SerenaxD
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Posts
- 214
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- 671
See this is exactly what I was warning about. The overexcited froth on these Chinese IEM threads always seemed suspicious to me since listening in a month or so ago, at least compared to the more critical parts of head-fi that led me to my Koss KSC75 (long time ago) and Senn HD600 (more recent), both of which I love. People's judgement in those other threads I found has generally been excellent and much appreciated. But I've dealt long enough with Ali and Ebay China to know that my Easy transaction on Ali was the same as most other sellers, nothing special (shipping marked days before it actually shipped, wrong number of tips in the package, and the other Easy headphones (not the thread that got locked) that I guess I can't mention anymore that were nothing special imo).
And the fact that 'Brian' couldn't even spell his name right was a red flag. Potential buyers, take this as a warning - dealing with China is dangerous. Low quality control in the factories, often (not always) low customer service, and often zero integrity and sometimes outright scams or fopping you off if there's a dispute (although Ali and Ebay will step in).
It's the price you pay for the low price. If you're willing to roll the dice and know your dispute rights it can be OK though.
In a way this case was an example of how even spreading by mouth isn't the safest method - I was legitimately about to buy one of the IEMs that shall not be named and then this whole fudgecake mudpie thing happened. I'm from HK (not really China, but China, if you get what I mean) and I'm sometimes frustrated by Chinese sellers' attitude towards their trade as well. I've run into my fair share of issues, but as long as you know where to look (e.g. as @audio123 said, VE is one company that has integrity) and stick to more reputable Chinese IEM sellers, I doubt there'll be as many issues.
The QC though, I agree. As wonderful as some of these IEMs sound I think QC is the issue and why these IEMs are less pricey than others - they may make good sound, but it never sticks around consistently enough. Again, it's a matter of knowing where to look. I actually remember seeing a Taobao (the domestic version of Ali) guide on "how not to be scammed" somewhere - I should try digging it out. It's worth reading even though it doesn't directly pertain to Ali.