Fwiw, I get all my fishing supplies off Ali Express and that’s been a great way to get everything I need at a far lower cost than I could locally. I can get products meant for the Japanese market that simply aren’t available here. It’s literally the same stuff otherwise, just cutting out the big box store middleman.
Even if it is “knock off”, I’ll tell ya with confidence the fish don’t give a fuck.
Another fwiw I’ve gotten two crap products off Ali Express, a set of bubble floats that were clearly manufacturing defects and a glasses cleaner that was just a box with a motor, but I had no issue returning either for a full refund. Got to keep the bubble floats, too, which was nice since in the set of 5, two worked. I don’t think I’ll buy anything that uses electricity off the site again, but for solid goods? Just fine.
Another data point in the same vein: I’ve picked up loads of great cycling gear from AliExpress for a fraction of what it would have cost me buying it locally. I also picked up a great set of scales for my coffee brewing.
You definitely have to be more careful about what you buy, as the default option on AliExpress is basically to get garbage - at least if you choose cheap stuff - but some very good stuff can be bought there.
Fwiw, I get all my fishing supplies off Ali Express and that’s been a great way to get everything I need at a far lower cost than I could locally. I can get products meant for the Japanese market that simply aren’t available here. It’s literally the same stuff otherwise, just cutting out the big box store middleman.
Even if it is “knock off”, I’ll tell ya with confidence the fish don’t give a fuck.
I‘d say Aliexpress is still one credibility layer above Temu, Shein and wish
Another fwiw I’ve gotten two crap products off Ali Express, a set of bubble floats that were clearly manufacturing defects and a glasses cleaner that was just a box with a motor, but I had no issue returning either for a full refund. Got to keep the bubble floats, too, which was nice since in the set of 5, two worked. I don’t think I’ll buy anything that uses electricity off the site again, but for solid goods? Just fine.
Another data point in the same vein: I’ve picked up loads of great cycling gear from AliExpress for a fraction of what it would have cost me buying it locally. I also picked up a great set of scales for my coffee brewing.
You definitely have to be more careful about what you buy, as the default option on AliExpress is basically to get garbage - at least if you choose cheap stuff - but some very good stuff can be bought there.