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AliExpress
- Thread starter Garyt
- Start date
I Stopped using Ali to many things went missing. Use Amazon mostly. The price difference to Amazon has been payed for by the missing stuff off Ali. Plus ali and temu have the issue of defrauding peoples credit card info. The forum has an accusize discount. Also I think there is a forum discount for KBC. Vector.ca has not been to bad to order from.
The best way to get tooling hands down, put a classified ad on the forum and ask for some thing specific.
The best way to get tooling hands down, put a classified ad on the forum and ask for some thing specific.
i buy from aliexpress all the time, endmills, inserts, tool holders, 3d printer parts, cnc parts, electronic parts, you name it
in total i have been scammed once, and i should have known, the price was to good, and it was a numbered store, 65$ out of probably 5000$
i have no real gripes about the quality, its probably not up to north American mfg. standards, but it works well enough
sometimes i will spend the extra few bucks to get it from amazon if i want it quickly, it is generally the same product anyhow, and sometimes its actually the same price, in wich case i will buy amazon for the ability to return (usually more expensive items, 300$+ kind of things)
in total i have been scammed once, and i should have known, the price was to good, and it was a numbered store, 65$ out of probably 5000$
i have no real gripes about the quality, its probably not up to north American mfg. standards, but it works well enough
sometimes i will spend the extra few bucks to get it from amazon if i want it quickly, it is generally the same product anyhow, and sometimes its actually the same price, in wich case i will buy amazon for the ability to return (usually more expensive items, 300$+ kind of things)
gerritv
Gerrit
My wife and I have done hundreds of AliExpress transactions. Zero fraud, maybe 6 disappointments. Disputes for non-delivery get handled promptly. I only use PayPal, no false charges ever.
Unlike Busy Bee where 3 of 5 transactions were a disappointment and 1 took 7 months to get action.
There are a few threads here where I have listed my preferred AliExpress vendors.
Unlike Busy Bee where 3 of 5 transactions were a disappointment and 1 took 7 months to get action.
There are a few threads here where I have listed my preferred AliExpress vendors.
Proxule
Ultra Member
I am clearly on the same boat or plane as you, COUNTLESS purchases, countless!
Any time I have an issue, I fire up a claim with video and pictures and I get a full refund.
And we are going to war with China? pppfffffttttt - Sure!
Megar arc 5040dd
Super User
I ordered an entire list of stuff just about a month ago. The entire list can be found here https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/new-to-me-zx45-milling-machine.7314/page-3 post #60. I have been very pleased with everything I ordered especially the cutters. I will order again without hesitation.
I used to order off ali for all my 3d printer stuff as well as for work. We had stuff not get to us on several occasions. As well we had a credit card compromised. ALi is like ebay and in the end it is thousands of sellers and can have issues. I even have had an empty package scam on amazon. Lately some of the items on amazon are either at par or even cheaper then some coming from ali. But get them in a couple days instead of weeks. We used to buy several hundred thousand through alibaba but that is an entirely different thing.
KeeponDragon
no problems... just challenges
I'm in the crowd of "several transactions with only a couple disappointments"
Anything tooling related, I have had decent results from.
The few electronic items have been mediocre at best...An Android head unit for my truck turned out to be complete junk, a speaker frequency filter (for a sub box)...also not fantastic
The best advice I can give is read the reviews. Steer clear of any seller that has little to no sales history or minimal review counts.
Anything I've not received has been refunded.
Anything tooling related, I have had decent results from.
The few electronic items have been mediocre at best...An Android head unit for my truck turned out to be complete junk, a speaker frequency filter (for a sub box)...also not fantastic
The best advice I can give is read the reviews. Steer clear of any seller that has little to no sales history or minimal review counts.
Anything I've not received has been refunded.
My Ali experiences have been mixed. Some very good, some so-so, only a few really bad.
In terms of the more expensive stuff, I bought a Ditron DRO on Ali that I'm very happy with, two collet sets that were complete junk, and a bunch of carbide inserts and end mills that were so-so.
I don't mind shopping on Ali as long as I'm not in a hurry. But I much prefer Amazon or the tool stores in Canada for most things. Ali is almost never my first choice for general shopping. But Amazon often is. Certain things I get at certain places cuz they do what they promise.
My biggest complaint about Ali is the silly way things are organized and marketed. It's hard to find what you want, and it's too easy to get the wrong thing.
Also, the reviews are obviously phoney or non-relevant. And you cannot get instant answers because of the time difference - most questions do get answered overnight but it might take a week or more of back and forth to actually get a relevant answer to the question you asked because they seem to pick answers from a FAQ list and don't really understand the question I asked. Lastly, I don't like the metric mish-mash. Most stuff is metric only, some stuff is labelled metric but isn't, and a lot of stuff is labelled imperial but isn't. It's like China doesn't really know the difference.
Overall, I guess you could say I'm ho-hum about Ali.
In terms of the more expensive stuff, I bought a Ditron DRO on Ali that I'm very happy with, two collet sets that were complete junk, and a bunch of carbide inserts and end mills that were so-so.
I don't mind shopping on Ali as long as I'm not in a hurry. But I much prefer Amazon or the tool stores in Canada for most things. Ali is almost never my first choice for general shopping. But Amazon often is. Certain things I get at certain places cuz they do what they promise.
My biggest complaint about Ali is the silly way things are organized and marketed. It's hard to find what you want, and it's too easy to get the wrong thing.
Also, the reviews are obviously phoney or non-relevant. And you cannot get instant answers because of the time difference - most questions do get answered overnight but it might take a week or more of back and forth to actually get a relevant answer to the question you asked because they seem to pick answers from a FAQ list and don't really understand the question I asked. Lastly, I don't like the metric mish-mash. Most stuff is metric only, some stuff is labelled metric but isn't, and a lot of stuff is labelled imperial but isn't. It's like China doesn't really know the difference.
Overall, I guess you could say I'm ho-hum about Ali.
ChazzC
Ultra Member
Just completed my first purchase from AliExpress, with mixed feelings:
• Order placed Oct 5th
• I received notification & tracking info for the two shipments (ER32 collet and 10 120° Spotting Drills) the morning of the 6th; 17 Track found the numbers
• Although I received regular status updates from AliEpress, 17Track did not show anything other than the initial notifications
• The day after AliExpress said the shipments had cleared inbound Customs (Oct 15th), a package was left at my door containing two inner packages with my purchases. Everything was there, in excellent condition and as described.
So, my purchases were shipping in a timely manner and received more quickly than typical purchases from eBay via OCL (Orange Connex Logistics, eBay's shipping arm). However, tracking updates were basically non-existent (I don't trust updates from the selling source).
So will I buy again from AliExpress? Maybe. If I can't find an item elsewhere, I will probably give them (and their Sellers) another shot. However, the main reason I placed my order was for the 26mm collet and I just found the identical item on eBay, for the same price with the same free shipping, located in Suffren, NY; so I guess I didn't look hard enough.
As a side note, my first and only purchase from Banggood was in early 2021, and it took 8 weeks to arrive. Items purchased in the same time period from eBay Sellers shipped via OCL arrived in about three weeks.
My bottom line, unless there is some other compelling reason, I will limit purchases to sites located in the U.S. (where I can track them down) or other Sellers that I believe I can trust based on good feedback from sources such as this forum.
• Order placed Oct 5th
• I received notification & tracking info for the two shipments (ER32 collet and 10 120° Spotting Drills) the morning of the 6th; 17 Track found the numbers
• Although I received regular status updates from AliEpress, 17Track did not show anything other than the initial notifications
• The day after AliExpress said the shipments had cleared inbound Customs (Oct 15th), a package was left at my door containing two inner packages with my purchases. Everything was there, in excellent condition and as described.
So, my purchases were shipping in a timely manner and received more quickly than typical purchases from eBay via OCL (Orange Connex Logistics, eBay's shipping arm). However, tracking updates were basically non-existent (I don't trust updates from the selling source).
So will I buy again from AliExpress? Maybe. If I can't find an item elsewhere, I will probably give them (and their Sellers) another shot. However, the main reason I placed my order was for the 26mm collet and I just found the identical item on eBay, for the same price with the same free shipping, located in Suffren, NY; so I guess I didn't look hard enough.
As a side note, my first and only purchase from Banggood was in early 2021, and it took 8 weeks to arrive. Items purchased in the same time period from eBay Sellers shipped via OCL arrived in about three weeks.
My bottom line, unless there is some other compelling reason, I will limit purchases to sites located in the U.S. (where I can track them down) or other Sellers that I believe I can trust based on good feedback from sources such as this forum.
Ironman
Ultra Member
I have been buying a lot from Amazon, not much in tooling, but. Almost always excellent service and easy free returns policy. Except when things go wrong, as they do. I recently broke the shaft off the starter motor on my forklift, and it was simple to order from Amazon, 3 days to have a new starter. Well, that was Oct 9, and the 3 bottom plow and dead forklift are still in the shop.
With Bang, AliX and Alibaba you can expect this sort of thing.
With Bang, AliX and Alibaba you can expect this sort of thing.
Did not want this thread to be a, right or wrong thread. All online shopping has risk. I have been ordering online for nearly 20 years. For personal and company use. I have had more then one email compromised. I have had credit cards compromised. None that hurt me financially because I protected myself from the beginning.
Points to protect yourself.
Profiles on seller sites should never include your real birthday. They also should not be connected to social media. Always use different passwords on sites.
Use a specific email address, not one you use on forums or for social media. This also helps focus on emails from sellers and tracking.
Limit financial information. Get and use a specific credit card, if possible separate from your daily bank, if defrauded you can see it and act quickly to stop it. Replacement of a compromised card also does not affect you personally.
Points to protect yourself.
Profiles on seller sites should never include your real birthday. They also should not be connected to social media. Always use different passwords on sites.
Use a specific email address, not one you use on forums or for social media. This also helps focus on emails from sellers and tracking.
Limit financial information. Get and use a specific credit card, if possible separate from your daily bank, if defrauded you can see it and act quickly to stop it. Replacement of a compromised card also does not affect you personally.
The OP specifically asked about Ali looking for advice good or bad. So I think right and wrong is actually ok.
Your advice on how to protect yourself is good too. I'd add that I like PayPal and Google Pay because you don't have to give anyone your credit card info.
MrWhoopee
Well-Known Member
Hundreds of purchases, thousands of dollars, only scammed once and received a very prompt refund. A few defective items, under $10 they don't want it back, just refund. Return labels issued for more expensive items, refunds issued a soon as package shipped. Very happy with my DRO, lots of lathe and mill tooling and inserts. I buy lots of carbide drills and endmills, but I avoid Chinese taps.
I could never afford to tool my shop as I have if I had to buy domestic.
edit: My biggest complaint about AE is too many email notifications.
I could never afford to tool my shop as I have if I had to buy domestic.
edit: My biggest complaint about AE is too many email notifications.
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Proxule
Ultra Member
Give me your tracking ( the start of your tracking will do ) and I will advise.
Normally 3 options,
Apple Express https://goapple.appleexpress.com/OrderTrackingMultiple.aspx
Uniuni https://www.uniuni.com/
Canadapost https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/home.page
But to track all my orders I start out using
parcelapp https://parcelsapp.com/
That will give you the info required to decipher where it is coming from and how its moving, Until the company on our shores takes over.
In my experiences, Uniuni is the fastest ( by 1 or 2 days ) Apple is next and of course CP is the slowest as the first 2 are running deliveries even on the weekends!!!
Gluck
In my experience, it all depends on what you bought, who you bought it from, how much you paid for it, whether it had free shipping, and where you live. It simply isn't true that there is one answer for everyone. And it certainly isn't like buying from Amazon or KBC Tools (just to pick two extremes - Free & $$$).
I think I can safely say that the majority of your ALI shipments will probably get delivered by Canada Post. Most Ali vendors are aware of the fact that Canada has a postal agreement with China. This agreement makes their shipping costs much lower than the actual cost - this has been discussed at length elsewhere on this forum. For most low cost shipments this has worked well for me. I often don't even have to pay HST. But that isn't true for more costly stuff that has to go through customs where it gets opened, rummaged through, often damaged, and sometimes lost - all for a nasty fee which you will have to pay in addition to your purchase cost or you don't get your item.
Something you need to know is that Ali isn't one big vendor for thousands of vendors like Amazon. Instead, it's more like an umbrella group where each vendor is free to do their own thing. Yes, Ali has rules for them but not nearly so controlled and strict as Amazon. Each vendor on Ali is very different and very independent. If you find an Ali vendor you like, try to stick with them. Doing so will provide a "LITTLE" more shipping certainty than hopping around will.
If your vendor chooses a non-national carrier all bets are off. This can be everything from one of the majors (UPS, FedEx, etc) to a slow boat passing through every 3rd world country on earth several times..... Free shipping is sometimes this last version. But even expensive shipping can be this last version.
If you have not guessed, shipping certainty isn't one of Ali's strengths. Throw a bag of dice in the air and pray. With some grovelling and a few sacrifices to the shipping God's you might get lucky!
To be very honest, shipping is one HUGE reason I like Amazon. Shipping is often a major decision factor for me.