Aliexpress - Safe to Buy From?

CCTVCam · Jun 29, 2019

Just a quick off topic question as not related to cameras, but is it safe to buy from Aliexpress and has anyone done this had positive / negative experiences? I need an accessory for my car and can't seem to locate it elsewhere.

thanks in advance.

IAmATeaf · Jun 29, 2019

Ive bought loads from AliExpress, in fact I buy some rubbish most months and have only ever had one problem where I eventually got a refund but it did take a long time and I lost out in the pound to dollar back to pound conversion.

Would I buy, yes I would and I’ll keep on buying but as with most things take time to read the reviews left by others.

VorlonFrog · Jun 29, 2019

Bought from AliExpress plenty of times. Mostly, it depends on two things:
1) Which vendor you choose
2) Which item you want

The first item is most important. I've purchased Dahua cameras, IR illuminators, Hi3518 modules, cables, antennas, and other components over the last few years. The second item is also important. Be certain you're purchasing something well-known and easily identified as the genuine article. If it looks like a knockoff, if the description is terrible or non-existent, if there's little or no feedback, just don't do it.

CCTVCam · Jun 29, 2019

Thanks for the replies. I'm just after a Dashmat for my 4x4. Unfortunately, dashmats are virtually unheard of in the UK so UK Amazon sellers only have them for 2 or 3 models of car.

SouthernYankee · Jun 29, 2019

Andy a forum member has a store AliExpress. @EMPIRETECANDY . He sells dahua equipment. He has outstanding service and very fast shipping, also the cameras are upgradable international version. He also provides support. He provides information on upgrading.

Before joining the forum I purchased cameras on AliExpress, they were Chinese cameras hacked to English, non upgradable. The cameras had poor performance, on one camera I tested the h264 compression against a quality dahua camera. The Chinese junk had a file size 50% larger than the dahua for similar settings shooting against a fixed test picture.

You get what you pay for. Buyer beware.

BigFoot · Jun 29, 2019

CCTVCam said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm just after a Dashmat for my 4x4. Unfortunately, dashmats are virtually unheard of in the UK so UK Amazon sellers only have them for 2 or 3 models of car.

Lots of 4x4 dashmats for sale on eBay, usually from Australian vendors (they are very common down under)

CCTVCam · Jun 29, 2019

Yeah I know. Aus and US very common. UK not so much. I have gambled on one from Aliexpress. The vendors product has not ratings as I'm the 1st to buy. However, his store gets 100%, so hopefully everything should be ok. For $11 delivered, can't really go that far wrong.

mat200 · Jun 29, 2019

CCTVCam said:
Yeah I know. Aus and US very common. UK not so much. I have gambled on one from Aliexpress. The vendors product has not ratings as I'm the 1st to buy. However, his store gets 100%, so hopefully everything should be ok. For $11 delivered, can't really go that far wrong.

Hi @CCTVCam

Aliexpress like other sites which have numerous vendors ( like ebay ) has a range of "great - good - average - and poor" quality vendors with a similar range of products.

Some of the Aliexpress vendors have learned to game the rating system ( as they have on ebay, amazon, etc .. ) and thus I would not even feel a 100% on Ali is a real 100% ( from a math point of view, I think of 100% on Ali as "C+ or better - seriously a vastly over gamed rating system from my experience )

Some of the items I have received were not as described - or the description had major omissions which the vendor purposefully failed to describe. Other items have been good and as described. I really wished the rating system there was more fair and allowed a better view of which vendors are A+ vendors ( like Andy ), and which are B, C, vendors..

Question - does Aliexpress shipments also come in free to the UK?

CCTVCam · Jun 29, 2019

Yeah free shipping and I got a $3 1st order voucher so $14 became $11.

It's a gamble for sure. The guy has 100% on his store but less than 10 feedback. The issue was the stores with more feedback only did LHD versions. The product looks good so if it meets the description, should be ok. One good sign is the seller has been very responsive to emails.

At the end of the day though, if I do get stung, it's not the end of the world at $11. It will be slightly annoying, but it's not a huge amount to lose. When you only have limited choices there's not much you can do.

As said, above, the problem is virtually no-one in the UK has heard of a dashmat, never mind used one. The result I think of our weaker sun and lower temperatures plus anyone outside of an enthusiast is unaware of the dashcam benefits.

alastairstevenson · Jun 29, 2019

mat200 said:
Question - does Aliexpress shipments also come in free to the UK?

Only if the seller marks the cost as $18 or less, which they usually will do if you ask them to.
Or if whoever checks the package in Customs just passes it thorough without stopping it, which is quite common.

Over the last month I've had 7 deliveries from Aliexpress, 5 of which should have been over the £15 VAT limit, just one of which was stopped for tax.

Chim Vang · Aug 15, 2019

mat200 said:
Hi @CCTVCam

Aliexpress like other sites which have numerous vendors ( like ebay ) has a range of "great - good - average - and poor" quality vendors with a similar range of products.

Some of the Aliexpress vendors have learned to game the rating system ( as they have on ebay, amazon, etc .. ) and thus I would not even feel a 100% on Ali is a real 100% ( from a math point of view, I think of 100% on Ali as "C+ or better - seriously a vastly over gamed rating system from my experience )

Some of the items I have received were not as described - or the description had major omissions which the vendor purposefully failed to describe. Other items have been good and as described. I really wished the rating system there was more fair and allowed a better view of which vendors are A+ vendors ( like Andy ), and which are B, C, vendors..

You are correct, "items I have received were not as described - or the description had major omissions which the vendor purposefully failed to describe." I have very bad experience with "N_eye Official Store". AliExpress stepped in and told the store to refund but they do not comply...Also, their CSR is very rude with customer on chat!

CCTVCam · Aug 15, 2019

Thought I'd post a follow up. Received the mat. Works ok but not top quality. So far as being laser measured to match the dash exactly, it's a poor fit, bit too large in places so doesn't fit flush. It arrived with a small section of the piping on the edge un-sewn. Obviously a machining fault but no care from the sewing guy or dispatch quality checks. I managed to sort that by getting out a needle and some black thread and stitching it on my hand.

Overall, not ideal, but it sits on the dash and it works in what it's designed to do, reduce reflections. It's just not quite as flush fitting as I'd like.

IAmATeaf · Aug 17, 2019

I’ve purchased loads of stuff from AliExpress over the years and to date only had one problem where I was eventually refunded. The quality does vary even when the items look the same so make sure you check all the photos and ask questions if need be. I also check the feedback to see comments left by others.

In terms of custom charges, here in the UK I think the customs people have got wise to under marking the price and have been charged on a few items of late so always take that into account to see if it still works out cheaper.

CCTVCam · Aug 18, 2019

Yeah. I didn't get charged at Customs. I believe it was genuinely under the limit.

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Aliexpress - Safe to Buy From?

CCTVCam

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IAmATeaf

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VorlonFrog

CCTVCam

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SouthernYankee

BigFoot

Pulling my weight

CCTVCam

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mat200

CCTVCam

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alastairstevenson

Chim Vang

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CCTVCam

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IAmATeaf

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CCTVCam

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