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.

 

[jwstewar]

We've bought a few items direct from China. I bought a some LED ribbon light for the camper. I think I paid $25 for it including the remote control. That has been the most expensive thing. It came without an issue and worked fine -Well except I screwed up when installing it and cracked a solder joint so I ended up ordering "connectors" to fix the issue. Haven't had a chance to use them yet as the weather hasn't cooperated. I also just recently bought some LED bulbs to replace the incadescent bulbs in the lights in the interior of the camper. I only ordered 3 of them to see how they worked. At $3.19 each they were a pretty good deal. I want a little more use time on them and then I will probably order more. I just order an HDMI adaptor and a DVI connector from Amazon from a place in New Jersey. Guess where they were shipped from? Hong Kong. I was a little upset at that one, had I known they were coming from there, no problem, but I thought they were shipping from NJ, so was unaware that I had to wait for the boat.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

No, I bought a DVD set a few years ago off Ebay and I had been buying all sorts of DVD sets there with no issues. Found a set that I wanted with a great price (way cheaper then anywhere else). I saw it was from China but took the chance and ended up getting a knock off DVD set. Case was similar but slightly different, DVD's were of poor quality and graphics were crap on them. They played but I don't know how well they will hold up as I haven't tried watching them lately. Poor quality DVDs end up not playing properly over time so I will eventually buy this set again just so I have the full collection but I learned my lesson. I buy only from US, Canada, Australia and European countries. Yeah, you may run into a dishonest seller but I have found there is a lot less risk then dealing with China or some of the other Asian countries

 

[edlegault]

Last summer I purchased two 10" Android tablets direct from China for $150 each, including shipping. One of them has worked perfectly and we are very happy with it. The other one broke immediately -- would not hold a charge. Sent it back in warranty, but cost me $47 in USPS charges (now total of $197). The replacement one worked about a month and is now broke also. Have to send it back, $47+ again. so that one $150 tablet will cost me about $250. Was a good deal at first, but now not so good.
Sooo, always consider service and warranty exchange/shipping expenses.

 

[Luremaker]

DFB, I thought you were asking about purchasing a tractor implement. Something large and expensive like a backhoe, or some other 3ph implement.

 

[DFB]

DFB, I thought you were asking about purchasing a tractor implement. Something large and expensive like a backhoe, or some other 3ph implement.

Oh you mean like this...China Tractor, Farm Equipment at china-tractors.com

 

[dwost]

I too have purchased several items from china. Electronics, sunglasses, batteries, flashlights, etc.. I've had great results. I've not, however had to return anything. That could be an issue.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[texasjohn]

I have recently bought some stuff from DealExtreme thru this site.

SiteMap - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

EVERYTHING is free shipping. Takes a couple of weeks. You get an email confirmation of the order and you can check on the status and when it is shipped, it can be tracked via USPS.

The link above is the site map...so you can see how extensive the catalog is...Cost is significantly less than local purchase of what is apparently the same object. Many of the items are brand name items and since they are sourced in China, seems like the same thing to me.

Biggest item purchased so far is a battery for the laptop. At Fry's it's about $130, it was on sale at Best Buy for about $80 and it is $50 from DealExtreme.

Items are now arriving. I got reports from several folks on TBN that the site is reputable and delivers properly, given the transit time.

Wish I could find USA made stuff, but seems that now everything is made in China so I'm experimenting with purchasing direct this way.

 

[dwost]

I have recently bought some stuff from DealExtreme thru this site.

SiteMap - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

EVERYTHING is free shipping. Takes a couple of weeks. You get an email confirmation of the order and you can check on the status and when it is shipped, it can be tracked via USPS.

The link above is the site map...so you can see how extensive the catalog is...Cost is significantly less than local purchase of what is apparently the same object. Many of the items are brand name items and since they are sourced in China, seems like the same thing to me.

Biggest item purchased so far is a battery for the laptop. At Fry's it's about $130, it was on sale at Best Buy for about $80 and it is $50 from DealExtreme.

Items are now arriving. I got reports from several folks on TBN that the site is reputable and delivers properly, given the transit time.

Wish I could find USA made stuff, but seems that now everything is made in China so I'm experimenting with purchasing direct this way.

Funny, I just got a package from them today Their lead time is long but the prices are off the hook.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[DFB]

This same infared gun is cheaper on Amazon incl free shipping

DT-811 0.9" LCD Mini Infrared Thermometer w/ Laser Pointer (6F22/9V) - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

Amazon.com: WCI Quality Mini IR Infrared Thermometer Gun With Laser Pointer - Instant Accurate °C Or °F Measurements From Distance - LCD Display - For Electrical, HVAC, Automotive Diagnostics, Or Cooking Etc.: Home Improvement

 

[mvwicker]

Several years ago I bought some bulk D-rings and plastic buckles from a firm in China. They were the only reasonable choice for the quantities I needed, around 100 pieces costing less than 10% of the small-volume local cost. I paid by credit card and the items arrived in a plastic mail bag from Hong Kong in about a week. I'd do it again without hesitation for such low-tech items, but for anything needing a warranty I would order from a US supplier or buy locally.