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In the last two years, I've found that about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. Obtaining refunds is an easy process but frustrating. Many of

In the last two years, I've found that about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. Obtaining refunds is an easy process but frustrating. Many of the sellers will have rankings that make them seem trustworthy only to disappear completely. And we can also lay blame on the western hemisphere. Canada and USA postal systems bear the brunt of the costs of "free" delivery. They will give these packages low priority. Packages will languish for months and when items finally arrive, it can be difficult to arrange payment with the seller after a refund.

spiralx 8y ago
> In the last two years, I've found that about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. I tend to use AliExpress for buying things directly from China. It's not always the easiest site to use if you want to make complex queries, but I've only had three packages out of a couple of hundred purchases not arrive - one the seller resent, the other two I flagged as not having arrived and got my money back pretty quickly - the site keeps your payment in it's own escrow service, only releasing it to the seller when you confirm receipt.
icebraining 8y ago
Can't say that's my experience, buying from the EU. They can take a while, but I've only had a no-show once.
ballenf 8y ago
I wonder if there's anything unique about your situation or just a lot of bad luck. Are you buying generally higher-end items? What does the tracking reveal in terms of where in the process the item disappeared? In the US or China? Or was it just never tendered for delivery? I've bought a lot of stuff from China on ali and ebay, but no single item over $30 in value. So far I'm at 100% in terms of delivered items. A lot of crushed packaging, but no damaged items. Maybe 95% in terms of on-time delivery.
- orbitingpluto 8y ago
  I have had good experiences with items that cost over $50. They tend to arrive quickly. For instance, a tray of CPUs was shipped to me in less than 36 hours for $10 total shipping. For me, it is the inexpensive items with free shipping that seem to be the most risky. I also probably bid on auctions rather than fixed prices items more than the average person.
pravda 8y ago
>about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. What country you in? For me (in USA), the non-arrival rate is well under 1%. >Canada and USA postal systems bear the brunt of the costs of "free" delivery. That makes no sense. You have either been infected by propaganda, or are a propagandist yourself.
- nimblegorilla 8y ago
  The US postal system does bear much of the cost: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-usps-epacket-gives-postal-subsidies-to-chinese-e-commerce-merchants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/#4c18782f40ca https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-...
  - orbitingpluto 8y ago
    And for Canada: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/canada-post-reveals-it-is-the-reason-for-lengthy-parcel-delays-1.3447438 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/canada-post-reveals-it-is-the-rea... As for the propaganda comment, isn't it a bit on the nose for someone to make that comment with a username Правда? Please let me now if you are having problem with colloquialism, comrade. да?
    - pravda 8y ago
      I have some troubles with colloquialisms. I was abroad in the UK, and I need a bag to go around my waist. So I asked for a fanny pack at the local Tesco. The saleslady started giggling. This is joke?
      - jschwartzi 8y ago
        Fanny means something much dirtier in UK English than in US English.
  - pravda 8y ago
    Well, you've found some propaganda! Here's a great quote: “It just adds insult to injury to watch our postal rates continue to climb while China is being given a free ride to siphon all this money out of our economy,” Lemme get this straight, China is siphoning money out of our economy by selling us products at a fraction of the cost of local retail monopolies? China is keeping money in my pocket! Money that I can invest and create jobs with. China creates jobs.

spiralx 8y ago

> In the last two years, I've found that about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. I tend to use AliExpress for buying things directly from China. It's not always the easiest site to use if you want to make complex queries, but I've only had three packages out of a couple of hundred purchases not arrive - one the seller resent, the other two I flagged as not having arrived and got my money back pretty quickly - the site keeps your payment in it's own escrow service, only releasing it to the seller when you confirm receipt.

icebraining 8y ago

Can't say that's my experience, buying from the EU. They can take a while, but I've only had a no-show once.

ballenf 8y ago

I wonder if there's anything unique about your situation or just a lot of bad luck. Are you buying generally higher-end items? What does the tracking reveal in terms of where in the process the item disappeared? In the US or China? Or was it just never tendered for delivery? I've bought a lot of stuff from China on ali and ebay, but no single item over $30 in value. So far I'm at 100% in terms of delivered items. A lot of crushed packaging, but no damaged items. Maybe 95% in terms of on-time delivery.

orbitingpluto 8y ago
I have had good experiences with items that cost over $50. They tend to arrive quickly. For instance, a tray of CPUs was shipped to me in less than 36 hours for $10 total shipping. For me, it is the inexpensive items with free shipping that seem to be the most risky. I also probably bid on auctions rather than fixed prices items more than the average person.

pravda 8y ago

>about 1 in 4 of my purchases from China will never arrive. What country you in? For me (in USA), the non-arrival rate is well under 1%. >Canada and USA postal systems bear the brunt of the costs of "free" delivery. That makes no sense. You have either been infected by propaganda, or are a propagandist yourself.

nimblegorilla 8y ago
The US postal system does bear much of the cost: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-usps-epacket-gives-postal-subsidies-to-chinese-e-commerce-merchants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/#4c18782f40ca https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-...
- orbitingpluto 8y ago
  And for Canada: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/canada-post-reveals-it-is-the-reason-for-lengthy-parcel-delays-1.3447438 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/canada-post-reveals-it-is-the-rea... As for the propaganda comment, isn't it a bit on the nose for someone to make that comment with a username Правда? Please let me now if you are having problem with colloquialism, comrade. да?
  - pravda 8y ago
    I have some troubles with colloquialisms. I was abroad in the UK, and I need a bag to go around my waist. So I asked for a fanny pack at the local Tesco. The saleslady started giggling. This is joke?
    - jschwartzi 8y ago
      Fanny means something much dirtier in UK English than in US English.
- pravda 8y ago
  Well, you've found some propaganda! Here's a great quote: “It just adds insult to injury to watch our postal rates continue to climb while China is being given a free ride to siphon all this money out of our economy,” Lemme get this straight, China is siphoning money out of our economy by selling us products at a fraction of the cost of local retail monopolies? China is keeping money in my pocket! Money that I can invest and create jobs with. China creates jobs.