AliExpress ! UPDATE

[hondated]

I am currently building a 1x Gravel bike and decided to buy a group set on AE. Priced at £400 I thought it wasn't too badly priced & given you have 90 days to change your mind I thought it was worth buying. It took longer to arrive than expected and on arrival I wasn't impressed with it. An example being the chain wasn't stamped with Shimano and a few other things weren't impressive either. So ok no problem I have the 90 days !. That's when things changed and the reason behind me posting this.
I followed the AE procedure which leads me to contact the actual seller. Which is fair enough but its worth realising that you aren't buying from a major AE store in China but rather a little shop in China which can be a problem. I should add here that AE offers free returns as well.
It took a few days for the seller to get back to me and when they did they told me that I could not return it as it had cost so much to ship it to me and that I should sell it on to recoup my money. Not something that I wanted to do but I said I would pay for the return cost. I have since sent the seller the same message six times but as yet have had no response. AE have now marked the sale has transaction completed so contacting them is proving to be a nightmare. I am going to keep pestering the seller and hope he eventually replies so I won't burn my bridges and give you their name until I know whether they are going to give me a refund or not. Once I do know this either way to avoid it happening to you I will let you know the company name. It's the first major item I have brought on AE and it will be my last.
Well its been some time since I posted this but I did say that when I could I would give you an update so here it is.
Ok Lets go .... Building a Gravel Bike I originally brought some Sram Brake Calipers, levers to build a 1x. In the process I changed my mind and decided to buy a Shimano 1x set up so late in the evening I searched the Net and decided to buy some on AliExpress. There was a delay in them arriving and by the time they did I had changed my mind and decided to return them. Given I think they do a 90 day return I wasn't expecting any problem but there was.
And this is what it was. Through the AE process you end up talking to the actual seller and their first reaction was to tell me it would cost too much money for them to pay the postal charges and my best bet would be to sell it on. This is something I didn't want to do and at this point AE system just seemed to be making matters worse so I kept sending messages to the seller and the only response I received back was a photo of the advert I had seen when buying it. I now seemed to be fighting a losing battle so offered to pay the return postage but still got nothing back. Feeling gutted I said to my wife it looks like I will be building an additional bike which didn't impress her. So now seething with rage for not getting any response I sent a short message to the seller asking for my refund x 6 in quick succession. Anger vented I just settled in my mind that I had messed up and had to liv e with the consequences. Lesson learnt then !
It was several days later that I received a message which had attached the address labels and postage to return the items and I have subsequently received a full refund. So what changed then ! well I don't know, but one of you might know. I think it was my message x6 that may have prompted AE to contact the seller and to get them to honour AE return policy. The seller was Alain Bike Store but given I have got a full refund I don't wish to denigrate either them or AE. In trying to resolve this issue I did find a YouTube video who explained that when using AE you need to remember that you are actually buying from an equivalent of a LBS rather than from a manufacturer of bikes. To end the bike is nearly built now but to be honest if I ever should need another bike, which I doubt I ever will, I will buy one that is built because its a lot easier. I shall still buy items from AE but nothing of great value as I don't want to risk losing hundreds of pounds again.

[Bonefishblues]

I also fell foul of supplier obfuscation running down the clock, albeit with something cheaper. Buyers beware, for sure.

[rualexander]

I wouldn't buy anything listed as a Shimano groupset (or any other big brand item) on Aliexpress at a seemingly large discount, unless you're prepared for it to turn out to be not quite what you expected.
AliExpress is great for small unusual things that we can't get here, or even for medium priced Chinese brands, but for the big international brands I'd be a bit reluctant.

[Jezrant]

I agree with rualexander above. Out of curiosity, what was the groupset? A Shimano GRX?

Btw, you might want to have this moved to the Cycling Goods and Services section.

[rareposter]

I wouldn't buy anything listed as a Shimano groupset (or any other big brand item) on Aliexpress at a seemingly large discount, unless you're prepared for it to turn out to be not quite what you expected.

I've seen a couple of videos where people have built up full bikes from AliExpress and while you can sometimes get surprisingly top quality wheels, buying "Shimano" from there is pretty much a guarantee that it'll be fake.

A guy I worked with had a "Chinarello" - the Chinese fake / copy of Pinarello. It looked the part, was very difficult to see at first glance that it wasn't a top-end Team Sky bike but when you looked more closely there were various things not quite right about it. Plus it weighed a fair chunk more! He didn't seem to mind, he knew it was fake but still rode it and to be fair it never broke.

Video below detailing some of what to look for when buying from there, he covers fake items towards the end.

https://youtu.be/R8ofA66yJ_Y?si=h0C_ZmgE0ryksCvv

[simonineaston]

It's my understanding that AE connects small businesses based in China /Singapore with international buyers. All well and good under certain circ.s but the expectation that the market will work well simply as a discount provider of a well-established and otherwise widely available brand like Shimano might be a triumph of hope!
The Chinese-based online market already has an unfortunate reputation with respect to bona fide goods, as well as a close link to country with a similar reputation. I’m not saying that everything you buy off of AE is going to be poor quality but it must be a massive risk compared with buying from a well-known discount supplier nearer home.

screenshot of Wikipedia

[Jezrant]

160,000 reviews on Trustpilot … 2.7.

[simonineaston]

It is on the other hand, an excellent place to start if you’re looking for some sort of knock-off of the famous American guitar brand Gibson… I’ve got two Chinese-made guitars at the mo’. One is perfectly legitimate being an Ibanez semi-acoustic, the other a “Chibson” an exact copy of an ES 335, complete with fake headstock logo and sundry other copyright elements.
It's a moot point as to where the line is drawn, given that the Ibanez represents my only realistic chance of owning a decent example of a single-cut jazz box ie Gibson’s venerable ES 175, which sell these days for around 3 grand. The Ibanez features the company's own headstock design and branding and is clearly not a genuine Gibson. The ES 335 knock-off is on the other hand, a bare-faced attempt to replicate the “real thing” down to the last detail, selling at less than a tenth of the made-in-USA original. I have to say, though, that it was virtually unplayable fresh out its box and needed a whole ton of set-up work. Which is pretty much what I expected.

[bjlabuk]

I will try and keep this short. I bought a carbon stem off AliExpress. The plastic bag it was shipped in got torn going through the Royal Mail sorting machinery in the UK and the stem must have dropped out. The RM put the torn empty bag in one of their 'Apology' bags and delivered it to my address anyway (as is their policy). I reported to the Seller what had happened and asked for a refund. They refused. I ask AliExpress to intervene. They sided with the Seller stating I had not produced sufficient proof (despite me sending photos of the torn bag and the RM Apology bag). AliExpress claimed it was up to me to claim a refund from the RM. The RM stated it was up to the Seller to make the claim. Stalemate! I ended up getting a refund from Paypal without any hassle and cancelled my account with AliExpress out of disgust for the way they handled my case.

[rjb]

Pricing on AE is very competitive. I keep my purchases to low value items that I can afford to write off if they don't arrive and use PayPal.
Caveat Emptor.

[bjlabuk]

Pricing on AE is very competitive. I keep my purchases to low value items that I can afford to write off if they don't arrive and use PayPal.
Caveat Emptor.

PayPal were superb. Sent them the same photos I had sent elsewhere and they immediately refunded me. No further questions.

[Jezrant]

I will try and keep this short. I bought a carbon stem off AliExpress. The plastic bag it was shipped in got torn going through the Royal Mail sorting machinery in the UK and the stem must have dropped out.

I’d consider that a blessing in disguise.

[Pendodave]

I use AE for tpu tubes, it's always worked and the cost of it not doing so is minimal.
As above, I'd use it for other components that were not premium brands.

[CyberKnight]

Pricing on AE is very competitive. I keep my purchases to low value items that I can afford to write off if they don't arrive and use PayPal.
Caveat Emptor.

yup , i will use AE occasionally for small bits like replacement chainrings for my commuter as its about the only place i can find them competitively priced and with paypal i am covered.To be fair i found so far i have had very good communication with AE asking how the transaction went etc .Not sure i would plump for a whole bike though .
I am tempted to try the sensah shitfers i see on there .

[hondated]

I agree with rualexander above. Out of curiosity, what was the groupset? A Shimano GRX?

Btw, you might want to have this moved to the Cycling Goods and Services section.

Thanks Jezrant yes it is. Hopefully mods will move to appropriate thread.