Author Topic: Aliexpress customer service that isn't  (Read 1601 times)

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Offline GusGFTopic starter

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Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« on: October 07, 2023, 10:28:31 pm »
SUNSHINE S-918E LCD Blue Screen Splitter Heating Stage Separator Pad
Sold by Pro Cellphone Repair Store

I've bought a few items from Aliexpress over the years so back in February I bought a heat mat for helping with fixing the odd mobile phone/tablet that might come my way. It arrived pretty quickly and like a lot of things I set it aside until I needed it as I had a few jobs lined up for it, but nothing urgent. BIG, BIG MISTAKE

Then 4-5 months later I got around to using it. Shortly after I switched it on the display went funny and segment LEDs began to flash on/off randomly. In the end the only way to get it to supply constant heat to the mat was to keep one of the operating buttons held down. At this point I'd lost any control over the temperature. So straight back to Aliexpress to message the seller who suggested I repair it and they would send me the part as they wouldn't replace it. Great so I have to become an expert on a circuit I don't have a schematic on or understand. When I looked closer at the Aliexpress T&Cs I was shocked to find out customer protection ends 15 days after delivery. On top of that you can only leave feedback for a seller up to 30 days after.

I've opened the heat mat to find out what it looked like inside, see attached photo. One of the 2 circuit boards inside the metal box wasn't attached to anything and was loose and close to the 240v input at the top of the photo. This 240v input also had unshielded solder joints! What also seemed weird was this loose board also had two USB A ports so obviously this board at some point in the design was meant to be attached securely to the chassis or case. In this instance they'd used another dual USB socket mounted inside the metal box and connected by cables to the loose board?!

So as a customer you are screwed on Aliexpress if things go wrong and you may be buying unsafe electrical equipment that is subject to little or no safety standards!!

Incidentally I tried to attach a second photo but I was allowed only one even though it says add files by dragging & dropping
 

Offline DavidAlfa

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2023, 10:58:24 pm »
Yeah, always test the stuff shortly after reception!
Customer service is opened during 45 days or so. During this time, if you receive the packet and its no good, just open a case.
But if you wait 5 months for testing, yeah, that's warranty and you know how that works in Aliexpress.
Most of the time you'll only get the money back if DOA (Dead on arrival) or dead withing few weeks.

1 - If not working, make pictures/videos, open a case and most of the time you'll get your money back.
2 - If crappy quality, cut some wire / remove some component to make it stop working / work weird, proceed with step 1.
3 - Arguing you're not happy with the product greatly reduces your chances of getting a refund! Just do step 2.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2023, 11:01:12 pm by DavidAlfa »
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Offline GusGFTopic starter

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2023, 11:09:10 pm »
Yeah, always test the stuff shortly after reception!
Customer service is opened during 45 days or so. During this time, if you receive the packet and its no good, just open a case.
But if you wait 5 months for testing, yeah, that's warranty and you know how that works in Aliexpress.
Most of the time you'll only get the money back if DOA (Dead on arrival) or dead withing few weeks.

1 - If not working, make pictures/videos, open a case and most of the time you'll get your money back.
2 - If crappy quality, cut some wire / remove some component to make it stop working / work weird, proceed with step 1.
3 - Arguing you're not happy with the product greatly reduces your chances of getting a refund! Just do step 2.


Rookie mistake  |O
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2023, 11:19:22 pm »
Quote
When I looked closer at the Aliexpress T&Cs I was shocked to find out customer protection ends 15 days after delivery. On top of that you can only leave feedback for a seller up to 30 days after.
Welcome to e-commerce platforms? You'd have a hard time finding a platform any better in this regard. Ebay and amazon are not different. Frankly you're lucky seller bothered to offer a part.
 

Offline GusGFTopic starter

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2023, 11:22:43 pm »
Quote
When I looked closer at the Aliexpress T&Cs I was shocked to find out customer protection ends 15 days after delivery. On top of that you can only leave feedback for a seller up to 30 days after.
Welcome to e-commerce platforms? You'd have a hard time finding a platform any better in this regard. Ebay and amazon are not different. Frankly you're lucky seller bothered to offer a part.

With Ebay and Amazon I've generally had much better customer service with the odd exception.

As a novice electronics hobbyist I will probably be popping up on one of the other boards on here for help with getting this to work  :-/O
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2023, 11:28:49 pm »
With Ebay and Amazon I've generally had much better customer service with the odd exception.
Whatever experience you had, their buyer protection time is about the same. After protection time ends, it's on sole discretion of the seller. If you order from Chinese seller on ebay and will wait this long before complaining, result will be the same, unless you stumble on unusually conscientious seller. The only longer term leverage you may have is CC chargeback, but it most likely will get you banned from the platform.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2023, 11:30:44 pm by wraper »
 

Offline nctnico

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2023, 11:30:08 pm »
I'd address the electrical safety issues first. However, if the mat is resistive, you could consider hooking it up to a regular bench power supply and regulate the temperature manually. It could be a safer option but either way, don't leave it turned on if you are not in the room.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline magic

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2023, 06:28:03 am »
I've opened the heat mat to find out what it looked like inside, see attached photo. One of the 2 circuit boards inside the metal box wasn't attached to anything and was loose and close to the 240v input at the top of the photo. This 240v input also had unshielded solder joints! What also seemed weird was this loose board also had two USB A ports so obviously this board at some point in the design was meant to be attached securely to the chassis or case. In this instance they'd used another dual USB socket mounted inside the metal box and connected by cables to the loose board?!
The loose board is probably a generic USB charger PCB which they simply threw inside because they needed 5V for the control PCB (the one that's fixed with screws).
« Last Edit: October 08, 2023, 06:30:08 am by magic »
 

Online Psi

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2023, 06:40:09 am »
Yep, rule 3 with aliexpress. Always check the goods are working and to spec before the automatically delivery confirmation occurs.


Rule 1 and 2 are
1. 92+% sellers only
2. Never buy the cheapest option. Order by price and look for price groupings, pick the 2nd or 3rd lowest grouping, never the lowest.


Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2023, 09:35:15 am »
2. Never buy the cheapest option. Order by price and look for price groupings, pick the 2nd or 3rd lowest grouping, never the lowest.
IME lowest price is totally fine unless you buy electronic components which you shouldn't buy there to begin with (unless no other reasonable choice). As buying at 3x the lowest price does not guarantee you won't receive the same cheapest fake shite.
 
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Offline magic

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2023, 10:33:56 am »
Yeah, price doesn't guarantee anything.

You need to actually evaluate each option based on provided images, declared specs, buyer feedback, and a healthy dose of common sense.
 
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Offline PlainName

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2023, 01:48:31 pm »
Quote
When I looked closer at the Aliexpress T&Cs I was shocked to find out customer protection ends 15 days after delivery. On top of that you can only leave feedback for a seller up to 30 days after.
Welcome to e-commerce platforms? You'd have a hard time finding a platform any better in this regard. Ebay and amazon are not different. Frankly you're lucky seller bothered to offer a part.

Delivery & Returns Policy
FREE delivery and FREE 365 day returns*

You can return any unused item within 365 days for a full refund. Furthermore, if your order was over £25, your return will be free (* Mainland UK only, excluding Scottish Highlands). All we ask is that you send the items back unused in their original condition with all the original packaging.

Perhaps you meant 'marketplace platform', which is a bit different to the vast majority of ecommerce?
 

Offline GusGFTopic starter

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2023, 02:27:37 pm »
Yes you are most probably right about waiting 5 months to use something with regards to other platforms. My silly mistake  |O

On Ebay as a buyer you have up to 30 days to open a dispute and 60 to leave buyer feedback and on Amazon you have 30 days to return with an almost no questions asked policy and again you can leave feedback for up to 90 days after purchase. That's a lot better than Aliexpress.

When I buy stuff on Amazon I always look at the negative feedback first and generally ignore the less informative 5 star ratings, at this point I'm pretty good at gauging what's genuine. On eBay I list all the feedback for the seller (100/page) and do a Ctrl+F for the product I'm buying to see what other people thought of it and their experience and I normally go back thru 5/600 reviews which takes me no more than a minute or 2. Gives me peace of mind.

When it comes to feedback on Aliexpress I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.
 

Offline BrokenYugo

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #13 on: October 10, 2023, 01:38:26 pm »
Anything mains powered direct from china should be immediately disassembled on arrival for safety checks, before power up. Treat it like a kit somebody else with zero experience handling AC power half-ass slapped together and the outcomes improve, prices make more sense too.
 

Offline GusGFTopic starter

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #14 on: October 10, 2023, 04:31:23 pm »
Anything mains powered direct from china should be immediately disassembled on arrival for safety checks, before power up. Treat it like a kit somebody else with zero experience handling AC power half-ass slapped together and the outcomes improve, prices make more sense too.

 :-DD

Absolutely best advice I've heard on this thread. Love it and most probably true.

Pile em high, make em cheap, nobody's really checking.
 

Offline magic

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #15 on: October 10, 2023, 05:09:45 pm »
Poor advice, unless by inspection you mean unwinding of transformers, replacement of fusible resistors and X- or Y- class capacitors, and so on :P
 

Offline BrokenYugo

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #16 on: October 10, 2023, 07:20:13 pm »
Poor advice, unless by inspection you mean unwinding of transformers, replacement of fusible resistors and X- or Y- class capacitors, and so on :P

There's no need to unwind anything with a small SMPS like that, just see that the transformer secondary isn't wound with that pink/yellow triple insulated wire and it can be assumed junk. AFAIK that's the only way to make the little ones legal, and that wire is always terminated with flying leads or an offset bobbin so it's easy to see.
 

Offline thm_w

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Re: Aliexpress customer service that isn't
« Reply #17 on: October 10, 2023, 08:57:17 pm »
This mat doesn't look very good but thats fairly typical for these heaters.

What I did was ground the metal enclosure section and run it from a dedicated GFCI outlet. Since there is really no way to protect from someone cutting into the heater element, unless you want to isolate the entire device.
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