People have been tagging me of a lovely turtle ring on facebook. I decided to do a quick image search and check if any local seller has it; none does, but AliExpress kept coming up, and the prices were quite affordable, too.
The prices were so tempting I had to know if AliExpress was legit; consensus says yes, it works like Amazon and eBay, so just do as you normally do when buying online and exercise due caution. Investigate the shop you're buying from as thoroughly as you can, as well as the product you are buying.
Shop ratings are available. I considered only those with feedback score above 95%, preferably with thousands and thousands of ratings, if possible. XD And then I looked at the reviews of the products themselves.
My first order was a test, something cheap so if it fell through, I won't cry about it, haha. It went through but when I placed another order from a different shop, the transaction was blocked and I was required to send an appeal to have my credit card approved in their system again.
I read somewhere that it's one of their security features to flag suspicious activities usually associated with credit card fraud (ordering something inexpensive and if that goes through, start ordering more). Their requirements include bank statements for the credit card and valid IDs. I used a prepaid credit card so it was no biggie for me but phishing/identity theft is a real concern.
Since it's a prepaid card, I have no statement; I just took a screenshot of the last five transactions with minimal identifying info, available on the bank's site. For the copy of credit card, I blocked out the numbers except for the last four digits, the validity, and my name. I blocked out most details from my passport scan, as well as the main photo.
I think the appeal took a couple of business days to go through and be validated, so I went ahead and ordered again. :D
Since I chose the cheapest shipping available ($0.21 USD from the first shop and free shipping from the second), I was looking into one to two months of waiting. I did get a tracking number, but only for China Post, none for when it's left China.
I totally forgot about my AliExpress orders, they took so long, haha. When I remembered and checked their site, I found out that the Buyer Protection thing for my first order was going to expire in one day! I contacted the sellers but after work ended, I decided to just go wait for the post office to open and inquire if there was any way to check if the packages have arrived (I work nights now).
The post office usually sends a notice that I have packages but I didn't get any this time. When I got there, the lady at the counter said that I need to get a tracking number, so I handed her my printouts but she said that they can't use the tracking number indicated there, and showed me a sample.
I was at a loss, but then she asked me if they were mailed via ordinary mail. I said yes, and she said I could look up if my name is on their September logbook for ordinary mail. Yay!
For the record, I am appalled at how antiquated our postal system is. Everything was handwritten. There is no database where they can easily search and look up parcels.
I spent a good half-hour sweating my way through the log (it was hot and I refused to remove my hoodie). And finally found entries in my name! Apparently, I would've not received notice for the second package since my address written there was incomplete (I thought it was my fault or the seller's at first, but when I saw the package, the address was split between first and second lines, and only the second line was recorded on their book, so it was their miss); address for the first was correct and complete, though, so I don't know what's their excuse for that.
I paid Php 112.00 handling fee for each package, and so I have them now. Yaaaay!
I was disappointed with the cat pendant, since there are cloudy areas especially on the cat's face so you can barely see its eyes. The ring was a surprise; I was expecting it to look somewhat different being a knockoff and all, but it was actually quite good. I just don't have any idea if the black color will wear or fade (I had a The One ring, it was originally gold but there's no trace if the color now haha).
The earrings came in a small box, which was nice. The posts can be easily bent, but with the price, I'm not expecting anything else, lol. I've had more expensive earrings do the same.
Overall, aside from the wait time, exacerbated by our very slow PhilPost, I call my AliExpress experience a success.
The prices were so tempting I had to know if AliExpress was legit; consensus says yes, it works like Amazon and eBay, so just do as you normally do when buying online and exercise due caution. Investigate the shop you're buying from as thoroughly as you can, as well as the product you are buying.
Shop ratings are available. I considered only those with feedback score above 95%, preferably with thousands and thousands of ratings, if possible. XD And then I looked at the reviews of the products themselves.
My first order was a test, something cheap so if it fell through, I won't cry about it, haha. It went through but when I placed another order from a different shop, the transaction was blocked and I was required to send an appeal to have my credit card approved in their system again.
I read somewhere that it's one of their security features to flag suspicious activities usually associated with credit card fraud (ordering something inexpensive and if that goes through, start ordering more). Their requirements include bank statements for the credit card and valid IDs. I used a prepaid credit card so it was no biggie for me but phishing/identity theft is a real concern.
Since it's a prepaid card, I have no statement; I just took a screenshot of the last five transactions with minimal identifying info, available on the bank's site. For the copy of credit card, I blocked out the numbers except for the last four digits, the validity, and my name. I blocked out most details from my passport scan, as well as the main photo.
I think the appeal took a couple of business days to go through and be validated, so I went ahead and ordered again. :D
Since I chose the cheapest shipping available ($0.21 USD from the first shop and free shipping from the second), I was looking into one to two months of waiting. I did get a tracking number, but only for China Post, none for when it's left China.
I totally forgot about my AliExpress orders, they took so long, haha. When I remembered and checked their site, I found out that the Buyer Protection thing for my first order was going to expire in one day! I contacted the sellers but after work ended, I decided to just go wait for the post office to open and inquire if there was any way to check if the packages have arrived (I work nights now).
The post office usually sends a notice that I have packages but I didn't get any this time. When I got there, the lady at the counter said that I need to get a tracking number, so I handed her my printouts but she said that they can't use the tracking number indicated there, and showed me a sample.
 |
| Sample of tracking page (number at the bottom) |
I was at a loss, but then she asked me if they were mailed via ordinary mail. I said yes, and she said I could look up if my name is on their September logbook for ordinary mail. Yay!
For the record, I am appalled at how antiquated our postal system is. Everything was handwritten. There is no database where they can easily search and look up parcels.
I spent a good half-hour sweating my way through the log (it was hot and I refused to remove my hoodie). And finally found entries in my name! Apparently, I would've not received notice for the second package since my address written there was incomplete (I thought it was my fault or the seller's at first, but when I saw the package, the address was split between first and second lines, and only the second line was recorded on their book, so it was their miss); address for the first was correct and complete, though, so I don't know what's their excuse for that.
I paid Php 112.00 handling fee for each package, and so I have them now. Yaaaay!
I was disappointed with the cat pendant, since there are cloudy areas especially on the cat's face so you can barely see its eyes. The ring was a surprise; I was expecting it to look somewhat different being a knockoff and all, but it was actually quite good. I just don't have any idea if the black color will wear or fade (I had a The One ring, it was originally gold but there's no trace if the color now haha).
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| Cat pendant |
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| Turtle ring and earrings (bought separately) |
The earrings came in a small box, which was nice. The posts can be easily bent, but with the price, I'm not expecting anything else, lol. I've had more expensive earrings do the same.
Overall, aside from the wait time, exacerbated by our very slow PhilPost, I call my AliExpress experience a success.
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