Ali Express oddity ...
 

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Ali Express oddity - free shipping with EU plug

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Looking around on Ali Express, comparing prices with Amazon and Ebay.

There was an store that was charging £26 for shipping to the UK for an item with a UK plug but offered free shipping for shipping with EU plug.

It did estimate shipping at 2 weeks for the UK plug and 3 weeks with the EU option.

Any idea why?


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 11:52 am
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UK is a much smaller place so stocking UK kit costs more money...since Brexit, we have become a genuine insignificance to the rest of the world when it comes to supplying kit. It costs more to stock UK-only kit.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 11:57 am
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That just never occurred to me, of course the UK plug is quite specific.

Although that was the case before 2016 as well though.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 12:00 pm
schwaa reacted
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Might ship containers to an EU country with EU spec and can send on from stock held briefly there, where as UK specific drops are not sent in bulk. Dunno, hand waving really. Just add it the “rip off Britain” stories we need to get used to.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 12:06 pm
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The UK plug isn't insignificant in part because it's not a UK plug, it's a type g, used in among others, Ireland, Singapore and Hong Kong too.
Even if it were uk specific, we might by physically small but we're still a large market with high disposable income compared with much of the world.

I'm all for a bit of Brexit bashing but seriously, the way people on here go on you'd think it was responsible for the paleogene extinction.

Most likely answers op are:
Different warehouse in a different region.
It's boxed with an EU plug and needs manual repacking to a type g.
Just because they can.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 12:08 pm
jacobff reacted
 pk13
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Ali Express used to ship mainland/air to the UK from Russia.
It actually used to give you an option to pick a distributor point.
Wonder why the don't do that anymore.
It's not all brexit


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 1:52 pm
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It will have had an impact - maybe not directly, but costs will have gone up...likewise, cost of living will have had an impact and the Ukraine war will also be playing a part - all of these things will be pushing costs up and I'm guessing demand down...


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 1:56 pm
 IHN
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you’d think it was responsible for the paleogene extinction.

Yeah, but, you know, blue passports


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 2:01 pm
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Yeah, but, you know, blue passports

Not sure dinosaurs would have qualified back then, it's just the modern ones that want those. And let's face it, the actual lizards are all going to be on black passports anyhow.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 2:08 pm
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It will have had an impact – maybe not directly

Ah, like the Indian space program then?


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 2:10 pm
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I expect it's supply.

We used to buy kit at work which came with Europlugs, it was considerably cheaper I assume because of economies of scale. I had a boxful of UK "kettle leads" to swap out as part of the prestage.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 2:15 pm
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Shouldn't the point be that buying ANYTHING from Aliexpress that needs to be plugged in is a terrible idea?

You only have to watch a few of the BigClive videos on YouTube to realise how dangerous cheap stuff that comes out of China can be.


 
Posted : 11/09/2023 2:46 pm
kelvin reacted

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