Technology: Shopping on Alibaba

What happened bad turns out to be a new learning experience for me.

Olympus PEN E-PL1
Image from selectorweb

It all began when I bought my Olympus PEN E-PL1. I have a new camera, so I can offer my Canon IXUS 860 IS to my sister as a gift, which although is an old model, is in a perfect shape, and so she was more than happy to receive it. Then a few days ago, when I borrowed it to take a few pictures of the gifts from my students, the LCD showed a huge dark spot! I asked my sister if she had broken it but she insisted not. Well, I can't possibly give her a camera that will self-destruct in a month or two! So, I thought, I can either sell it or fix it. If I sell it, I have to pay extra to buy her a new one, but the resell value will be super low since the LCD is broken. If I fix it, I will need to pay a lot of money for sending it back to Canon and my sister will have to wait for years to get it back.

Could there be another way?

Well, an idea came out of nowhere, I logged on to Alibaba.com and did my search, and I found this JQ Electronics company hanging at the very top. I said 4th year Golden Supplier, and minimum order is 1 piece!!! So I went inside and emailed the lady in the contact. She got back to me quickly and offered me a great price,

JQ Electronics @ Alibaba.com

"the lcd for  Canon ixus 860 price is in USD$40.5/pcs,the shipping cost is USD$4.6 by ShunFeng. Is it ok?"

Sounds like a bargain! Although later I found out that the ShunFeng Express (SF Express) should actually be free, but I suppose the packing also requires a few dollars, anyway, it isn't a lot, so I went for it. The lady offered me an HSBC bank account to deposit the money, but I wasn't very comfortable with it, so I ordered through the ESCROW system, which is something like Paypal, so that if I am not happy with the product, I don't need to pay the money. This is because I will need to confirm on the web again if I am satisfied with the product before the company can get their cash from me. So, it is a safe move!


She also promised me that the LCD will arrive in 4 days! That's quick! And she kept her promise, the deliver man came twice because the first time I wasn't home, and so he came again the next day morning.


It was well packed! And I was like a happy little boy in Christmas morning, opening wrappers layers after layers.

Now, the last step is, how do I know what to do to change the LCD by myself? Well, if you need an interactive answer, ask YouTube! And I found this supposedly German author video:

DIY, Do It Yourself! Helped me save a lot of money! Now, I have a brand new Canon once again! Cheap and make my sister happy! So if you have any electronic devices problems and you have a man at home, I highly recommend you to visit Alibaba or this JQ Electronics website for the parts you need! They are really trustworthy and efficient!

JQ Electronics Website

So does that mean online shopping is completely safe? Well, not really, you will have to be careful with Phising websites. What are Phising websites and why do you need to be careful? Then you will need to read this news if you want to know! 


Resources:
Technology: My First Micro Four Third Camera -- Olympus PEN E-PL1 @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/11/technology-my-first-micro-four-third.html

Alibaba.com Search Results
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search/3i1p5tyfchms/ixus_860_is_lcd.html

JQ Electronics Co. @ Alibaba.com
http://jqmobile.en.alibaba.com/

So baut man ein neues Display für IXUS 860 IS ein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g1bsz6vi-g&feature=email

Phishing websites rake in $3 billion

http://cnbusinessnews.com/phishing-websites-rake-in-3-billion/