Are "Cheap" Websites Really Worth It?

[camcuber]

Most cubers are aware of websites such as dealexreme, dealperfect, popbuying, etc. Generally, people order cubes and puzzles from these websites because they believe that they are getting the same cube that they could find on cube4you or other popular puzzle websites. This is not always true. I have had a few encounters with these websites myself and let me tell you, it was not worth it. I have made a dealextreme order, a popbuying order, and a dealperfect order. It has been almost five weeks since my package was shipped from popbuying and it has still not been recieved and is untrackable. With dealextreme, I noticed that on my type (c) DIY kit, there were very noticible chips in the plastic and a few cubes were missing, not to mention the 4 week long shipping. After trying countless times to contact customer service and getting a response saying to send a picture I did and then would never get a reply again. So not I was stuck with chipped cubes and I was about 2 cubes short. I eventually let it go and just gave up. Dealperfect was actually okay except for the fact that I think that I recieved used products because my plastic appeared to be worn and the stickers were chipped severely. Same story with customer service. Hopefully I won't have a problem with popbuying assuming that my order ever comes. In conclusion, I think that in the long run yes, these "cheap" websites are good for some purposes but should not be turned into a primary shopping source like cube4you is for most people. What is your guys' ecperience with these websites?

 

[lilkdub503]

Well, you first have to contact PayPal or stir up discord in comments or forums. But you have to remember it is "free" shipping from a seller barely hitting the black.

 

[Edward]

With cheap websites, you get what you pay for. You can't expect much, and if there is a problem, PayPal can clear it up.

 

[Zubon]

There are some seedy websites but Paypal is your friend. If many people complain to paypal, they don't like it at all.

 

[PatrickJameson]

You do realize that you are just one of the unlucky ones, right? I've ordered dozens of times and have never had a problem with their service.

Another thing you have to think about is the price of cube4you. In some cases, it may be cheaper to buy two cubes from one of these sites instead of just buying from cube4you. I haven't bought anything from cube4you in a long time, since these sites started showing up, and will continue to keep these sites my primary cube source.

Also, can you format your post better? It's hard to read one giant paragraph.

 

[LNZ]

Apart from my storebrought Rubiks 3x3, 4 foam puzzles (frame to cube and back again) and 3 balls in slot in covered puzzle games, every puzzle product that I own has been brought online.

Most of it from Ebay. But the odd order from dealperfect, popbuying, v-cubes, cubeforyou and cubesmith.

And no problems with any puzzle online order ever. Even the Ebay sellers selling KO puzzles and online cheap stores like popbuying, etc.

Storebrought puzzle history

Rubik 3x3 cube: KMART store on Oct 22, 2007 at $18 AUD

Foam puzzles(4): $1 with a Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King) value meal in the mid 1990's and oldest puzzle products I own by far. If you want to know, I did sufficent excercise to burn off all the the fat on those 4 value meals.

Ball in slots in covered puzzle(3): Adelaide Show on Sep 8, 2009 at $2 each.

 

[Kxg]

Oh yeah, getting a cheap cube from popbuying is definitely worse than NOT GETTING what you pay for at c4y,

 

[camcuber]

You do realize that you are just one of the unlucky ones, right? I've ordered dozens of times and have never had a problem with their service.

Another thing you have to think about is the price of cube4you. In some cases, it may be cheaper to buy two cubes from one of these sites instead of just buying from cube4you. I haven't bought anything from cube4you in a long time, since these sites started showing up, and will continue to keep these sites my primary cube source.

Also, can you format your post better? It's hard to read one giant paragraph.

Yes, I totally agree with this and I am not trying to say that these websites are horrible and should ever be ordered from, but I think that they should have an alternate shipping options for people that want to recieve it faster and yes, the saying "you get what you pay for" is completely true in my opinion.

 

[aronpm]

I think you can purchase faster shipping (and a tracking number) in popbuying when you open your shopping cart.

 

[James Ludlow]

I ordered a couple of QJ tiled 4x4s from deal extreme a few months back, and other than the 4week shipping and delivery times I had, it was good. I wasn't too worried about the four weeks as the shipping was free, and the cubes were insanely cheap. Had I have wanted them quicker I know I coould have payed more - puzl.co.uk for example I could have had the cubes in 2days, for just £2 postage.

As for cube4you, I have never ordered from them as the skyhigh shipping costs really put me off. I went to order a pyraminx, to find the shipping was more than the cube.

I ordered a A III from Dealextreme yesterday, and a Chess Magic from Popbuying, also yesterday, and am perfectly happy knowing that I may not see them this side of Christmas.

You can track them now for an extra USD2, so that gives some added security in the order I guess.

In all, I don't think that we can have everything at all times, and so I think that if your happy paying pennies for cubes on these sites, you should be equally as happy to wait for them to come. If you want them quicker, by all means use cube4you etc.

 

[Kxg]

Popbuying has way better customer support than c4u.

 

[daniel0731ex]

Popbuying has way better customer support than c4u.

+1



my poopbuying order came in a week. but dealextreme took 2 months to ship my order