Xiaomi Powerbank from Banggood - no box ?

varbos · 2018-05-30T08:43:18.000Z

Last month I purchased a Xiaomi Powerbank 2 from Banggood. This was intended to be a birthday gift for my father.

I received it the other day and this is what I got - just the bare Powerbank wrapped in foam and throw into a mailing box!

I find this unacceptable for several reasons:

Can no longer give as a birthday gift
Cannot verify authenticity without the Xiaomi sticker (which comes on outside of box)
I don’t know condition of item - is it a fake? customer return? Factory reject? manufacturing date is 2017-09

Banggood are acting like it’s no big deal, they say they did me a favour to avoid ‘wobble’ during shipping. But for me it seems totally unacceptable and basically a waste of €18. I now have to go out and buy something else for the birthday gift, I cannot gift wrap a grubby open item. If I had known this is what I would receive, I would not have bought it, I would have used another store. (in fact there were many cheaper options at the time incl Gearbest but I went with Banggood because I foolishly thought they were more reliable)

What do you think, am I overreacting? If you paid full price for this and intended it as a gift, would you be happy to get what is pictured above ?

For reference, this is what I expected to receive (and what many customer images show)…a nice new box with factory seal on top.

raccoon · 2018-05-30T09:00:30.000Z

I would not be happy.

If Banggood wouldn't offer a me refund, and if I paid with PayPal or credit card, I would dispute the transaction.

atbglenn · 2018-05-30T09:08:09.000Z

Wow!, that’s not good. It looks like a return to me. I would definitely set up a dispute with PayPal if I were you.

BTW, I have 3 of those and they all came in their original boxes.

varbos · 2018-05-30T09:11:16.000Z

raccoon city:

I would not be happy.

If Banggood wouldn’t offer a me refund, and if I paid with PayPal or credit card, I would dispute the transaction.

Thanks for feedback.

FPV · 2018-05-30T09:13:21.000Z

Unless it is a return, defective unit, or otherwise with issues (ie performance issues, not real, PCB clearly fake, fake accessories and cables, wobbly connector, not the right amperage …):
this is how I receive many items from Chinese sellers. Most flashlights and electronics I bought came in a white, generic box or in no box at all.
Official packaging or a branded box can be another purchase option in some cases (“in giftbox”, “retail box”,…)

edit: One exception would be Chinese cell phones which typically come with their own box/packaging.

varbos · 2018-05-30T09:18:02.000Z

FPV:

Unless it is a return, defective unit, or otherwise with issues (ie performance issues, not real, PCB clearly fake, fake accessories and cables, wobbly connector, not the right amperage …):
this is how I receive many items from Chinese sellers. Most flashlights and electronics I bought came in a white, generic box or in no box at all.
Official packaging or a branded box can be another purchase option in some cases (“in giftbox”, “retail box”,…)

Thanks for feedback. Yes, with some products this is normal. But this is not how Xiaomi Powerbank units are sold.

I previously bought 5+ units from Banggood and other sellers. They always come in a sealed retail box with authenticity sticker on outside - you need to scratch the sticker to reveal a code, which you enter on Xiaomi website to authenticate the product.

In order to come like this it means someone has opened the sealed box and removed the packaging. (or some other possibility - eg it is not genuine, factory return etc)

will34 · 2018-05-30T10:01:56.000Z

The box looks very suspicious, but I can see a number of reasons why the box was damaged or missing and the shipping department assumed it was ok to ship in another box without telling you. If it was a fake it would most likely come with a fake box as well.

If you have the tools to verify it’s authenticity and functionality, you could ask for a partial refund.

varbos · 2018-05-30T10:32:19.000Z

will34:

The box looks very suspicious, but I can see a number of reasons why the box was damaged or missing and the shipping department assumed it was ok to ship in another box without telling you. If it was a fake it would most likely come with a fake box as well.

I can think of excuses but not valid reasons.

If box is damaged, don’t send product to customer who paid full price. List the unit as Grade B with discount.

However manufacture date is 2017-09. I bought in 2018-05. With the high turnover of Banggood and this item in particular (Sold: 25042) that is highly unusual. This suggests to me that if the unit is genuine (which I cannot be sure since the box & sticker is important part of authenticity process) the unit is a customer return or refurb or something of this nature.

In any case, I paid full price for a new sealed unit, I did not want a refurb, customer return, fake, anything. I bought it as a gift and I simply cannot give it in the present condition. Maybe it varies by country but in my culture it would be considered rude to give an open/unboxed item as a birthday gift. The recipient might think I am giving him something I have owned and used personally for some months like a cheapskate !

ChrisGarrett · 2018-05-30T19:01:18.000Z

There is a lot of info on how to spot a fake Xiaomi Mi power bank:

Legit Mi power banks

Chris