Is it a criminal offence, as it is in UK?

The laws vary from state to state, but I think in most states it is illegal in some manner. In Colorado, merchants are required to sell items at the lowest advertised price, be it the price on the shelf, in an ad, posted outside, whatever. They are also required to sell the item that is advertised and have pretty limited options when it comes to substituting items of similar description -- and they are required to make it very clear that this is being done and give the consumer the choice to cancel, even if some contract had already been signed. They can also be charged with false advertising if an add implies one product but the fine print discloses that it's really something else that is being offered.

There have been numerous times when I've been in the grocery store where they have kept outdated price tags from a prior sale on the shelf and when I point it out at checkout, they go check the shelf, remove the tag, and honor the sale price. I've never had any problem there. I have had some hassles at gas stations that have their signs at one price and the pumps at a higher price. I'm pretty sure that it has never been deliberate, just sloppiness, because the opposite has also been true and the pump price is lower than the sign. But the clerks often don't know the law and there's no manager around, so they sometimes try to get by with a, "Sorry about that," but I don't budge, even if it's just a few cents a gallon -- they need to get their act together. Only one time did they refuse to refund the difference, even after I told them that I would file a complaint with the state and the BBB. So I did.

The local Safeway was having problems with their curbside gas price sign and it kept showing a ridiculously low price. I stopped and told them about it and they go, "Yeah, we know, we're having problems." I pointed out that, legally, they had to honor the price, so if it's not showing the correct price they should just shut it off until it's fixed. The next day I drove by again and it was showing $0.399/gallon, so I stopped, filled up, took the receipt in and told them that I expected them to honor the advertised price. They did -- and when I passed them on the way home a couple hours later, the sign was turned off.

 

This prompted me to look back and check all my orders I made when I built my CNC machine back in 2021.
All the CNC components were sourced in China and all the orders were placed with Amazon. So I guess I have yet to place an order with AE.

The advantage with Amazon, et-al is that there is some degree of recourse, as opposed to the likes of AliExpress where emails go unanswered.

 

The advantage with Amazon, et-al is that there is some degree of recourse, as opposed to the likes of AliExpress where emails go unanswered.

I have been able to return purchases from Amazon with full refund, no questions asked.

 

The advantage with Amazon, et-al is that there is some degree of recourse, as opposed to the likes of AliExpress where emails go unanswered.

I agree. Amazon gets its share of shady sellers, but Amazon does seem to make a decent effort to keep them in check. The handful of complaints to Amazon that I have made about a merchant have always been answered and resolved by the merchant within a couple days. From that I infer that Amazon has a reputation for booting merchants off if they aren't responsive to complaints.

 

Over the past two years I've made about 175 orders from AliExpress sellers.

I wouldn't have made so many orders if I wasn't happy with the outcome, but that doesn't mean there aren't some problems. For perspective, during this time I have filed fewer than 10 disputes and all have ended favorably. The majority were settled instantly, a couple required a few exchanges with customer service, and a couple required being assertive with the seller—but in the end it's all worked out.

These are some things I've learned and practices I've adopted to maximize my chances of positive outcomes:

1. The bait and switch technique to getting eyeballs on a particular store is common. If a price seems too good to be true it probably is, in fact, almost certainly is, but it isn't too hard to tell. You can always choose the "buy it now" option and see what you are ordering if it's not clear.

2. A seller that uses this method, even it it is just to get people to look at their listing and not an attempt to cheat people, has defected on a tacit agreement to be honest and so I don't trust them. This means I just move on and look elsewhere for what I need.

3. For the most part, I limit my exposure to orders of around $10. This is usually big enough to get the most favorable shipping terms but small enough not to hurt if it goes pear-shaped. There are some exceptions to this for larger items but those are purchased from sellers know to me, or ones that present a solid aspect including a long tenure and many units sold.

4. Reviews of sellers are useless. They are almost all going to be either an automatic "I received the item and it was packaged well" or "this seller is a complete crook"—and they can be for the same seller. There are exceptions where there is photographic documentation and sensible comments and these can be helpful but it doesn't change the general rule that you can't tell about sellers from reviews.

5. Careful reading of the postings and choosing ones with photos of the actual product results in a fairly accurate assessment of what you are going to receive. Postings that rely on renderings, or make foolish claims, are ones I avoid. Mostly, I have either been pleasantly surprised by the value, or got what I expected to be the baseline. Rarely have I been disappointed.

6. Paying a bit more for better shipping is worth the money. Never buy something without tracking. Lately, AliExpress has an "on-time guarantee" with a small penalty paid to you if it is missed. They are trying to compete with Temu, so many things are now 14 day delivery.

7. I can buy things from AliExpress sellers that I couldn't get anywhere else for the price. It allows me to buy standard inventory parts for prototyping, consumables, and specialist tools that are only occasionally needed that I wouldn't be able to buy otherwise. While I wouldn't use this route for a commercial product, for hobby and prototyping it's a great way to get started before ordering from Newark, or Mouser, or the like.

8. There are several "official stores" on AliExpress. If I want to buy dev boards from Lolin, or Espressif, or LilyGo; or tools from UNI-T, or ANENG—for example, it is the official channel and the prices are better than the big distributers.

So, in the end, caveat emptor is a necessity on AliExpress. I know I am playing a game and I have sussed out the rules. It is worth the small risk to me for the large benefit. I can recommend AliExpress as a source for anyone that is willing to address it this way, but not if you expect it to be like the big distributors.

Hi,

Those are some very good points. I guess you could have a problem with any outlet that sells stuff.

Also, now we all know you work for AliExpress (ha ha ha just kidding)

 

I recently was looking for small 'scopes on AliExpress and this listing 1005005575297190 popped up which showed the popular FIRSI-1013D. For a seemingly Very LOW price.
If adding it to the cart , it shows as actually purchasing the smaller/cheaper FIRSI-138PRO. Which is shown in the add also but very small pic.
It could be overlooked if not alert .
I have been caught once before by this switch scam.

Bare in mind, that when you deal with AE you are usually working with a broker- not the manufacturer. Brokers have poor understanding of English and less of the product being sold- they are just trying to make a margin. Buyer beware. Make sure everything is spelled out accurately before purchase.