OT: Pitfalls of online purchases (Was Re: Mouse single click handling?)

["Alexander V. Makartsev" <avbetev@gmail.com>]

On 19.12.2023 23:48, Felix Miata wrote:

> Can you suggest any particular online source in North America that sells those
> switches? I had no success trying to refurb one in my invaluable Logitech Trackman
> Marble FX PS/2 trackball. It took 2 hours to get that tiny switch back together
> after disassembly and cleaning. :( A Kensington Orbit I had much better luck with
> cleaning, so didn't need a new switch.
>     
    I can't unfortunately.
    
> AliExpress is reputable? That's news to me. I ordered something from it 20 months
> ago. There was a lot of back and forth email between us before I actually got
> something a month later that turned out to be used rather than new, and just as
> broken as the original part I was trying to replace. My credit card company
> eventually issued a refund after I explained all that happened. That particular
> card I rarely used, and hadn't for a number of months before that online purchase
> or for several months after. 3 months or so after the refund, there were 4 cash
> advances issued on it totaling around $8,000 on the other side of an ocean I had
> never crossed. Those got reversed, but my credit rating dropped 100 points and
> hasn't come near recovering.
>     
    I share information only about my own experiences with AliExpress.
    It might be very hard to find a good and reliable store there, but
    at least their official support and "dispute-system" are working
    fine.
    The important part is that you have to keep all transactions,
    communications, chats within AliExpress platform.
    Never agree to switch to email or any other resource for
    conversations with sellers. It's just asking to be scammed and
    AliExpress official customer service will be unable to help you.
    I had to open disputes a few times and usually AliExpress officials
    step-in and resolve the dispute in customer's favor, unless the
    dispute is unreasonable and there is no evidence.
    The whole shopping experience there could be daunting, there is
    simply too much stores and wares to choose from and their site is
    not helping, by being difficult and slow.
    IMO it is too much of a risk to buy anything expensive there, given
    that postal service might smash the package during delivery, but
    ordering something like electronic components, hand tools, repair
    equipment, spare parts, etc, should be fine.
    I had to order spare LCD screens and fragile repair equipment from
    reputable shops a few times. All delivered without damages.
    Sometimes shops send items with a wrong part number, I had to start
    disputes explaining the problems and return items back. All returns
    were refunded back to my debit card.
    I've never encountered any problems with payments or refunds, and
    their Escrow-account protection ensures that money will be released
    to the seller only after customer has received what they ordered.
    I've heard there is a frequent "carder" and "skimmer" problem in the
    United States [1], so those issued card advances you had might be
    nothing to do with AliExpress, if you paid using their platform.
    Anyway, I've used many cards throughout the years to pay for goods
    on AliExpress and never encountered any suspicious activities.
    I also extra careful when I have to reveal my card information
    online and when I use ATMs.
    
    
    [1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/?s=carder+skimmer

--
With kindest regards, Alexander.

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