rhd
0
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 8,475
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"Does anyone have experience with / should I buy XYZ laser from **** ?"
OR
"Which laser is better? This one from **** or this one from **** ?"
WHO AM I TALKING ABOUT?
DealExtreme, KaiDomain, PriceAngels, FocalPrice, DinoDirect, BestOfferBuy, LighTake, TMart, Chinavasion, ChinaBuye, GadgetTown, Everbuying, SuntekStore, Tomtop, BuyInCoins, LightInTheBox, Deal-Cool, and surely dozens of others...
Did you know that there in excess of 7-million different cheap chinese gadget sites? And did you know that there are just as many threads on his forum asking whether their lasers are worth buying? Those stats are both made-up, but they feel pretty accurate. So in an effort to create one of those threads that we can point people to in response to this recurring question, here's my take on what someone needs to read (and understand) before rehashing the same old question:
What's the same for all of these sites:
What may be different:
Most importantly:
The information that IS actually relevant to your decision (should you choose to order a laser from the above) has nothing to do with lasers. Data about the reputation and reliability of these cheap chinese gadget sites IN GENERAL, is what you should seek. Google can help you there. If you're comparing two sites, try a search phrase like "DealExtreme vs KaiDomain". You'll find plenty of debate on point
OR
"Which laser is better? This one from **** or this one from **** ?"
WHO AM I TALKING ABOUT?
DealExtreme, KaiDomain, PriceAngels, FocalPrice, DinoDirect, BestOfferBuy, LighTake, TMart, Chinavasion, ChinaBuye, GadgetTown, Everbuying, SuntekStore, Tomtop, BuyInCoins, LightInTheBox, Deal-Cool, and surely dozens of others...
Did you know that there in excess of 7-million different cheap chinese gadget sites? And did you know that there are just as many threads on his forum asking whether their lasers are worth buying? Those stats are both made-up, but they feel pretty accurate. So in an effort to create one of those threads that we can point people to in response to this recurring question, here's my take on what someone needs to read (and understand) before rehashing the same old question:
What's the same for all of these sites:
- ACTUAL POWER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT When you purchase a "100mW" laser from a cheap chinese gadget site, you may get a 100mW laser, or you may get a 20mW laser. None of the cheap chinese gadget sites are inherently any MORE or LESS accurate in their descriptions. Don't ask whether DX lasers are better than KD lasers, or FocalPrice lasers any better than ChinaBuye lasers. There IS NO ANSWER to that question.
- NO CONSISTENCY OVER TIME A specific laser that someone has reported as a "good value" today, may not be tomorrow. Suppliers change, products change, and with cheap chinese gadget sites, this happens a lot. So asking whether a SPECIFIC LASER is "up to spec" is a waste of time, because there is no consistancy even across the same item, from the same store, purchased at different times.
- LONG SHIPPING DELAYS It's going to take you a long time to receive your order from all of the above (unless perhaps, you live in Asia). It is fairly common for an order from any of these cheap chinese gadget sites to take up to a month to arrive. In some cases, it may take EVEN LONGER. This is fairly "par" for the course. Don't expect otherwise, regardless of what you may read on any of the sites regarding shipping/delivery timeframes.
What may be different:
- Customer service and responsiveness to problems. Some of these sites have better customer service than others. There may be some wisdom to thinking that a large site like DX will be more responsive in resolving problems than a smaller site with less reputation. But, there may also be wisdom in thinking that smaller sites will have less business to distract their customer service agents with, and will also be ambitious to try harder. The takeaway? There isn't one... it's all a lot of random chance. Recurring theme anyone?
- Some of these sites HAVE tested the output of some of their lasers (PriceAngels and DinoDirect come to mind at the time of writing). This usually doesn't apply to all of their lasers, and will be noted specifically on their pages when it does. You may have more success ordering these specific lasers from those particular companies.
Most importantly:
The information that IS actually relevant to your decision (should you choose to order a laser from the above) has nothing to do with lasers. Data about the reputation and reliability of these cheap chinese gadget sites IN GENERAL, is what you should seek. Google can help you there. If you're comparing two sites, try a search phrase like "DealExtreme vs KaiDomain". You'll find plenty of debate on point
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