“Is DHgate.com a scam website?”, “Is DHgate legit?”, “Is DHgate a trusted site?” — I noticed that some people were asking the same questions on the Internet. As always, safety is the biggest concern for online shopping, especially for cross-border online transactions. I hope my illustration below can help clear your doubts—if you are one of those who asked the question.
1. As an officially registered wholesale company based in Beijing, DHgate has been serving global buyers and sellers worldwide since 2004. A scam company can’t have been existing for such a long time.
2. By far, the page rank of DHgate’s website has grown to 6. As we know, Google will never credit an illegal website with such a high page rank. Also, when you search for “wholesale” or “China wholesale” in Google, you will see DHgate ranks top on the first search result page. This means Google has recognized the huge traffic and authenticity of DHgate—Google tends to place the most-matching websites with the search terms at the top of all related search results.
3. DHgate used to be the PayPal’s largest client in the Asia-Pacific region. Unfortunately, they terminated the cooperation with Paypal in 2012. Anyway, the site provides a wide range of payment options for customers from different countries or regions. Besides, they have developed a payment system of their own called DHpay, just like the famous Chinese online payment solution provider Alipay. In particular, we encourage you to consider credit card to make the payment there to best protect your interest.
4. As a transaction platform, DHgate has an Escrow buyer protection system. All payments made by buyers are not sent directly to individual sellers’ accounts. Instead, DHgate holds the payments until buyers confirm that they have received the orders and are happy with them. So you when buy items on DHgate, you can be confident that your money will not be taken without getting the order you place. Also, if you are not happy with the order received and you open a dispute against the transaction, DHgate will not release the payment to the seller until the dispute is solved between you and the seller.
5. I myself worked for DHgate as soon as I graduated with my M.A degree. My working experience there was really amazing and I met lots of friendly and hard-working people there. Even though I quit the company two years ago for personal reasons, I am always willing to tell the true stories about them for those who are interested in using the site for shopping but concerned about issues like safety. Even now I am still keeping close touch with some old colleges who are still working there. I can tell you that this company is definitely not a scammer and I would be more than happy to share every detail about them as long as it is not beyond my experience or knowledge. Nevertheless, when you decide to shop at DHgate.com, do remember to do some research on the sellers. That way you can avoid dishonest sellers or scammers and find the best suppliers to cooperate with in the long run. Checking the feedback profiles of the sellers is one of the key approaches, just to remind you.
Actually, a close look into the complaints about DHgate on the Internet shows that, the most “DHgate scam” comments came out simply because of misunderstandings. Below is a very typical example I’ve found from the discussions about DHgate:
Many buyers mistake DHgate as a seller who sells and ships purchase orders to buyers. Some complained that DHgate sent items in wrong sizes, colors or styles. It was a huge mistake. DHgate is a transaction platform, aChina wholesale site for small and medium sized merchants, bridging millions of global buyers and Chinese sellers or manufacturers. They do not send orders to buyers themselves. Instead, they provide information and transaction service to both buyers and sellers. That also explains why you are able to get the lowest prices for the items you want—when you buy a certain item, you can find the lowest price from the perfusion of sellers.
I believe that, as a rising e-commerce star in China, DHgate.com should value its credibility very much. Their services may need improvements in some aspects, but they can’t be scammers. Here I should remind you that, when you shop on DHgate, you need to check carefully the credibility of the seller from the seller’s feedback profile. Also, always remember to contact the seller to make sure the item has all the specifications or functions as described. These two actions will greatly reduce your risk shopping there.
DH Gate is fine too deal with, and their vendors are always ready to rectify a wrong. However do not expect an “arrive tomorrow” ship. Has to go through their customs and ours which can sometime take very long.
Worst company ever, faulty goods no intention of replacing or refunding. They wait until out of time.
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID
This article is bullshit.
DHgate has so much scam in it.
99.9% of the products are fake.
Take for example beauty products such as:
Nuface
NONO
Clarisonic
Silk’n glide
Tripollar STOP
THEY ARE ALL FAKE ON DHgate.
Be aware!!!
Chuck
So i was going through DHgate and it was a hilarious experience. I must say it was tempting but when i know that it’s utter crap they are selling why even consider, let alone place an order and loathe for months over it!?
Order was placed 23/July/2015, 15:00 PST. Charged to my account 15:11 PST. I intentionally choose a seller with a 3 day turn around. It has now been 12 days since payment was made and the order has still not shipped. We need the FTC to step in and explain the term “most favored nation status” to the Chinese.
All of the posters here need to file a complaint with the “Federal Trade Commission”. Al Capone went to prison for tax evasion, even though it was known he was guilty of murder. We all know that DHgate is a criminal enterprise, treat it like one, and get your Government involved. We are candles attempting to shine light on criminals, use the million candle power search light of the FTC. We will get results or DHgate will no longer exist. Thank you for your attention to this matter, Henry James
Dan of danviews.com, you are wrong about dhgate being as pure and the falling snow. But I’m sure they appreciate your ‘glowing review’.
Shall we begin? Dhgate turned a just less than $90 dollar purchase into a longwinded insulting circus act. Months of time wasted too. The Seller shipped me 4 very tiny ic boards that had a usb jack on them, some of the jacks were badly bent from being expected to make it overseas in a standard letter size envelope lined with bubblewrap. What I hoped they were really going to ship me was what i paid for instead, that being 4 CNC controller cards and the proper cabling that was written in the sellers ad. Anyhow, they felt like promoting themselves today as suggested the email that arrived in my inbox, so I felt compelled to reply back to that sent email with this: It is somewhat insulting for you to send me this email. Especially because your resolution dept completely blew me off about getting a refund processed. Alot of back and forth wastes of time with maybe 15 different resolution dept workers over months and months, all over a 90 dollar purchase for 4 cnc controller cards that never got delivered. I got robbed! You, helped the seller rob me! Thats awesome.. And you never ever looked at the picture I sent to you even once of the wrong much smaller items that did arrive in the mail. I heard on the news today that China is starting to really crack down on crime and fraud there. Well look at me, a friggin day late and dollar short when it comes to them cracking down on your dishonest business!
P.S. the resolution dept ‘supervisor’/manager is just as corrupted as the seller on your service for refusing to follow through..always only first names, never any last names, and never any way to expect to only be catered to by ONLY ONE resolution dept worker, rather than spread the claimed case so thinly amongst 15 other employees, as to never create a proper understanding of what is going on. Instead, I had 15 different dhgate resolution workers, repeating the same questions they asked me each and every time a new worker seemed to pick up where the last one left off! Should I write something about this in a bunch of online review websites? hmm… I wonder if you will respond back to prevent that from ever happening. You’re scam supporting thieves until proven otherwise, its no wonder you do not have a world wide 1-800 phone number for concerned customers to reach you at, I mean if i was a scammer running a profitable website, I might not ever pay for a 1-800 number to be attached to my company, besides, if customers were able to actually contact you, well then that would mean you would have to step up your game when it comes to being honest. In a effort to save honest people any financial hardships plus insults to injury, anyone reading this should avoid dhgate.com until further notice.
Broken product, dishonest “customer service” and promises not kept. DHGate is a terrible company. Buyer beware.
I ordered an item which, upon arrival, did not work. After jumping through dozens of hoops (I’m very persistent) including having to send a video in their specific format “proving” the item did not work, I returned the item.
In numerous emails and in messages back and forth on their web site, they assured me the seller would be responsible for the return shipping cost. I even pointed out to them that the return shipping cost would be almost as much as the product cost, to make sure they wanted me to return the item rather than throwing it in the trash. They emailed me back with a confirmation that yes, the seller would refund me the return shipping cost. This was a lie.
At some point I felt uneasy about the transaction and started saving screen grabs of the onsite message exchanges (which are stored in different placed on the web site — nothing is straight forward). I also had all the emails. Thirty pages of documentation.
Before the reimbursement was settled, they sent me an email saying that, now that the transaction was complete, they wanted me to rate the company. I said no way, of course, because I had not yet been reimbursed. They sent this stupid email three times!
My instincts about DHGate were correct. As soon as the item was mailed back, and I asked about the promised reimbursement again and again over the next two weeks, they deleted from my account on their web site all traces of the order and all the messages. Like it never happened. Unbelievable.
Unfortunately, although I paid for the return shipping with a VISA, I have no way to dispute the charge, as the payee is the U.S. Post Office, not DHGate.
Lessons learned: 1) Never, ever buy from DHGate; 2) Always do an internet search for reviews when sending money to a company you have not previously done business with; 3) Keep copies of documentation and correspondence in case of a dispute; 4) Buy American whenever possible. If the transaction goes wrong, you will have much better avenues for resolving it.
I recently ordered a few mp4 players from dhgate.com, this came to around £50 GBP, the seller estimated that it would take a week for the items to turn up at my door, knowing this a couple of days after my purchase I listed them on eBay, thinking that the items would turn up by the end of the listing date (I’m an eBay seller) two months on and still no items, I have had to refund all of my customers and now my feedback is in shambles! I have applied for a refund but two weeks on, nothing… never using this site again until the day I die, don’t trust this website, it is full of people trying to scam you for money, use trusted sites with legitimate items! Lesson learned.
Buyer BEWARE I tried to purchase a flowergirl dress. Before purchase, the ship date was July 23. After I purchased, information appeared that production would take 19 working days, plus 3-14 shipping days, plus customs delays, plus delays for the Chinese Dragon holiday. This estimated ship date was well beyond my wedding event. So I immediately requested a refund. Their website promises that THEY hold the money until the buyer received the purchase and approves them to release the money to the seller. However, the customer service agent said they could do nothing until the seller approved the refund. The seller would not approve the refund until I changed my reason to “other”. Not only was this falsification, but I could not see any way to change my reason. So now they have my money and I have no idea when or if it will be refunded. I “chatted” with customer service who said lots of “sincerities”, but no action. I have also told the seller that I need my refund right away. No response. It’s been two days. This is not acceptable. DHgate LIED on their website to give customers a false sense of security. I should have known when I saw so many options for “resolving disputes”. That was a red light for sure that I glibly did not heed. Now I”m out almost $100 until they can hopefully complete my refund. I have contacted my bank and they said they will dispute it, but not sure how successful that will be!
BEWARE of this company, I placed a order back in April and decided the next day to cancel and requested a refund the day after my original and they would not refund me as I requested, this went on for many days trying to get my refund they took the 125.00 any way and would not give it back and sail they shipped the product I didn’t even want…. and to this day I haven’t heard or seen anything.Here is one of the conversation responses I got from them.
If you have raised are not satisfied with our products in the shipment, If you have raised are not satisfied with our products after the receipt of the goods, This is a fraud, and we do not accept, and we do not refund, we will not ship again. We will complaint fraud to the police of your country,Through your address and telephone number,We will complaint you no honest, you’re a liar. In this way, you might lose your job. Of course, we do not want to happen.Please carefully consider your order.And this is how they conduct business.
SO BEWARE when you deal with this company they are thieves they took 125.00 from my account and I did not authorize it after may request for a refund.DO NOT trust these scammers.W. Ryan Pensacola, FL”
{
}
Worst buying experience ever! Run away from this web site you will save some money
————–
I bought a car GPS in November through this web site, which was properly delivered to me but appeared not to be working.
(http://www.dhgate.com/product/s100-car-dvd-gps-head-unit-sat-nav-for-kia/178017061.html#myaccount_history-1-null)
Refund process seems to be clear but… this is not the case in practice.
DHGate asked me to reinstall the device on my car and prove through photos and videos that it was not working, which I did.
In December I was authorized by DHGate to ship it back to seller through DHL, UPS, FEDEX, or TNT for instance.
This did cost me 270.88CAD$, the smallest price I could obtain.
15 days later I was refunded with the price of the product, fine… BUT I then was never reimbursed with the shipping costs as planned.
Each time you contact the DHGate service (strictly by chat), you are told that this will be taken into account and will be reimbursed in few days.
Then one day one of the support team member tells you that the DHGate is not contactable at all which is the reason why I am not reimbursed yet. However the seller “CarnavigationDVD” clearly still exists and sells products through DHGate. (http://www.dhgate.com/store/14325982#st-navigation-storehome)
Well I always strictled followed the various processes explained by DHGate but I am still waiting for the shipping cost, which I am sure I will never retrieve.
This website is not to be trusted at all.
Run away from it you will save money.
Dear Friend,
Thanks for ur order in our store.
i am so sorry to tell u that the style u want is still producing now,
and it will needs for a longtime.
could u pls kindly change it into other style in the attachment?
Or you can choose other products in our store, there are many many styles.
pls reply us urgently so that we know how to do.
If we don’t get your reply in 48 hours, we will send it out directly.
Hope you can understand.
Best Regards,
Jack
Files: 2.jpg seller lied about having product so i purchase now hard time getn money back hevstill sent after i deny change!!
I just ordered from this seller Jsely. Great service! All Good!
I ordered a cupcake dress for kid. Needed if by certain date for show. The seller lied that it will be delivered. Received late after due date, something of different fashion and several sizes bigger.
In order to get refund they ask to pay shipping cost out of my pocket.
Waste of time and money. DHgate Buyer Protection is a Joke. Initially they propose unacceptable options, and then even if you try to comply to return at least some money they stop responding.
Will not EVER use this website and never recommend to anybody.
“I purchased an item through DHGate. I received the wrong item from the seller credit_1000. The seller ignored my messages for 5 days until I returned the incorrect item to the address it was shipped from.
Now the seller and DHGate refuse to return my money or send the correct item”
“I should remind you that, when you shop on DHgate, you need to check carefully the credibility of the seller from the seller’s feedback profile. Also, always remember to contact the seller to make sure the item has all the specifications or functions as described. These two actions will greatly reduce your risk shopping there.”
That’s Dhgate’s responsbility that
buyers pay for in the fees Dhgate charges.
Hence if anything this ex employee is stating the obvious: don’t do business with dhgate.
I too think DHGATE is a scam more or less. Ive purchased from the site several times only to have some things not arrive and boy is it tough to deal with the sellers and DHGate. Basically once they have your money. its theirs. simple as that. not worth the aggravation dealing with them.
something up with DHgate and its not honesty for sure. wired funds to their account 16 days ago in order to fund a purchase and here 16 days later they refuse to admit the funds are in their account even after a bank verification. Its a game they play of tech support people sending requests to the “payment team” and the payment team always taking just a couple of more days to reply. This is obviously a fradulant company and i recommend staying far away from them.
Yes they are a huge SCAM!!! They have no real dispute or resolution center as they claim to have, they send products that are fake and make promises they have no intention of delivering. They gave me a fake email address to correspond with their so called “customer service” department with, and they have NO intention of really helping with a return or refund, but yet to give you the run around until you just quit. I’m now having to deal with my bank to dispute the charges. This site should be shut down!
I purchased “brand” makeup which is fake of course. They shouldn’t use the word Brand.
They should use – “Like” or “similar to”. Was I naive? Yes. I will never buy from them again. Or ioffer.
Same problem. I still have great vendors on Alibaba so like everywhere else, a few bad apples spoil the whole web site.