Online Purchases - Shipping not disclosed until the end

[crookedmember]

You are being ripped off! I get mine here

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/YCDC-12 ... 27af9969d5

I buy lithium cells at the dollar store (Mission Park). I believe it's $1.50 for 5 or 6. And no waiting.

[my5cents]

You are being ripped off! I get mine here

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/YCDC-12 ... 27af9969d5

I buy lithium cells at the dollar store (Mission Park). I believe it's $1.50 for 5 or 6. And no waiting.

Thanks Bsuds, I have some orders in right now, good prices no shipping, we'll see.

Yes crookedmember, I haunt the dollar stores but generally they only carry the real common ones like AG1, AG4 etc. Those I buy several cards of 5 at a time. In the last year I guess I've put new batteries into 50 or so watches.

My father in law used to do it. He passed away in Jan '18, my wife and her siblings inherited a modest amount and I inherited the watch job. I do it in his honor. I don't ask for reimbursement for the costs.

[DANSPEED]

You are being ripped off! I get mine here

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/YCDC-12 ... 27af9969d5

Is that 0.014 grams for the YCDC CR2032? Energizer CR2032 weighs 3.0g, Duracell 3.14g and Panasonic 2.9g ... if so something doesn't add up! Cheap batteries are usually cheap for a reason. There made from poor quality materials and weigh next to nothing when compared to top brand names.

[Bsuds]

Chinese grams are lighter...

They work just fine and if I have to change them a bit more often...oh well.

[Urban Cowboy]

Chinese grams are lighter...

They work just fine and if I have to change them a bit more often...oh well.

As long as you are content, that's the main thing.

I purchase a lot of items online, but have to say that batteries is no longer one of them, for the aforementioned reason.

[36Drew]

I started a "What is wrong with website designers" thread in 2015 and it attracted all the techno geeks with there techno speak on "platforms", "user interfaces" this and that.....

Probably because said techno-geeks were trying to express to you why something is the way it is. I don't recall the thread, so really couldn't say.

How many times have you wanted to buy something that you just can't find in a local store, you find one on a website, have to create a user profile click and click to get to checkout, then find out that your $4.95 purchase that would fit in a medium sized envelope will cost $14.99 shipping ?

It costs money for a truck to drive a package to your house. They have minimum charges. Even more expensive if you're ordering all the way from China. If you want the shipping on your batteries to cost less, then order more stuff.

[Bsuds]

Even more expensive if you're ordering all the way from China.

Shipping fom China for the most part is cheaper than sending from Kelowna to Vernon. It amazes me how cheaply they ship stuff.

[36Drew]

Shipping fom China for the most part is cheaper than sending from Kelowna to Vernon. It amazes me how cheaply they ship stuff.

Sort of, and for the most part yes. Aliexpress and Banggood typically just ship china-mail into the US, and then from LA to Canada via DHL. If you're willing to go through the standard shipping channels, it's cheap. That's because of how the logistics are run. Stuff is packed into a container, and the container doesn't move until it's full. Sometimes that happens quickly... and sometimes it takes a month or so.

Expedited can cost an arm and a leg.... and it's still DHL for the final leg. However, you're not waiting for a container to fill up - it just gets shoved on to a plane.

Also - Aliexpress is the slow way to order things. Ali is just a store front that started out as a B2B arm of Alibaba - which is basically a manufacturer directory. You're not buying stuff *from* Alibaba, nor are they shipping it. If you want the rough Amazon equivalent of China - Banggood.com is a lot more integrated. They also handle customer service, whereas Aliexpress does not. In the case of the latter, you're dealing directly with the seller.

Either way - when buying online from china, it's very much buyer-beware. You're generally responsible for the Quality Assurance side of the manufacturing lifecycle.

[DANSPEED]

I just looked at Banggood and the OP isn't going to like the checkout! On the plus side joining was easy, no minimum order, PayPal is an option and anything I tried adding to my cart was free shipping to Canada, even one item weighing over 5kg! The shipping methods are a little vague, "Canada Direct Mail" ... if that's code for DHL I'm out!

[Bsuds]

I have never had anything from Aliexpress delivered via DHL. It has always been Cda Post and yes it can be hit and miss how fast it is. As long as you are willing to wait it's worth the savings.

[jimmy4321]

With Amazon Prime a few times i got next day delivery, mostly 2 days though a few times a little longer. Also with it I got to watch Amazon Prime movies (which isn't anything special) but caught up on a few series.
Ya even when the dollar was great for US shopping , shipping rates were obscene and stopped me from shopping rockauto and other auto part sites.

[my5cents]

I was in the market for small G8 base Halogen 35W bulbs for some under counter lights.

Rona sells them for $9.69 each, a lot for a bulb smaller than an unshelled peanut.

Found a place in Quebec, Lumenco. $1.55 each. Again go through all the steps,,, shipping ?

UPS Standard $33.51
UPS Expedited $38.17
UPS Express $44.42

No other options for shipping.

Now I could get free shipping, all I had to do was buy, I think $35 worth. Let's see, I have 3 fixtures, I go through about 1½ bulbs a year, so 24 bulbs would last about 16 years. So that'd be 2035.

You'd think a few small light bulbs would fit in a small package that should cost, a few dollars to ship from Quebec.

[DANSPEED]

I don't know about Lumenco but I've found that companies who are online only don't usually offer a cheaper courier like Canada Post. They probably don't even have a warehouse, instead they just feed off of a central distribution center used by many other online companies managed by UPS, DHL or FedEx. I tend to look for companies online that also have store locations. They may not have the best prices but I find they have more shipping options.

Importing via UPS, DHL or FedEx has always ended in outrageous additional costs for me. Last time I used FedEx they dropped my parcel off saying there's no duties or taxes owing but two weeks later I got a letter in mail stating that I owed huge brokerage fees and taxes. Sneaky! Same story with UPS. I didn't pay it, instead I did my own voluntary entry with CBSA and only paid the tax. I'll use Canada Post over the other couriers any day. Canada Post charges a flat rate handling fee. Usually I pay nothing. A few times Canada Post has incorrectly charged me duty. I just had to file a complaint and they refunded the money. Royal Mail, P2P, China Post, Singapore Post all become Canada Post with tracking available.

[my5cents]

Good thought. I don't know if Lumenco actually has a physical location or not. They have an address etc, but that doesn't mean squat, it could be a mail box in business centre.

[Urban Cowboy]

I was in the market for small G8 base Halogen 35W bulbs for some under counter lights.

Rona sells them for $9.69 each, a lot for a bulb smaller than an unshelled peanut.

Found a place in Quebec, Lumenco. $1.55 each. Again go through all the steps,,, shipping ?

UPS Standard $33.51
UPS Expedited $38.17
UPS Express $44.42

No other options for shipping.

Now I could get free shipping, all I had to do was buy, I think $35 worth. Let's see, I have 3 fixtures, I go through about 1½ bulbs a year, so 24 bulbs would last about 16 years. So that'd be 2035.

You'd think a few small light bulbs would fit in a small package that should cost, a few dollars to ship from Quebec.

The problem is "UPS".