Direct from China...would you???

[DFB]

bite the hook and take a chance??

Seems all over EBAY and Amazon (maybe even other places too) there all kind of stuff being sold/shipped direct to you from Chinese sources. Granted it ALL comes from there anyhow but is it really cutting out the middle man...or is the American markup worth the added price to you?

What about the cost from our end...returns? Somehow I cant imagine it would be cheap if you wanted send something back.



Opinions? Would you...could you trust it?

Give me Harbor Frieght any day

 

[k0ua]

I have ordered some small electronics things direct like that from e-bay that came on the boat from China. I have had good results. I have no idea about returns as I have never tried to do that. I was actually amazed at how fast the items came (slow boat from China and all)

James K0UA

 

[pedalstomper78]

In a lot of cases, you're paying for the shipping over and for someone to take care of the customer service responsibility. When I say that, I mean someone you can call and talk to with installation or warranty questions. You're paying a bit more for the service. To me, dealing with someone I can understand, exchange phone calls and e-mails with makes a huge difference.

 

[Luremaker]

bite the hook and take a chance??

Seems all over EBAY and Amazon (maybe even other places too) there all kind of stuff being sold/shipped direct to you from Chinese sources. Granted it ALL comes from there anyhow but is it really cutting out the middle man...or is the American markup worth the added price to you?

What about the cost from our end...returns? Somehow I cant imagine it would be cheap if you wanted send something back.



Opinions? Would you...could you trust it?

Give me Harbor Frieght any day

If you search here on TBN you will find a number of threads by members talking about their experiences ordering directly from China. Some good and some not so good. I would think "all sales are final" no returns possible. Do not forget about the cost of customs clearing, duties, import taxes etc for large shipments.

 

[mikehaugen]

Years ago I bought some batteries for a video camera straight from Hong Kong, they came with no problems, but did take a while. Would I do it again? Probably not, I always do my best to buy american products in the last few years after really realizing how big of a problem this really is. I didn't pay attention to or realize just how much stuff had been moved overseas, stuff that had been made here for a long time. Sometimes you just have no choice however, as certain things just cannot be found that are made domestically. Sometimes things are just too cost prohibitive, though I like to think that my threshold for "cost prohibitive" is a little higher than most- not that I have a higher budget (in reality it is probably lower) I have just been taking it more seriously than others it seems. We have become a very "disposable" country as a whole, and people would rather buy crap 3 times, than buy good once- but in their defense it often is more cost effective.

As far as taking a risk? I would have no problem buying something off ebay from them if I had no choice. You are protected by ebay pretty well, and since the Chinese are trying very hard to establish a new reputation, most will give pretty good customer service.

 

[DFB]

Interesting what you might get from whats viewed as being domestic sources though. Over the Holiday I bought two identical Uni T clamp on multimeters thru Amazon, one for me and one for my GF son who is in EE training. But they came from two different vendors. Other options were china direct. The one from a California based electronix import company, it had an English printed manual and the the generic branded box was also in English. On the other shipment was from a New Jersey based vendor (the best deal if you know what I mean lol) and both the box and manual were all written in Chinese Both carried a 30 day return on defects but the one year manufacture warranty from either was only applicable for China. But I'm happy with the purchase Seem to be well built and accurate.

 

[grsthegreat]

i have purchased a few items on ebay directly from china, and have had NO problems. All were pretty cheap prices.

One item in particular was a remote trigger for my canon d50 camera. It was an item i would rarely use, and Canons price of $240.00 was ridiculous. I got one from China ebay for ....ready for this

$18.84 incl shipping.

and you know what...it has worked for 3 years flawlessly. original batteries even.

works from a distance of over 50 feet even

very impressed.

 

[hosspuller]

I have purchase directly from China through e-bay. Only low cost items that I can bear to drop small coinage.

So far have been well pleased with my purchases.

 

[Travelover]

I've purchased inexpensive stuff from China direct and the only problem I've had was when they sent the wrong item. I notified them and they resent the right thing and said keep the wrong item. They are very worried about negative feed back and will work hard to satisfy you even for a 99 cent bag of resistors. If I need an item quicker, it is often also available from a US supplier (click North America only in the eBay search filter). The US supplier is usually a little more expensive, but a lot faster.

 

[ronjhall]

I have purchased many items off EBAY. Most with no problems. When I have had a problem sending a message through EBAY got the item replaced with no questions asked. Others asked for a picture of the defective item. Been very happy with my purchases from China. There is a limit though. Some items are best to order from good old USA even if vendor bought from china. Biggest reason is faster shipping.