[[list_of_buying_sites]]
List of Cheap Chinese Online Buying sites
Disclaimer
This list is not in any way a recommendation, sanction or endorsement by Ozbargain, its members or its affiliates. This list is provided for information purposes only. Sites on this list have not gone through verification. Also the quality of products bought from these sites is unlikely to be outstanding. You get what you pay for.
List Description
Here is a list of various Online buying sites from Hong Kong/China. Products bought from here are often much cheaper than a similar product at a retail store, but this can sometimes come at the cost of quality. Use discretion.
This list actually started from this discussion forum thread which has since been discovered to be a hidden spam attempt. Additional sites that the various contributors to this wiki have found have also been added.
The List
The ones mentioned above:
- www.popbuying.com closed
As stated above, OzBargain, its members or its affiliates cannot be held responsible by for any shops listed here. dd
Discussing these sites
If you would like to share your experience on any of the sites feel free to head to the forums. Some threads already exist on cheap chinese buying sites such as this one.
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Some are well known others are not. If you do decide to use these sites, they are not sanctioned or recommended by Ozbargain. You will need to use your own discretion as to how good/reliable they are.
Dealextreme and FocalPrice have been mentioned a number of times by members at Ozbargain. Focalprice had a deal in which they gave a discount for an item that somehow people could use to get the same discount on other items. [Somebody in the know please clarify this a little?]
They would not honour this error. Some got upset about it, others accepted the rejection. No judgment on either position, just letting you know, that they are not bound by the same business requirements/standards as businesses in Australia.
The products are mostly advertised in USD and often include shipping, which can take from 5-10 days. (sometimes longer)
The writer of this has bought from Dealextreme, FocalPrice and Tomtop. All products were received fine, One Dealextreme product failed ($2) and they shipped another free. Some of the cheap products are just that cheap. The quality reflects the price, but some are quite good. I find that screen protectors are quite cheap and good, likewise mobile phone covers. I did buy a battery once, but that only lasted for a day or two, whereas the original batteries lasted 10 days.
The other companies you need to check yourself. Google searches on them might be in order to see if you find any reports or concerns about them.
Start small. Test the site first. Don't buy big amounts at once. Avoid large shipments and split your orders. (The postage is free so you don't need to combine your orders) Unless you elect to use registered mail, if it goes astray you might not be compensated by the company. - That said I haven't had one item lost yet.
Again - this is NOT a recommendation, its just to help out those who want to try these sites. Its YOUR choice and do your OWN research.
You will get what you paid for. These are really cheap products and they are often clone of a clone. Do not be fooled by the photos.
You should never ever use your credit card to purchase. Always prefer to use PayPal. You should have protection in case of a dispute and your financial information will be kept safe.
And watch out for some electronic items. They may look cool, but could run into trouble with Customs. Lasers are one of these. They can even be lethal. Don't trust the site's specs on these, customs WILL test them and if they are not to spec, you can be fined. And do you really want to use a product that could do damage to others because you weren't aware it could. Likewise many Telecom and spectrum based products can be illegal and dangerous.
Some of them have Affiliate Program, like Tinydeal and Dealextreme. Log in there, generate a unique referral URL and Post it. If someone click it and buy something from there, you will get some consumable points. For example, assume Peter - who click your referral URL, register a new account and buy totally 100.69$ products, then, Peter will get 10.07 TD points or 10 DX points and you will get 50.35 TD points or 10.07 DX points. ( 10 TD/DX points = 1$ ) You both will get benefit, it's worth trying.
Finally warranty might exist, but this will require shipment back to Hong Kong. Is it going to be worth it?
Warranty Issues
Contrary to many war stories on other sites about buying from overseas - especially China. I have found in every instance, the products that have been faulty have been replaced or refunded.
It all depends on how you go about it.
I always send a message, acting very polite, and asking what they suggest I do. I never threaten, or get abusive or rude. (Now I might do that if they are not reasonable after raising the issue, but I have never needed to go that far)
eg.
I received this yesterday and it fits well, the only issue is that it does not change color with the temperature as described. It only displays green.
What suggestions do you have.
Thanks
Response..
sorry to hear that, and would you like me resend you for it? regards
I pay with Paypal when possible, using the 28 deg Mastercard rather than Paypal exchange rate. I have never needed to open a dispute except once and only due to the time factor rather than an issue directly with a vendor
Now most of these have been for lower cost items - ie $A25 or less. Of course having to wait for a reshipment (Or refund then new order with someone else) is a bit of a pain.
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