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Hangoner
October 8, 2010
Stay far away from LightInTheBox.com
A legitimate Chinese wholesaler, this site appears to differ from the illegal fakers and sellers of phony designer goods in that the goods here which might have been passed off as real are not represented as genuine designer brands, but are openly imitations and close copies without the fake branding, manufactured and distributed from China.
Most of the items aren't likely to be confused with quality products manufactured by anyone in the West and they don't really attempt to mislead. However, this is not to say that the manufacturers don't mislead, and they do. For example, I don't recommend you putting a lot of faith in the specifications of the 20 Megapixel web camera, or the 6000 watt stereo system, unless you do some homework.
In the first case, obviously no webcam is going to be 20 megapixels, more like 2, or less. A USB connection couldn't cope with that sort of resolution anyway. And if you can buy a 20 megapixel camera for $10 you go right ahead, because professional DSLR cameras with that resolution cost many thousands of dollars. But the spec is not exactly a lie, because the camera comes with software that takes the already poor 2 megapixel camera image and "interpolates" it (blows it up) to a truly crappy 20 megapixel image which is now ten times poorer than the original. Still, that does match the spec. They even tell you, if you bother to look down the page, what it really means. Not that most people do bother to look. Of course what they don't tell you, is that the camera's sensor is crap and you can buy these cheaper on Ebay any day, and get PayPal protection too. But look, you're only being asked for $10. What did you expect?
I saw more than one person asking questions at Yahoo! Answers. Questions like, "I saw this 20 megapixel camera with dual-core processor for, like, $5. Is it going to be any good?"
Honestly, no offense but if you're asking that question, you shouldn't be allowed out.
In the case of the 6000 watt hi-fi, the figure quoted is PMPO, which originally meant "peak music power output", a meaningless and inflated interpretation of the actual power, but is now often used to mean "peak momentary power", the theoretical maximum the system can stand for a microsecond before exploding. Except that this system wouldn't stand that sort of power, not even for a microsecond, and you'd need to wear protective clothing or stand in another room when you turned the volume up.
And neither of these terms is in any way scientific, nor is there any standard way of measuring these supposed capabilities. The terms used by genuine audio manufacturers and dealers to describe audio power are specific but confusing to an outsider as they are ("root mean square", for example); but the figures here are just nonsense and are of use only by the manufacturers to persuade you to purchase. However, again not strictly lies, since PMPO could mean whatever they want it to mean. Somewhere here there is also a hand-held speaker for MP3 players that's rated high enough for Pink Floyd's PA system. You need to know what you're looking at.
The site, the wholesaler that is, is not and doesn't have to be responsible for what the manufacturers claim. Don't expect it. Actually, being Chinese, the manufacturers don't have to be responsible to anyone either. So don't expect to find anyone to blame, there isn't anybody.
This is mainly, but not necessarily entirely, very cheaply made junk sold at fair prices - for very cheaply made junk. If you buy a $5 MP3 player that looks like an iPod and it turns out not to sound or perform like an iPod, and you really thought it would, more fool you.
Lastly this is not Harrods, or Macy's, or Amazon, it's a Chinese wholesaler of very cheap products and perhaps, cheap products which you could be misled into believing might be quality products. Like any far-Eastern wholesaler, it's a lucky dip, or bargain bin, and you use some commonsense when dipping in. Divide the selling price by three, and that's probably what the product is actually worth, at the very most. Assume you're getting something which is worth that, and no more. If you have higher expectations, and you are rewarded, then you got lucky. It's a lucky dip, after all.
Disregard "discounts" as meaningless, and "reviews" as suspect. It's safer that way. Even the king of customer reviews, Amazon, is notoriously riddled with fakes.
Customer service is likewise. Might be OK, probably not, but then you knew that. Most of the time, most far-Eastern sites will not accept returns, or will suggest you pay the return shipping fees, which often begin at around $50. And then they will make you pay a second lot of shipping fees to send a new item back. If, that is, you are very lucky and they want to help you at all. They'll possibly even add a "handling charge" for good measure. So, often, the luckiest you'll get is for them to be honest with you and tell you to just write it off or give it to someone else.
It's not exactly a scam, unless they take your money and keep it, and either give you nothing, or send you something entirely different from what you ordered. It's just more like buying off a total stranger in a bar, than buying over the counter at a store. Think of it like that, and you probably stand a much better chance of not being ripped off.
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