescopes 1 set top box and 3 chips and not paid any tax and not had to wait long 3 days for chips 7 days for every thing else and happy with what i got for the price I used my credit card or paypal funded by my credit card
 
Not had any problems myself, but I always use the menu to make sure that they have been on alibaba for more than 2 years, and also that they have been audited!

All in the search menu :)

Also try and get them to do the first order in paypal!

Personally, you could get screwed, but keep your wits about you and hopefully you will be fine!

Now getting screwed by customs lol, that's another story!

Mick
 
As a company alibaba is actually bigger than ebay and amazon but effectively I believe they are just middle men putting you in touch with manufactures so your dealings are with the supplier. I've used them a few times without issues, shipping can vary from being a few days to couple of weeks. As Mick suggested make sure they are audited seller with decent history.
 
Check if they specify that the package will be marked as a gift or something. Bought stuff a while ago marked as gift and no problem, bought a set of led bulbs recently for the house and had to pay £20 customs and vat to parcelforce
 
I have ordered lots of things from china, mostly from aliexpress. Never had any big problems that couldn't be solved with dialogue.
 
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