Where do you buy your chinese phones from ?

[pufferaway]

All my ebay sellers from China are pretty good.

But then I decided to try Aliexpress.

First seller afte couple of days says that they don't have a phone I want in stock.

Fine, I ask for the refund, they issue the refund.

Second seller was worse. After the payment Aliexpress gives the seller 5 days (sic!) to ship.
After 3 days I ask to cancel. They refuse to cancel, advising me to "wait patiently".
2 days later I get a message from Aliexpress that my phone has shipped w/tracking number. I check the tracking number and get "0 items were found. 5 days later the seller sends email: "Your phone is being held by our customs /really? I didn't realize chinese customs were so strict, lol / . Do you want another phone or the refund?" I respond with "issue the refund". No answer from them for several days. I contact my CC issuer, and they tell me I have to wait 20 days before they open the dispute.

Making long story short: I will avoid Aliexpress sellers as a plague, no matter how good their prices might look.

I'm within 24 hrs of an AliExpress automatic order cancellation myself and that's after my approval of a 1 extra day processing extension for the seller. Communication with them has been poor, as I've asked them several times for shipment updates, with answers that have nothing to do with my order shipping.

Has anyone used or heard anything about OrientDeals? They sell the iNew i6000 and (what I assume is their own version) OrientPhone Mega 6.5 with the only apparent difference being a 5MP front camera. I requested information describing variation between the two and their stock status, so I'll see if they provide an efficient and effective response. The info on their site seems extremely intensive and professional, yet I can't find any customer reviews online, except their own reviews of products. Their prices are higher, but I will pay more just to avoid the grief I and others have experienced.