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AliExpress vs eWheels?


nickysneids

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I'm currently looking to buy an MCM5! Super stoked about, been researching my balls off any although I'm a little apprehensive about the 14" wheel size, everything else seems on par with that I want and I figure if I end up needed to make some long treks in the future I'll just deal with the smaller size. But just found the Tesla on AliExpress with 16" and only $1,122 (sigh), I'm conflicted again...

Anyway, as far as I can tell, eWheels offers a 1 year warranty that's pretty contingent on part availability and voided after any user attempts to repair or dissemble the wheel. Which is fair, but it's a $200 price difference and it doesn't cover accident protection.

With AliExpress, there's no warranty or repair included but the price difference for the MCM5 is ~$200USD and for the Tesla it's ~$300USD.

Does anyone know if it's worth saving the $100-$300 by purchasing through AliExpress and then either DIY repairing or finding a different repair service in the future? Or alternatively, are there any 1-2 year protection plans like this plan at SquareTrade that would be worth looking into? I'm trying to minimize risk relative to cost and as this will be my first big EUC purchase, any help is appreciated!

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1 hour ago, nickysneids said:

Does anyone know if it's worth saving the $100-$300 by purchasing through AliExpress and then either DIY repairing

You already inluded all taxes/tolls?

If anything is "wrong" you'll have to do DIY repairing - in such cases the only thing is that the reseller sends you spare parts. Shipping costs for retourning the wheel would have to be paid by you.

1 hour ago, nickysneids said:

or finding a different repair service in the future?

Never heardof such a thing. Imho not enough EUCs around for a repair shop. Maybe in China - comined with bike/e-scooter/etc?

1 hour ago, nickysneids said:

 I'm trying to minimize risk relative to cost and as this will be my first big EUC purchase, any help is appreciated!

If everything works out you can minimize costs with aliexpress (be sure with taxes/toll!), if not you can minimize risk with ewheels :ph34r:...

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1 hour ago, Chriull said:

You already inluded all taxes/tolls?

If anything is "wrong" you'll have to do DIY repairing - in such cases the only thing is that the reseller sends you spare parts. Shipping costs for retourning the wheel would have to be paid by you.

Never heardof such a thing. Imho not enough EUCs around for a repair shop. Maybe in China - comined with bike/e-scooter/etc?

If everything works out you can minimize costs with aliexpress (be sure with taxes/toll!), if not you can minimize risk with ewheels :ph34r:...

Didn't include taxes and tolls, didn't know there were any! I doubted there was a EUC repair shop. I'll definitely see what taxes and tolls come out to be. I'm in the US so it seemed like shipping wasn't going to cost anything.

56 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

There's no real reason to use one or the other. Do what you feel is right. Some people want more security and potential service, others have a "I can deal with a problem myself" attitude and enjoy the lower price.

Alright thanks, that simplifies it a bunch! I think I was asking just to make sure that as a whole, no one was like "don't do aliexpress for this reason" sort of thing because I got the vibe that eWheels was much more secure.

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For your candidates, the price savings might be worth it. A 2000+ wheel I'd probably buy on ewheels. But you're not making a mistake if you buy from ewheels (and shipping is a lot faster), it really depends on the prices, and it is nice to have the added certainty as a first time buyer.

Usually, Ali prices should be the end prices, that's how it is here in the EU with more fees and taxes. Just a guess.

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2 hours ago, nickysneids said:

Didn't include taxes and tolls, didn't know there were any! I 

I don't know either - i am not from the US. But you are in some kind of a a toll war with china by now? So my advice to double check this!

The inbetween mentioned shipping fees should be clearly shown by aliexpress?

One more thing i remembered in favor of ewheels was @Jason McNeil's mentioning (ewheels owner/"chief") mentioning of their specially employed ?shipping agents? doing extra quality controll in china for them. So one has a much better chance to get a good wheel at first try, because the are "presorted".

Beside this he is a ?big? reseller getting the better quality stuff - and any outlier he probably gets by bad chance is rejected by internal/"chinese shipping agents" quality control or if it slips through quickly replaced.

But as said, i am neither from the US nor did i ever have any relationship/personal experience with ewheels - all i know is "just" from their engagment here and customer reports.

Maybe @Jason McNeil wants to chime in about the advantages he can offer for the increased price compared to aliexpress (if all taxes/tolls/shipping was included in your numbers)

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22 minutes ago, Chriull said:

Maybe @Jason McNeil wants to chime in about the advantages he can offer for the increased price compared to aliexpress (if all taxes/tolls/shipping was included in your numbers)

I don't think Jason would find it appropriate to blow his own trumpet in this thread.  Besides, he doesn't have to.

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For that sort of difference in dollar I wouldnt even consider buying from Ali/Gearbest.

When I bought my V5F, the UK dealer price was 77.5% more expensive. Which made buying direct from China a consideration. And I was still apprehensive. Thankfully the wheel hasnt missed a beat to date.

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7 hours ago, nickysneids said:

I'm currently looking to buy an MCM5! Super stoked about, been researching my balls off any although I'm a little apprehensive about the 14" wheel size, everything else seems on par with that I want and I figure if I end up needed to make some long treks in the future I'll just deal with the smaller size. But just found the Tesla on AliExpress with 16" and only $1,122 (sigh), I'm conflicted again...

Anyway, as far as I can tell, eWheels offers a 1 year warranty that's pretty contingent on part availability and voided after any user attempts to repair or dissemble the wheel. Which is fair, but it's a $200 price difference and it doesn't cover accident protection.

With AliExpress, there's no warranty or repair included but the price difference for the MCM5 is ~$200USD and for the Tesla it's ~$300USD.

Does anyone know if it's worth saving the $100-$300 by purchasing through AliExpress and then either DIY repairing or finding a different repair service in the future? Or alternatively, are there any 1-2 year protection plans like this plan at SquareTrade that would be worth looking into? I'm trying to minimize risk relative to cost and as this will be my first big EUC purchase, any help is appreciated!

One (big) reason to choose eWheels:   free telephone tech support.

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Two years ago I bought two electric longboards from a Swedish reseller. I had to return the for repairs twice. He was obligated to handle the repairs, etc.

Last year I bought two electric longboards from China. They are faster and have almost twice the range. I haven't had any problem with them at all. I wouldn't have been able to buy them in Sweden.

Last year I bought an NB1 from a Swedish retailer. Got a good deal and have had zero problems.
I also bought a Onewheel+ XR from a Swedish shop. Zero problems.

Then I bought my MSX from Ali for $1500. The price from a european shop would be $2100 so there was quite a big price difference.
I chose Ali and the wheels has been working perfectly (I have 1800km on it).

It could have gone the other way though.
If I would have a local retailer with a good reputation like eWheels I am pretty sure that is the route I would take unless the prices difference was so huge that I could buy 3 of one wheel for the price of 2. 

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1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

I second @Planemo, a mere 100-200 difference in price, I'd rather buy from eWheels, not worth the headache you have to go through getting support/parts, as I've been in that boat plenty in the past.

AFAIK, there is still no tax/shipping fees for the US customer when buying wheels from anywhere.

Also, FYI AliExpress is a seller's market like an eBay or Amazon, not a singular store entity you buy from. There are many many sellers, thus all varieties of poor to excellent customer service. And just like an eBay and Amazon, there are built-in buyer protections.

100-200 usd over a number of purchases adds up to a brand new wheel ;)

Some Ali sellers like the Green Fashion Shop and the Rockwheel shop do have a good reputation.

But I do see your point, with ewheels you are paying upfront for the convenience of having "local" support.

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20 hours ago, Smoother said:

The day your Aliexpress wheel craps out and they ask you to ship it to them for inspection, you'll wish you had bought from Jason.  When your two year old wheel still doesn't have any problems you'll wonder why you bought from Jason. It's a craps shoots. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty an import wheel would be worth a punt, but if not the safe route would be best.  Think of the extra $200 as insurance. and peace of mind.

I own two wheels and both have needed work in the first year.  My cracked axle elicited the usual "return it to us for inspection " from my dealer in Germany.  I elected not to because of the expense and the doubt that a satisfactory outcome would result (based on research). That wheel is still broken (over a year later).

My second wheel needed some soldering on the control board, my dealer in Poland (someone who knows my mechanical ability, through previous engagements) asked me to return the board only; which I was able to do, at relatively low cost.  But international shipping over Christmas meant I was walking :barf: for over a month.  That wheel is working fine again.  So in my example I have had 100% need of dealer assistance within first year or so.  Others have not.

I see what you're saying. Thanks for the response, seems like in almost all case scenarios the excellent customer service provided by eWheels makes any future issues much easier to deal with!

18 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

After working with Jason and his company for almost 3 years I can express my strong satisfaction when it comes to his excellence in customer service! A true gentleman as well!

This is good feedback! Thanks, I'll be going with eWheels if I end up with MCM5. The Tesla price difference is like ~300 so might be worth it to go with AliExpress at that point.

18 hours ago, houseofjob said:

I second @Planemo, a mere 100-200 difference in price, I'd rather buy from eWheels, not worth the headache you have to go through getting support/parts, as I've been in that boat plenty in the past.

Yeah this seems like the move, thanks for weighing in!

17 hours ago, litewave said:

One (big) reason to choose eWheels:   free telephone tech support.

Yeah damn this could help with literally anything... great point thanks for the reply!

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9 minutes ago, nickysneids said:

This is good feedback! Thanks, I'll be going with eWheels if I end up with MCM5. The Tesla price difference is like ~300 so might be worth it to go with AliExpress at that point.

Think Customer Service. You’ll sleep better. :)

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Jason was awesome last summer when I was trying to make a decision to buy my first wheel.  Talked to him on a phone and exchanged a few emails.  He usually bundles a freebie such as wrist guards with his wheels and also works to cut you a deal on a fast charger.  My experience was excellent.  I'm now getting ready to buy my next one and will surely pick eWheels.  I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of a repair that I have to send to China and wait to get it back or end up spending money anyway to repair.  Id rather pay a little extra for the awesome service, 1 year warranty and peace of mind.  

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The prices are within equilibrium, whereby you can go either way. If they weren't, the choice would be so obvious you wouldn't need to ponder. Therefore there's no really bad (or really good) choice. My feeling is @Jason McNeil could simply offer three prices, one with nothing, one with warranty, and one with shipping and warranty, as a check out option(s) but I think that's violating consumer law.

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3 hours ago, LanghamP said:

My feeling is @Jason McNeil could simply offer three prices, one with nothing, one with warranty, and one with shipping and warranty, as a check out option(s) but I think that's violating consumer law.

No warranty? I don’t think Jason would consider changing his corporate name to Ali-EWheels. 

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I have bought from both, and there is no doubt going with ewheels is the better deal and comes with superior service. I have only bought wheels from Ali if Jason is out of stock, or not supporting a certain model.  You can’t go wrong purchasing from Jason.

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I have some experience with Aliexpress. 

I am from Czech Republic, located in the center of Europe. 

At the end of last year, I ordered an Inmotion V8 from the Inmotionstore on Aliexpress. Thankfully I only had to change the pedals as they broke under my father who is of a heavier weight. I did not feel like waiting for a long repair anyway so I just ordered the pedals myself from a store in Belgium, had the pedals in 3 days, changed them myself and no other issues. As far as the buying experience goes... you can tell they are Chinese as their English is a little worse, but I have to say that they are very attentive and respond super quickly and every time. I also did not pay anything extra fees, it was all included in the price. 

The only negative was, that it took almost a month to get here, other than that, everything was great. 

I got the wheel on Ali for 750USD and my local reseller sells it for ridiculous 1 260USD.... so the choice was clear and so far the risk paid off. My Inmotion V8 has over 1300km and it rides just like new. 

 

About a month ago I ordered the Gotway MSX 1600wh from Aliexpress for 1 700USD, its been exactly 35 days since the order and I am still waiting. Bought it from an EUC reputable store "Green and fashion travaling store." I am also pretty confident that everything will turn out ok. Although, I am suspecting that I may be paying  some fees this time.

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