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Bang(not so)good

deckofficer

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
94
Location
Northern & Southern California
Just over one month ago I placed my first order with Banggood for a higher end flashlight, battery charger and (4) 18650 cells. I had been hesitant in ordering from China but the good reviews here changed my mind. Plus the default setting for ordering included an insurance payment for each item ordered. So no matter my reservations I figured it would be a safe purchase. The flashlight and charger arrived but not the battery shipment. As of this date I have had 9 email exchanges with Banggood but no mention as to their action. They did produce a tracking number that had minimal entries and only showed arrival to US but didn't even mention the port. I have asked for the USPS tracking number for the package's movements here in the US but they haven't supplied me with that number. Any time I order from a domestic shipper they always supply via email the USPS tracking number.

I finally ordered the cells from a domestic shipper and was given a USPS tracking number and they arrived on the promised date at my local post office.

My take away from my first experience ordering from a shipper in China, I won't do it again. I consider myself lucky that the $180 light arrived even though the $20 worth of 18650 cells did not.

I'm not writing this to bash Banggood but rather a warning that if a shipped item is lost and you paid insurance on it from a domestic shipper, it is quickly settled instead of 3 weeks worth of email exchanges and no remedy.
 

MX421

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
Messages
656
Location
Texas
Couple things:

One, even some US shippers won't ship Lithium Ion batteries due to shippiing restrictions. That being said i have received such batteries in the mail, generally if they come in a case or flashlight, they can be shipped. Most places i order i usually order two and they provide a cheap plastic ase with it. This may lift shipping restrictions on the battery IMO.

Two, Chinese shippers, Banggoood or Gearbest usually send the items separately so you may indeed still get those batteries in a week or two. They usually send in a not very padded plastic bag/envelope and the shipping is very slow and not easily trackable (for you at least). Comparing a chinese shippper to domestic shipping is like comparing a bicycle to a Harley ...you pay a whole lot more for the latter but you get a better quality/service
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,351
Location
Dust in the Wind
- Lithium cells aren't allowed to be sent on airplanes. Only boats.
- USPS considers the tracking number the original shipper sent as the official tracking number.
- When folks order direct from China they need to understand that it aint like the US way.
- Often times things get hung up in customs, so until USPS actually takes physical possesion outside of customs the update won't show changes.
- When ordering from China expect as much as 6 weeks to receive it and hope for 3.
- Be aware that folks sending out items live under communist rules so they aren't always as excited to do a good job as those in free enterprise countries. Sometimes they get the tracking number wrong.

Ordering from main land China requires patience afterward.
 

deckofficer

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
94
Location
Northern & Southern California
Thank you for your reply MX421. I am aware of certain shipping restrictions on LiPo batteries as I'm sure Banggood is also aware. The (4) cells were purchased along with a plastic case. Their tracking reports the package was received in the States on 3-5-19 but that is the end of their tracking. I have asked twice for the USPS tracking number but have not received said number. Once in the USPS system there is no reason for 13 days in their system and no delivery. What purpose in having an insurance payment as a default setting in ordering items from Banggood if they don't respond to a claim?
 

MX421

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
Messages
656
Location
Texas
Ordering from main land China requires patience afterward.

This id definitely good advice for anything from China...LOL


Thank you for your reply MX421. I am aware of certain shipping restrictions on LiPo batteries as I'm sure Banggood is also aware. The (4) cells were purchased along with a plastic case. Their tracking reports the package was received in the States on 3-5-19 but that is the end of their tracking. I have asked twice for the USPS tracking number but have not received said number. Once in the USPS system there is no reason for 13 days in their system and no delivery. What purpose in having an insurance payment as a default setting in ordering items from Banggood if they don't respond to a claim?

I don't think i have had accurate tracking from anything from China. I usually set a limit of time to get the item to a minimum of one week from the last point i can file a claim with the method of payment. If i don't get it within that amount of time, i usually file a did not receive and get my card refunded. The couple times I got it after that point, i tried to contact the company to pay them for the item but was told by the company (can't remember if it was banggood or geerbest) that the insurance covered it on their end and not to worry about it
 

deckofficer

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
94
Location
Northern & Southern California
All replies very informative and I thank you for taking the time to reply. I'll have to exercise more patience in dealing with Banggood after these thoughtful replies. I will update this post if there are any changes.
 

scout24

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
8,869
Location
Penn's Woods
I am going to move this to Cheers and Jeers, even though the OP said it wasn't specifically a Jeer. Please keep us posted.
 

deckofficer

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
94
Location
Northern & Southern California
I am going to move this to Cheers and Jeers, even though the OP said it wasn't specifically a Jeer. Please keep us posted.

I have to ask why my post was moved from a category that was more on topic to my post, to this seldom viewed category? Had I come across a post like mine I probably would have passed on purchasing from a distributor in China. The only reason for my post was to give a heads up to other forum members as to my experiences with Banggood. Is there a reason you don't want forum members to know of any pitfalls when considering a purchase directly from China?
 

lightfooted

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
1,017
I have to ask why my post was moved from a category that was more on topic to my post, to this seldom viewed category? Had I come across a post like mine I probably would have passed on purchasing from a distributor in China. The only reason for my post was to give a heads up to other forum members as to my experiences with Banggood. Is there a reason you don't want forum members to know of any pitfalls when considering a purchase directly from China?

Advertisers? Honestly I don't know.
 

nbp

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
10,970
Location
Wisconsin
It's a dealer complaint/discussion, not a flashlight discussion. Thus, it doesn't belong in the Flashlight Discussion subforum. Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no *wink wink* dealer protection going on here.

I guess we could move it to the Dealers subforum if it really bothers you to have it in Jeers.
 

Nephron44

Enlightened
Joined
May 30, 2016
Messages
281
I have never ordered from China, but I have ordered hockey equipment from Canada. The Canadian Post tracking number is what the USPS also used, and once it hit the US, I got very minimal updates on tracking. Sometimes my orders are cleared very quickly (usually ordinary things like shirts and other clothing), but other equipment (like pads and gloves) sat in customs for quite some time. It all depends on the item and how backed up customs is that week.
 

deckofficer

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
94
Location
Northern & Southern California
It's a dealer complaint/discussion, not a flashlight discussion. Thus, it doesn't belong in the Flashlight Discussion subforum. Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no *wink wink* dealer protection going on here.

I guess we could move it to the Dealers subforum if it really bothers you to have it in Jeers.

Please don't move it again. I've only been a member CPF since 2012 but until now have never been to this part of the forum. That is why I posted in the Flashlight Discussion subforum for the largest possible audience. Posts have the ability to swing a purchase decision both ways. For example when I purchased the Emisar D4 Quad I had read the reviews and knew that it would taper down the lumens in 5 seconds and would get hot in about ten seconds. I bought it anyway because of the "Wow" factor of such a small form light putting out 3000 lumens. Since I knew ahead of purchase the drawbacks of this light I wan't a disappointed customer. The same can apply in the other direction when I bought the Nebo 400. I hadn't read a post that said this light had a very annoying PWM light flicker which would have killed the sale for me. Either Nebo raised the PWM frequency or my old eyes couldn't detect the flicker. As it turns out the Nebo is my most used and favorite light. All I'm trying to say is any forum should be an open exchange of ideas and observations so that other forum members can benefit from the combined experiences of others on the forum. From my viewpoint, had other negative experiences with buying from China been made more visible to the forum members I would not have purchased from Banggood. The posts that were visible to note the longer delivery times and I was OK with the longer wait. Had the posts mentioned goods not being shipped and the insurance and multiple email contacts provided no relief then I wouldn't have ordered from a China distributor. This post was just me being a nice guy and giving information that I would have liked to have before making a purchase decision.
 

nbp

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
10,970
Location
Wisconsin
Right, there was/is nothing wrong with your thread. It hasn't been edited, locked or deleted. It was simply moved to a more appropriate subforum. The Cheers/Jeers subforum IS where someone would look for reports about a seller, whether an individual or a large dealer. They would likely not look for it in a product discussion area. In any case, the Search bar will find threads regarding Banggood or any other topic in any subforum, so nothing is truly hidden for someone willing to take a few moments to search.

On topic, I do hope you get the rest of your order! It stinks missing items. :/
 

Mrmuckle

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 6, 2018
Messages
2
Just over one month ago I placed my first order with Banggood for a higher end flashlight, battery charger and (4) 18650 cells. I had been hesitant in ordering from China but the good reviews here changed my mind. Plus the default setting for ordering included an insurance payment for each item ordered. So no matter my reservations I figured it would be a safe purchase. The flashlight and charger arrived but not the battery shipment. As of this date I have had 9 email exchanges with Banggood but no mention as to their action. They did produce a tracking number that had minimal entries and only showed arrival to US but didn't even mention the port. I have asked for the USPS tracking number for the package's movements here in the US but they haven't supplied me with that number. Any time I order from a domestic shipper they always supply via email the USPS tracking number.

I finally ordered the cells from a domestic shipper and was given a USPS tracking number and they arrived on the promised date at my local post office.

My take away from my first experience ordering from a shipper in China, I won't do it again. I consider myself lucky that the $180 light arrived even though the $20 worth of 18650 cells did not.

I'm not writing this to bash Banggood but rather a warning that if a shipped item is lost and you paid insurance on it from a domestic shipper, it is quickly settled instead of 3 weeks worth of email exchanges and no remedy.

I ordered items a little earlier. I completely forgot that China grinds to a halt for New Years. The entire country (at least manufacturing) is shut down officially for about a week but people leave for their hometowns, party, head back to work. Takes another couple of weeks to gel up and running again. Meanwhile a log-jam of packages hits their postal system then ours. I finally got my stuff. Just took forever.
 

LAMPARITA

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 20, 2013
Messages
327
Location
USA
They offer three kinds of service:

GOOD - CHEAP - FAST

You can pick any two

GOOD service CHEAP won't be FAST
GOOD service FAST won't be CHEAP
FAST service CHEAP won't be GOOD

;) :thumbsup:
 
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