Using Alibaba to source cocoontech supplies?

Somehow I never really trusted that whatever I might order would actually be delivered, or would actually match what was advertised, or that it would arrive un-defective.  However, now that's it's a multimillion dollar NYSE listed company, maybe I just wasn't giving it a fair shake.  I still haven't done a transaction on it though.  For those that have used it to buy cocoontech-like stuff, how has it gone?   Successes/failures?

You will get it, it will just take forever...

Same experience here, I've ordered a few times and never had a problem but have seen it take weeks to receive the item. I once found an lcd panel for a remote control radio transmitter on alibaba that was not available from the radio manufacturer. It's not my first stop but if I can't locate an item I'll go there.
 
Mike.

Here found my NAS box on Alibaba.  I ended dealing directly with the company in China.  They were very pleasant and I got my stuff shipped within one week via DHL at a reasonable price not using Western Union.
 

 
On the other hand also tried to get an inwall touchscreen via Alibaba from a company called Sibo. 
 

 
They only wanted to do the Western Union money thing.  I did notice though that the Salesgirl was subcontracted from Malaysia and only was allowed to "follow the rules" relating to Sales.  She wrote up an invoice and started to chat about one of her peers going to pick up the money at a local Western Union office in China.
 
She was pleasant.  We video Skype'd a few times.  After a bit she mentioned to me that there was a reorganization of the company going on and the "rules would change" in the future.
 
The endeavor though turned to be a "not wanting to deal" with this company for anything.  (IE: they are on my s list).
 
Yesterday tried to order an automation trinket directly from a company (well too they are on Alibaba).  Their web site though trashed out at the point of payment.  I thought it might have been my browser and tried using other browsers and saw same issues.

I think that shipping times and routes are dependant on what the item is and who is sending it. I had a notebook pc leave Lenovo in China to the pacific northwest and then fly to me on the east coast in about five days. But the lcd panel from a retailer unknown to me went through Europe and took weeks to get here. They were both China post handed off to USPS as I recall.
 
Mike.

I suspect that a lot of people are buying bulk on Alibaba and reselling on Ebay for sizable profits.
 
Mike.

Yup there are. 
 
I know someone who's brother is selling "authentic" western ware belt buckles.
 
He has done well with his website.  I think he puts little "made in the USA" stickers on his wares.
 
Funny too he is of the persona that contradicts what he does; its all about money anyways.
 
Dumb analogy; but when I took apart my car had a good look at a replacement alternator put in to my car by the dealer.
 
I was billed/invoiced for an authentic alternator from the mfg company and what is there is clearly labeled a refurbished part.  Its been years now and really would have never noticed until it was staring at me in the face.
 
Geez thinking back now about my very first automobile; well it was a hand me down.  It was a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix with a 400 cu in engine and "bucket seats" (mom's).  Folks put the car on a boat to the EU and drove it there for a month while on vacation.  Looked gigantic in the tiny narrow streets there.  (well from the home movies I have).  Concurrently remember dad purchasing a tiny little Sony Transistorized television that ran on batteries for my mother back then; amazing stuff.  My very first shortwave radio (well I was into that ham radio stuff along with the car stuff in the 60's) was a Hallicrafters; geez looking it up; noticed it was made in Chicago.   Built my little radio "shack" under the porch of the house and got in trouble stringing wires outside one day climbing a telephone pole near the house....it was the ultimate dipole antenna I was after at the time.
 
A couple of years ago I was purchasing what appeared to be Asix USB to NIC really cheap ($1 each) for my own use.
 
Found out that they were not Asix; rather clones that only worked at USB 1.0 speeds if that at all. 
 
They were selling them with Asix drivers that didn't work in Asix looking packaging. I was using these for my touchscreen tabletop tablets.
 
Did fine a whole take apart review of these and took one of mine apart. 
 
There was no Asix chip where there should have been as Asix chip. 

I've bought from there - the stuff is poorly documented and often of cheaper components but I've never had a horrible experience or not gotten what I've paid for; in fact I've generally been just fine with what I've received.  But as BSR said, it can take forever!  Worst I've had though is a couple weeks - but I don't order around Chinese holidays.

Work2Play said:

--but I don't order around Chinese holidays.

Click to expand...

+1 for Chinese New Year.
 
Trouble is, other than Chinese New Year, I have no idea which other Chinese holidays are likely to be disruptive.  

Best to try yourself.  Here I start a dialog via those little chat boxes.  The second step is for me to find out about payment.  Over on the Homeseer site I did start to almost buy one of those little tiny Celeron small footprint computers. 
 
I started to set up a group buy and got a good price of $86 for it. 
 
Payment was using paypal and the $86 did include CPU/Memory.  Well all I got was one other person interested and me.  I had told the sales women I could get 20 in a group buy.  Delivery time was stated as 1 week.
 
I decided not to pursue it after that.