Submitted by MadeThisToVent123 t3_126kyzb in headphones
TagalogON t1_je9uj0v wrote
And yes, don't fall for fear of missing out. Everything in life is about conformity, consumerism, et cetera. Don't have expectations as it's unnecessary stress, most of us do not have any power or influence to change how things are.
For example, some people on Head-Fi were complaining about the ThieAudio products and the returns/refunds system.
Look at the recent TANGZU problem from a few days, that's like the same as the previous CCA CRA, KZ CRN/DQ6S, QKZ VK4, et cetera issues.
More info on the TANGZU x SeeAudio Shiminli Encounter Edition controversy: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/124iiqh/disappointing_to_tangzu/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/122o59z/tangzus_response_to_the_shimin_li_encounter/jdr722w/
None of us are key players for the Chinese Communist Party or fuerdai children of the various chaebol/zaibatsu/taipan/conglomerate/etc. companies. And so we can't do much but yes shout into the void and hope things change by spreading awareness.
If some of us (the rational, scientific, etc. ones) have the connection/influence/network/etc. to enforce better regulations and so on with these audiophile products, you'd probably see way less cables, DAPs, amps, DACs, etc. snake oil and fake marketing and so on.
This is why Amazon is key if you can afford such luxury products. These days Linsoul, HiFiGo, ShenzhenAudio, KeepHiFi, et cetera have storefronts (these are often Fulfilled by Amazon too, so better warranty/etc. and can ship same day or the next day) on the various Amazon sites. Like check Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan, et cetera as they often ship internationally.
As an aside, I and many others get offered free, as in literally 0% interest rate, installment plans on IEMs/TWS earbuds/headphones/speakers/etc. or TVs/monitors/computers/etc. And this is probably because we spend a lot on Amazon and barely return stuff unless absolutely necessary. So that's another layer of bonus for us consumers worried about quality assurances/control/etc. problems.
For AliExpress/Taobao/Chinese sites/et cetera, if you don't want to risk problems in the future, always take a video of you opening the package and trying out the product for the first time. This way they cannot claim random excuses to deny your refund/return/etc.
For some people those precaution measures are not how things should be done and so they don't do it. Like if you take pictures they will sometimes deny the refund/etc. too. Or if you are trying to show the sound/defect/etc. problem on video, sometimes the customer service representative has no idea what is going on, and so you have to go in circles and be persistent.
If you're Asian/et cetera, this kind of haggling/negotiation is not that unfamiliar, but it can be really annoying if you're not used to it. What you have to realize is that in a lot of cultures, especially Chinese culture, there's this concept called "face."
What that basically boils down to is that do not be so pushy as to make the seller/storefront/etc. look bad. In fact, just remain calm and communicate in simple sentences as oftentimes the person talking to you is not that fluent in English and so things can get misunderstood.
Some well-known storefronts on AliExpress also scam/etc. people despite having 97/98+% rating and being opened for several years. And so that's why you gotta know how to deal with AliExpress' chat system, visit /r/Aliexpress for more info as it can be a hassle sometimes to navigate the customer service side. Even Amazon these days is like hiding the easy visibility/option for online chat, they just want you to use the premade FAQs for the troubleshooting.
Everything is unfortunately pretty much a blind buy unless there's like an e-earphone (Akihabara, Tokyo) equivalent near your area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUbeBBh2guM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GMP8cjAEq0
Some people try IEMs/headphones/etc. on Amazon due to the generous return system, but don't do that as it's not good for your account or other people's experiences, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/118rmpw/moondrop_kato_channel_imbalance_moondrop_email/j9iu3sx/
With quality control of Chinese IEMs, AliExpress shipping times, see here for a bit more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10sna0p/i_have_it_engrained_in_my_mind_as_an_american/j7395yr/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zav570/is_hifigo_a_scam/iynrt65/
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