Has anyone used this site before?

http://www.aliexpress.com

Yes.

I’ve not used it but it’s a well known grey import site, lots of fake stuff,so be careful.

Yes its all cheap tat! Enjoy!

fake, cheap n nasty. does the job sometimes

lots of fake stuff,so be careful.

Ain’t that the understatement!

Aside for MTBing my other interests include ice hockey and, if you’re at an NHL game (or watching on TV even) you can spot spectators wearing ‘Aliexpress Specials’ a mile off.

Of course some folks justify it by saying “The official ones are still just replicas” or some such tosh.

Yes received d one item and never seen another with no refund either. Never again.

Yes bought a Few things off there including bike related stuff, only had 2 disappointments whilst using it, a set of carbon bars that just felt to light and bendy to be safe and some led bulbs where the first lot never arrived but a quick message to the seller and some replacements were sent which arrived quickly and work fine.

Loads of sellers selling similar(but not always the same quality)stuff so you need to do a bit of research on the seller before purchasing I.e. feedback reviews.

Yes, and without problems but do use your common sense or you’ll get mugged as noted above.

Yep myself and Daughter have bought from there, clothes wise the sizes can be smaller

Beware if you’re buying anything that’s branded. I’m told that HMRC are inspecting ALL inbound parcels from China and those that contain branded goods which are clearly fake, are confiscated and destroyed.

I got some welgo pedals off there, only place I could get the model I was after. Took 2 months but they turned up.

Yep, with no problems. TBH it’s just like early ebay. I’d more or less assume that anything cheap and branded is fake but it’s a good source for other stuff (I got 100 AA to C cell adaptors for about the cost of 4 in the UK, frinstance)

It’s where all the ebay sellers buy their wares

It turns over more items in a days than eBay and Amazon combined!
I’ve bought various bits from there. Mainly flashlights and hard to find lcds. All ok. Returns are a pita though

I’m told that HMRC are inspecting ALL inbound parcels from China

What BS! Have they employed an 500,000 people recently?

I bought a few things off there, cheap tat but as above sometimes does the job.

I’ve seen some bits and bobs on there that looked worth a punt but I’m wary of payment methods.
What is deemed the safest method when buying from Ali?

Most of the known Chinese bike sellers are on there, and they do Topcashback too. I got my FarSports rims from them. Had loads of electronic bits too, all have been fine.

Once received an item wrongly, and the seller was absolutely desperate for me to return it before the buyer protection ran out – makes me think it may be even more draconian than eBay with regards to blanket refunds to buyers.

I’ve always just paid PayPal. It’s the biggest marketplace website on the planet, you’re not likely to have your card details stolen.

I’d not seen a PayPal option, that’s why is was a bit nervous.

We had an Ali-express secret Santa £8 budget. I got a pair of Ver-sarchai slippers. Very distasteful and over the top. I kept them at work and they were very comfy but had to get binned as the glue on them (and there was lots of it) started to smell of rotten fish, it was hard enough to explain it wasn’t my feet… The watch I bought for someone arrived broken and my colleague spent too long flirting with the girl on the Ali express chat messenger who wanted to charge him for her to send ‘sexy pics’. Someone got a joint rolling kit that never got through customs, when the sex doll with ‘real mouth’ was photographed in the CEO’s chair we were told enough is enough.

Next year were just going to give secret Santa money to nominated charities.

I’ve bought a few things off there and I’ve not had any problems, delivery time was a couple of weeks. I probably wouldn’t buy handlebars or anything critical like that off there – as others have said it’s cheap tat you can find on ebay but probably cheaper

yes its fine got some pedals all good so far and loads of table tennis stuff. Even got refunds when stuff didnt get delivered or failed on first time using it.

As above, anything branded is almost certainly fake, and I wouldn’t touch anything ‘safety critical’ like carbon seat posts and bars etc. but I’ve bought loads of homebrew gear from there – weldless stainless steel fittings, hop spiders and such like. And loads of quadcopter bits’n’pieces, cheap and cheerful, do the job just fine.

I’ve used http://www.dhgate.com/ for cheap unbranded camping stuff. Also need to be very weary if considering anything with a designer label.

I’ve bought two batches of outdoor LED lights from there and they were good quality and good value. Remember you will pay VAT and Import duty. Many suppliers *appear* to be factories/manufacturers but I’m sure most are just eBay style traders who just act as intermediaries.

I get all my poc helmets, assos jerseys, Oakley sunglasses and fsa carbon parts from there. Its great prices, miles cheaper than the major online uk sites.

I get all my poc helmets, assos jerseys, Oakley sunglasses and fsa carbon parts from there. Its great prices, miles cheaper than the major online uk sites.

The hook is baited…