Re: Note : Pi 2 Zero W Now RIP-OFF Price on Amazon

On 06/08/2026 23:40, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 05/08/2026 23:59, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
>>> The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> Once I ordered like $120 worth of small parts from a US supplier.
>>>> The transport, import duty, VAT  and handling charges doubled that.
>>>>
>>>> I can import small stuff from china with none of that.
>>>
>>> I guess you actually believe the postage quotes on sites like
>>> AliExpress then?
>>
>> No need.  They have proved to be 100% accurate
> 
> "Accurate"? Well if you mean they charge you the same as what's
> shown then yes. If you mean it's always what they actually pay
> to send your item then you're being fooled.

Well that is no different from any other online vendor then, is it?

> 
>>> In that case I'll bet some Chinese seller there
>>> has a RPi Zero for something like $10, but with $60 for delivery,
>>> while another has one for $60 and $10 delivery. Pick the deal that
>>> looks best to you!
>>>
>> Nope. Ive bought a ton of stuff from Aliexpress. The more usual 'scam'
>> is to advertise say a Pi zero for 80c, but when you go to the page
>> that's just the plastic case...if you want a PCB and chips with that its
>> $20 :-)
> 
> Yes, seen plenty of that, but I find the fake postage charges are
> more common. The thing off AliExpress that's waiting at the post
> office for me today is a prime example, where the same item is
> listed by two sellers on AliExpress, one appearing cheaper than the
> other on the search page. But the postage on the cheap one was
> significantly more than the other, so the higher-priced one was
> really much cheaper. In this case it was also really obvious in
> spite of the different listing images that the two sellers were
> really the same person/company, because both listings had the same
> typo in the title!

Well I am not going to sweat that. I Can Do Sums...

> 
> As well as the seller, AliExpress themselves tried to scam me again
> this time by offering a coupon discount for ordering more than a
> certain total amount at once. Add the coupon, go through PayPal
> (not credit card) for payment, _then_ up comes a pop-up (actually
> along with another meaningless error pop-up, but that's typical
> because their website is as terriby made as half of the junk
> that's sold there), to say that the coupon has expired, and raises
> the price. Obviously you're expected to have added extra things to
> your cart to reach a greater coupon discount teir, then when you
> see that message you're meant shrug and go ahead ordering the extra
> junk you added at full price anyway.
> 
> The blatant dishonesty does put me off a lot of the time, but
> sometimes AliExpress is still a lot cheaper than even Chinese
> sellers on Ebay, who are no more honest anyway (although I do have
> marginally more faith in Ebay themselves). Plus some manufacturers
> such as, (back on topic) Banana Pi, use it as their official store.
> 
I am not concerned with marketing gimmicks: I am concerned with getting 
useable quality stuff I cant get anywhere else, at a sane price.

>> Another one was for an excavator for $1500 - that turned out to be the
>> deposit on one to be delivered later at a total cost of
>> $12000...depending on options
>>
>>> True most companies in the USA do want at least twice as much to
>>> send things to me in Australia as it costs me to send things to the
>>> USA. But it's not half as bad as the UK where the costs often start
>>> at over $100 to send anything to Aus these days. Though I guess
>>> because many UK/USA companies insist on only sending international
>>> orders by courier for some reason. Courier services can be
>>> expensive from China as well. Most couriers now just hand over to
>>> the local postal service once the parcel reaches Aus so I still
>>> have to drive to town to pick the thing up from the post office
>>> myself anyway.
>>>
>> Too many vendors got their fingers burned sending by international post.
>> Parcels just 'disappeared'
> 
> Like I say, many go over to local post once they get here now, so
> they're just as likely to disappear at that stage.
Not in the UK.
The postal service is probably the best in the world

>  They probably
> get insurance included to cover refunds in such cases, but you can
> get that from the local postal service for international parcels
> sent through them anyway (though it can take months to work through
> the process of making a claim).
> 
In general these days claims from ANYONE are refunded once you put the 
return parcel under an authorised scanner.

Amazon, Ali express - even Ebay.


>> I couriered some documents to my niece in South Africa for just ?20 took
>> tow days only!
> 
> Actually when they were really coming by courier, parcels usually
> got to the nearest city really quick, then waited there for a
> couple of weeks until they got around to making the expedition out
> to where I live. Delivering to the post office does often work out
> quicker in that regard. However the thing is I'm almost never in a
> hurry in the first place - I'm forced to pay triple the cost to get
> something (at least to the nearest city) next week, then it sits
> around for a week or two before I get up to the stage of needing it
> for whatever project I'm working on anyway. Or it just costs so
> much that I don't order at all.
> 
That  was the standard delivery time of *anything* that was light enough 
to go by air.

I am always slightly amused by how backwards the USA is, Back in the 
nineties I was on holiday and wanted to withdraw some money using my 
MasterCard, I think we were on Nevada. The teller looked at the card and 
said 'never seen one of those. I'll try'. Then her face lit up. 'It 
worked!' she said.

I had used that card all over Europe n different countries....

Things that amuse me

- All wires are overhead. NO new wires are overhead in the UK
- All trucks use solid rear axles with cart springs. I haven't driven a 
vehicle  like that since 1980
- broadband internet access doesn't really exist mostly.
- You have to *pay* for an ambulance,
- The food industry is designed to make you fat, eat more crap, then 
gouge you again via medical bills when you get heart disease or diabetes
- Everything is about ripping off someone else. It's all monetised one 
way or another. Not many people just do stuff they enjoy, without 
thinking about the money
- Americans think America is the best country in the world. Because they 
believe what they are told and never travel further than Acapulco,

God bless Amerika.
She needs it!


-- 
Karl Marx said religion is the opium of the people.
But Marxism is the crack cocaine.