I've done a bit of shopping online, mainly from Amazon, including a fair few power tools. My experience has almost always been excellent. I've also bought stuff from ebay, sometimes with mixed results. I remember I once bought and paid for a CAS calculator for my daughter, but after a significant delay without receiving anything and chasing the buyer a number of times. I was sent a calculator which didn't work, and was obviously used, contrary to what was advertised. Luckily I was able to trace the sender's address from the post, and I went to his house and forcefully demanded my money back.

Obviously this isn't possible if the buyer lives outside Melbourne, which would be the case if I buy from China. I have bought on ebay from Chinese sellers. Goods were always delivered, though some time with up to 6 weeks delay and the quality of the goods were not always what I would have expected. I will always pay through paypal so they will never get my credit card details and I get an extra level of protection. I never buy anything too expensive.

Today while surfing on the web to get some alkaline batteries for all those remote controls, etc. I came across these Bty AAA rechargeable batteries, for 50c each which must be cheaper than the disposable alkaline ones. I have come across Bty batteries, the genuine ones are of very good quality. I'm not sure they are the genuine one. But since postage is free and the cost is reasonably small. I decided to take the plunge - 12 AAAs, 12 AAs, and one Li-ion for my mobile phone, all for the princely sum of 21 USD.

While waiting with baited breath to see if something useful will come my way, I'm wondering if other people have good , bad or indifferent experience with buying online from China.


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