AliExpress - anyone use them?

[Scarletpimpofnel]

I'm looking for a new HDD and saw this on AliExpress. It seems very cheap for a branded item, but excludes import taxes/VAT etc as far as I can tell.

Is AliExpress reputable or is it all knock off, these seems to cheap for a branded HDD -

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007610687897.h...

[FourWheelDrift]

256 TB SSD for £18.79.

When you've bought it come back to me, I have these magic beans you might be interested in.

[wyson]

Be fair, that Aliexpress seller might have a time machine and brought those back from the future.

[.:ian:.]

Most of the stuff on aliexpress is fine and if you pick choice shipping its really quick.
However all those storage devices are fake, they contain a small sd card but with faked capacity, it will accept files forever and just overwrite data.

[ARHarh]

.:ian:. said:

Most of the stuff on aliexpress is fine and if you pick choice shipping its really quick.
However all those storage devices are fake, they contain a small sd card but with faked capacity, it will accept files forever and just overwrite data.

I agree I buy a lot from Aliexpress and Temu. Read the description properly and be aware. You can buy exactly the same stuff as you get on Amazon or eBay for a lot less. It will be delivered within 7 days, unlike eBay these days which can take as long or longer from 20 miles away. Aliexpress is a very good outfit to buy from, superb parcel tracking, vouchers if the parcel is delivered late. I use them over eBay and Amazon these days.

As for the drive it is obviously fake, if it quacks like a duck etc.

[eeLee]

If you read the text, they appear to be 2Tb drives.
Anyway....Aliexpress and DX both have long delivery waits, typically. I prefer Temu which takes just over a week.

If you take the plunge, you can verify whether the capacity is real or not: https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm

[ARHarh]

eeLee said:

If you read the text, they appear to be 2Tb drives.
Anyway....Aliexpress and DX both have long delivery waits, typically. I prefer Temu which takes just over a week.

If you take the plunge, you can verify whether the capacity is real or not: https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm

Aliexpress deliver within 7 days, sometimes offer 5 days. Again this will be in the description, it can be longer if supplied by a 3rd party. Easily as quick as Temu.

[Riley Blue]

No one on PH will admit to buying from them, oh no...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[LuS1fer]

I've bought a few items but mainly cheap tat that was, not unexpectedly, cheap tat.

A divider for an MX5 storage compartment - flimsy but does the job.

Small rubber coasters for the drinks receptacles in the car - better than I could do for a few quid. A universal rubber cover for a wiper spindle - lol

They were all slightly late deliveries so they immediately give you a small credit to encourage you to return. I didn't.

[Scarletpimpofnel]

eeLee said:

If you read the text, they appear to be 2Tb drives.
Anyway....Aliexpress and DX both have long delivery waits, typically. I prefer Temu which takes just over a week.

If you take the plunge, you can verify whether the capacity is real or not: https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm

That link was an interesting and worrying read. So an advertised 2TB drive often appears to be 2TB, saves the file name/structure (but no contents) so all looks well. A really useful link thanks.

In your first line when you say 2Tb, I guess you are drawing attention to the Tb rather than 2TB?

It's unbelieveable to me that the likes of eBay, AliExpress, Amazon can sell fraudulent stuff and if the buyer is lucky they might be able to return the item. But there seems no way to report it to the site who should then immeditaely take that seller down. Local UK trading standards would be a waste of time.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

.:ian:. said:

Most of the stuff on aliexpress is fine and if you pick choice shipping its really quick.
However all those storage devices are fake, they contain a small sd card but with faked capacity, it will accept files forever and just overwrite data.

It's been happening for years, I remember about 15+ years ago buying Chinese MP3 players on eBay and finding they had done the same thing. Once you had used up the actual capacity it started erroring.

Like most stuff from China it was just landfill fodder and I ended up bending it in half as it was so crap.

[Speckle]

I've used them. I bought a sequential shifter for my sim rig setup. It was incredibly cheap (circa £30) so, I wasn't expecting much but, its an absolutely superb bit of kit!

[TX1]

Have bought loads from them, mostly audio cables and things to do with hifi, never had any problems and the tracking is fantastic.

[jimmyjimjim]

Scarletpimpofnel said:

In your first line when you say 2Tb, I guess you are drawing attention to the Tb rather than 2TB?

It was more the '256Tb' which when compared to the price was clearly BS. 256Gb for that price is more likely. And getting 2Gb delivered is more likely still.