OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi guys!

This is my first thread. As the title says, I am interested in some feedback from people who have bought items from Chinese web stores. I'm not sure if similar topics are on the forums, so please say if this is a repeat thread!

I am interested in buying clothing first, and then if that is all fine, might consider blades.

I have looked up Aliexpress and Alibaba, and the thing that puts me off is no Paypal option, it's all Visa/other cards...and the sites look a bit dodgy. Has anyone had success with these two sites? I also looked up prott.cc, and he has some very good prices on clothing and other rubbers/blades. I am wondering what the quality of the clothing is...I know they are fake, so does the colour hold in the shirts, or is there a chance it will fade in the first wash?

With rubbers...I have looked up the fake 05s/25s/64s...and people think that they act like medium-high level Sriver...which seeing as the fakes are $10-15AUD, with free postage to Australia, seems like a pretty good deal. Does anyone have experience with these fakes?

And one last question, involving blades. Would fake blades be almost as good as the real ones? I couldn't see how much different blades could be...I was looking at a fake Zhang Jike blade for $25-30AUD, and am considering buying it to see how different it is.

Anyway, thanks for reading this post...just wanted to see whether there was any point looking in to the fakes, or whether it is always better to buy the original products.

BoyfromCoburg

_________________
Setup 1: RADAK DHS TinArc 5 DHS Sharping
Setup 2: Yinhe Offensive Andro Rasant DHS Sharping

I have not tried buying online from this website but I think Alibaba is credible.
But I would advice you againts buying fake tenergies. What you see is what you get.

_________________
Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Ok thanks for your feedback Red_Lion! I might have another look on Alibaba. Yeah, that is true about fake Tenergies. I just read a different review of one of them...basically said it was smooth, and the sponge was almost useless haha. Probably stick to the originals for rubbers...clothing and blades might be different.

_________________
Setup 1: RADAK DHS TinArc 5 DHS Sharping
Setup 2: Yinhe Offensive Andro Rasant DHS Sharping

Have a look at this thread viewforum.php?f=26

I've never bought from Ali express and would be wary. I'm sure most are fine but also expect that with the volume of sellers on there, like anything, some will be dodgy or be selling fakes as the real thing. I've no problem if fakes are being sold as fakes at least in the sense that the consumer is not being deceived and is making a choice. I'm not saying I agree with fakes being produced.

Two chinese sellers I've used are TTNPP and Eacheng. Both have had prompt service however shipping times can be painfully slow so expect weeks, sometime months, though you do get things sometimes in a couple of weeks, luck of the draw. Often I've worked out that for a few dollars extra its not worth mucking around with overseas and just better off to buy off tabletennisshop.com.au or another Aus seller, though every now and again can't resist the allure of a $4 rubber and am prepared to wait.

All the best with your new TT purchases, half the fun is the choosing and there are sooooo many things to choose.

_________________
Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

There's a lot of info posted online about AliExpress, in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21567

Yeah, no PayPal, but their Visa card handling seems quite good, haven't had any problems yet. You pay AliExpress, AliExpress holds the funds in escrow and then pays the vendor when you tell them the item has arrived. All shipments have tracking numbers, haven't had one go missing yet. Remember, they're trying to compete with ebay, who owns PayPal? Ebay. They're setting up their own "AliPay" system, but it's in its early stages. The "free" shipping takes 3-4 weeks but is tracked.

In that thread I list three "stores" that I have ordered a lot of stuff from - they're ALL the same company - Tianjin Guanghe Sports Equipment Ltd. a.k.a. Eacheng, which also operates the eacheng.net website, the "China-Friend" store on ebay and an eponymous "store" on Alibaba.com for buying HUGE quantities (usual minimum quantity there - 200 sheets of rubber). You can save significant amounts of money just by comparing prices of the same item on all these outlets - the prices are different even if it's the same company. Remember that the AliExpress and ebay store prices include shipping, the eacheng.net prices do not.

So far, I have not ever heard that Eacheng sells fakes, everything I've bought so far, as far as I can tell, is genuine, then again I don't buy expensive stuff like Tenergy.

I've tried other stores on AliExpress as well - some are obviously selling fakes. In most cases you can tell (Tenergy 05 for $7.50?), but it's probably best to avoid anything high-priced on stores you aren't sure about. For cheap stuff - like Corbor Reactor rubber for $3 a sheet - you'll find a lot on AliExpress (you have to buy 10 sheets to get that sort of price, though, and yes, it's good rubber).

As for ttnpp - I dunno - I put in a biggish order with them (about $70) almost two weeks ago but they haven't given me a tracking number yet. Something fishy is going on - so far no replies to my emails, either.

Iskandar

I think it's safe to buy from AliExpress. When you make a purchase, AliExpress charges your credit card and holds the money in escrow. The money is released to the seller only when you're satisfied with your purchase. I've only bought one item from AliExpress and I was happy with it so I don't know if the buyer protection policy actually works.

The biggest issue is determining whether the goods sold are genuine or counterfeit. Sometimes it's easy to tell, sometimes not, and sometimes even the seller doesn't know that they're selling counterfeits. For instance, there's one vendor selling Tenergy rubber who swears they're the real thing but the photos prove otherwise. If the product is significantly cheaper than what authorized retailers are selling them for, you can be sure they're counterfeit.

The one item that I bought was a pair of Butterfly Lezoline Sonic table tennis shoes (a very good copy, that is). The genuine shoes retail for about $100 here in the US but they're $54 from tt-japan and around $28 on AliExpress. I don't know if they're cheaper because they're counterfeits or because they were intended to only be sold in Asia or what but the quality seems pretty decent. Then again, I don't have a pair of genuine ones to compare them to.

Most Aliexpress stores are legit, just pick the store with good feedback. You don't need to buy fake anything. For example, Yinhe Moon or Mars II is better than Sriver and doesn't cost that much. The cloths are similarly comparable quality as long as you stick to chinese domestic branded (it's all made in china after all). However, even the fake apparel I've bought seem pretty good, but YMMV.

TTNPP is just one guy who has a decent website. I've had good luck but sometimes he gets behind.

Thanks everyone! You have all been a great help!

_________________
Setup 1: RADAK DHS TinArc 5 DHS Sharping
Setup 2: Yinhe Offensive Andro Rasant DHS Sharping

Eacheng
- cheap Chinese equipment
- totally safe and serious seller
- paypal
- arrive to Europe in 15 days

_________________
Blade: Yinhe (Galaxy) W-6 (flared)
FH: Friendship Cream Transcend (2.0 mm)
BH: Friendship Cream Transcend (2.0 mm)

Except last year obiwan when it took over a month. Xmas is a very busy time for Chinese post. Long waiting times on things ordered October or later it seems.

_________________
Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Chinese New Year (late February - early March) is worst of all. Everyone's on a very long holiday.

Iskandar

Yes I remember that. I waited 44 days that time.
But it was only that time. I order all the time and it is always 10-20 days (for Europe).

_________________
Blade: Yinhe (Galaxy) W-6 (flared)
FH: Friendship Cream Transcend (2.0 mm)
BH: Friendship Cream Transcend (2.0 mm)

Yes, we both ordered late Oct. Mine took 57 days.

_________________
Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm