[SuperFlyLoser]

This is not a build nor is it machining related. (Its only relevant to bench-top mills since I tried to purchase one)

I attempted to purchase a SX4 through AliExpress for $500 bucks. Well like all of you probably already guessed it "WAS" too good to be true. Now I'm dealing with getting my funds returned to me. Here is the LINK in case anyone is interested. I've since been able to contact the actual supplier "Jack Wong" and he says that they have requested AliExpress to no longer list the item with the incorrect price as they also no longer sell that product. I've since done some research on AliExpress and come to find that this type of thing is nothing new for them. They have been doing this to people all over the world for virtually any product that is made in china.

This is speculation, but I suspect that since Paypal only has a 45 day period for you to submit a dispute and the wait period is over 60 days for most products that they sell, they are able to basically sit on your money for 60 days and not have to "Fight" over keeping it (If you use paypal). So buyer beware and please protect yourself from these types of frauds.

This is something I would normally never do, airing my dirty laundry. Especially in a group of people I highly respect such as Hoss, Ellik, and many others that slip my mind at the moment. I simply want others that might think they are getting a "Great Deal" by purchasing direct to just be cautious. Please consider that with US retailers we "Could" almost go to the store front and complain. With sites like AliExpress they can just ignore any request to fix an issue, such as they have done to me.

Thanks for letting me vent and hope someone learns from this!

SFL

[hoss2006]

Thanks for posting, I don't think it's venting at all, you are providing a very valuable heads up.
Scammers and deadbeats need to be weeded out and warned about.
Thanks, Hoss

[mattmark]

hey SFL,

sorry to hear this happened to you - i actually bought a portable lcd screen with hdmi inputs from aliexpress and had no issues.. but probably more buyer beware than with ebay.

matt

[Maglin]

SFL,
You didn't use the escrow account option? With an escrow account (not a Chinese one) you would easily be able to get your money back with the seller saying it was wrong.

[SuperFlyLoser]

Escrow was used, but "Escrow" is applied to any purchase you make on AliExpress it gets applied automatically. The problem is that the seller/supplier has to say that the transaction is wrong in some way. I should have mentioned this in my original post, but I tracked down "Jack Wong" and got his company email through a friend of mine who is a contractor in China. I was not able to get a hold of either a person from AliExpress or from "Bane Wang"(Listed supplier on AliExpress) through the AliExpress website. So even with "Escrow" it would not have help me since I was not able to contact the supplier "Through" AliExpress to confirm the transaction was not going to happen.

My issue is not with AliExpress directly. As MattMark indicated he had a transaction that was without issue. Its with how easily fraud can occur and with out any sensible protections for the buyer.

SFL,
You didn't use the escrow account option? With an escrow account (not a Chinese one) you would easily be able to get your money back with the seller saying it was wrong.

[Charles1317]

I would never trust an "Escrow" company that I did not know. With this type of international sale when the seller speaks of escrow it is just words.

[Maglin]

So the addidge of "to good to be true usually is" applied here. I'm sorry for your frustrations. I was thinking of trying it but I was figuring even if it was wrong that the money would be tied up for several months. Damn China.

[TerraWombat]

As you saw in the other thread, I put down $500 for the exact same mill. I requested my order be cancelled this morning around 10:30am, but it was pending the authorization of the supplier. Thought I'd be in trouble, but within a half hour, the supplier accepted my request to cancel the order and I received an e-mail from Aliexpress stating I would be fully refunded. Within minutes of that e-mail, I received another one from Paypal stating that my credit card has been refunded $500.

[SuperFlyLoser]

As you saw in the other thread, I put down $500 for the exact same mill. I requested my order be cancelled this morning around 10:30am, but it was pending the authorization of the supplier. Thought I'd be in trouble, but within a half hour, the supplier accepted my request to cancel the order and I received an e-mail from Aliexpress stating I would be fully refunded. Within minutes of that e-mail, I received another one from Paypal stating that my credit card has been refunded $500.

Glad to hear it worked out for you! I'm still in the middle of this @##$%%^ and its getting me pretty upset. I've got a "Dispute" going with Paypal and now I'm waiting on "aliexpress" to contact me about all of this. I'm really happy it worked out for you!

[TerraWombat]

Glad to hear it worked out for you! I'm still in the middle of this @##$%%^ and its getting me pretty upset. I've got a "Dispute" going with Paypal and now I'm waiting on "aliexpress" to contact me about all of this. I'm really happy it worked out for you!

Has the seller contacted you at all since you requested the refund? Did you do the "Cancel Order" through Aliexpress.com or did you go straight to a Paypal dispute?

[SuperFlyLoser]

Has the seller contacted you at all since you requested the refund? Did you do the "Cancel Order" through Aliexpress.com or did you go straight to a Paypal dispute?

No, I canceled the Order waited to hear back from both AliExpress and Jack Wong. After waiting 2 days I had my friend in China look up Bane Wang which is the same address and contact info as Blin Machinery. And they also had Jack Wong as the supplier. So he got me his company email address then I emailed him directly and asked about the order and he said that the Ad on aliexpress is incorrect they have asked aliexpress to fix it many times, and that they don't sell that model any more. I then replied many times about cancelling my order in AliExpress but have not gotten any replies and then I started the dispute on PayPal. So I gave them about 4 days then started the dispute on paypal.

The thing is, if I would have just gotten 1 email about canceling my order I would have just waited it out. But nobody replied to any of my emails or requests for information and status of my order cancellation. Thats the only thing that got me worried enough to start the dispute via paypal.

[TerraWombat]

That sounds awful - I really hope this turns out well for you. When you paid with Paypal, did you use a credit card or direct transfer from a checking/savings account? If it was with a credit card, you should be able to call up their fraud protection services and have them put a hold on that charge. I've done that with AMEX before and I had the money credited back to my card before I could hang up the phone with the customer service representative.

[SuperFlyLoser]

Good advise, Yes the largest part of it was paid with credit card. I guess I will be getting a hold of Discover pretty soon.

[SScnc]

SFL, sorry to hear about your bad deal, I hope you get all or at least most of your money back. I've only placed one order through AliExpress (not machining related, electronic) and it went very smooth. I think the supplier had the "2 Year Gold Member" rating at the top left of the page. My funds were put into escrow and were not released to the supplier until it had been delivered to me and they had delivery confirmation. So that's the way I thought all transactions are handled with them but obviously that's not the case.

So thanks to your posting, I'll be more aware in the future because I'm always checking out things on Alibaba.

Best and let us know how it turns out for you,

Steve