You've seen Wish.com... where they advertise some RIDICULOUSLY low prices for stuff that are either knock-offs or somewhat mis-represented. So how do they make money?
By charging good amount for shipping, then use a super-cheap carrier to send it in bulk from China so it can be batch-dumped into USPS at super-discounted rates.
Another way they can make money is doing those "limited quantity sales", where you basically participate in a lottery: pay for this item, get a refund if you don't win. By holding your money for a week or however long it takes to refund to go through, they'd have earned interest on that money.
Clickbait Tactics
To get you to click they employ many different clickbait tactics. So my tip for shopping on wish.com? Show you those tactics.
1) Shop around. Often, you'll find the same item, often using the SAME PHOTO, listed multiple times, albeit with multiple price points and offers.
Just today, I spotted "glow-in-dark-tape" for safety or art offered at 3 different listings.
A is free, but charges like $5 shipping.
B is for $0.25, charges $3.50 shipping, but is the 10 CM
C is for $1,25, charges $2.00 shipping, 10 CM or 15 CM same price.
Keep in mind they can legitimately give you only 10 centimeter of the material, which is less than 1 ft.
2) They show you an item for a ridiculously low price, but only upon clickthru do you realize it was the cheap crappy version that's the low price, with the "deluxe" or "luxurious" version that costs noticeably more.
A phone or tablet stand that clamps to your bed... $8? Okay. Click thru, and you find it's the short stumpy version that goes on a desk. The depicted one is actually $18.
In Conclusion
There are sometimes genuinely good items on Wish, but in general, you should look on Amazon or your local stores first.
For ****s and giggles, I bought several items on Wish, and I'll give you my impression of them later, when they arrive. It's taking two weeks or more.
Anyway, first item was an impulse buy, and I was wrong. The item was cheaper on Amazon and needed no wait, and was arguable a better version of the product. The version I got was more expensive and was inferior. No joke.
Second item I KNEW was bogus, but I decided to try it any way, just to see how bad it is. Yes, it's the infamous "2TB for $10 my *** " flash drives. There will be a separate post about it.
I've ordered more items but they are still in transit.
One bonus tip for the end: keep all your packaging. If you want to ask for a refund, Wish.com would want to see the item AND the original packaging.
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