- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
- Messages
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I rarely buy items direct from China sold through eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, Alibaba, etc., as too often mainstream products are counterfeit or extremely poor quality. I try to verify authenticity of products before I make any purchase, by carefully reviewing the description and item pictures, as well as asking questions. More recently I was looking for a specific electrical sensor and due to supply issues they were not in inventory at the major suppliers that I use in the US, it was available through some eBay sellers out of China. One vendor seemed to be selling the authentic sensors based in the posted picture and description, so I ordered two sensors. What showed up to my dismay was a close copy, but didn't match the posted eBay picture or product specifications. I only knew the differences because I have installed 100's of these in the past and was familiar with the product. This is nothing new, as just about everything seems to be copied and sold at much lower prices these days. The irony is there are even some better made Chinese products are also copied and sold as knock offs.
The reason why I occasionally use eBay, is that in most cases you have some recourse to resolve an issue if a product is not as described, and many of the Chinese sellers will go to great lengths to protect their feedback ratings. But you first need to identify that what you received is not as described, then open a dispute case, and often the sellers will try to reduce the amount they credit you and the process can take weeks. The other factor with Chinese sellers is that they can afford to ship items to the US for next to nothing, but should you have to return an item it is exponentially more expensive and takes weeks if not months to get delivered. In this case the the seller excepted returns, but "buyer pays return shipping costs". If I had needed to return these sensors, the shipping costs would have been much more than the cost of the parts.
When it comes to counterfeit electrical parts, I typically find that fit and finish is worse than the OEM, and small details such as part finish, dimensions, performance are different. So I thought I would post this example, as "Buyer Beware" when you are buying items, as the flood of counterfeiting seems to be getting much worse and some sites it is the norm as opposed tot he exception. In the end, the seller gave me a long story "I picked up this batch from another supplier. The upstream supplier told me that this batch was the same as our previous ones and worked properly, so maybe I was fooled by him this time. I'm really sorry, this is the first time I've received this feedback, I've sold a lot before and never had any problems. Maybe it's because of the change of supplier this time.", whatever, it is always some story. In the end, the seller credited me what I paid, but it took a lot of time and distress that I didn't need, and hopefully well not get drawn into the dark side again.
Note the difference in the barrel and the sensor labeling, also to look at is the paperwork/box/specifications as they will not match the OEM product.
Dimensions did not match the OEM specifications.
Often they skimp on materials and fit/finish, you often see this on the materials and plated parts.
The indicator LED did not match the OEM specifications nor did it blink per the specifications.
The sensor operating distance was horrendously poor.
The reason why I occasionally use eBay, is that in most cases you have some recourse to resolve an issue if a product is not as described, and many of the Chinese sellers will go to great lengths to protect their feedback ratings. But you first need to identify that what you received is not as described, then open a dispute case, and often the sellers will try to reduce the amount they credit you and the process can take weeks. The other factor with Chinese sellers is that they can afford to ship items to the US for next to nothing, but should you have to return an item it is exponentially more expensive and takes weeks if not months to get delivered. In this case the the seller excepted returns, but "buyer pays return shipping costs". If I had needed to return these sensors, the shipping costs would have been much more than the cost of the parts.
When it comes to counterfeit electrical parts, I typically find that fit and finish is worse than the OEM, and small details such as part finish, dimensions, performance are different. So I thought I would post this example, as "Buyer Beware" when you are buying items, as the flood of counterfeiting seems to be getting much worse and some sites it is the norm as opposed tot he exception. In the end, the seller gave me a long story "I picked up this batch from another supplier. The upstream supplier told me that this batch was the same as our previous ones and worked properly, so maybe I was fooled by him this time. I'm really sorry, this is the first time I've received this feedback, I've sold a lot before and never had any problems. Maybe it's because of the change of supplier this time.", whatever, it is always some story. In the end, the seller credited me what I paid, but it took a lot of time and distress that I didn't need, and hopefully well not get drawn into the dark side again.
Note the difference in the barrel and the sensor labeling, also to look at is the paperwork/box/specifications as they will not match the OEM product.
Dimensions did not match the OEM specifications.
Often they skimp on materials and fit/finish, you often see this on the materials and plated parts.
The indicator LED did not match the OEM specifications nor did it blink per the specifications.
The sensor operating distance was horrendously poor.
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