Gearbest is an online store in China that was founded almost ten years ago, in 2013, and allows us to buy all kinds of products. From mobile phones and watches to makeup brushes or clothing for men and women. Therefore, in this tutorial we explain everything you need to know about Gearbest, what it is, how it works, how to buy or what are its main advantages and disadvantages.
You may always find it as one of the stores where you can buy Chinese mobile phones or all kinds of electronic products such as routers, peripherals, smart watches or even security video cameras. But is it reliable? What is it? Do you have guarantees? Is it better than buying from Amazon or other online stores? It has its risks and dangers and we explain everything.
What’s up?
Practically everything. Gearbest is a Chinese online store similar to Aliexpress and that you will generally know for buying electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets and all kinds of accessories for them. It is the best known but not the only thing: there is everything. You will find jewelry, toys, men’s and women’s fashion, sports accessories or even taps, makeup brushes or a duster or cloth to clean your car.
We can use the search engine to find anything we can think of but the categories are as follows:
- Consumer electronics
- Industrial and scientific
- Mobile phones and accessories
- Home appliances
- Outdoors, fitness and sports
- Computers and office
- Health and personal care
- Tools at home
- Drones, toys and hobbies
- Home and garden
- Electronic Motor
- Men’s fashion
- Watches and jewelery
There are also special categories such as “Offers”, “News” or themes according to the date or recommendations according to products you have seen before or that you have bought.
How to buy
One of the main problems that Gearbest had until a few years ago was that the website was completely in English and finding any product could be difficult if all the categories were poorly translated, for example. But now you just have to touch at the top of the page and we have two options: choose “Send to UK” in a drop-down menu at the top and choose “Country website” and mark “UK” so that everything appears organized, in models with national name, etc. In addition, this also allows you to access the “European warehouse” section that promises faster shipments. To buy you will have to register, of course.
Register
You can register for free and you simply need an email, password and a verification code. You accept the terms and conditions and the privacy policy and tap on “Register” to complete. Once you have done so, in your account you can fill in your personal data or your delivery address to receive the different packages or purchases you make on the web.
Find product
Buying is as simple as in any other online store. Once you have seen the categories you just have to go to the one you are looking for. P wadis price filtering and there are several options to order as recommended, best sellers, news, votes or trends. When you have found what you want, tap on the product and you will see all the details.
Sheet
On the product page we will see a series of photographs, a brief description of it and some useful information: the price, the shipping price according to the type of delivery we want and the estimated shipping time according to one or the other. In the example we see that it can be from 18 business days for 7.60 euros or from 8 to 20 business days for 15.93 euros. It does not make much sense that the second price is double when the maximum date can be up to 20 days and in the previous one up to 18 days but it will depend on the warehouse, the country to which it is going to be sent or the types of shipping it has. that product in question.
In the product sheet we can also check the available colors and we can add to the cart or buy now. The difference between one and the other is that by adding to the cart you will be able to continue viewing more categories before paying the total. At the bottom you will read descriptions, shipments and payments or comments from users who have already purchased this product.
Warehouses
Note that the same product may be in several different warehouses and it is convenient that we know how to identify which ones are on our country in order to avoid taking longer or running more risk. In addition, it will depend on the warehouse that has or does not have a two-year guarantee in most of countries.
How to pay: Payment methods
The best thing in these cases is that you bet on PayPal to have claims to the seller in case the order is not delivered, that it is broken, that it is false. PayPal is the most common and recommended option to pay but they also admit others: you can use credit cards such as Mastercard or VISA or American Express or bank transfer. It does not allow cash on delivery, only payments in advance.
Shipment information
Gearbest ships to all countries in the world. All orders are shipped from China. Plus, it promises to “deliver anywhere you are” even in remote areas. If it is a remote area, you may need to pay some extra money to cover fees.
In short, there are three types of shipping: flat rate, standard shipping, and express shipping.
Shipping methods and deadlines
One of the main problems that we can find in Gearbest is that the shipping methods or shipping times are complicated than simply a fixed price, a shipping time on certain working days and waiting. It depends on the shipping method that takes one time or another, that has a certain cost or packaging charge or that there are some restrictions. It will also depend on the country. From its section of “shipping methods” we can find all the details, regular air mail companies or days it takes for something we order to arrive. Generally, for an estimate: Usually 25-50 business days with no tracking for regular airmail or 10-25 business days for Direct Air Mail.
In this option the cost is free from purchases of more than 40 dollars but is around 2 dollars if the purchase is less and if you want to have a follow-up to know where the order is. Express shipping methods are usually carried out with DHL and other agencies and are estimated to be three to seven working days but the price or rate depends on the weight and the country, for example.
Lost shipments
From the web, they summarize: “most of the postal shipments made are delivered in 24 working days but the deliveries can be portrayed by multiple factors”. Please note that there may be third party issues, weather issues, peak season, floods, accidents. Therefore, the maximum period for a package to be delivered is two to three months (you will have to be patient) until you can claim that it has been lost.
In case the package is lost, you have a shipping guarantee as long as you have chosen this option when making the delivery. They will offer you two options: refund or resend the package for free so that you have the product you had ordered. But you will have to wait quite a few weeks until it reaches you again. It will depend on the order, etc.
Guarantee
What if there is a problem or failure with the product? It might be broken or not working. The first thing they tell you from the web is “try to solve the problem by reading the manual provided by the product.” But it may not work even if you look for the manual or be reviewed by “technical personnel”. So in this case, you will have no choice but to contact Gearbest to see what happened. The products have a 180-day guarantee and if it doesn’t work for you, you can send it back to China to be returned without any error. This can be a long and annoying process because it can take weeks or months to get back to you with the problem fixed if it doesn’t work.
Right of cancellation
During 14 days you have a period to cancel any order from the day it is received. It is not necessary to give any reason and it is enough to be within this period. Of course, you must inform Gearbest and return the order. You may do it if it has not already been sent through the support center by filling in a form or if it is delivered or in transit where you can carry out a return as long as you fill in the corresponding data and it is not within the receipts. What cannot be returned? Personalized goods, products or goods that expire or are not suitable for return for reasons of hygiene or health, for example.
Two-year repair warranty
If you receive something that does not work (such as a phone that does not turn on) you can return it and it will be returned to you repaired or replaced. You have a two-year repair guarantee where you have to contact the support center and fill in all the corresponding data. As explained from the web, it will take between 7 or 14 business days depending on the item and the manufacturer’s replacement stock.
Problems, inconveniences
It is a website where there is everything and it may seem like heaven to do all kinds of purchases but the truth is that we find many problems and inconveniences in buying mobile phones, tablets or any type of electronic device such as a watch here.
Warranty
The main problem that we find on this website or in other Chinese stores to buy a mobile phone or some appliance or device that will entail a large outlay is the guarantee. You may read in the conditions of the page that it has a two-year warranty and it probably is so and you can send it to their own technical service where they will be in charge of fixing it or sending a replacement but you may have a problem with the official technical service of the brand in question.
Shipping
The shipments are not exactly fast in most cases or they are more expensive than buying in other national stores. For example, sending a Roborock vacuum cleaner to UK has a price of 67.79 euros with priority line shipping and an estimated delivery time of about 18 days. You may find the same vacuum cleaner for a similar price in UK or up to 75 euros more expensive but with shipping in just 24 hours. It will depend on what you need or the rush you are to receive it. Beyond the shipping deadlines, you may also not want to pay for a tracked shipment and that means it gets lost, etc.
Forgeries
Could there be fakes? Gearbest works with third-party sellers so you run the risk, as in any other store, of finding fake products. There are stores and vendors that can pose a problem if they want to “cheat” us, although it is something that already happens in other stores or outside vendors. Although to avoid this, there are guarantees of 45 days of return “no questions asked” to replace it or take charge if it does not arrive or if it arrives broken.
Advantage
Not only do we collect some drawbacks that you may find in some sales but there are also advantages to using this website or this type of website.
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