> No name brands, just loads and loads of direct from factory crapware and knock offs in all shapes and sizes.
But Alibaba at least doesn't pretend to be anything else.
And, to be fair, if you know what you want, a cheap Chinese piece of crap may be just fine. A lot of my electronics lab is from Alibaba--the rest is from people like Metcal/Oki, Agilent, etc. that I paid a premium for once I knew that I would use it enough to warrant spending the money.
The problem occurs in that I used to go to Amazon when I didn't quite know exactly what I want and could browse, read some reviews, etc. I no longer do that anymore.
But Alibaba at least doesn't pretend to be anything else.
And, to be fair, if you know what you want, a cheap Chinese piece of crap may be just fine. A lot of my electronics lab is from Alibaba--the rest is from people like Metcal/Oki, Agilent, etc. that I paid a premium for once I knew that I would use it enough to warrant spending the money.
The problem occurs in that I used to go to Amazon when I didn't quite know exactly what I want and could browse, read some reviews, etc. I no longer do that anymore.