Opinions on aliexpress?

I know they don't have the greatest quality product and have heard they can be unreliable, but what's the general opinion on them here?
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Comments

  • Well... people should really quit paying that one dude on NA $30 for Mother 3 carts, because the $8 carts off AliExpress are really nice quality, surprisingly.



    I use the site to pick up cheap handheld reproductions cause it's hard to emulate GBA on a plane.   So far have bought 3, shipping is slow (they do come from China) but otherwise I have zero complaints about the products I've bought or the website.



    Edit: waiting now for a $7 lot of PVC sonic the hedgehog figures I bought for my son. Reviews and photos from other buyers look promising quality wise tho. 
  • Haven't used them yet but I've considered it quite a few times. You can find decent quality stuff on Etsy as well. No complaints about items I've bought there
  • It definitely comes down to the seller. But I've placed 3 orders total, from different sellers. Had all arrive within 2 weeks and no issues.
  • Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit
  • For me I don't mind saving money on games I want because I wouldn't buy with the intent to scam someone. I'm fine with just a physical copy I can put on my shelf.
  • I'm of the mind that it sucks that fakes that look legit exist, but I don't care because I know how to spot them. If someone else doesn't, not my problem. If buying them makes you happy, go for it
  • Originally posted by: danny boyx



    For me I don't mind saving money on games I want because I wouldn't buy with the intent to scam someone. I'm fine with just a physical copy I can put on my shelf.

    And people will hit you with the 'but one day you're going to die or sell your collection and they're out in the wild'.  But really... if I'm dead?  Not my problem.  Learn what a fake looks like.  As for selling... I'm pretty straight forward about having repros of some high dollar games.  If people don't want to do business with me, that's fine.  Not like it's hard to prove if something i'm getting rid of is legit or not.  I don't plan on scamming people and it sucks that people do.
  • Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    Yep. 



    I choose not to support anyone who openly allows 1:1 (misrepresented) bootlegs. 





    But hey, as long as you save a few bucks to put a fake on your shelf of a game you can most likely emulate for free, then by all means. 
  • From the pics on their site the labels look pretty washed out, so that seems like a dead giveaway
  • Can't really say. However I did order genesis cart of Fix it Felix Jr back in December. Still have not received my order and getting in contact with anyone is next to impossible on that site. Would love to order a few colored nes shells but based on this I'm probably going to look somewhere else.
  • Originally posted by: MrWunderful

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    Yep. 



    I choose not to support anyone who openly allows 1:1 (misrepresented) bootlegs. 





    But hey, as long as you save a few bucks to put a fake on your shelf of a game you can most likely emulate for free, then by all means. 

    Just for the record, I do not buy 1:1 copies of games. Mother 3 English translation is an exception though it wasn't released stateside. The guy I paid $12 to either on here or AtariAge, was very reasonable. Ooh, and my Famicom bootleg of Super Mario Bros 2 Japan / Lost Levels:





    Aliexpress have some nice multicarts for sale such as the 150-in-1 which I did a write up on:

    http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=157123

    No problem telling those from licensed products. You can always chose not to waste money on single game repros.



    Based on my experience, the sellers are legit and Aliexpress actually withhold seller moneys until buyer recieves the product. A couple times I had to extend the deadline due to delays, but everything I've ordered thus far has arrived safely.
  • Originally posted by: MrWunderful

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    Yep. 



    I choose not to support anyone who openly allows 1:1 (misrepresented) bootlegs. 





    But hey, as long as you save a few bucks to put a fake on your shelf of a game you can most likely emulate for free, then by all means. 



    I still think a cheap bootleg is a waste of money, better to spend nothing than something. But like I said, for translated handheld reproductions sign me up. I'd rather spend the least amount of money as possible than pay an up charge to someone on ebay or here for the same product. Same with toys for that matter, ebay and Amazon are loaded with sellers passing off unlicensed toys, they're not all crap, but if I'm going to buy a kitschy knock-offs (especially for my kid who is going to play rough) I'm going straight to the source.



    Also a decent alternative to fueling toy scalpers. 

     
  • Originally posted by: Daria

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    Yep. 



    I choose not to support anyone who openly allows 1:1 (misrepresented) bootlegs. 





    But hey, as long as you save a few bucks to put a fake on your shelf of a game you can most likely emulate for free, then by all means. 



    I still think a cheap bootleg is a waste of money, better to spend nothing than something. But like I said, for translated handheld reproductions sign me up. I'd rather spend the least amount of money as possible than pay an up charge to someone on ebay or here for the same product. Same with toys for that matter, ebay and Amazon are loaded with sellers passing off unlicensed toys, they're not all crap, but if I'm going to buy a kitschy knock-offs (especially for my kid who is going to play rough) I'm going straight to the source.



    Also a decent alternative to fueling toy scalpers. 

     





    Those  I don't necessarily have an issue with, I just choose to spend my money somewhere else because of some of the other things they sell on the site
  • Originally posted by: MrWunderful

     
    Originally posted by: Daria

     
    Originally posted by: MrWunderful

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    Yep. 



    I choose not to support anyone who openly allows 1:1 (misrepresented) bootlegs. 





    But hey, as long as you save a few bucks to put a fake on your shelf of a game you can most likely emulate for free, then by all means. 



    I still think a cheap bootleg is a waste of money, better to spend nothing than something. But like I said, for translated handheld reproductions sign me up. I'd rather spend the least amount of money as possible than pay an up charge to someone on ebay or here for the same product. Same with toys for that matter, ebay and Amazon are loaded with sellers passing off unlicensed toys, they're not all crap, but if I'm going to buy a kitschy knock-offs (especially for my kid who is going to play rough) I'm going straight to the source.



    Also a decent alternative to fueling toy scalpers. 

     





    Those  I don't necessarily have an issue with, I just choose to spend my money somewhere else because of some of the other things they sell on the site



    Yeah but that's kind of like avoiding ebay, amazon, or etsy just because you don't like some of the individual sellers.



    edit: although I realize aliexpress is like mostly bootleg. So ok. Not exactly the same, Just saying it's a marketplace of different kinds of merchants. Who mostly happen to be dirty pirates.  
  • Modern pirate crap is mostly shit, just like virtually any product coming off of the mainland, poor craftsman shift, low quality parts, etc. I don't want this modern junk in my collection.
  • Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    This is exactly how I feel. Well said.



     
  • Originally posted by: fcgamer



    Modern pirate crap is mostly shit, just like virtually any product coming off of the mainland, poor craftsman shift, low quality parts, etc. I don't want this modern junk in my collection.


    Originally posted by: AirVillain

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    This is exactly how I feel. Well said.



    Not calling you guys out specifically, but some of the same people calling out China bootlegs will pay $40 to some shmuck building 1:1 repros of Japanese games in their garage when they could buy the originals from Japnese eBay dealers shipped to the united states for a lot less. It's not "piracy" unless it's a 1:1 copy of a US NTSC game. Multi-in-1s or protos or imports are magically okay provided they were never released here.



    It's all hypocrisy. Aliexpress is full of bootleg merch. So is the guy peddling CDs/DVDs in an alleyway. But shoppers come here knowing what to expect, broker a sale, and product is delivered. And let's be real here. Video games are a recreational substance, but nobody's life is getting ruined as a result of our enjoyment, unlike say weapons or drugs.



    So it shouldn't matter that someone enjoys indulging in gray market goods once in a while. The main difference is the multicarts don't disguise themselves as a legit product unlike the single games. Nobody is getting ripped off either. Sure scumbag eBay dealers get caught everyday selling fake games. Guess what? It's on the seller. I can buy from Aliexpress and not worry about getting busted unless I try to flip it, which I don't do because I don't buy fakes nor do I sell them.



    An Aliexpress Little Samson is a fake game because it pretends to be something it's not. The 150-in-1 or 100 best NES carts aren't fakes because they don't pretend to be something else. Both are pirates, yes, but only one masquerades as something it's not. So what it it comes from the same place? Guess what? The Nintendo Switch is made in China too! Though there's a big difference between Foxconn and Sezchuan region or wherever the bootleg crap comes from.



    For people who know what they are getting, Aliexpress is a great marketplace. I would never for instance buy a smartphone or sneakers there, but I would pick up a multicart or two. Just pick your poison wisely...  
  • Originally posted by: Kosmic StarDust

     
    Originally posted by: fcgamer



    Modern pirate crap is mostly shit, just like virtually any product coming off of the mainland, poor craftsman shift, low quality parts, etc. I don't want this modern junk in my collection.


    Originally posted by: AirVillain

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    This is exactly how I feel. Well said.



    Not calling you guys out specifically, but some of the same people calling out China bootlegs will pay $40 to some shmuck building 1:1 repros of Japanese games in their garage when they could buy the originals from Japnese eBay dealers shipped to the united states for a lot less. It's not "piracy" unless it's a 1:1 copy of a US NTSC game. Multi-in-1s or protos or imports are magically okay provided they were never released here.



    It's all hypocrisy. Aliexpress is full of bootleg merch. So is the guy peddling CDs/DVDs in an alleyway. But shoppers come here knowing what to expect, broker a sale, and product is delivered. And let's be real here. Video games are a recreational substance, but nobody's life is getting ruined as a result of our enjoyment, unlike say weapons or drugs.



    So it shouldn't matter that someone enjoys indulging in gray market goods once in a while. The main difference is the multicarts don't disguise themselves as a legit product unlike the single games. Nobody is getting ripped off either. Sure scumbag eBay dealers get caught everyday selling fake games. Guess what? It's on the seller. I can buy from Aliexpress and not worry about getting busted unless I try to flip it, which I don't do because I don't buy fakes nor do I sell them.



    An Aliexpress Little Samson is a fake game because it pretends to be something it's not. The 150-in-1 or 100 best NES carts aren't fakes because they don't pretend to be something else. Both are pirates, yes, but only one masquerades as something it's not. So what it it comes from the same place? Guess what? The Nintendo Switch is made in China too! Though there's a big difference between Foxconn and Sezchuan region or wherever the bootleg crap comes from.



    For people who know what they are getting, Aliexpress is a great marketplace. I would never for instance buy a smartphone or sneakers there, but I would pick up a multicart or two. Just pick your poison wisely...  





    man just stop it. Its not the same at all. I dont even care about japan translations of unreleased games, but on ntsc they wouldnt even look the same. Theyd look like NTSC Carts not famicom games. So no its not the same.



    Get off your fuckin high horse. pardon the french. But reading that garbage you just wrote puts me in a mood



    Ali Express is the reason you have dig through 4 pages of ebay results digging through their fakes to see a real mario party  for n64. They have single handidly ruined ebay for n64 games. People buy that shit and flip it on ebay. Its so fucking annoying to dig through because you cant filter it since its a US Seller and a game





    I dont support bootleg merch of any kind. I dont care what it is. 

     
  • I thought I made it very clear I don't buy single game repros of US released games. I couldn't give a rats ass what else they peddle on Aliexpress. I vote with my own dollars for unique stuff that wasn't made back in the day, like multicarts. There is no Little Samson or Bobble Bobble 2 carts in my collection, real or fake. 1:1 copies of Japan games is even more dumber. Devil World is $40 repro on NES. On Famicom it's $10 shipped to the US. Throw in a $20 import adapter, clip pin 4 on the lockout chip, and it's still cheaper to import than buy the repro.



    SNES is even easier as you don't even need a security bit to open your system in order to region mod it. Just grab a pair of pliers and break the tabs off. A Super Famicom cart is no different functionwise to a North American cart. Oh, I forgot. Shelf collectors just want their games to look uniform sitting there in a row. The slightly different form factor will trigger their OCD complexes but somehow fake games won't if nobody else knows they're fake. That's pretty damn shallow if you ask me.



    I'm not buying 1:1 repros of otherwise legit collectibles, much less flipping them on eBay, so don't be mad at me. You wanna be mad at somebody, be mad at those eBay asshats buying them in bulk to flood the market. I don't give a damn if it dilutes the prices of rare games because I couldn't afford them anyway. Really dude you shouldn't direct your anger towards me. I didn't ruin your little hobby because I bought two rinky dinky multicarts from there.
  • You missed the point entirely. Re read what you were lecturing
  • Originally posted by: quest4nes


    Theyd look like NTSC Carts not famicom games.

     



    Famicom is NTSC actually
  • AliExpress is great. I probably put in an order weekly for some ultracheap stuff. Melamine foam, hair clips, electronic components, whatever. Screw the sellers selling fake video games, but AE is tons besides that.
  • Originally posted by: Bert

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Theyd look like NTSC Carts not famicom games.

     







    Famicom is NTSC actually





    not the point. Already know that ntsc us version carts not ntsc-j famicom carts?



    better for you?
  • I've only bought from them once the 150 in 1 cart. Because everybody was raving about it last year and I play it quite often. If I ever do buy a repro it would be something like sweet home or splatterhouse wanpaku graffiti. Games that weren't made for the NTSC NES. I got no problem buying from them, they just take forever to ship.
  • I've only had one package out of like 7 or 8 have an issue. It was ultimately the post office who misplaced it tho. I also had a package take 7 weeks to get here. Most packages come as certified mail. I recommend people try it but it is a gamble.
  • Originally posted by: Kosmic StarDust

     
    Originally posted by: fcgamer



    Modern pirate crap is mostly shit, just like virtually any product coming off of the mainland, poor craftsman shift, low quality parts, etc. I don't want this modern junk in my collection.


    Originally posted by: AirVillain

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    This is exactly how I feel. Well said.



    Not calling you guys out specifically, but some of the same people calling out China bootlegs will pay $40 to some shmuck building 1:1 repros of Japanese games in their garage when they could buy the originals from Japnese eBay dealers shipped to the united states for a lot less. It's not "piracy" unless it's a 1:1 copy of a US NTSC game. Multi-in-1s or protos or imports are magically okay provided they were never released here.



    It's all hypocrisy. Aliexpress is full of bootleg merch. So is the guy peddling CDs/DVDs in an alleyway. But shoppers come here knowing what to expect, broker a sale, and product is delivered. And let's be real here. Video games are a recreational substance, but nobody's life is getting ruined as a result of our enjoyment, unlike say weapons or drugs.



    So it shouldn't matter that someone enjoys indulging in gray market goods once in a while. The main difference is the multicarts don't disguise themselves as a legit product unlike the single games. Nobody is getting ripped off either. Sure scumbag eBay dealers get caught everyday selling fake games. Guess what? It's on the seller. I can buy from Aliexpress and not worry about getting busted unless I try to flip it, which I don't do because I don't buy fakes nor do I sell them.



    An Aliexpress Little Samson is a fake game because it pretends to be something it's not. The 150-in-1 or 100 best NES carts aren't fakes because they don't pretend to be something else. Both are pirates, yes, but only one masquerades as something it's not. So what it it comes from the same place? Guess what? The Nintendo Switch is made in China too! Though there's a big difference between Foxconn and Sezchuan region or wherever the bootleg crap comes from.



    For people who know what they are getting, Aliexpress is a great marketplace. I would never for instance buy a smartphone or sneakers there, but I would pick up a multicart or two. Just pick your poison wisely...  

    Bravo!  Well said.     In the end it is in everyone's own power to do their due dilligence checking for fakes and use their spending dollars as they see fit.  I don't see the point some make that these repros are going to lower the value of [insert game here].  If anything these are driving UP the value of legitimate original releases.  



    I'll buy a repro all day long if it is something that wasn't commercially available or manufactured for my region and that's the extent of what I would get personally.  Someone else can buy what ever they want, doesn't impact me at all.  
  • Originally posted by: JCE3000GT

     
    Originally posted by: Kosmic StarDust



     

    Bravo!  Well said.     In the end it is in everyone's own power to do their due dilligence checking for takes and use their spending dollars as they see fit.  I don't see the point some make that these repros are going to lower the value of [insert game here].  If anything these are driving UP the value of legitimate original releases.  



    I'll buy a repro all day long if it is something that wasn't commercially available or manufactured for my region and that's the extent of what I would get personally.  Someone else can buy what ever they want, doesn't impact me at all.  

    Exactly, thank you. I'm not wasting money buying "fake rare games" that I could simply play on a flash cart. The multicarts are unique items though. As I said before, any animosity whould be better placed towards the eBay reseller asshats for flipping fake games. Again not my problem.  
  • Aliexpress is cool, bought a lot of replacement parts for gameboy, repro translated games for gba, cool socks, shoelaces, keychain parts, battery heatshrink wrap, never been burned.
  • Originally posted by: JCE3000GT

     
    Originally posted by: Kosmic StarDust

     
    Originally posted by: fcgamer



    Modern pirate crap is mostly shit, just like virtually any product coming off of the mainland, poor craftsman shift, low quality parts, etc. I don't want this modern junk in my collection.


    Originally posted by: AirVillain

     
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Fuck ali express and all their bootleg bullshit



    This is exactly how I feel. Well said.



    Not calling you guys out specifically, but some of the same people calling out China bootlegs will pay $40 to some shmuck building 1:1 repros of Japanese games in their garage when they could buy the originals from Japnese eBay dealers shipped to the united states for a lot less. It's not "piracy" unless it's a 1:1 copy of a US NTSC game. Multi-in-1s or protos or imports are magically okay provided they were never released here.



    It's all hypocrisy. Aliexpress is full of bootleg merch. So is the guy peddling CDs/DVDs in an alleyway. But shoppers come here knowing what to expect, broker a sale, and product is delivered. And let's be real here. Video games are a recreational substance, but nobody's life is getting ruined as a result of our enjoyment, unlike say weapons or drugs.



    So it shouldn't matter that someone enjoys indulging in gray market goods once in a while. The main difference is the multicarts don't disguise themselves as a legit product unlike the single games. Nobody is getting ripped off either. Sure scumbag eBay dealers get caught everyday selling fake games. Guess what? It's on the seller. I can buy from Aliexpress and not worry about getting busted unless I try to flip it, which I don't do because I don't buy fakes nor do I sell them.



    An Aliexpress Little Samson is a fake game because it pretends to be something it's not. The 150-in-1 or 100 best NES carts aren't fakes because they don't pretend to be something else. Both are pirates, yes, but only one masquerades as something it's not. So what it it comes from the same place? Guess what? The Nintendo Switch is made in China too! Though there's a big difference between Foxconn and Sezchuan region or wherever the bootleg crap comes from.



    For people who know what they are getting, Aliexpress is a great marketplace. I would never for instance buy a smartphone or sneakers there, but I would pick up a multicart or two. Just pick your poison wisely...  

    Bravo!  Well said.     In the end it is in everyone's own power to do their due dilligence checking for takes and use their spending dollars as they see fit.  I don't see the point some make that these repros are going to lower the value of [insert game here].  If anything these are driving UP the value of legitimate original releases.  



    I'll buy a repro all day long if it is something that wasn't commercially available or manufactured for my region and that's the extent of what I would get personally.  Someone else can buy what ever they want, doesn't impact me at all.  

    I've been quoted about ten times and I'm not sure how Kosmic StarDust's original quote of mine even relates at all.  I just know a quality and a poor quality item when I see one.  



    I made a video (and I am transferring it to my phone, later I can try to upload it if I can remember my youtube account info / password), but here is why Aliexpress and modern pirate crap sucks:



    image 



    Cart on the left, circa 2008, made in China.  Cart on the right, circa late 80s - early 90s, made in Taiwan.  While the left cart may or may not have been obtained from Aliexpress, I have several carts that were from Aliexpress, which are of similar / equal quality (I just didn't want to break them for the demonstration, since some contain obscure unlicensed games that only appear on modern multicarts).  



    The cart on the left, two swings of a hammer to fell that beast, the one on the right, after seven swings, to front and back, all I got was a gash in the back and an indentation in the front.  I'd love to show the video, to prove I wasn't taking it easy on the right cart.



    But that my friends, is why I don't like Aliexpress products.  It has nothing to do with any of the other politics mentioned above, it's simply about purchasing a low-quality product.  



     
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