I placed my first Gearbest order on the 20th for this laser engraver and paid 135.93. There was only two shipping choices, the standard(free?) shipping that I chose, and the expedited shipping option. 7 days later, it was not shipped. So I found a button that said to mark it for their attention and left it at that. On day 10 I contacted them. They said sorry, we can not ship with the method “you chose”. …what? So I asked what the extra would be to get my item. This is what they replied:
First of all, I think this item said ‘free shipping’. None the less, doesn’t an extra $33 or $45 from China seem like a lot for a box of parts? I have seen the boxes they ship them in on Youtube, and it’s not big at all. What are other member’s thoughts on this? Is this a fair offer from Gearbest?
Well if it is as-pictured (who really knows from China) the gantry wheels are better shaped/fitted for the track than the others I have seen. So I’m still tempted. I haven’t decided yet. And even with another $35 it is still the cheapest.
IMO, I think free shipping (meaning the regular, airmail in gov’t postal services) has limited volume limitation with regards to physical dimensions.
As an example, I tried to order from GB a Xiaomi 4-wheel trolley and though their website offer ‘free shipping’, but when added to cart and show the final bill, it showed that the ‘free shipping’ option in no longer available but only the private shippers like DHL, etc. will accept it albeit at a price 3x more than the trolley itself.
And looking at the product link you sent, my, I guess it’s more space-consuming than the trolley I wanted to order.
Well, in my experience, $33 or $45 for express shipment (<1 week) shipment from China is actually incredibly cheap. But the goof-up here is their system offering you free shipping and then later realizing that it can’t go through that route.
My faith in GB survived, thanks to Jona’s work. I received a reply in my support ticket this morning that said they could make an exception and cover the extra shipping cost for me. That is very kind! It was also noted they would make the change to the website so it offered the right shipping.
Good idea to step up to the plate on this one (it’s an old American saying). I realize your site is massive - do you have people who regularly check the site for consistency? As an example, when the regulations for shipping Li-on batteries changed a while back the order pages were saying “free shipping to the U.S.” but when I tried to add batteries to my cart it told me the batteries couldn’t be shipped to the U.S. What was really puzzling is that it even said this if I tried to order from the US warehouse with shipping to the US. Anyways, keep up the good service and low prices.
It is fantastic to see an international company jump in to solve a problem on the same day in little over 6 hours. It can be hard to get that kind of service locally.
Good going GearBest! This is how it should be done. If you provide incorrect information, the onus is on you to fix your information then fix the situation. Thanks for doing it right!