# Be Careful ordering from Banggood



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Looks like the torch I ordered from Banggood isn't going to get to me for over a month. That's because while I thought the one I ordered was in stock it turned out not to be the case. Seems Banggood plays a little shell game on their product's web page depending on what you are ordering. They will tell you it's in stock but you'll find if you change one of the options, either body color or LED type / tint , you may find yourself ordering something that is "out of stock" without even noticing. Since the one I ordered was out of stock, instead of telling me that when I placed the order they just informed me in my conformation email that the item I ordered is "Out of stock" and is now in a "Processing" phase. ( think of this as the "Twilight Zone" or "Bermuda Triangle" of mail order ) They gave me no indication at all of when I might get my order.  and no tracking number. ( usually when in stock an order will ship within 2-3 days )

I went back to the webpage a day or so ago and looked where I first ordered. Once again looks to be in stock. This time when I changed the options I noticed a subtle change in the text below saying that the item was back ordered and that it might take about a month or more before it shipped. Possible I missed this slight of hand the first time, not really sure. That's because when I rechecked again tonight the website page claims to have the one I ordered ( with the same options ) as being in stock ( _although there is no text actually telling you it is "in stock" or out of stock_ )

The way I figure it, if they are now "in stock" I should be getting an e-mail sometime next week telling me the item has shipped. If not looks like I'm in for the long haul. This is why I tell people when you buy something from China you are, "Rolling the dice". Not only do you not know how well it will work you have no idea ( depending on the item you order ) just how long it will take for you to get it.

Something else worth mentioning is that when I try to pay using the provided Paypal quick-link, the link never seems to be able to connect to Paypal. This means I have no choice but to use a credit card on their website ( which I would rather not do ).

Anyway, if I don't see it ship by next week I might have to contact their customer service if only to find out how long it will take before my order will ship.  ( Edit; seems 2020 is the "Year of the Rat" according the Chinese zodiac. Check the link, seems the Rat is renown for being a trickster.


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

I wouldn't be ordering anything from China right now. 

Actually I'm waiting on Banggood for some USB power cables to light up a couple of display frames. They are two weeks late now.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

would not order anything from China as stated above, besides the new year delay (now over) there just is not much crossing borders until the pandemic problem gets sorted out

so, ....if you are on a timeline, don't order. if you can wait, order away


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## be1 (Sep 4, 2013)

the last time i ordered aframe direct from china - well, i finally got it 4 months later. it was a good frame. but ordering anything from november thru march, expect delays.

that was pre-virus. i wouldn't order anything direct from china now because of the virus and long wait times.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

be1 said:


> the last time i ordered aframe direct from china - well, i finally got it 4 months later. it was a good frame. but ordering anything from november thru march, expect delays.
> 
> that was pre-virus. i wouldn't order anything direct from china now because of the virus and long wait times.


Yep, I mentioned this in another thread and yes it seems the Chinese have their hands tied as they are just now beginning to get control of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. From what I've heard they still won't cooperate with the World Health Org. and have refused any offered help from the U.S.A. ( They aren't willing to disclose too many facts about how the virus has affected their country and what news they are releasing is subject to doubt since they refuse to work with the WHO. Like I said before, looks like I might be in for the long haul. This article from the NY Times, although more than a week old, will give you an idea of what's going on there and how it is effecting China's import / export trade. My gut feeling is that it is likely going to take several months before the Chinese are going to be able to catch up with their shipments. No doubt perishable goods are going to take priority when it comes to logistics so other not-so-important goods will likely be put on the back-burner from hell.

With all this said, I might be considering another torch albeit one I know is going to be shipped from somewhere inside the USA. The problem is I want one that is using NW emitters and one that can house an 21700 cell. I have some hopefuls but I want Cree emitter(s) and something in the 4000K range as far as tint goes. This is for the bars so must have a wide beam pattern as well.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

I’ve been ordering items directly from China non-stop for the past few months and all save a couple little items from Kaidomain arrived well within their delivery windows, with most arriving after only one or two weeks — even those with 2+ month estimates. Only real problem I’ve encountered is that a lot of products I wanted to buy more of are sold out, and there are no comparable models to be found from any other vendors. So guess it’s mostly that factories are not all back up and running, rather than any interruption in shipping services.

Banggood is notorious for promoting products that they don’t actually have in stock and don’t ever get in. I’d never order from them especially as everything in their product line eventually ends up for sale on AE, generally at lower prices to boot.


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## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

My experience is they don't communicate well and the order just shows up a month later or more. Sometimes you get tracking and other times not. It's pretty hit and miss tho.

There's no way we'll get the real info outta China concerning the virus. Heck, I'll bet that virus has been around since Nov. The DR. that died who was 34 years old, hmmmm, he know more than they wanted him to know. Too bad they offed him (allegedly in my mind but probably closer to the truth then we think).


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

andychrist said:


> So guess it's mostly that factories are not all back up and running, rather than any interruption in shipping services.
> 
> Banggood is notorious for promoting products that they don't actually have in stock and don't ever get in. I'd never order from them especially as everything in their product line eventually ends up for sale on AE, generally at lower prices to boot.


Never had any problems with Banggood before but then again never bought anything before that was sold out or was not told something was sold out when it was still listed on the website.

Like you said, the biggest problem could be that workers are not being allowed to go to their jobs and thus the factories where these things are made are getting behind. Factories though also need supplies from outside sources as well as people and so hard to know what is causing the delays or how long something like this is going to take. I checked my credit card and I have been billed. Still nothing on my email telling me it has shipped. I don't mind that I have to wait so much but if I'm going to wait I'd like to know just how long I actually have to wait. The "Not knowing" is what drives me crazy.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Bad news*

Well it seems the torch I ordered ( Fireflies E07, with NW XP-L's ) has been cancelled by Banggood. Just received the email on April 8th telling me the order was cancelled. This after I was told weeks ago the item would ship sometime around the middle of April.  No big shock though. I almost expected this to happen.

Looks like I'll not be ordering anything from China for a good long time. Now I have to contact my credit card company and make sure I get a credit to my account since I never received the product. I realize of course that this is all due to the Corona Virus that started in China. I have a feeling a lot of things are going to be "Out of Order" in China for a long, long time. Sadly I can't get the torch I want ( with the emitters I want ) anywhere else at the moment. Then again this whole year is going to be totally screwed because of the virus so I haven't felt too much like going for any rides I've been so stressed. I happen to work a job that is related to the medical field so I still have to go to work every day . Even though I have the protective masks, at the age of 65 ( with high blood pressure ) I'll be stressed out no doubt for many months to come. Can't wait till they come up with a vaccine which may be sometime in the fall or sometime early next year. The good news is dozens of companies are racing to come up with a vaccine and some are already in human clinical trials. Thank God I don't live in N.Y. If I did I'd go nuts.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

I've cancelled my own banggood, aliexpress and alibaba orders (part not wanted anymore) and ...they may take a few days but all of them either never processed the paypal, or refunded me. seems legit in those regards with these places


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Still ordering from AliExpress, chinese eBay sellers etc - everything seems to work as usually (I'm in Europe).


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Placed an order for a couple of the new SP33V3 5000K through the Sofirn Store on AE almost a month ago and Track Order still just says

2020-03-25 20:06:02 Despatch from Sorting Center

Really doubt package will reach me now before the order is closed, suspect it was not fulfilled at all. 

Also, couple 3-in-1 magnetic charging cables ordered from China on eBay apparently made it to some Sorting Center here in the USA a few weeks ago, but haven't moved any since then either.

Weird thing, hadn't experienced any shipping delays until March, everything else I'd ordered previously from China since last December arrived within ten days to three weeks tops. All of a sudden _now_ everything is screwy.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

I ordered 100's of items from banggood and everythings arrived in an orderly fashion.

QUOTE - I went back to the webpage a day or so ago and looked where I first ordered. Once again looks to be in stock. This time when I changed the options I noticed a subtle change in the text below saying that the item was back ordered and that it might take about a month or more before it shipped. Possible I missed this slight of hand the first time
END QUOTE

Yeah some webpages are like that, thats why you have to take your time and pay extra attention when ordering. Is it a purposeful trick on banggoods part, it might be, but it did say backordered. Pay extra attention when ordering from websites you've never ordered from before.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Turns out I found another Chinese website that has it but it's not listed in the color I want. They do however list the emitters I want so it's tempting but the price is about $30 USD more than the one I ordered from Banggood....And speaking of Banggood they responded to my last email and now tell me my credit card will be credited in about 5-7 days ( yeah, right... ) Assuming this happens, do I take the chance and then order from the another Chinese company???? Why does my CAt gut tell me this is like playing craps with loaded dice ( with each die with only one dot on each side :nono: ). Not looking to roll another "Snake eyes". I might actually buy from the other website but I hate having to call the Bank that services my credit card if the refund from Banggood doesn't show on my online account in 7 days. Not buying anything else till I get the refund or credit to my credit card. 

FWIW, AliExpress has no listing for what I want.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Banggood still screwing around*

Sadly it seems I failed to take my own advise. :blush: About a week ago I ordered another torch from Banggood ( How :madman: could :madman: I :madman: Be :madman: so :madman: DUMB!! 

Once again when I ordered web page said it was in stock. Then ( once again ) I get another email a week later saying the order has been back ordered. :nono: Oh, woe is me.  Here I go on that merry-go-round once again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

Cat-man-do said:


> Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.


OK now I see where you messed up...

it's supposed to be 
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again"


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

127.0.0.1 said:


> OK now I see where you messed up...
> 
> it's supposed to be
> "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again"


I can almost predict what will happen next. In a month I'll get another email telling me they can not provide the product and that they have canceled the order. Banggood used to be a good place to buy cheap Chinese stuff. Looks like the C-virus has changed all that. I thought maybe the previous item I ordered failed because it was a new popular item. The Convoy torch I just ordered has been around for years so I really didn't expect to get the back-order blues on that particular item. . Haven't used KD in a good while. Anyone have any problems lately ordering stuff from them?


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Surprise! Banggood came through with the goods*

...came through with the goods...meh...sort of. I ordered a Convoy M1 with XP-L Hi NW @4000K. When I ordered it I knew it came with a smooth reflector ( which I didn't want ) but since I had other M1's with OP reflectors I knew I could switch it out.

This order is sort of a version of, _"The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly"_. First *The good;* Very nice NW beam tint. Certainly in the 4000K range. No problems switching out the reflector. With the OP reflector in place looks to provide a nice wide spot which hopefully ( haven't tested yet ) will provide enough light when used off the helmet. *The Bad;* supposed to have memory, sadly does not. The smooth reflector completely sucks. Glad I have other reflectors. *The Ugly;* I don't know how this got by me when I was ordering but when I went back to the website to check it seems they don't tell you how many modes are in the UI. :madman: Well, the torch has 5 steady modes. Moon light to ~ 1000 lumen. Modes 3-5 should be quite usable but the "Ugly" in this is that the UI has three flash modes that come after the highest steady setting. :incazzato: No way would I want ( or do I want ) to cycle through three flash modes to get to the steady modes.

Would of been real nice if I had known when I was ordering that it had three flash modes in the main UI.  When I use a torch for a helmet light I use it differently than if I were using a wired bike light on the helmet. I only use the helmet torch when I need it to help conserve battery power. I can, I suppose, by-pass the flash modes by turning the torch off but in doing so it comes back on in the lowest mode. I then have to cycle to the output I want. Doing that is going to be a PITA.

Getting ready to go out to test on the local MUP's as I write. If the output and beam pattern is right I guess I can deal with it. Still waiting on the NW 4000K Sofirn IF25A quad I ordered ( from Sofirn direct ). Hoping to have it by next week or the week after.


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Cat-man-do said:


> ...came through with the goods...meh...sort of. I ordered a Convoy M1 with XP-L Hi NW @4000K. When I ordered it I knew it came with a smooth reflector ( which I didn't want ) but since I had other M1's with OP reflectors I knew I could switch it out.


You can use a polyurethane spray to OP reflectors a little.

Have you got the biscotti firmware? These things do my head in. I've room in my brain for the Zebralight UI and the Convoy S2+ but have to look everything else up (Glowworm is particularly annoying). 
http://i.imgur.com/jvx04IR.jpg


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

znomit said:


> You can use a polyurethane spray to OP reflectors a little.
> 
> Have you got the biscotti firmware? These things do my head in. I've room in my brain for the Zebralight UI and the Convoy S2+ but have to look everything else up (Glowworm is particularly annoying).
> http://i.imgur.com/jvx04IR.jpg


I looked up the firmware you suggested. _Thank You, thank you, thank you, Mr. znomit from Down Under._  Got rid of the flash modes and reset the memory ( :thumbsup: ). Not sure if it was the firmware you suggested but somehow I got it to work like I want.

Took a quick ride to check it out on the paved MUP behind my home ( at 2:00 in the morning ) The beam tint is the same as my Fireflies E07 and worked well together. Not the perfect night to judge the throw because while the temp. was 70°F, the humidity was 97%. The air was just thick with particulate moisture. Even saw some heavy ground fog in a couple spots. Should work much better with lower humidity. Still, when on the highest output it looks to have very good throw. Modes 4 and 5 will be the most usable. That said my ProFlex Convoy M1 ( @5000K ) blows it away. Brighter tint so really no surprise there. Anyway the new M1 doesn't seem to get too hot even when on the highest setting so that's a good thing worth mentioning and now with the UI reset it will be just like my other Convoy torches. Just wish the Proflex guy was still selling to the public or I'd of bought from him again.

Funny but I have a feeling this torch will not see a whole lot of use once the Sofirn I have on order finally gets to me. Right now it's in California likely going through customs.

Glory be! The local temps are just starting to get a little cooler. If it doesn't rain tomorrow ( today that is ) I might actually get a MTB ride in and be able to test the new NW torch combo I have on actual dirt trails.


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Cat-man-do said:


> I looked up the firmware you suggested. _Thank You, thank you, thank you, Mr. znomit from Down Under._  Got rid of the flash modes and reset the memory ( :thumbsup: ). Not sure if it was the firmware you suggested but somehow I got it to work like I want.


I'll put that on your beer tab. 
There are some great settings there, but impossible to remember. Missing a high/low. Does it cycle through off?


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

znomit said:


> I'll put that on your beer tab.
> There are some great settings there, but impossible to remember. Missing a high/low. Does it cycle through off?


....No, does not cycle through off. It is now a standard 5 mode torch, starts in moonlight and the last two modes are I think 50% and 100%. The 50% mode looks to be about 500-600 lumen. To turn off you simply click the rear button and it turns either off or on. A soft half press ( while on ) changes modes in cyclic fashion ( 12345, 12345..etc ) If I could of bought this from the Proflex guy I could of had the driver over-driven for a bit more output on high although it would of cost me 3x as much. This one will work for now even if I end up using the highest output most of the time. I have lots of good 18650's so no problem there.

Damn, looks like another day into the low 90's. Not real humid at the moment but the humidity always seems to rise when the sun starts to set.
Now I have to hold my breath and hope a "pop-up" rain cell doesn't ruin my plan for a night MTB ride.


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

Chinese sellers lie and deceive?

Surely not!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Sideknob said:


> Chinese sellers lie and deceive?
> 
> Surely not!


Well in this case they only lied about it being in stock and that it was setup with memory activated. On the other hand I'm peeved they didn't mention in the product description what the UI was like. My fault though for not catching that. I'm happy that they gave me a choice of emitter and driver but don't understand why they only offered it with a smooth reflector. Most places will give you a choice on the type of reflector. I would of rather had it with an OP reflector. I did take the OP reflector out of one of my other M1's but I'm a little worried because the plastic insulator on the other M1 is mounted directly to the LED board. Not about to peel that off since I still plan on using it. That means I need another plastic insulator or insulator / reflector combo.

I can buy another Convoy M1 host kit from MTN Electronics that will include an OP reflector and insulator but will cost me another $15. Because of this I'm only going to briefly test the new M1 so I make sure I don't screw up the emitter. The insulator on the smooth reflector is too small to work on the OP reflector. I need that bigger insulator because not only will it protect the LED better it will set the reflector up a little higher off the LED board and create a larger hot spot. ( I had to unscrew the reflector while upside down to test this theory and it makes a BIG positive difference in the beam pattern ).


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I ordered a headset spacer from eBay thats shipping from Taiwan. The seller says it normally takes 18 days. It actually took two months. I also ordered some mesh laundry bags from Aliexpress. It says the item arrived in the US...two months ago. Pretty sure I'll never receive it.

The E07 looke like a crazy bright light. I though my Olights are bright...haha. Bought a Sofirn SC31b from AE before the Covid hit. Got that in a couple weeks.


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

All imma say is...f#@&k Chy-nah.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

RS VR6 said:


> I ordered a headset spacer from eBay thats shipping from Taiwan. The seller says it normally takes 18 days. It actually took two months. I also ordered some mesh laundry bags from Aliexpress. It says the item arrived in the US...two months ago. Pretty sure I'll never receive it.
> 
> The E07 looke like a crazy bright light. I though my Olights are bright...haha. Bought a Sofirn SC31b from AE before the Covid hit. Got that in a couple weeks.


Although I'm not associated with Home Land Security it wouldn't surprise me if they were having customs going over anything coming from the Far East with a fine tooth comb. Personally I was completely surprised when the M1 torch I ordered from Banggood finally showed up. Took over a month to show up and with that said they never sent me an email telling me that it finally shipped. Lots of stuff used to ship directly from Hong Kong but as most know the Chinese government is currently trying to saddle the economy of Hong Kong with more stricter regulations, which of course has the Hong Kong residents all in a huff.

I just now rechecked the shipping status of my Sofirn. Happy Days! It's suppose to now be at a facility no more than 10 miles from where I live. If true I should have it sometime next week. Too bad they didn't give me the option to ship via DHL or I would have it by now.

Yes indeed, the Fireflies E07 turned out to be a fantastic little powerhouse that is just perfect for the bars. If the Sofirn IF25A turns out not to be all that great I might try to order another Fireflies E01. Hopefully if they offer it with a single SST-40 that is in the 4000K tint/temp. range I may consider buying another. Currently the E01 is now being offered with a 5000K emitter so at some point they may offer an even lower temp NW. I liked dealing with Fireflies as they gave me the option to ship via DHL. Now if the Sofirn IF25A is everything I hope it's going to be ( @~2300 lumen, quad XP-L HI, 4000K using 21700 cell ) and has the throw / beam pattern I'm looking for I'll be a happy CAtman. Need I say, I've been rolling the dice a lot this year.


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