Smart wall switches (also available from Digitec at twice the price)
PCB stand-offs
A Raspberry-Pi suitable UPS
A few Sonoff wifi switches and temp/humidity modules.
A set of miniature screws (I'm always losing spectacle screws)
There some great stuff on there if you only plan to use something a few times - like a cable tracer/ethernet tester for under 20 CHF.
But yes, lots of the stuff is really bad quality.
Smallest items are sub-1CHF (e.g. USB charging cables)...
The most expensive I've ordered waere pipe crimping tool + all the bits (150chf or so, costs a few thousand in Switzerland) or mobile phones (9T pro)... these will be soon exceeded as I'm ordering a 3D printer this weekend.
It's "fun" as every now and then I see things in stores/galaxus that I had ordered a few months before on ali... e.g. the USB evaporative coolers. 15chf on ali, 80chf on galaxus...
LED bulbs and LED strips I now source exclusively on ali... I've been playing with some wifi mesh systems, and grabbed one from ali for 60chf... need to find time to test it.
Generally, you can find both ends of the quality spectrum - the cheap tat and the better quality one. The hard part is figuring out which is which before you order.
I also have a constant stream coming in. Nothing came for me May and June, but last week they started arriving. From what I heard, a big hold up was the lack of passenger flights where they can toss some post in. Some stuff got re-routed, some had to wait for room on flights.
Also, I saw a few sellers with stock in Spain, so will probably get it shipped to Waldshut and pick it up a few days later. Will save on taxes and get it faster.
https://macewen3d.com/collections/up...4-and-cr-10-s5
don't go for a cheap one from aliexpress - they are junk
Springs you don't need, the ones on it are fine
Glass bed - also wouldn't bother with, just adds weight
Many items look also identical to what's sold on amazons, just out of the same factory but with a significant price difference.
On the other hand some things are not worth waiting imo - e.g. honor or huawei armbands. Discounting for tax they end up to be of similar price from amazon.de
- electronic parts/switches
- some computer equipment
- socks for my kids (costs 10x less and better quality then ones i bought in store)
- electronic components (super cheap and some parts are either hard to source elsewhere or cost multiple times more)
- tools or parts for home improvement (e.g. ordered a 50cm concrete drill bit)
- wall mount for monitor (same model as in store but 1/2 price)
- light fixtures
- audio cables
- built-in soap dispenser for kitchen
- 9v switch mode power supply
- hdmi capture card
- lens adapter for camera
- usb numeric keypad
to be honest, i started buying only electronic components that literally cost <$1 delivered for a pack of 10/100 compared to a much higher price and double digit delivery costs from other companies.
as i got more comfortable with the platform, i started buying higher value items and a wider variety of items.
What I have noticed though, is the economics of it have changed recently. Earlier, most things were delivered at no cost. Now, if you buy an item at, say, 1 CHF, the delivery charge is 3 CHF. However, if you buy 10 items at 1CHF, the delivery charge can be 30 CHF. That is, there is seems to be now no concept of a discount because all the goods are anyway going into the same shipping bag.
I generally structure my orders so that they fall comfortably under the limit at which VAT and disproportionately high administration costs cut in. I don't (yet) buy expensive items, which would be a hassle to return, if necessary.
In the beginning, it was big bags of caps and resistors as I got fed up with never having the correct value or having to pile up two or three to get that value.
Like an expensive item + a fastening bolt, or just the bolt alone: Price 0.03$ - 100.03$. And it ends up first if you sort by cheapest.
Ordered Thursday afternoon, and it got delivered by DHL on Saturday morning... I was really impressed.
aliexpress are pretty dumb with a lot of stuff. if it were me, i'd rank based on the most expensive item to stop that behaviour.
I usually take the suggested shipping method, but when I do look at the option DHL is super expensive (depending of course on what is being sent)
Mostly no issue buying direct from China, and generally ordering items with a value below the tax threshold is not a problem. Where it's above - so be it. A few observations worth sharing:
1. In c.30 low cost-ish Aliexpress orders I have experienced:
1x damaged - refund pending
1x Not fit for purpose - refund issued
1x Not as described - refund issued
1x different colour turned up but I didn't escalate
2. In a high cost mobile phone order I placed on DHGate I seem to have experienced a scam where a Swiss-destined tracking ID is issued but the delivery area which received it is Luzern. I hope I will get a refund on this in due course.
3. I bought a robot hoover which is great and buying it from aliexpress was the cheapest way to buy it. However the % incremental cost to buy it from Amazon Germany when all was said and done on import charges means I could have got it quicker and with less hassle for not much more.
I general and in future I will do the following:
1. Buy from Shops/Ricardo/Amazon DE where possible
2. Seek only to buy direct from China <~$50 items which you can't really mess up manufacturing and which look like they will survive the postage experience. Bear in mind that packaging on items is hit and miss. Sometimes (rarely) massive overkill. Often minimal or blatantly inadequate. Have you ever heard someone say the latter about Amazon?
It arrived today, still recovering from the shock.
Recently I have bought stainless steel taps and other SS items, shoe innersoles, Bluetooth speaker and they have a very good selection of rhodium plated silver jewellery.
The only serious problem was a DAB adapter for my car radio which failed after some months, it was only CHF 20 so no big deal.