How could I have been this stupid / Confident (Bangood - what a mess!)

[edward kinslade]

Ever thought "it will never happen to me"......

As a long-time lurker here and on the other woody websites, I have always found the advice of others valuable.
Yet, despite the negative feedback on Banggood, I thought "i will be fine'
To be honest, I bought about half a dozen items over the past few months and the quality of the product has been great.
Shipping has been spotty (I once paid extra to buy from the USA warehouse only to have it sit in 'processing' for over a week.......

I've bought mostly measuring tools and accessories for my festool tracks - great. I wondered what all the whining and complaining about the company was about.

Now, I've had a rather spectacular failure and their customer service and trustworthiness really is ......dreadful.

I bought a Doctorwood precise angle gauge for $60 as it is a 'precision tool'

The darn thing turned up bent like a banana! Bangoods customer service has been going back and forth in a time wasting loop and they offered $10 off. Then responded with. "it's shipping damage", can you just use it as is....and finally.....ignore the issue.

The ruler won't even stay flat on a piece and.....well, what can I say.

I CANNOT recommend that you purchase from BangGood
So, as an FYI to you all, buy through Amazon so you can send stuff back! ;-)

Hope this helps
E

491837

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Fast, cheap or quality, pick two. There is a reason that middle men get a cut, they deal with this stuff. Side note, it looks fixable to me.

[Patrick Varley]

I buy stuff off Banggood and AliExpress as an alternative to buying lottery scratchoffs. Haven't been burned yet, and generally content with what I get. But I always assume it might be a total loss without a recourse for return/replacement, and I don't buy anything much over $50. I also generally limit things to a few "brands"/factories that seem to do a decent job.

Most recently I got some knock-offs of the JessEm Clear Cut Router Table Guides for $30. Overall the machining is quite good. The problem is that they didn't use one-way bearings so it doesn't offer the same level of anti-kickback action. Still quite usable for $30, though.

[Lee Schierer]

Have you tried posting a negative review on their website for this product? I see they also offer a "No reason" return.

[Derek Cohen]

Be aware that purchasing from China generally forfeits any warrantee. Yes, the factory/agent/whatever will finally agree to a refund, but you have first to send back the item (photos are not enough), and pay the shipping costs involved. Good money after bad? Having said this, I have had a good experience generally purchasing hardware (not tools). The one exception (mentioned) highlighted what will happen when a purchase is flawed. In this case Paypal forced the Seller to pay attention, but the requirements that followed ensured that a refund/exchange would not happen.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Keegan Shields]

With the broad selection of woodworking tools available in the US, why bother? My time and stress is worth more than the savings.

Unless its entertainment for you like Patrick :)

[edward kinslade]

I tried to put some pressure on it to see if I could straighten it, but it's got a real kink and I feel it's likely to bend somewhere else.

They've been pretty evasive in offering a solution. A shame as the other stuff that I bought from them was pretty good. I'd recommended it to a few friends but I can't do that in good faith any more.

It looked like a good design and pretty solid but the packaging they used was useless. A but like putting a precision ruler in an envelope (which is what they did!)

[Richard Coers]

My trouble with Banged was plain not shipping. They kept telling me the order was in process. I finally filed a claim with PayPal. Banged quickly asked for more time since it was not in stock. I refused and had a refund that day. Having leverage from PayPal made the difference!

[Bob Borzelleri]

Have you tried posting a negative review on their website for this product? I see they also offer a "No reason" return.

I fear that the “No Reason” return translates to “There is no reason that justifies you returning anything to us”.:rolleyes:

[George Yetka]

Not knowing too much about bangood, I took it to be like Harbor freight. Pick and chose what you buy from them. Disposable brushes yes , Precision anything no.

[Jim Becker]

Not knowing too much about bangood, I took it to be like Harbor freight. Pick and chose what you buy from them. Disposable brushes yes , Precision anything no.
Very different kind of organization. Bangood is an online marketplace based in Asia.

[edward kinslade]

The products are definitely NOT harbor freight. The quality of the items are as good as woodpeckers (which is quite the compliment)
The only issue is the protracted time and process to fix problems. I think it's a function of language, time and distance.

Thankfully the resolved the issue with the bent ruler and I can't complain.

I will continue to buy from them

[Rich Engelhardt]

With the broad selection of woodworking tools available in the US, why bother? My time and stress is worth more than the savings.

Unless its entertainment for you like Patrick :)
Sometimes - the savings are considerable.
The Woodpecker's parallel guides run $479. The knockoffs are $105. That's difficult to pass up.
I didn't tell my wife I paid for the real ones - she wouldn't understand why I did.

[Jim Klein]

I have had decent luck with measuring and layout tools, but when something goes amiss, their customer service is pretty poor. I had the bearing on a solid carbide bit fly apart on its first use. I took pictures, and since they already had a record of my purchase, I only sent the photos and an explanation. They replied by requiring that I take a picture of the original packaging (gone), the shipping code number from that packaging (gone), etc. I also bought a box joint jig that came bent, and got a similar response. I was able to bend the jig back and use it, but the bearing on the bit is such a strange size (7/8 bearing with 1/4 ID) that I haven't been able to locate a replacement, and they would not send me one. The bit is still usable, and the quality is fine other than the missing bearing. Sometimes the prices are so low it's worth taking a shot.

[Patrick Varley]

Sometimes - the savings are considerable.
The Woodpecker's parallel guides run $479. The knockoffs are $105. That's difficult to pass up.
I didn't tell my wife I paid for the real ones - she wouldn't understand why I did.

I don't have a Domino, but if I did there's an offset base and rail on one of the sites for $60. As compared to the WP version for $470. If it works half as well as it should, it would be a steal.

Like Jim K, though, I've had the most luck with layout-type tools. Especially when they can be adjusted to dial them in. I have to imagine the relative quality is due to the fact that they're being made on the same CNC equipment as everyone else's stuff. Not sure I'm bold enough to try anything that has a motor or will be spinning at a few thousand RPM, though.

[Keegan Shields]

That’s why most of my tools are purchased used. No way I’m paying $479 for a set of new WP parallel guides.

Everyone has to decide for themself. But for me it’s not worth the hassle, time, potential for bad items, scams etc when dealing with an unknown manufacturer.

At this point in my life, I try to avoid cheap knockoffs in favor of fewer, higher quality tools. If I can find those tools used on CL or SMC, that’s even better. If I can support the American company that designed and developed a particular tool, also good (one example would be Luban vs. LN)

At the end of the day, a woodworker should be spending far more on wood than tools right? Otherwise you’re just a tool collector…

[Chris Parks]

I haven't bought a lot of stuff from Banggood but I recently bought a DRO for my Hammer K3 and I noticed on the packaging there was a local Australian contact for returns.

[Doug Colombo]

The products are definitely NOT harbor freight. The quality of the items are as good as woodpeckers (which is quite the compliment)

I agree that there is a large price difference between Bangor and Woodpeckers, but from what I have seen and reviews I have read, most, if not all of them, state that there is a huge quality difference between the tools. With that said, like HF, many people examine what they plan to use the tool for and some shy away from Woodpeckers (and others) due to cost and buy them from HF (and Bangor) knowing that customer service and quality may suffer. May be a good choice for a limited use tool, but for a tool that you want to be accurate over many years, IMHO I would rather pay once and get a solid well made tool that will last.