All my 11/11 other orders have arrived, it doesnt take 4-7 weeks, most were here within 2-3 weeks even those shipped china post small packet (slow boat)
Hell liitokala was at my door in 10 days … but they werent selling goods they havent produced yet
Sofirn is lying about stuff being in stock and selling it, thats all there is to it
Once my disputes are resolved ill post up msgs from em admitting to not having items made when it was sold or marked as “shipped”
In the meantime is what a sofirn seller posted on their fbook group ….
Their lights are fine but their aliexpress sales practices are poor
And 17track says it arrived in the Netherlands, and postnl says possible delivery tomorrow.
So if Sofirn finds a for the customer less alarming way to match their production/selling strategy with the Aliexpress system, no fuss at all would have been created. I got my 11-11 order within a month and that is totally fine.
I know it doesn’t help anyone in their current situation, but I totally avoid ordering in November through the end of February from any chinese seller. The chance of problems are exponentially greater during those 4 months. You have 11-11, Christmas, and the Chinese new year, where the entire country shuts down for a week or more.
I think people are just blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. To me what is important is I get the items I order and I’ve made close to a hundred separate orders from Aliexpresss since 2014 so I know how long it takes and what to expect. I don’t care what methods they use to get around Aliexpress’s tight restrictions as it doesn’t affect the fact that Sofirn will deliver. Also what is important to me is if the seller stands behind their products. Sofirn is top notch in the warranty/guarantee department from my experience and this is what matters. In fact, I trust Sofirn more than the much more popular Lumintop and Mateminco/Astrolux.
That is what it is about. Not slow shipping once the item is actually shipped. The concern is about a seller not being able to admit the item is not presently in stock and faking tracking numbers.
I believe much of it is cultural. Happened to me when ordering 200 custom flashlights to resell. Several promises were broken, including over 6 wks late shipping. Breaking verbal contracts is more like amending to them, and late shipping was more like saving face, even though it was one broken promise after another. Sofirn is very interested in serving westerners, and gets it right most of the time according to western standards.
Here’s a short article that might explain some, and maybe help understand ways to communicate better.
One question: did your orders have a delivery guarantee?
Mine did and if I don’t receive my order by the original deadline (today) I will likely file a dispute. It might seem harsh especially since my order has now reached customs, but if a contract is not respected, it is misleading and dishonest. The seller was under no obligation to offer such a guarantee.
Very interesting article. Most of it rings true, but I am surprised by the section on contracts. In my experience Chinese are extremely rigid on punctuality and contract terms. It’s something I quite appreciate in my Chinese friends; they are reliable. They usually expect those who breach contracts to admit fault and compensate.
The bits on communication are very relevant. I found patience, politeness, and repeated attempts are especially helpful. Otherwise, the different styles of communication (Western: direct and detailed; Chinese: very concise and sometimes not addressing all questions raised or the intentions of the questions) can result in lots of frustration.
Yes, Robert, this is very cultural. It is difficult for a person used to western ways to remember the huge differences. Good article, too. Thanks. I need to take my own advice and just Chill.
Their products are fine, but if folks keep letting stuff like this slide or making excuses for em they will think nothing is wrong and keep these shady practices
The folks in china dont know how to say NO until u point out they lied about shipping in time, used fake tracking numbers and u ask to CANCEL the order
Then they sure know how to say NO
As a note making fake numbers and falsely marking stuff as shipped prevents the buyer from cancelling the order (which should have been auto cancelled at that point)
I just wanted to let you know what I decided to do (since I am the one who started the thread). Sofirn still hasnt shipped my ordes and I requested a refund. They promissed my quite some time ago to ship it “tomorrow” and never did. They also stopped responding to my messages. At this point I now longer care how good the flashlights I ordered are. They lied to me several times and their behavior can be best described by the word fraudulent. They have very dishonest business practices and I will avoid them in the future.
By seeing this thread I realized that I was in the same boat. Placed an order on 11.11, got a fake tracking number. Later they’ve send me a new tracking number, which is starting to show some progress. Really wonder if this number can be trusted this time…
I don’t know what they are thinking. I doubt they would lose much if they just told people to wait.
I ordered a Xiaomi phone once from their store. They told me right away it was out of stock and offered to either extend the waiting period or cancel and were honest that they could not tell me when they can send it. So it’s definitely not all Chinese. And that’s also how you “subvert” the aliexpress system.
In the meantime, with all the misconduct of flashoholics-workshop-Sofirm, including fake tracking number and less than ideal CS communication, I stayed :sunglasses: and today I received my 11-11 Sofirn order, within a month of ordering.
Btw, the DF10 is a fun flashlight, nice little addition to the workshop
Just wanted to add that my orders from 11/29 has all shipped. Tracking seems to indicate correct info. Only negative was that my msgs to the store took 5 days for a response lol. I mean I forgot that I even sent them a msg.