Keep in mind, Aliexpress is a marketplace, like eBay. There are good sellers and bad sellers. The official stores operated by the recognized brands often discussed here are reputable and generally safe. But also note that there is no verification system, or check mark that denotes that a store is actually the official, or authorized store.
Some sellers will try to make themselves appear to be the official store, with or without the use of the word in the store name. Complicating things is that some Chinese brands seemingly operate more than one official store, but that’s not really an issue with the flashlight brands, more the electronics brands. To have some assurance that you’re in the right place, follow the links from the brand representatives here, or from their website.
You’ll also find that “Moar is bettuh” is a popular sales tactic, even more so on AX. Multiple listings for the same item is customary, and they’ll differ slightly in price, or product options, or shipping options.
One thing every visitor to AX sees is some sort of popup for a new user coupon, whether they’re a new user or not. There will also be copious amounts of other things trying to entice you to other types of coupon savings. Don’t predicate your shopping based on coupons, which are sort of like a game of chance. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, governed by some set of rules I’ve never bothered to decipher. I’m sure some have figured out the system, and actually derive some real savings from them, but for a casual shopper, it’s probably not worth the effort to chase them. If it looks good, clip it, and see if it works. If it doesn’t, don’t worry about it.
“Wild west” isn’t a bad way to describe AX. Lots of traps, but stick to known trails, keep your wits about you, and there will be less risk.
Banggood isn’t a marketplace, but a store. If everything goes smoothly, it’s a nice experience, because their express shipping can be pretty quick as far as overseas shipping goes. I’ve had limited experience with them, but is has been good. Others have not.
But their house brand, Astrolux, produces some interesting flashlights, and they are the official source for them, so they may be unavoidable, at least if you don’t want to pay a premium from a third party seller on another site. As with the coupon deal, they have their own sort of loyalty discount scheme I’ve never bothered with.
