@2011limey1 wrote:
It's good that you're posting for buyers to be aware of this, but myself and many more much more experienced posters than I ALWAYS say that buying any kind of electronics from Asia is a NO NO. Problems, problems. Other items I've ordered from there mostly have been fine but no way would I consider any kind of electronics. Plugging anything into your computer from there can really mess up your whole operating system too. Flash Drives at my local drug store are very inexpensive.
much more experienced posters know not to make grandiose all encompassing statements that have no merit.
Buying any kind of electronics from Asia is a no no???????? Just where do you think the majority of electronics are made? I will give you a hint. It rhymes with MAYSIA, and HINA, and IWAN.
Oh, but you mean you would rather pay more for the exact same item, but buy it from a local seller, or better yet, go down to your local drug store and pay even more.
I can tell you I have bought thousands of electronic items with very close to ZERO issues.
First, you are dead wrong. The vast majority of sellers are honest and sell an honest product. The people who come here to complain do no homework whatsoever, buy the cheapest product with the biggest promises and then are so upset 'they were taken advantage of'. Of course, they were happy as can be when they thought they were getting a $700 iphone for $49.
But it's true, the further you move away from the comfort of your local store and move to the web, you can save more, but you lose that safety net. The answer is to do your homework.
For SD cars, and USB flash drives, I can go to my local internet classifieds and see 32GB and 64GB for far cheaper than they should be. I don't need to go to China. There are plenty of bad sellers here. Probably about the same as from China.
Here's some real helpful hints about buying from China and not some xenophobic stereotypical kneejerk response.
1. Know the value of the product you are buying. Yes, it's cheaper in China, but the days of a $100 item being sold for $400 are pretty much over. Eg. Cellphones used to have ridiculous mark ups locally. Now not so much. Sure Apple still has a premium, but other top tier phones such as the Nexus 5 have a much more modest markup of 30-50%(depending on who's costs you believe). While China has much lower labour rates, it still costs a lot. You cannot buy a Nexus 5 phone for 50% off the retail price here.
2. Take your blinders off. There is no such thing as Chinese manufacturers. There are manufacturers in China, but they are all different, all competing, all working. They don't have 1 business model of sell the cheapest junk at the lowest price, cutting all corners in order to make a buck. This is an urban legend, a myth. Some are poor, some good, some great, and yes, there are technology leading, quality leading manufacturers in China. There are good brand names in China. Learn some of them and buy in confidence.
3. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. OK, so you can't break away from all things in China should be dirt cheap, then don't, but be smart about it. Try not comparing to what you pay here, but compare to other Chinese manufacturers. If 9 out of 10 are selling the same product for $100 and the 10th sells for $10, you have a problem and likely they are not selling the same item, or it's fake, broken, a duck...etc.
4. If you need the safety net a local seller provides, that's fine, but you will pay for it. Then again, don't just jump blindly into buying a product. Ebay does have reseller ratings. That's a start, but look to forums and online information about the product and the manufacturer from the thousands of people who have purchased before you. You will easily find who are the good brand names and who are not.
5. Don't listen to anyone who says 'don't buy anything from China'. They have no idea what they are talking about.
