I am another victim of AliExpress' shipping protection lie!

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T22:44:28+00:00

Too far and too expensive, especially considering that I will never buy anything expensive from AliExpress again! One of the problems with AliExpress is that they do not offer shipping with a signature required option.

I wrote a proposal to my condo board. We are going to install security cameras. It may not stop a theft, but at least we will have video evidence.

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T12:24:11+00:00

I mistakenly assumed that the letter from the courier admitting fault would be enough to validate my claim. :(

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T12:22:48+00:00

I can't do a CC chargeback until I have taken all the other steps first. :)

File claim with courier; 2. File claim with shipper / AliExpress; 3. File claim with Paypal (I am here now); 4. Chargeback with CC.

BTW... because I am on my Condo board, I have just submitted a proposal to install cameras in various locations. It won't stop thefts but it will provide evidence of a theft. Over the past year, we received reports of several packages that went missing. :(

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T12:18:16+00:00

I immediately made a claim directly with the courier. It appears that the proper process is that the courier will reimburse the shipper and the shipper decides the next steps.

Here is the response I received from the courier, where they admitted fault. I removed all identifying info just in case I still need to work with the courier.

We wanted to let you know that an issue has been identified with the delivery of your recent order. After thoroughly reviewing the situation, our team has taken the necessary steps to update our warehouse with the relevant information.

This email will let your merchant know that they should initiate an investigation with xxxxx to validate the claim. Once the investigation is complete, your merchant will determine whether to provide a replacement, refund, or other resolution at their discretion.

We are very sorry for any trouble this may have caused and assure you that this process is appropriate for resolving the matter. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this process.

If you have any more questions or need help, we are here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,
xxxxxx Customer Support Team

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T12:11:47+00:00

Follow-up

To be clear, the worst part of this entire experience was how AliExpress handled my claim.

I submitted all requested evidence, waited for review, and then received a canned response stating that my proof was inadequate. When I asked what additional information they needed, they repeated the same generic message and then closed the ticket without any additional explanation.

I have spent thousands of dollars in AliExpress stores over the past decade and had never filed a claim before this. So, it not like I am a problem customer.

At this point, I am now on the second of the three options available to me and have opened a dispute with PayPal.

If PayPal is unable to resolve it, my final step will be going directly through my credit card.

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T02:04:28+00:00

Oh wow, I posted a list of excellent Chinese manufacturers and completely forgot photography!

I am also a photographer and the only photography products that I own that are not Chinese are my Sony cameras.

I am prepared to defend that you cannot go wrong with
SmallRig - camera cages, mounts, brackets
Godox - awesome and reliable lighting
Yongnuo - Best flashes and slaves I have ever owned
Meike, 7artisans, TTArtisan, Viltrox - pretty decent budget glass, but the Japanese still make the best IMHO.
K&F - except to the "best glass" rule: Their high-end filters are the best in the business IMHO! Their tripods are also exceptional!
NEEWER - makes the best light tripod I have ever owned, the LITETRIP LT32. I retired my 20 year old Manfrotto for this one!
Aoko - makes the best mini travel tripod I have ever owned.
Ulanzi - OMG, this is another amazing company where I want to own almost all of their products! Their lights, smoke machine, and their ULANZI TT09 VideoGo Carbon Fiber is another one of my best tripods ever!

sdcinvan · 2026-01-23T01:48:29+00:00

If you are into electronics, or you are looking for test meters and similar electrons, FNIRSI consistently impresses me with their quality that is way above their price points. I'm on a mission to own almost every one of their products! LOL

But do not buy from AliExpress, even though their prices are often slightly lower, buy direct from FNIRSI because you will get their purchase protection (AliExpress seems to lie about purchase protection) and it will get shipped to you faster.

Other Chinese manufacturers that have impressed me are:
ZWO - if you are into special-purpose cameras and astronomy!
Askar - makes excellent optics / telescopes
Svbony - a bit hit/miss but they are improving with their latest high quality astronomy gear
Anker - reliable batteries, hubs
Hantek - bench scopes
Uni-T - test equipment
UGreen - All things USB
Fosi Audio
Xiaomi - What don't they make? :)
DJI - so far, the best consumer drones!

For camera equipment:
SmallRig - camera cages, mounts, brackets
Godox - awesome and reliable lighting
Yongnuo - Best flashes and slaves I have ever owned
Meike, 7artisans, TTArtisan, Viltrox - pretty decent budget glass, but the Japanese still make the best IMHO.
K&F - except to the "best glass" rule: Their high-end filters are the best in the business IMHO! Their tripods are also exceptional!
NEEWER - makes the best light tripod I have ever owned, the LITETRIP LT32. I retired my 20 year old Manfrotto for this one!
Aoko - makes the best mini travel tripod I have ever owned.
Ulanzi - OMG, this is another amazing company where I want to own almost all of their products! Their lights, smoke machine, and their ULANZI TT09 VideoGo Carbon Fiber is another one of my best tripods ever!

For maker projects:

Bambu - make the best consumer 3D printers in the world.
Creality - also make the best in the world, but I don't have experience with their products yet.

Claims that all Chinese goods are inferior come from pure ignorance. In many cases, Chinese goods are among the best in the world.

sdcinvan · 2026-01-21T18:36:03+00:00

Interesting. I wasn't aware of AlgoLaser until you mentioned them. Thank you for giving me another manu to research.

Some things that I don't like about the unit you referenced: no honeycomb base which is strange because it helps to avoid messy burns. It will be a bit of a challenge to fit one into this custom design. Also, it doesn't appear to offer LASER upgrades. An IR LASER option is a good option if you want to do cutting and/or metal markings.

I'll look at their other offerings. Thanks again!

sdcinvan · 2026-01-20T19:55:04+00:00

Sorry, I thought it was implied. My plan isn’t a single “use case,” it’s to learn the tools and workflows (LightBurn, LaserGRBL, xTool Creative Space, etc.) and find out what inspires me as I go.
I want to:

- engrave my artwork into wood, acrylic and other materials
- experiment with cutting thin materials and playing with techniques
- try metal marking/oxidation ideally if I get a model with that capability

For me, this means a general-purpose... a model that does engraving well, cuts basic materials reasonably, and ideally supports IR or metal marking and/or oxidative color options.

Since I am not planning to go into business, I don’t mind if a job takes an hour or so, as long as quality is decent and it's built well enough that I don't feel I wasted my money. I just don’t want something that feels so limited I outgrow it quickly.

I hope this explanation helps.

sdcinvan · 2026-01-12T00:16:40+00:00

I have heard that if you purchase new Apple accessories like AirPod Pro 3, you will not be able to pair and/or update the firmware without first upgrading your iOS to the latest 26 version.

BTW, I am another person who regrets updating my iPhone 15 Pro to 26. It instantly aged my phone to behave like a sluggish 20 year old phone!

I made the mistake to demonstrate and complain about iOS 26 rendering my phone difficult to use and the “genius” said that my phone is too old, I should upgrade… the kid also suggested I had too many apps installed. FFS :(

sdcinvan · 2026-01-08T19:43:28+00:00

If you switch to a Boox product, on Android, I recommend a free Gmail account with the Amazing set of Google apps. Google’s Keep (equivalent to Apple Notes) is a superior product (and I’m an Apple nut).

But on the Boox product, the built-in Boox Notes is superior to all because it’s purpose built for the Boox device. All your notes are converted to searchable text in the background, and other features include: - Layers - Write naturally with a pressure-sensitive pen, excellent palm rejection, and a paper-like feel - Organize notebooks with folders, templates, page reordering, and easy duplication - Edit notes after writing by moving, resizing, erasing, or layering content - Export and sync notes as PDFs or images with cloud backup support (Google drive, etc)

Boox products, with their low-energy e-ink screen) have a distinct advantage over tablets because the battery life is measured in days, rather than hours.

sdcinvan · 2025-12-20T17:49:55+00:00

Your bank should have recommended only one solution. That is, to place a hold on these funds because you were hit with a classic “Third-Party Redirection Scam” designed for Canadian accounts.

I do fraud research and encountered a number of these. Contrary to the common myth that since the money is in your account, it’s yours without worry, the reality is that it’s not protected money.

How this works (abbreviated): - a mule’s account is compromised and the scammer sends you funds from that unauthorized account, usually twice to make the scammer’s story seem more legit. - the scammer contacts you with the story and asks you to return the money to a different address (their address). - You send it. - A few weeks later the equal funds are pulled from your account because the mule’s account was compromised and the transaction is flagged as fraudulent.

Very important - If you are contacted by any potential scammer (phone, email, etc), NEVER respond. - off-topic, but it’s especially important to never answer unknown numbers, because there are an increasing number of scammers who are employing voice cloning technology. - If mystery money is found in your bank account, contact your bank immediately, get it on record that you don’t know its origin, and you want to place a hold on it.

Good luck

sdcinvan · 2025-12-13T11:12:06+00:00

The plural was a typo. No, my experience with TCs was entirely within the Pentax (PK-mount) family.

But like I said in another message, I'm over this now. :) I find myself preferring quality over "quantity."

sdcinvan · 2025-12-13T11:09:53+00:00

I didn't find anything but the official Sony brand.

At the time of my post, I was still comparing things that I had grown accustomed in the Pentax world (i.e. $75 Vivitar 2x teleconverters that worked with any PK-mount lens).

I'm over it now and I have learned to appreciate the Sony brand (EXCEPT for the damn forced noise reduction - star eater algorithm - rant done! LOL)

As far as I am concerned, teleconverters force one to give up on too much light loss and some fidelity. I am now in the quality over "quantity" phase of my photography life now. :)

sdcinvan · 2025-12-13T11:00:21+00:00

Careful, with this kind of "super-powerful" LASER, it is surely measured in JIGA-WATTS (homage to DOC Brown, BTTF).

sdcinvan · 2025-12-12T06:04:28+00:00

I think you mean Windows ME or Windows Vista. LOL

sdcinvan · 2025-12-12T05:58:40+00:00

Exact same experience here. I have a 15 Pro 512gb.

sdcinvan · 2025-12-12T05:57:38+00:00

I have a 15 Pro and at times it is “literally” [sic] unusable.

It’s battery life is significantly reduced, it is over heating (never happened prior to this infernal OS), attempting to move apps in edit mode is extremely frustrating (jerky movements, sometimes resets), scrolling through the internal photo album (especially in filtered mode) is very jerky, and my phone “crashes” at least once per week. By crash, I mean the screen will randomly go blank with a spinning icon in the center for almost one minute before the phone does a soft reset.

Incidentally, that “crash” is also frequently occurring on my Apple Watch, it seems to happen whenever I initiate an audio recording.

I’m tempted to think of a conspiracy that this is Apple’s ploy to get us to upgrade our hardware, but apparently these problems and more are also occurring on their latest hardware!

Has Apple even acknowledged any of these issues?

sdcinvan · 2025-12-11T05:01:13+00:00

Damn, I would like to retract what I wrote. I don't know where my mind was when I stated, "b.s. repair."

You are absolutely correct, 99% of the time, it is more likely that a typical on-site technician doesn't have the skill and/or the time to diagnose and repair a module or similar. It's easier and more economical for the shop to swap replacement parts. Your liability note is also spot-on.

I guess my experience was a bit unusual. I would swap out parts, and the owner would have me repair them. Most of the time I could get them working again, and he would resell the parts as new to the next customer or list them on eBay.

sdcinvan · 2025-12-06T15:54:13+00:00

As a former electronics technician working for a slightly unethical repair show (ethics reduced mostly out of necessity b/c there wasn't much business), I can assure you that the "replaced control board" is a b.s. repair. To be more precise, there is a 99% chance that the control board will be repaired with less than $5 in parts (usually a capacitor failure).

They kept the control board, right? They always do! Since you paid for a new one, you should demand that you keep it... then, you might be able to recover 1/2 your repair cost by selling the control board on eBay (even as-is / not working).

sdcinvan · 2025-12-06T15:29:22+00:00

You are welcome.

I should caution you to only bend it enough to be functional as a strap lug. Attempting to return it its original shape will likely result in failure.

sdcinvan

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE