I hope this isn’t perceived as advertising… I’m quite apprehensive about making this purchase and will absolutely update with my progress if/when the console arrives.
In the meantime, if anyone out there has any experience buying through AliExpress I would love to hear from you. This is my first purchase and I feel like it’s a total gamble.
If this is somehow perceived as advertising, mods please delete immediately. I do not want to violate any rules. This community is too awesome to lose!
I’ve ordered various things from AliExpress before, I’ve never had any major issues. One item was DOA, and another never arrived, but In both cases I got refunded quickly and easily.
It seems no worse than any other online marketplace now.
I assume these 3DS units are some sort of refurb. Are they Chinese region units?
It seems no worse than any other online marketplace now
True and incredibly distressing.
It’s a gamble with risks that your local chains who resells the same stuff usually shoulders for you. I’ve bought a lot of stuff here, including original electronics, up to ≈$2k a piece. Research is your first best friend, the second best friend is a camera you record unboxing with to prove to Ali you deserve a refund. I’m not into 3ds market, but if nothing alarmed you before you placed an order, it should be okay, I guess.
It’d be interesting to see your report after you test it.
It’d be interesting to see your report after you test it.
report after testing
“I don’t know how it got this out of hand, but somehow the entire city is now on fire.”
AliExpress is either a scam or a great deal. There is no inbetween. I have been successful with clothing from them, and even an Xbox One wired controller that had both joysticks at the top like a WiiU Pro controller. I haven’t been scammed yet, but I do know that it can happen.
My question is… Why from there? 🤔
I have to admit… The prices here in the west are just so expensive. I recently opened an Ali express account for a side business and when I saw this price I just thought I’d roll the dice and see what happens. It was all circumstantial and impulsive.
Have fun with your half-brick or whatever you’ll get in the package.
I sold most of my consoles because of emulation. The 3DS, however, is a keeper. It’s silly but I love the glasses free 3D effect so much and that cannot be achieved via emulation.
I sold most of my consoles because of emulation.
Are you even allowed to be here? I feel like that’s cause to revoke your retro gamer card.
Hehe, I used to be in the original hardware is the best way to play gang , but i came to appreciate how convenient is the Deck for emulation and the fact that most older games that I play work better on smaller screens, since they have lower resolution, sealed the deal for me. Now I only have the PS4 since it can’t be emulated for now and the 3DS since the 3D effect is so cool.
I don’t trust AliEx any more after I took the loss of 3 orders for ~$60 in 2020. When I called, they hung up on me at random every time. After the 3rd try I washed my hands and walked away. Stealing from me once is on them, twice would be my own fault. Prior to that experience I spent a few thousand dollars on the platform for odds and ends.
I expect something like this to be an emulator and nowhere near the quality of a real Nintendo product, but I could be wrong. I would buy used or a homebrew project that is well documented and might cost a little more.
Did you charge it back through your bank? Very easy to do in the UK at least
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I’ve seen a few YouTubers buy AliExpress 3ds consoles, and all of those have been refurbished, often with after market shells which, while often not terrible, aren’t Nintendo quality. If the console shows up, it’ll probably be fine, but you’re still not necessarily getting an amazing deal. I got my New 3ds LL (Japanese version) in excellent condition from a seller on eBay based in Japan for about $25 less and I got one with an upper IPS screen - but mine is in black. If you really want a special 3ds and you’re okay with a decent reshell, buying through AliExpress might be an alright option.
Also bought mine off AliExpress. It was one of the fake pokemon shell models, so that feels a little cheap but looks nice. Otherwise the unit functions perfectly, no scratches on the screen and buttons are responsive.
I ordered an iPod from Alibaba back in the day and it was most certainly not an iPod. I think they’re more reliable than back then, but who knows. It’s always a gamble ordering from those kinds of sites.
One time I ordered a PS2 kit from some janky-ass Chinese site. The kit converted it into a flip top and included a CD that would let you play burned games. After a couple months of it not showing up, I figured I got ripped off, which I half expected anyways. 3.5 months later the kit showed up at my doorstep and actually worked. Haha! I used that thing for years after making the conversion.
At this point, AliExpress is my #1 choice for anything a) made overseas anyways and b) that I don’t need right away. It’s usually parts or trinkets; for example, the last thing I bought was a kit to supplement my mahjong playing set.
In this case though, this feels overpriced for a used/refurbished model. If you were going to take on this much perceived risk, I’m surprised you didn’t go with one $150 or less on eBay or a local exchange like Facebook Marketplace or something.
I used to use temu all the time I bought a bunch of really nice fake bayblade Then decided I should delete the app after spyware claims
I’ve bought a lot from AliExpress. Most of it was just random little things but I did order two CPUs in the past a 3600 and a 5700x. Both showed up in a few weeks and both were as advertised thankfully!
I got my 3ds LL from ali. works as expected and can play JP and US regions. its also white and it was pretty cleaned up when i received it. ive played through star fox a few times and I am halfway through OOT. approaching a year of ownership.
Ive bought a few handhelds and only had a DSi go bunk on me.
at this point amazon, etsy and other large online retailers/resellers serve the same stuff as aliexpress does, just with better shipping and return policy.
