Have you bought direct from China?

BigRonW

denwhatshisname wrote: »

So outside the realms of having to pay duty on the goods.

Are you saying you would rather spend £60 on, say, a tablet from china, with the costs inherent on that, or a £60 tablet that will be despatched from the UK. I know I can get the same spec for the same price in the UK.

I know many people who've bought tablets direct from China, and a quick straw poll reveals that NONE of us have EVER been requested to pay duty on them. Which makes your "but what if.....??" question somewhat ridiculous. If a coin comes down "Heads" hundreds of time in a row, and not once "Tails", then the smart observer doesn't lose sleep over the statistical miracle.... he merely concludes that it's a double-headed coin.

So that's how things are in the REAL world. Just as well, or EBay would grind to a halt. In terms of REAL WORLD prices, (i.e what you WILL be asked to pay) your chance of matching my choices of tablets from China on both price and on specification are about the same as Accrington Stanley's chances of winning the FA Cup next year.

paddyrg

If you have never paid duty and VAT on an import, you have been fortunate and I suspect the shippers put a deliberately deceptively low valuation on the goods declaration. I would not want to rely on tax evasion as being a sustainable way to go in the future ;-)

Has the 'coin' come down 'hundreds' of times in a row, or half a dozen or so? And remember, people are typically TERRIBLE at understanding odds otherwise nobody would enter the lotto (14,000,000 to 1) - or smoke (3 to 1)!

denwhatshisname

BigRonW wrote: »

your chance of matching my choices of tablets from China on both price and on specification are about the same as Accrington Stanley's chances of winning the FA Cup next year.

Due to the fact you hope to avoid paying tax on it. Even then you are left in a situation of buying goods from china with no warranty in the UK, when you could pay the same in the UK from a UK importer.

BigRonW

denwhatshisname wrote: »

Due to the fact you hope to avoid paying tax on it. Even then you are left in a situation of buying goods from china with no warranty in the UK, when you could pay the same in the UK from a UK importer.

Even MORE bovine excrement? Goods bought DIRECT FROM CHINA through (for example) Deal Extreme DO carry a warranty. I'm making use of that warranty RIGHT NOW to get a replacement for a damaged watch... and the seller is even refunding the cost of postage. As I've posted elesewhere, if you're going to continue to make these unsubstantiated claims... then you're going to look like even MORE like an idiot. And DX is far from the only Chinese supplier who backs their sales with a UK return address in case of problems, and a moneyback guarantee. The Android community in particular is international, and shares information via any mumber of forums. A supplier who cheats customers (or provides really BAD service) would become notorious almost instantly, and would go out of business for lack of customers not long thereafter. The "foreigners simply can't be trusted" is SO out-dated. Some can be, others can't.

paddyrg

There seems to be confusion between warranty and statutory rights
DX may offer a Warranty but they are under no obligation to do so whereas you have actual rights in the UK if buying from Uk supplier

I do agree that DX have pretty decent support for customers however it means you are relying on their good will and they can be somewhat show

BigRonW

paddyrg wrote: »

There seems to be confusion between warranty and statutory rights
DX may offer a Warranty but they are under no obligation to do so whereas you have actual rights in the UK if buying from Uk supplier

I do agree that DX have pretty decent support for customers however it means you are relying on their good will and they can be somewhat show

I agree...but with the proviso that if you get your money back when an item you've purchased is defective.... WHO CARES whether the seller is doing it because "it's the law"or it's because "it's merely good business sense to do so?" However I am annoyed by the idiots who repeat the same old untruth - "Don't buy foreign stuff, because you'll get hammered for import taxes, and if what you've bought is faulty you've got NO REDRESS" I know a lot of people who've bought tablets from China (including myself - three times) and none of us have EVER had customs problems. I've just arranged for a replacement to be shipped to me for a defective watch I bought a short while ago - and DX are even refunding the cost of my postage. I've never had reason to check out Merimobiles' warranty, or Ipadalternative's or Pandawill's.... but I'd guess (from the lack of complaints on Android forums) that they do actually honour their warranties. When the choice comes down - e.g. where a single parent is on a fixed and limited budget - to a mediocre tablet bought from a "safe" source, or a much MUCH better one, purchaed from somewhere where there's a VERY faint risk of problems, then my advice is going to be "Buy the better one!" EVERY time.

nonnatus

I buy from China too. Have done in the past and am looking at placing an order next couple of weeks.
NOT for electronic products though. I use a factory in China who make things to my specification and then send to me in a container. I won't pretend it's not scary! The point where I transfer thousands of dollars from me to them before the container lands at southampton is frightening, but I use experienced intermediaries.
When I've had a problem with quality etc, it's been sorted QUICKLY and refunds are given fairly. The Chinese want your business, they're not trying to rip you off! And the associated costs and taxes may seem high initially but the price of the PRODUCT is so low in comparison to European versions that the added costs can easily be built into my selling price here in UK.

It's a great way of getting stock that sets you apart from your competitors in terms of value but you do need the funds to place the first LARGE order to make it cost effective....

buglawton

Things can go wrong with the transport process. I have seen split boxes with goods missing and in another case, the weight of pilfered items replaced by a dodgy plastic container of cooking oil or water (shipping carton being still nicely sealed).

About suppliers, they vary hugely and one that starts off well can become impossible to deal with.

Actually, there's a huge opportunity here for the Chinese govt to have some sort of kite mark accreditation of it's factories so that they abide by a minimum standard of behaviour.

fwor

nonnatus wrote: »

The Chinese want your business, they're not trying to rip you off!

You write this as if you believe the Chinese people are totally uniform and consistent - as if every Chinese person is the same as every other one.

Would you be surprised to learn that there are roughly as many crooks and conmen in China as in any other country of the same size? And that these crooks and conmen like ripping off people thousands of miles away because there is little chance of any comeback?

If you happen to deal with one of them, you have no redress, unless you want to try and use the Chinese legal system against them - and that won't be an option for most people simply due to the language barrier.

I don't mind people being positive about buying directly from China (I have done so for quite a few low-value items myself) but please don't get irrational about it...

Dreamnine

People who buy cheap crap from China are idiots and deserve the problems they encounter.