Aliexpress Marketplace practices, be for warned.

well your dealing with Aliexpress what did you expect. 

We wanted to do a cable review real vs fake.  Guess they didn’t like that idea. 

Just posting to help others spend more wisely. 😁

When Alibaba and DH-gate wasn't part of ebay you can resell lots of stuff from there. Some of vendors can screw you up, but overall at the end you get benefits and profits.

I have purchased ~ 6 different audio cables. Recently I ordered a I2Bus cable and realized it wasn't going to do I hoped, I tried to stop shipment but it was too late. They provided me with a free return label and within a few says of dropping it off for return my CC was credited

That is good to hear. Let’s hope I can report the same.  But as for the moment they are non responsive to my emails or cancellation request.

Can't you contest the charge with your credit card company? 

My CC company is the process and they are trying to solve the issue. But being outside the country they say it’s more difficult.  Aliexpress is not on their best practices list.  Thank you for the suggestion. 

" I recently order fake Audioquest cables..."

Should have used a fake credit card...😁

It's easy to get a free return and refund for most Aliexpress purchases.

Hope so. 

They suck at returns or any customer service.

Once you give them money it’s like a donation.

If you get anything it will be crapola.

They have no company return policy

It is set by each vendor. And they have to pay up to Xi.

So far they have been non responsive.  At least my cc company is fighting it on my behalf.  

Shocking. 😳 

Ali is risky for sure but I have purchased tubes and recently a LHY clock.    No problems and fast shipping.  

It all depends on the vendor.  There are some sketchy one and some good ones.  I used PayPal each time.  

Yes I understood the risk , but was willing to take a chance , and that's what you are doing .

"We wanted to do a cable review real vs fake.  Guess they didn’t like that idea. "

How did they know that was what you were doing? Did you tell them?

Just what I was wondering.

Had two picks in the queue, and I asked a question to eliminate one. I used the communications button to narrow the choice. He seemed very helpful with advice. We talked about fake vs real cables. Bad choice of questions I guess?

I was just being tongue & cheek when I said he didn’t like my question. Actually he was eager to assist. Sure?

Aliexpress don't have return policy. See elsewhere to buy the same.

@thecarpathian LOL!

I too had a negative experience with aliexpress, I ordered a couple memory cards and a usd card adaptor, all mid line brand name items. Both cards were fakes, labeled as 256 gb but only 8 gb capacity. The card reader was partially defective, the memory card could be read but the extra usb port was useless. I was fortunate enough to get a refund but I didn't have the items that I wanted for music in the car. I think aliexpress is a dumping ground for counterfeit and fake chinese junk? 

I got a fake product, wanted to return it, but useless customer support were bouncing me around. Procedure is definitely made like that on purpose, so you can never get a refund. 

In the end, i opened a complain at paypal, uploaded photos of a fake product, explained that happened, and they refunded me fully. 

But yeah, Aliexpress is only for things you can afford to lose or not get any support. 

"...counterfeit and fake Chinese junk?", you ask?

This morning CNN carries the dogs-painted-as-pandas story.

Markets of appearance over substance, it would seem.

I don’t get it. You ordered from a foreign seller, known to be overseas. You deliberately ordered replica products. You changed your mind midstream. 
 

I can’t cancel Amazon if it’s shipped. Monoprice same. I recently ordered a $650 replica amplifier, came within 7 days, was well reviewed and many had sold. 
 

Caveat emptor. But to blame the vendor for not allowing themselves to be subject to the whim of a global market ignores why you are using that marketplace. 

I use Amazon too, almost for everything thing. 🙄.
Even they allow you to cancel within a certain time period after an order has been placed. True, if to late you have to receive and return but in these cases it just a trip to my local Whole Foods and the return is easily complete.

i do agree with “buyer beware”, but Amazon doesn’t have fake knockoffs, ie AudioQuest products.

BTW, Monoprice has good products. Good choice. 👍

Buy the ticket.. take the ride. 

Just bought Los Lobos tickets for January in my city. 🤘🏼

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007134936253.html

Ads like this are bordering on fraudulent if not over the line. They are misrepresenting that the product shown in the ad that they are offering to sell are Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cables. Maybe there is another habitable planet in some other solar system or galaxy that sells these cables for the advertised price in the ad, but you wont find the real deal on planet Earth for that price! These are knock off cables and you might as well go to Home Depot and buy lamp cord for a fraction of the price. Someone else said it above: caveat emptor which is latin for buyer beware. If it sounds too good to be true, then it is probably is fake.

Perhaps there is a disclaimer somewhere in the ad that says these are fake Nordost cables, but I didn't see it.

What also bothers me about the ad is that Alibaba is prepared to allow - or turns a blind eye to - third party vendors who advertise fake product on their website to unsuspecting purchasers. 

Just sayin'😫

Daytrader...

Thanks for being willing to A/B real/fake gear.

Even if you get what you paid for, which is not much...  WHAT A HEADACHE!  If the website states you can cancel, and they refuse, take a screenshot... your CC company can use it to expedite your refund.

ALSO - Fake-product dumping is unethical and illegal (think Trademarks, Tariffs & Safety issues - see U.S. Customs & Border Protection websites for details). 

IMO This entire community must avoid sellers  of fraudulent gear - FULL STOP.  As they used to say, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Very good information.  All documents have been screen shot and delivered to my CC company.  They believe by suspending payment, Aliexpress for the above reasons you state will not fight it.  Agree with all your commentary.  🙏

Just to fill in some details.  

I ordered the AQ digital coaxial for $180(Eagle Eye AQ product as advertised) which I was planning to compare against with my Supra, my DH Labs, my Wireworld 7 glass(just for kicks), a Blue Jeans cable and an Amazon special. 

Did I really think it was real, no.  Was I curious as to the sound, yes.  If received I do plan to send back if they do a full refund and they say within 7 days, the cost of shipping too.  Do I really believe this, no.  If my CC company can reverse payment, I will send it back on my own dime.  If none of the above happens, I plan to send it to a YouTuber that does these comparisons on video and let him listen then cut it open.  This might cost me $180 but it gives me the opportunity to share this story and let consumers decide what to do.  Thanks for all that have participated. 🙏
 

@inagroove  "IMO This entire community must avoid sellers  of fraudulent gear - FULL STOP"

See the link below , you'll be disappointed

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/counterfeit-chinese-cables/post?highlight=fake%2Bodin%2Bcables&postid=2619010#2619010

@facten -- I was heartbroken when Admin shut that thread down.  It was closing in on 1,000 replies -- an Audigon record I believe. 

Looked like garbage to me. 

@audiojacks 

Check the Specifications on the ad you linked - origin = Mainland China, and Brand Name = Yter.  Nordost cables are made in the USA.  Yter does appear to be a known and sold cable brand, but I have no idea if this is one of their products.

Unfortunately with the proliferation of on-line retailers comes a multitude of "bad actors" selling knock off inferior products.  As you have learned some of the internet sales sites are looking primarily at quantity and volume rather than genuine factory quality products supported by customer service and after the sale follow up.  Please let me suggest another approach to adding high end top quality speaker cables to your system and that is to fabricate them yourself.  It's an easy, much less expensive and satisfying audiophile activity.  I've use Mogami 3103, 3104 or Canare 4S11G depending on the system power/speakers, finished with either Viborg or the house brand terminals from Performance audio where I purchase my raw cable.  You might want to check out their website if you have not already done so. lots of neat goodies for diy audiophiles.  BTW you can assemble the equivalent of $1000 plus cables for less than $150/$200 depending on cable/termination selection. Oh and no soldering needed as all of the top quality terminal ends use either dual allen set clamping screws or compression clamping.  Hope you find my post helpful.

You speak of Blue Jean Cables?  Yes, they are good especially the star quad bi-wireable  Canare 4S11.  The G version is newer but their own customer service desk told me don’t sweat the non G version especially in 10 feet or less runs. 

Ya think.

A-M-A-Z-O-N

I would never buy something on Aliexpress even before I read your post. 

Thanx for the heads up, I sometimes see so called "deals" and get tempted DENEFRIPS DAC,  JAYS CD PLAYER but something inside me says "warning WILL ROBINSON!  warning" Glad you poste this and sorry it happens to anyone.

Finally!  Order was canceled and card has been refunded. 🐲

Thanks everybody for the suggestions and support.

D/T

There is no secret that scammers, retailers and manufacturer's with low regard for quality and want to make money fast, quick and easy prey upon all those people looking for deals. Let’s face it, very few of us say “cost is no object” and/or more importantly actually know how to seek quality made products (which includes knowing also what is a counterfeit product). Advertising and marketing are very slick in tricking consumers and getting their money. It’s amazing to what extent they  research how to get us to buy things….

CARDAS AUDIO. https://www.cardas.com/counterfeit

“…. Assuming you don’t work here (and statistically, you probably don’t), avoid AliExpress. They pretend to have a mechanism for reporting counterfeits, but it is littered with dead links and buttons that can’t be clicked. …

KIMBER CABLE https://kimber.com/counterfeits

”…Some things to look out for when purchasing Kimber Kable online:

1. Where is it shipping from? Any Kimber product shipping from Hong Kong or China is fake. Furthermore, any Kimber product shipping across any international border is probably fake.
2. Has the product been discontinued?
3. Is the packaging missing or incorrect?
4. ANY "Kimber Kable" from Alibaba or AliExpress is fake.
5. Any items selling as "new" or "multiple available" from eBay, Audiogon, auction sites, or 3rd party marketplaces should be considered counterfeit. We cannot cover these items under our factory warranty.…”

It's all for the cause Comrade

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Jack Ma, the head of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and China's best-known capitalist, is a Communist Party member, the official Party newspaper said on Monday, debunking a public assumption the billionaire was politically unattached.

The People's Daily revealed Ma's Party membership in a list of 100 people it said had helped drive the country "reform and opening up" process. Ma is China's richest man with a fortune of $35.8 billion, according to Forbes.

Are the comparisons to discover if the non-counterfeit items are possibly 'not the real McCoy'?. 

I’m torn about this. On the one hand we have legit cable companies selling their wares with (in some cases), literally, astronomical markups. On the other hand we have shameless copycats on AliExpress selling knockoff cables for orders of magnitude less money. So who’s taking advantage of consumers here? I’d argue both. I’d also be willing to bet that no one could tell many of these products apart in blind testing. Assuming similar materials and build quality, all the rest is a big basket of biases and placebos. I’m not saying that good cables don’t make a difference, they do, what I’m saying is that price is not the determining factor. More money does not equal better sound quality when it come to cables.

A good number of alibaba cables will probably be resold used as originals at some point in their lives, casting doubt on the used cable market in general which, perversely, benefits manufacturers of expensive originals.

The consumers of high end cables are not being taken advantage of. There is no one making anyone buy them. From my experience with them, while there are different flavors of sound, within a given sound type more money buys you better sound. If it is worth it to you is a decision you must make.

There are plenty of budget cables on the market, so manufacturing or purchasing fakes to me is unethical.