Christopher Morris 2 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Bangood, Aliexpress, Wish & Hobbyking. All have a bad habit of taking orders & using the excuse that it’s lost in transit or out of stock when it doesn’t turn up. It’s funny that when working for myself for 40 years & sent out thousands of estimates, not one got lost. Yet about 10% of the invoice wasn’t received. “Yeah” All of them, you have to check every week to see how your order is proceeding as you don’t always get email updates. Now, in all fairness, if i have had a problem, i was refunded in full. But can take a good week or so & the aggravation that is involved with it. Other things to watch out for are Bangood has a bad business practice of advertising an item on google at “let say” £99.00 & when you get to the site the price may have changed by +£30.00, even worse, they sometimes show the price the same as advertised & it’s sometimes increased at the check out by £30.00 + possible insurance & P&P. AliExpress, Wish & Hobbyking, are similar but load it on the P&P Hobbyking are by far the worst on P&P charges & even worse, they want to charge 3 lots of P&P because they are sending from three areas of the world. It’s easy to say don’t use them, but if you can afford UK prices, “fine” but i am looking to save money. I am still up far more on the money side & found Bangood the best of all these evils, as its easier to speak to someone, but you have to watch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 This sort of stuff is not limited to the suppliers that you mention. What I refer to as 'creative advertising' is used by many companies and not just small 'fly by night outfits'. Examples I've had experience of. Needed some building materials from Wickes - their website clearly states free delivery when spending over £100 - my bill came to £107 but the basket price was £147 - buried away in the T&Cs was "free delivery only on non-bulky items". In fact delivery is 'from' £30. Has anyone ever got a 'from price' for anything? Just what is meant by bulky? Weight, size, or a combination of both? What building material wouldn't be 'bulky? My neighbour was quoted £300 for a car service by Halfords. Bill actually came to £350 because the vehicle required "specialist fully synthetic oil" not included in the service menu ..........in a bog standard Ford Focus???? The old 'plus VAT' nonsense that many suppliers still like to use to make their prices more attractive, although to be fair a couple of large tool and Engineering suppliers that I guess we all use, do at least show the VAT and non-VAT price in the same size font now, whereas they used to have the including VAT figure in microscopic writing! Nothing illegal about the above examples, but you do have to clearly understand what you are buying and take the time to read the small print and terms of business. Edited By Cuban8 on 28/07/2020 09:21:47 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Caveat emptor or more fully: Caveat emptor, quia ignorare non debuit quod jus alienum emit ("Let a purchaser beware, for he ought not to be ignorant of the nature of the property which he is buying from another party." ) which I dare say has been true since the days of the Roman Empire. Edited By John Lee on 28/07/2020 09:46:41 Edited By John Lee on 28/07/2020 09:46:54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad taggart Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Ordered hundreds of items from Hobbyking EU or UK never been let down once and no matter how many items ordered (20-30 items) - not one single item missing in any delivery. Strangely enough most of the time it is cheaper to order things from the EU warehouse than the UK one in terms of carriage ... I always try to source everything from a single warehouse EU or UK and never bother with the Global one - where carriage costs are high and you are likely to get hit with custom charges Banggood also very good - though price reductions usually fictitious or exaggerated ... so best ignored or verified elsewhere .... Edited By conrad taggart on 28/07/2020 10:00:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Cuban8 on 28/07/2020 09:17:43: My neighbour was quoted £300 for a car service by Halfords. Bill actually came to £350 because the vehicle required "specialist fully synthetic oil" not included in the service menu ..........in a bog standard Ford Focus???? I wouldn't trust Halfrauds to service a push-bike, let alone a car! They are notorious for "fixing" things that don't need it and over-charging for everything they think they can get away with. Halfrauds and Kwik-Fit are the two places at the top of my "avoid at all costs" list! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Morris 2 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Peter Christy on 28/07/2020 10:45:35: Posted by Cuban8 on 28/07/2020 09:17:43: My neighbour was quoted £300 for a car service by Halfords. Bill actually came to £350 because the vehicle required "specialist fully synthetic oil" not included in the service menu ..........in a bog standard Ford Focus???? I wouldn't trust Halfrauds to service a push-bike, let alone a car! They are notorious for "fixing" things that don't need it and over-charging for everything they think they can get away with. Halfrauds and Kwik-Fit are the two places at the top of my "avoid at all costs" list! -- Pete A friend of mine brought a new Kia when they fist came overhear. And in all fairness, it looked like a Merc & was better equipped. 1st service came up & they collected the car & left him with the service car while the service took place & brought it back serviced & valeted. "This was all free on the 1st service" KIA service was at Halfords, not sure if that was where it was taken, but a good job was done. That means it must have been serviced elsewhere. But his bill had Halfords on it. But yes, i would trust Halfords as far as i could through them. Its another store that shows its in stock online at your local store, when you get there, nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Re Halfords and car repairs. As with all service providers, what you get can vary even within the same organisation. I take our car to Halfords for MOTs and have never had cause to complain. Where one of our vehicles has failed it's been for a legitimate reason. When my wife's old Fiesta finally succumbed to rust, the MOT tester at Halfords (he was older than me BTW) took me under the vehicle when it was up on the ramp and showed me exactly why it was unroadworthy. In previous years, the same chap had again shown me areas where the bodywork was 'going home' but would be OK for another year and passed the car on that occasion. When I've been in their waiting area, I've listened to the chap on the desk dealing with customers enquiries and have never felt that they were anything other than honest with their recommendations. The business with my neighbours oil was a bit naughty, but only because they should have specified the correct oil in the first place. There's nothing 'special' now about fully synthetic oil. I had them replace all four brake discs and pads after 130000 miles on my Mondeo Estate as they were a gnats off of minimum spec, but they would have passed the vehicle for its MOT. The price was little more than what I could have done it myself for and without the hassle. Also came with a pads for life deal. On the other hand, their quote for a cam belt change was way over the top, so that job went to my local small independent garage for half the price - they also changed the auxiliary belt and tensioner while they were at it and all in the price. I do my own servicing on both vehicles. The mechanics that work for Halfords are not morons, but in my experience are as skilled, maybe moreso, given the range of vehicles that they deal with compared to main dealers - of which I could recount some horror stories when my company cars were looked after by Ford and Citroen. Edited By Cuban8 on 28/07/2020 12:46:27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Cardin Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Well, it does not only happens with overseas alien firms! I suffered similar from an old good UK bookshop selling through Amazon just last week. I wanted to get 5 books of ASP vintage collection "Radio Control Handbooks" and as I wanted to keep within a limited cost, decided to order 2 tittles from one GB second hand bookshop and 3 other tittles from a second one. Order for the 2 first titles went great: very good prices (I have to wait to check books condition when they arrive to Spain!) and a competitive combined portage cost but, I am afraid, things went not so pretty with the other 3 books. After finishing the order and checking-in it, I found that shipping cost simply tripled for a single book and was near twice the books cost so I contacted the shop so as they revised their shipping combination configuration, only to be explained that they wrote cheap prices for their books (2 were really cheap, the third one not) as they compensated them with shipping prices, as many sellers do in Ebay since many years ago. I was simply shocked as I could not imagine this kind of selling practices from a Bookshop and even less so with one selling through Amazon. I though of buying these 3 books from other sellers but as one was only available from them and sourcing the others from other bookshops also produced high posting charges, finally decided buying the 3 books from them but that does not change my mind and surprise of finding a professional business trading in such way! From more of 35 years buying from UK magazines, model shops, bookshops and particulars I had never before found such situation..... Edited By Jesus Cardin on 28/07/2020 12:49:19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Barclay Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 92 orders large and small from Hobby-King in the last two years. Nothing missing, all arrived ontime. Couple of small problems I have had have been replaced quickly with no quibble. I often order from EU warehouse as postage sometimes works out cheaper. Items normally arrive in 5 or 6 working days. Don't order from Hong Kong anymore after being hit twice with import charges and post office fees. Like many other businesses there are stock problems at the moment but they will get over it. In short I am a satisfied customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Cuban 8 the price charged for oil by servicing firms is very over inflated .In the past I have been charged £40 for oil that was sold by motor accessory shops for £14 a gallon tin,. The garage or dealer gets the oil in bulk at a far lower price but relies on the customer being ignorant of this fact. One way over this is to buy your oil from the shop and instruct the garage to use the oil you supply. .This also applies to screen wash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Cuban8 on 28/07/2020 12:42:56: The mechanics that work for Halfords are not morons, but in my experience are as skilled, maybe moreso, given the range of vehicles that they deal with compared to main dealers - of which I could recount some horror stories when my company cars were looked after by Ford and Citroen. I've no experience of Halfords service but I have little confidence in main dealers' expertly trained and highly skilled technicians. I have only ever used them to comply with warranty conditions and supply the parts myself as I have been able to get them at trade price. The biggest mark up is on oil, which is charged for at the full retail price per litre bottle - regardless of the fact that the oil comes out of bulk supply barrels and even the full price 5 litre retail price is a fraction of the 4 or 5 1 litre containers that are billed for. Anyway, the last time I left a car in their care, the part used 5 litre container was returned and as I went to put it away, I noticed there was a lot less in there than I would have expected after filling my wife's small engine. I checked the level and it was way over filled - to give them their due, they responded to my request to come out and reduce the level and the mechanic was efficient (unlike his equipment) - but his promise that the wasted oil would be replaced didn't run smoothly. Oh, and they forgot to stamp the service book and to reset the service indicator... I was also slightly bemused by the letter we received urging us to get the cambelt on my wife's car changed before the previously advised service interval - at 30,000 insted of 40,000 miles. Well, it's possible that experience might have shown this interval was not safe...except that her engine had a timing chain! When I called the service manager who had signed the letter to query it, he did have the good grace to apologise and express his embarrassment...especially as he'd sent over a hundred similar letters to owners of the same model! As for shiny suited "parts specialists" sitting behind polished counters...I was once informed that the crankshaft pulley bolt that I'd bought earlier and found to have the wrong pitch thread was the correct part and that I would need to fit a new part...reference to the microfiche revealed that I was being expected to buy a new crankshaft! After failing to convince him that this was slightly unreasonable, I asked for my money back and went to a rival dealer around the corner where the old boy behind the counter just smiled and walked straight to the parts bin for the correct bolt. P.S. I see Mowerman beat me to the oil price rip-off! Edited By Martin Harris on 28/07/2020 14:25:20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 I've had great service from HK EU over the last 8 years and I have no intention of changing. However, it's important to use the Web site properly. For example, you need to set the filters to select the site that you want to buy from. I select the EU site, and only stuff that's "in stock". Anything else (only available from other sites or not in stock) doesn't get purchased. This gives very satisfactory results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 My exhaust from Alis Express is in the U.K, way ahead of schedule, ooh the suspense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 My son recently ordered me some FMS Bf109 spares from Aliexpress- they weren't in stock anywhere in the UK. The order only took a couple of weeks, from Hong Kong I think. Well satisfied. Incidentally Christopher, I think the servicing tie-up Halfords had was with Daewoo, not Kia. Kia have always had their own sales and servicing network, and are owned by Hyundai. Daewoo went bust, were bought by GM, then sold as Chevrolets. Now not sold at all as GM have pulled out of Europe. End of motoring trivia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCW Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Hi All. Yes I have had a bad experience from Bangood,details on (Site jabber or Trustpilot). When buying from China, to be safe I always buy through Ebay / Paypall. Quote " If your item arrives damaged, doesn’t match the listing description, or is the wrong item, you can return it for a refund. If you've changed your mind and want to send it back, you can ask the seller if they'll accept a return". I have always had very good service from sellers in China and Europe when buying from a safe site. I sometimes sell on Ebay myself, I have to comply with their rules or loose my membership, for good. Halfords... Only in an emergency! Be safe and watch those props. DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Morris 2 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Oddly enough, i just received a faulty power supply from Bangood & having to go through the rigmarole on sending it back. The other od thing was it was posted in the UK via Royal mail with a postage label that looks like its covering a china postage label. Was sent from Coalville UK, where ever that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Coalville is in Staffs, near Burton-on-Trent. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vecchio Austriaco Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Christopher Morris 2 on 28/07/2020 17:15:59: Oddly enough, i just received a faulty power supply from Bangood & having to go through the rigmarole on sending it back. The other od thing was it was posted in the UK via Royal mail with a postage label that looks like its covering a china postage label. Was sent from Coalville UK, where ever that is. I suppose they send over their stuff in full containers and have some sort of postage business here sending it to the final customer. This is also the reason for their sometimes rather long delivery times. And this is the only way to keep the postage on reasonable level. Just ordered 3 sets of CF blades for my 450 helis, if I want to buy that local I get probably one (also coming from China) for what I have paid... Edited By Vecchio Austriaco on 28/07/2020 18:08:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal brewer Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Geoff S on 28/07/2020 17:53:29: Coalville is in Staffs, near Burton-on-Trent. Geoff I think you'll find that Coalville is actually in Leistershire................Mal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Smith 14 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Christopher Morris 2 on 28/07/2020 08:47:50: Hobbyking are by far the worst on P&P charges & even worse, they want to charge 3 lots of P&P because they are sending from three areas of the world. What a shock, what did you expect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Morris 2 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by Stephen Smith 14 on 28/07/2020 19:12:19: Posted by Christopher Morris 2 on 28/07/2020 08:47:50: Hobbyking are by far the worst on P&P charges & even worse, they want to charge 3 lots of P&P because they are sending from three areas of the world. What a shock, what did you expect? You don't find this out until you check out. A fiver in the UK is ok & about the same for the EU, but i don't expect £50 & £60 P&P from china when many other companies post-free. I think the reason for the high price on P&P is they haven't sorted the weight of the items &v are saying its going airmail. I deducted 1 item off my order & it went from £55 to £28 & it couldn't of weighted any more than 3 ozs Edited By Christopher Morris 2 on 28/07/2020 21:30:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Morris 2 Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Posted by mal brewer on 28/07/2020 18:55:16: Posted by Geoff S on 28/07/2020 17:53:29: Coalville is in Staffs, near Burton-on-Trent. Geoff I think you'll find that Coalville is actually in Leistershire................Mal It was an LE postcode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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