The frustration that is Aliexpress

Entry posted by Christos August 5, 2014

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As you may or may not know Alliexpress is a short of an ebay alternative and Aliexpress sucks! Seriously don't buy from aliexpress! Never buy from Aliexpress. Send Aliexpress where it belongs, to history!

Long story short. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 screen from a seller in Aliexpress and the item was defective. Meaning that the digitizer won't work. It happens in ebay too, but out of eight purchases from Aliexprees three were defective. That's right, there is a very high probability you'll get a defective product from Aliexpress. I'll tell you now why this happens. Aliexpress does not have buyer protection but seller protection.

Now the way these things work, the screen is already installed on the cell phone. As you may know those are assembled using glue. So if I have to remove it there is a good chance it will break to little pieces. The seller ofcourse doesn't want to cover shipping costs for the defective item he shipped or removal costs. OK they are a lousy awful terrible seller. It happens. So I asked aliexpress to mediate. Big mistake. Firstly aliexpress (which sucks) asked me to take a video of the installation of the screen (I have already sent them a video showing the digitizer not working). Secondly the operators speak english through google translate. There is no other explanation on why the response to:

"I have to pay money to have the screen uninstalled and reinstalled to take the video you want."

"If they ask you money for the video upload it to youtube.com"

I have the transcript of the conversation but that's the jeez of it...

Anyway, apparently aliexpress will decide in favor of the seller. I am almost 100 euros screwed but hopefully this post can help you save money in your purchases.

BTW my ebay score is 100% as a buyer. I don't know if it means anything to you, but I am not trying to rip them off. I just don't want to receive defective products from aliexpress. I'll keep you posted on the ongoing frustration saga that is alliexpress.

P.S. The installation of the screen was done by a certified technician that has done this operation numerous times.

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