Ali Express - What the 'eck is it?

[BUDFORCE]

I bought a replacement part for a rifle scope mount I could not find anywhere else, turned up pretty quick to be fair and the part was fine.

Not sure I'd trust it for anything too valuable or for electrical items or anything with too many moving parts etc.

 

[Efour]

It's a direct link to all the junk on Amazon and eBay.
I've never had a bad experience. One of those places you can use to buy joke Xmas presents months in advance.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I've bought stuff on there, never had an issue. I would say you should only buy if your willing to accept that if it has a fault your probably not going to get your money back and there's a high chance the item will be crap.

Edit - and obviously absolutely everything with a non Chinese brand is fake

Not everything, you can get some real computer parts there, like from Western Digital…I can’t name it as OCUK sells it.

But you have to don your due diligence and be more careful than on Amazon.

 

[firstborn]

My last purchase included 200 model car steering racks and 1000 "arduino uno". Never really had a problem with them over the years.

 

[Chris Wilson]

It's a means of supporting virus experimentation.

 

[Tykey]

I've bought a few things on there, everything has turned up. Quality is what i'd expect for the price.

 

[Silly Goose On The Loose]

Alibaba is like an online wholesale directory that probably most of Amazon uses to buy their products. That's why you see so many clones.

AliExpress is like the retail version where you buy the same goods at a slight markup, direct from China (still cheaper than Amazon).

I thought of getting into the game for a while and selling on Amazon as the markups can be massive but never got around to it.

 

[Silly Goose On The Loose]

It's a means of supporting virus experimentation.

When I mention fruit-cakes in gd this is what I mean

 

[Chris Wilson]

If you spend money on Chinese goods you are supporting their treatment of ethnic minorities, their military empowerment and dubious biological and chemical weapon experiments. Do you support all of these? If so that's fine, if not you're being a hypocrite happy to buy cheap stuff and turn a blind eye to that which I am sure you would otherwise condemn most vehemently. It#s like these Greens who quietly jet around the world two or three times a year on foreign holidays, hoping no one notices their duplicity.

 

[Raymond Lin]

If you spend money on Chinese goods you are supporting their treatment of ethnic minorities, their military empowerment and dubious biological and chemical weapon experiments. Do you support all of these? If so that's fine, if not you're being a hypocrite happy to buy cheap stuff and turn a blind eye to that which I am sure you would otherwise condemn most vehemently. It#s like these Greens who quietly jet around the world two or three times a year on foreign holidays, hoping no one notices their duplicity.

You best throw the thing you are typing this on in the bin pronto. I guaraantee it has Chinese made parts if not made in China.

 

[BUDFORCE]

If you spend money on Chinese goods you are supporting their treatment of ethnic minorities, their military empowerment and dubious biological and chemical weapon experiments. Do you support all of these? If so that's fine, if not you're being a hypocrite happy to buy cheap stuff and turn a blind eye to that which I am sure you would otherwise condemn most vehemently. It#s like these Greens who quietly jet around the world two or three times a year on foreign holidays, hoping no one notices their duplicity.

Yup, I mean you can accuse me of being slightly hypocritical as i mentioned I have used it once, but pretty much agree with you.

Same reason I don't use Amazon often for the way they treat staff, avoid tax and are a bad example of capitalism.

 

[Chris Wilson]

You best throw the thing you are typing this on in the bin pronto. I guaraantee it has Chinese made parts if not made in China.

The only thing I have an issue with China over is releasing the virus, which I personally believe came from their laboratory. Given how the West has sold their soul to China for cheap labour and hence cheap goods, I ain't living like a caveman to prove a point. But I suspect if there was a thread about how China treats whatever minorities "they" say they treat somewhat poorly, old dialup would be in there like a rat up a drainpipe saying how terrible the Chinese are.

Maybe I have it wrong and like me he isn't fussed about that aspect of China?

 

[Raymond Lin]

The only thing I have an issue with China over is releasing the virus, which I personally believe came from their laboratory. Given how the West has sold their soul to China for cheap labour and hence cheap goods, I ain't living like a caveman to prove a point. But I suspect if there was a thread about how China treats whatever minorities "they" say they treat somewhat poorly, old dialup would be in there like a rat up a drainpipe saying how terrible the Chinese are.

Maybe I have it wrong and like me he isn't fussed about that aspect of China?

What has that has anything to do with Aliexpress besides they are Chinese companies?

The reply is no doubt...State control, which is my point...you are going off topic and also in your own words, a hypocrite as you are using an electronic device right now.

If your goal is not to support China, your prerogative and your right, then you need to throw away all your electronic device, pronto, in order for your words to be true.

 

[hartgeh3]

never had any issues with it, delivery is usually 3-4 weeks. I usually buy car cleaning gear from there never had an issue.

 

[Malevolence]

What did you buy that didn't turn up?

A chainring, pair of bar grips and some valve caps.

 

[Semple]

What did you buy that didn't turn up?

He can't say, it's a family friendly forum

I've spent quite a bit on there over the years, pretty much all electronic components because they are massively cheaper than buying them on Amazon/eBay (where the sellers just import from AliExpress anyway).

 

[jpaul]

If you spend money on Chinese goods you are supporting their treatment of ethnic minorities, their military empowerment and dubious biological and chemical weapon experiments. Do you support all of these? If so that's fine, if not you're being a hypocrite happy to buy cheap stuff and turn a blind eye to that which I am sure you would otherwise condemn most vehemently. It#s like these Greens who quietly jet around the world two or three times a year on foreign holidays, hoping no one notices their duplicity.

It's more subversive than that - the best Chinese export - let the TikTok algorithm in the west dish up content that rots the brains of GenX & co, whilst supplying educational content to their own population
(full Videodrome) they must have slipped up if they forgot the Aliexpress advertising though.

VAT on aliexpress & foreign goods over £15? made them less competitive.

 

[Malevolence]

let the TikTok algorithm in the west dish up content that rots the brains of GenX & co

GenX? You sure?

 

[cheesefest]

My late colleague’s husband ordered a load of stuff from AE. He last ordered something on their Nov 2021 before his health deteriorated and died 7 weeks later.

My colleague came back from work and found a small parcel delivered from China in her husband’s name.

It was a necklace and a keyring with their first initials with a heart between them.

My colleague didn’t know about this parcel as she didn’t know his password to AE.

Unless got lost in the post, why it took 19 months to get the parcel?

 

[Samueltastic]

Ordered a bit here and there off there is good for much cheaper Lego if you're not fussed about it being called something different. I've seen a few things on Etsy being sold at a premium which are obviously from Ali. If you're after something and you don't mind waiting a little while I think 2 weeks is average for deliver on some items it's been preety good for the prices.