IS IT A SCAM

Hi

Anyone had any dealings with Aliexpress based in China. They are offering many model steam engines for sale at silly prices. Examples , a three cylinder compound for 21.08 or a twin cylinder with boiler for 35.62, both post free from China. Not sure if these are kits or assembled but either way to good to be true.

Mike

take a chance you might be lucky its worth a punt if its something you want

Aliexpress is a marketplace rather than a single seller, so what's on offer is a mixture of OK and suspicious. A proportion of the deals are dodgy, but it seems the majority are OK.

UK consumer protection is unenforceable if a purchase goes wrong because this is buying from abroad. And the goods may be untaxed resulting in nasty extra charges when the parcel is checked. Goods may not meet UK safety standards etc. It's risky.

I prefer to buy from UK suppliers. When I buy abroad to get stuff not sold in the UK, I assume in advance that I will be whacked for customs duty, and that either nothing or rubbish will arrive. All smiles when the goods arrive as advertised, but no tears if it fouls up. I understood the risk and chose to take it.

If you don't mind a gamble, go for it!

Dave

That does look suspicious but I think more likely cheapskate than fraudulent. The market would be too small to interest the crooks.

Unless of course the models have been stolen....

I'd not touch it with a barge-mouse.

Michael, double check that the unit price is not for a bulk order of say 500!

Paul

Would you really want to buy from a seller that does not even know how many cylinders are on the engine they are selling, photos are also of more than one engine so who knows what you may or may not get

The more well established and hopefully a bit more reputable far eastern suppliers have that 3-cylinder engine up for $799.99 so I doubt you will get one for 20 quid. $599.99 for the twin

Edited By JasonB on 24/08/2022 18:53:21

Ah I've got it now, when you open the 1tem it is showing £21.08 and there is a little photo of the wooden base with a red box round it.

Click the photo next to it for the 3cyl and prce is £750, click the one for the 2cyl and that is £550.

So question is do you want a bit of wood for £21

And to think that some members moan when us moderators remove links to these sites

Edited By JasonB on 24/08/2022 19:14:04

Hmmm, a piece of wood for £21.08. Sounds good!

Does say it's Rosewood, hopefully that is just the colour of the stain as CITES may not be too happy

It is sometimes very difficult to tell on Alley express exactly what it is you are buying, and how many, for the stated cost. I have had a few purchases from them that were very cheap and acceptable quality and the expected qty. However other orders were ultra low quality and wrong qty, or never showed up. Caveat Emptor in the wild west show that is Alley express.

The worst one was a pair of shoes my wife found there, and wanted to order. We ordered them at a reasonable but not low cost. 5 weeks later a box showed up with one left shoe. She's not good at hopping on one foot so overall this purchase went Tango Uniform fast. No response to refund requests or returns enquires - all of a sudden no one in their customer service dept speaks English! ( it's like a Benny Hill skit really)

I received an email informing me that some beautiful Ukranian girls were just waiting to meet me and make my life even more wonderful than it ever could be with SWMBO. As I was going to be attending the Huddersfield Jazz Guitar Festival, which co-incidentally was being held at the Ukranian Centre in the town, I thought that I might just meet a couple of these beauties there and that they would be all over me like a rash. Unfortunately it didn't happen and I had to be satisfied by listening to some incredibly talented musicians and a jazz rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem. Sometimes I think that these emails may just be a scam although I am sure that in my case the beauties must have been delayed at the airport due to a shortage of baggage handlers. Of course, that must have been the reason, I should have thought about it at the time!

Edited By Chris Crew on 24/08/2022 22:09:43

That takes topic drift to a new level, Chris .... are you sure you are replying to the right thread?

Well, I thought I was because I would like to think that with the amount of 'grey matter' that exists in the model engineering fraternity no one would ever be taken in by this nonsense and I thought I might have raised a wry smile along the way. But you are right, maybe I should leave comedy to the professionals. I really must investigate the possibility of getting a humour by-pass operation on the NHS!

As regards topic drift, I don't think this comes anywhere near the course navigated by a previous post of mine regarding how much it would be costing me to operate in the workshop. I think we entered the realms of coal versus nuclear versus the environment with some very long treatises on the pros and cons by some obviously well informed and technically well-educated people. All very interesting reading but most of it didn't come close to answering the question.

Bit like that game in I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue:

"This is the answer - what was the question?"

Chris,

I don’t think that’s quite fair regarding your how much does it cost me question, there were several answers giving you ideas on how to measure your electricity usage in the shed. How much that energy actually costs you if you measure it is in your court depending on how much your supplier is charging you and if on variable rate at what time of day you use it. You can estimate it from the ratings of your machines and lights and time the usage or you can measure as suggested. I don’t think anyone could have reasonably been expected to give you a quantified answer in £’s and p’s?

Personally it’s down to cost benefit. How much enjoyment do I get from making stuff and can I afford it, if I can pay the bills I can afford it so I don’t care what it costs. If I can’t afford it then I have to find other savings to support or pack it in.

Paul.

Paul, Yes, a fair cop, I hold my hands up! There was some useful practical advice provided initially, it's just that it seemed to drift into a very technical and controversial debate later on. I did actually find it all very interesting.

If you do go this route, I'd suggest not using a "prime" email address. You *will* get daily spam from AliExpress which you *won't* be able to turn off.

A gmail address will do - gmail's spam filter is pretty good and if you flag it as such will reliably disappear it for you on an ongoing basis.

I always pay for goods which are advertised on Amazon, Ebay, etc thru Paypal.

Their guarantee of a refund if goods are not received is good. I have had a couple of problems with goods not turning up and I got my money back.

this type of scam is common on Chinese sites - check the advertisement VERY carefully before commiting to buy.

The low price is designed to reel you in and desire to 'get a bargain' clouds your judgement.

If it is too good to be true............!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately being intelligent isn't enough protection on it's own because people - all of us - jump to conclusions.

The trap springs when the con seems right.

A man rings up claiming to be your bank; maybe he's knows something about you by harvesting data off the internet, legally or illegally. Worst case, he has your account number. Or perhaps he gets the name of the bank right with a lucky guess - not unlikely because most UK customers are with one of 'The Big Four'.

To reassure you he can quote the banks address and phone numbers, perhaps suggesting you hang up and ring back to be sure. When you do, the line is held open, so he can send you the recording of a dial tone, then ringing, and then he's back. Works because most people don't know how the phone system works, have hazy notions of banking methods in general, and probably no experience of bank security processes. Wait 10 minutes and then call someone else before dialling the bank, and remember most banks say 'WE WILL NEVER RING YOU'.

So, extra dangerous when the victim happens to be expecting a call from the real bank because they're already dealing with a concern. Cons haves an exceptionally good chance of biting when a fake call arrives in the middle of a real concern.

To achieve this, a mastermind sets up a call-centre with an auto-dialer continuously working down a list, or ringing random numbers. When someone answers, a human picks up runs through a script, which will occassionally hook someone. When the auto-dialer is working a list, the mastermind will have collected information that helps reassure the victim. As the danger of being successfully reassured rises the more they know, it's important not to blab private information on the internet.

Fraud and computer misuse are responsible for about half of all crime in the UK. Unfortunately the police have not been resourced to deal with it. The problem has been growing for 30 years without recruiting people, or providing equipment and developing skills. Governments are extremely good at passing impressive new laws and very bad at providing the resources needed to enforce them.

Dave