DHGATE - Aaaaaackkkkk! :) Good/Bad Seller List

Be careful with the china cheapie's , they have been known to put out small microscopic flakes of metals in your grind , very hard to see but it is notorious for these in-expensive grinders made with inferior metals . Just looking out for your health even though that orange one does look cool. I have bought some cheap ones in the past that all looked freaken amazing until i did some inspecting and after time they never lasted. Better to put your money towards something that has some status.

* By the way guy's that dhgate glass looks sickkk , very nice pieces. I normally don't order from the gate these days but you have inspired me to pick up a copy i been wanting for awhile since i cant justify the price on the real deal.

@Justpassedu Very good points, thank you. Health and safety always first in my life.

biohacker said:

What @lazylathe said! Just posted about mine in the herb grinders thread, thinking about getting a second I love it so much.

@lazylathe...

@Chicken #420 What's the consistency like with that thing? I noticed you love SCS and SLX grinders but IMO they are WAY too coarse consistency for my liking. The finest consistencies i've seen have been both plates with the kannastor. I've never found anything as fine as the coarse plate even, unless we're talking a tiny small 4 piece.

Click to expand...

Yes, I also find SCS and SLX grind to be too coarse, but that can be moderated somewhat by inverting the grinder (keeping herb in the grind chamber) and giving it a bunch if twists.

The pyramid teeth grinder has the same problem, but the grind seems to start out finer, so not as much "overtwist" is required. I like it a lot so far... but time will reveal just how good or bad this grinder really is as it wears in.

As for the health concerns expressed above, the "DCOU" orange cheapie with pyramid teeth seems to have clean, even anodizing and be free of metal chips or anodize flaking... but again, time will tell!

BTW, I've only had the DCOU pyramid teeth grinder for about 10 days, so it's still in its honeymoon stages. Might turn into a bitch once the honeymoon is over... we'll see!

Chicken #420 said:

Yes, I also find SCS and SLX grind to be too coarse, but that can be moderated somewhat by inverting the grinder (keeping herb in the grind chamber) and giving it a bunch if twists.

Click to expand...

Just seems so destructive. I love great sharp teeth so the minimal disruption to the gold occurs, but that's just me! Just bought my 3rd kannastor. I just don't see anything beating the coarse or fine plates if you don't like coarser chunkier grinds. I like it all!

biohacker said:

Just seems so destructive. I love great sharp teeth so the minimal disruption to the gold occurs, but that's just me! Just bought my 3rd kannastor. I just don't see anything beating the coarse or fine plates if you don't like coarser chunkier grinds. I like it all!

Click to expand...

In an effort to derail my own thread even further...

I have read a lot about these types of concerns, and the resulting disruption and trichome tearing, etc.

My thoughts on it are this: You kind of WANT your herb torn apart, disrupted, an generally bashed and mulched into tiny bits... to allow more even, efficient, and thorough vaping processes. I believe that this is THE reason that so many of us prefer a finer grind. After all, it's not like our grinders are sharp enough to tear the molecules apart and destroy the psychoactives!

I have noticed some flavor differences (not so much that it's glaringly obvious, but it's there!) with less pulverized herb... but not enough that it's made me reconsider my preference for a finer grind. My own theory is that the flavor differences have to do with the quantity and ratio of various terpenes and cannabinoids being released vs. staying unreleased toward the middle of the "clumps" of coarser ground material, where the hot air and its effects can't reach as well.

YOMMV, as always.

Chicken #420 said:

Click to expand...

i want this one

Oh yeah... lovin' me some DHGate.

Not.

Nothing yet arrived from DHGate, but already 2 problems:

One pipe has an apparently "fake" tracking number, won't go live even though all the other tracking numbers are working. Seller has low feedback, and has completely stopped communicating. Probably out $50 on that one, seems somewhat scam-ish at this point.

Second problem just happened this morning... seller messaged me that they were "out" of that pipe, and won't be making more. Asked me which of two alternatives I would like... I hate both. Listing is still active, despite my repeated overly verbose and angry hate mail to the seller to remove the fucking listing so more people don't have the same problem I did. No reply so far. Seller has 98.7% positive feedback with over 12,000 transactions... I really thought I was safe with that particular (and most pricey) purchase. I'll keep you up to date on this issue, and I'll reveal the name of the seller if this is not resolved. In the meantime, if you are considering a DHGate purchase, be wary of any seller with 98.7% feedback on over 12,000 transactions... it might be the same crew I'm butting heads with!

More to eventually follow.

Cl4ud3 said:

I've had both good and terrible experiences from DHGATE. Lot of good stores but one to avoid is Kathy0578, Seller sent me a damaged badly packaged glass product said they were sending a replacement and never did. I tried for 5 months to get a refund or replacement but DHGATE themselves were completely useless and unhelpful.

Suffice to say I no longer do business with them and their loss is American and European glass's gain. Buying cheap glass can be a false economy anyway, half of the Chinese glass items I've had from there have cracked from tiny faults months later.

Click to expand...

She sent me the wrong thing and even after taking pictures and measurements I couldnt get it replaced.

One to avoid for sure....

Steven IMZ does deals trough skype and accepts paypal ,but i doubt he will screw you over DHgate either, i also like that he has videos on youtube showing operation ,though he is using a bit too much water..
His skype username is stevenlmz79 ) .
By the way you can notice that most of the sellers have more than one shop on dhgate/aliexpress,if they get too much bad feedback of one of their profiles,they just abandon it ,but continue business with their other accounts., it is easy to see by the sameness of the listings . So beware of kathy ,i got my lemon with her at ioffer back in the days .

Dialog from my DHGate customer service "Live Chat" attempting to resolve the scam listing, where the seller continues to list an item that they have ZERO stock on, hoping to reel in more victims:

mod note: chat transcript removed at Chicken #420's request

Draw your own conclusions.

Chicken #420 said:

Dialog from my DHGate customer service "Live Chat" attempting to resolve the scam listing, where the seller continues to list an item that they have ZERO stock on, hoping to reel in more victims:
Draw your own conclusions.

Click to expand...

Just wasted some brain cells reading trough it.. And since conclusion has to be drawn : Well i see that you are angry,but ebay and amazon support is no better ,i have friends working there that spam me with ridicule stories and also from experience i can tell you that their CS would have blow you off if you hold that kind of language with them without a warning for sure.I've received this advice too many times in my life so i am passing it on to you,flaming wont get you any business done,the world doesn't need you to defend it from Scammers, you need to chill and focus on whats important for you ,so you can be compensated at some level for your trouble. As mentioned sellers have multiple shops, so removing one listing wont stop the scamming for sure. If you think scams are not happening on amazon maybe you weren't around for the "Affordable rosin press thread".. .
Communication with Chinese vendors and support will never be easy,but IMO thats reflected in the price also. I am surprised actually to see ,that their rep has decent language skills and handles it like a pro . They are different culture and different country and things go different there, i think you got a bit spoiled from that "customer is always right" slogan that goes on repeat in your country .
I am sorry if it looks that i am trying to teach you a lesson, i am not,just trying to save you some brain cells,a friendly advice from guy that gets hot headed too easy . After all nothing will compensate you for the time spent in bad mood ,so once again just focus on getting your refund.. which happens really fukin slow,but that is kind of "" you get what you pay for"" .Also there are many re-sellers of Chinese goods in the US/EU ,if you don't mind twice/triple the price ,you will get top notch customer service .

Abysmal,
Thanks for the feedback. I figured the whole thing was probably a waste of time and typing, but it is still worth trying to get something like this resolved. If not, at least we can see what DHGate's customer service about an OBVIOUS ILLEGAL SCAM that they have the evidence is occurring is like. So far, I'm not impressed.

Angry? You can bet I'm angry. The $75 or so is not important to me, but the fact that these clowns are aware of it and continue to let it happen to other people is simply EVIL and UNACCEPTABLE in a civilized society, regardless of cultural differences, pricing, literacy and politeness of CS agent, or how any other company in the world responds to such complaints. What is going on in that organization is WRONG... and fraudulently CRIMINAL... and they need to fix it. Period.

BTW, what I said about Amazon is true... I made them aware of a scam and the listing was GONE within about 20 Minutes. Not that Amazon is all that great of a vendor, I rarely order from them any more.

Again, thanks for the criticism... I will consider it with an open and lit mind.

Is there a list anywhere of positive and negative DHgate sellers? I usually use sunshine but it would be nice to know who to avoid.

little maggie said:

Is there a list anywhere of positive and negative DHgate sellers? I usually use sunshine but it would be nice to know who to avoid.

Click to expand...

That's kind of what I'm hoping this thread will turn into.

ataxian said:

I have my eye on the 3 piece from SANTA CRUZ.

Click to expand...

I bought the medium...fairly even coarse grind, nothing like a Kannastor though and found it a touch cramped for my large hands, so I bought the large, and that was way too massive! @ataxian I highly suggest you look into Kannastor grinders like @lazylathe mentioned the Vape Gr8tr. It's the best 3 piece FINE grind out there, and if you get the solid or jar body style 4 piece, you can use it like a 3 piece but get both coarse and fine grind plates. I just bought two of them!

Chicken #420 said:

Draw your own conclusions.

Click to expand...

Chicken #420 said:

I will consider it with an open and lit mind.

Click to expand...

Dude, thanks for sharing but i'm with @Abysmal Vapor on this one. I understand your frustration but there is a better way than calling the CS rep a "daft bitch"! You fucking made my day though!!!

IMO, and in my experiences, 99% of the time I just have to EXPECT it..... I don't know how some people live with themselves, and are able to function in life, get jobs, etc. It really does amaze me.

I've only ordered from stevenlmz and have always had an excellent experience! Now I have DHGate Anxiety Syndrome DAS?

I just placed an order from "Glassartist" because there is a piece I really want...ended up ordering a bunch and then requested an order cancel because I found out about shipping delays due to Chinese Holiday, and i'm moving very soon and knew it would be a shit show. Holy shit what a hassle! Communication was slow, but there, and what should have been maybe 2-3 exchanges turned into a protracted shit show and Dhgate finally refunded me because it didn't get shipped out on time. I nearly contacted mastercard because I was getting fucked around too much for my liking.

I'll be placing some more orders shortly and sharing my experience. DHGate is a necessity for me as I break glass far too often (not far off from @ataxian believe it or not!) and can't afford to pay more than $50-70 per piece when there is a good chance i'll wreck it.

Actually now with my non glass vaporizer (flowerpot) i've been thinking if I could get a stainless steel bong with a "window" i'd be all set!

Update:

24 hours later.

DHGate has allowed the seller listing for this pipe to remain, despite the fact that they are FULLY AWARE that the seller has none in stock, and is scamming people by offering to ship something else of lesser value:

https://www.dhgate.com/product/smoking-dogo-2016-glass-water-smoking-pipe/393007569.html

The seller of this scam, not surprisingly, has been completely silent on the issue, and will not reply to any messages or refund requests.

So far, the report card is a solid F for DHGate's response to fraud reports, and a nice well deserved F- for seller "Smokingdogo" who is perpetuating this reeking scam. Just goes to show you, folks, a high rating (98.7% positive) and high number of transactions (12,304) does NOT necessarily mean it is a good or safe seller on DHGate, and god help you if you have a problem there, as the main DHGate organization seems to prefer allowing scammers to continue operating rather than clean house.

Moral so far? Be careful who you buy from on DHGate, but we all pretty much knew that already!

I'll continue to report on my other 10 orders as this all continues to unfold!


P.S. Last night, I asked the mods to remove the dialog transcript a few posts up. This was because, at the time, I wanted to give DHGate the benefit of the doubt and see if they would end up making things right... and didn't want to unneccessarily slam them. I can see, in retrospect, that I was wrong... I should have left the transcript so people can see the "canned responses" to complaints and the continued attempts to shove me back in "the box" by brushing me off with requests to fill out automated complaint forms instead of them taking notice and shutting down the fraudulent listing!

DHGate customer service - gloves are off. You guys are doing a lame work, and the world should know about your incompetence and protection of criminal fraudsters!

Fack, is there an alternative to DHgate for cheap glass? $50-$75 tops.

biohacker said:

Fack, is there an alternative to DHgate for cheap glass? $50-$75 tops.

Click to expand...

You thought about looking at glass artists on IG, like https://www.instagram.com/pacstarglass/ ? I know he does inexpensive rigs that are good quality and american rather than cheap china rubbish. You can find a lot of good bargains on IG from newer glass artists too.

biohacker said:

Fack, is there an alternative to DHgate for cheap glass? $50-$75 tops.

Click to expand...

I've bought a lot of glass (don't ask... it's an addictive fiasco!) on Ebay, Amazon, and various forums' classifieds. I think the highest that I typically pay is around $80, but most pieces I've hoovered up are between $30 and $50. I have also bought quite a few more pieces (*Cough* Don't ask...) at various sites such as badassglass, thickassglass, smoke cartel, bake bros ( lame...), and a few Canadian and Netherlands places, and one beautiful recycler piece from a forum member here on FC! These purchases have been a bit higher, from maybe $80 up to $200-ish... which is the absolute MAXIMUM that I allow myself to spend on a piece of glass. Man... I can't believe I just posted this publicly!

Yeah... I'm addicted to Crack... but unfortunately it's the "crack" of breaking glass, as I can't seem to go more than about a month before klutzing away another formerly great glass piece by inadvertently clanking it into shards!

It's an expensive hobby, folks... but SO worth it!

Chicken #420 said:

I've bought a lot of glass (don't ask... it's an addictive fiasco!) on Ebay, Amazon, and various forum's classifieds. I think the highest that I typically pay is around $80, but most pieces I've hoovered up are between $30 and $50. I have also bought quite a few more pieces (*Cough* Don't ask...) at various sites such as badassglass, thickassglass, smoke cartel, bake bros ( lame...), and a few Canadian and Netherland places, and one beautiful recycler piece from a forum member here on FC! These purchases have been a bit higher, from maybe $80 up to $200-ish... which is the absolute MAXIMUM that I allow myself to spend on a piece of glass. Man... I can't believe I just posted this publicly!

Yeah... I'm addicted to Crack... but unfortunately it's the "crack" of breaking glass, as I can't seem to go more than about a month before klutzing away another formerly great glass piece by inadvertently clanking it into shards!

It's an expensive hobby, folks... but SO worth it!

Click to expand...

I said I wouldn't go over $100 myself. I'm now waiting for a piece that cost quite a bit more than my limit and I have a few pieces over that already.

It is addictive, but I'm not a crack addict!. . . I've only cracked a couple

Update:

48 hours later, after being made aware of a scam and having all the evidence in hand, DHGate customer service has STILL failed to remove the fraudulent listing. As always, draw your own conclusions.

Seller with tracking number that does not work has finally replied. He claims that the package was boxed and shipping label created, but he lied about shipping and did not take it to post until today. Seems honestly embarrassed that he lied to me, but assures me the pipe is on the way. Tracking # still inactive, so we'll see. Looking better on that front though... at least we're talking.

As for "Smokingdogo", the DHGate seller who sells things they don't have so that they can give you a "choice" of which cheapass inferior pipe you'd "prefer" instead of what your own dumbass lying mind tells you you want (hey... they're just looking out for your best interests, as you don't REALLY have a clue about what you should buy, after all! ), the story continues to be grim.

After many failed attempts to communicate, followed this morning by final attempts containing embedded links to these posts and threats to further spread the issue to more forums, they *amazingly* FINALLY started talking. Their response was almost immediate, and ended up being exactly the kind of slippery scammer weasle moves I was expecting... I have to give them an A+ in the spin doctoring department!

According to "Smokingdogo", the whole thing is just some kind of benevolent and caring misunderstanding. It turns out that they were SO WORRIED that I would object to the week or so that it would take to make the pipe I ordered (you know... the one they are "never making again" ) that they just HAD to tell me the only option in the universe was to buy one of the two "more expensive and better pipe for you" options so I could be "happy" now without further delays. Anything else would be an insult to me as a customer, because I need a pipe IMMEDIATELY according to them...

Wow. I didn't know I had it that bad... maybe it's time for lawmakers to institute waiting periods and background checks for pipe purchases? According to this seller, I'm apparently totally OUT OF CONTROL and jonezing for a bong, any bong, as long as it's NOW ladies and gentlemen!

Sheesh. Whatever. I told them to make my pipe and ship it, and to let me make my own decision about whether or not I want to wait a few days. It's not like this shit is in the next state over, primed for overnight shipping ferchristsake... it's taking the slow boat from China for weeks or months!

We'll see how this one turns out... my guess is that after reading these posts, they are suddenly in damage control mode, backpeddling like crazy, firing up production for that mothballed pipe design, and hoping that this very embarrassing and public situation doesn't get any worse and cost them too much in lost sales!

As for now, I just can't find a reason to recommend Smokingdogo as a seller... it will take a LOT from them to convince me they're anything but a bunch off crooks at this point.

More updates to follow.

Further updates:

Smoking Dogo claims my pipe has been made, and has been shipped. Amazing. It will be even more amazing if it turns out to be the right pipe... just as I completely write these guys off as total scammers, I get the shipping notice! Wow. Eagerly watching this one...

The seller who claims he lied about shipping, then claims he shipped a few days later, has stopped communicating completely. No tracking results have gone live. Multiple attempts to talk followed by a refund request, and total silence after 5 days. I'll give him another few days, then write that one off as a scam loss. Too bad... it's a nice looking pipe!

My first DHGate water pipe arrived today! Oh yeah!
It's the blue/green bent neck turbine pipe in the first photo on page 1 of this thread. It arrived well packed, unbroken, and beautiful! It's a very, very good pipe... I have a similar pipe from TaG that cost 3X as much... and isn't as nice! Score.

Seller "Goesky" gets a solid A+ from me!

DHgate - Not so bad, at least so far!

More updates to follow.

Steven is A1. I’ve bought two pieces from him, and currently have one from CCG on the way. Kathy used to be good but as others said, is no longer providing the same level of service as before.

This one is catching my eye. Too bad I already got a rig sitting in customs lol.

https://www.dhgate.com/product/2017...bongs/394639753.html#s3-3-1b;searl|0329280348

Just added another order to the DHGate madness... a Diffusion Pump sidecar from Stevenlmz79.

Now 12 pipes incoming, with 1 received - a most excellent bent neck turbine can. One pipe/seller so far appears to be a scam, but with DHGate, the surprises are frequent and exciting... so who knows!

More updates to follow!