My Experience with AliExpress & Tomy/Thomas Knockoffs

[Super]

Some have asked about AliExpress.com so I recently purchased a couple of Tomy/Thomas knockoff items and I want to share my experience plus a quick review of the knockoff items.

AliExpress is similar to other Online shops but it isn't a auction site and I am not sure if they are based in China. There are many different sellers like Amazon Marketplace so you can browse items and look for the the best deal and you just pay the asking price. The 2 items I purchased were from 2 different Chinese sellers. The items that I have looked at are all new with a lot of knockoff items. They accept many kinds of payment including their own "Alipay" but they don't take PayPal. I used a Credit Card.

My first purchase which can be seen here http://blueplastictracks.com/showthread.php?tid=1559 I had ordered 2 as the seller listed 2 in stock but when the package arrived there was only one even though I paid for 2. I sent a message to the seller and they quickly responded and apologized for their mistake and promised a refund. With a somewhat broken translation they said to start a dispute through AliExpress which was good as I will see how that works which I did. The form was easy to fill out and had several options to choose from to resolve the issue. Of course all I wanted was the refund for the just the item I didn't receive. Within less than 2 days AliExpress contacted me and said I won the dispute and a refund would show up on my Credit Card within several days. Only took 2 days and my refund appeared on my card. So all of this was a good experience I have received my second package today and I will give a quick review of the Thomas knockoff set here.

I have noticed that even though I have seen a lot of knockoff stuff on AliExpress I have also noticed what looks like new Trackmaster packaged items for cheap. I can't say they are real but they do have the Trackmaster logo like this Trackmaster Hank for $11 http://www.aliexpress.com/item/HANK-trai...1614c1a28c

So to sum it up...I would buy from this site again. Happy to answer any questions you may have about my experience.

[ripley802]

I have been looking for the non-tender driven Hank. I have been watching one on eBay from a seller in Japan that is at $28 free shipping buy it now. I don't really need it as I have the other version, but Hank is a favorite of mine so maybe this me. Would be a good option. I will have to look a bit more on this site. Thanks for the review.

[Super]

This was my second knockoff item purchased fro a seller on AliExpress.com. What I have noticed in the listings on AliExpress they tell you the expected "Processing" your order time which in some cases are a few days to a lot longer. This seller listed the Processing time as 7 Days and that is what it took them to get this in the mail.

When I saw this knockoff Thomas set I was only interested in the 24 hour store that came with it. The set is real inexpensive and I love to add buildings that are different and not the normal ones that everyone has. Alas, I thought the building looked bigger in the pictures I had seen of it. Too small for my liking. The set isn't as well made as what we are accustomed too but really not that bad if it was just used to play with and not as a collectors item. Its strange as the 2 coaches are both Annies what I do like on them is that the opposite ends of the faces there are stickers showing doors. The motor is surprisingly quite quiet. In the last picture I have laid side by side examples of the No Name tracks that came with this set, the Dumica tracks that came with the knockoff Steam train set and a Tomy. They are almost identical and fit nicely together. The no name color is just a tad bit off from the Tomy but the Dumica is almost the same. Of course it can't compare quality wise to our Tomy's but if you wanted to take a set somewhere like on a picnic or beach for a young child to play with and didn't want your good stuff ruined, this would be worth it. Sort of like only bringing out the good china dishes when important company comes over for dinner.

I actually brough a Bronco Football jersey from aliexpress. Quality is great. The seller ship from China. I don't know if it this helps.

That's the same style/brand of Tomy knock off Leokimvideo showed in his first few episodes of Thomas Dark Side. He once pitted one of the fake Thomases against a real, TrackMaster 1 version, and made several comparisons. He even used one of them in the intro to the Ultimate TrackMaster Review ('not' a Tomy Ultimate Set review) in order to avoid blowing up a real one.

I have noticed that even though I have seen a lot of knockoff stuff on AliExpress I have also noticed what looks like new Trackmaster packaged items for cheap. I can't say they are real but they do have the Trackmaster logo like this Trackmaster Hank for $11 http://www.aliexpress.com/item/HANK-trai...1614c1a28c

Yey!!! Ordered 3rd Feb, arrived today, and that period includes Chinese New Year. As far as I can see it's the genuine article, good enough to fool me, anyway! Some of the paintwork on the piston rods is a bit tatty - I wonder if it could have been a factory 'second' because of that? Easily touched up though, so I'm VERY happy.

Thanks to Super for doing the leg-work!

[Super]