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Pissed off
@comcast.net

Pissed off

Anon

[Scam] Mini in the box and Light in the box scam!

Warning, don't order!!!! I bought something and it came defected. The company said, to keep it and they will refund me. Ism still waiting and its been over a month. The claimed that they did but when I inquired, they had the wrong credit card number. They said they refunded it there and that's it. You cant speak to a live person but you have to submit a claim ticket and wait 24 hrs for a response. If the company does not have a phone or they are in China, don't order. It's not worth the savings or the hassle. I am out 20 bucks but it could have been more!!!! Lesson learned! I just found out my credit card number was stole, hm was it them?

snmitch
@surewest.net

snmitch

Anon

I have used them more than once with no 'fraud' problem. I think they are just a poor quality service organization. The goods are of variable quality for sure (poor quality or fakes mostly - be especially cautious with software) and orders are imported into the US by regular mail, registered on the customs forms as gifts so you as importer take the import duty risks. I don't think they are fraud - just bad. YMMV of course.

Mitch

LightNTheBox
@zhong-ren.net

LightNTheBox to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
Dear Customer,

Thank you for shopping with us and telling us about your experience. Please send us your order number, so that Customer Service can find you in our system. We will follow up with you via email about your request for refund. Since you already have a Customer Service ticket open, please follow the link »www.lightinthebox.com/in ··· t_center to check the progress of your request.

Though we do not have Live Chat system, we do try our best to answer every requests from our customers.

Thank you,

LightInTheBox

PeeWee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-21
Madera, CA

PeeWee to Pissed off

Premium Member

to Pissed off
I've dealt with them often. Missing shipments have been replaced no hassle. One refund instance went well. Patience is required. Only reason to hesitate recommending to a friend is that I know what I am looking at, someone else may see what they want to see instead of carefully reading.
stubber
join:2012-09-27
ts8 0xg

stubber to Pissed off

Member

to Pissed off
I am still waiting for the goods !! i cant contact them,the site wont recgonise my password ,all i get is no order in my queue .... give this site a wide berth ....
stubber

stubber to Pissed off

Member

to Pissed off
I am still waiting for the goods !! i cant contact them,the site wont recgonise my password ,all i get is no order in my queue .... give this site a wide berth ....

happy
@telus.net

happy to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
I had the completely opposite experience. I'm currently waiting for my second miniinthebox order. I love the site and company! I live entirely across the world and all my items were delivered within the time they said and in perfect shape. And shipping was free! The order I am waiting for right now is almost here, since I got a tracking number with expeited shipping. Everyone is having different experiences but I DO NOT regret buying from here
yuni
join:2012-12-31

yuni to Pissed off

Member

to Pissed off
I've waited almost two months for my order now, and I can't contact them at all because LightInTheBox wouldn't recognize the password I used at MiniInTheBox. When I registered at LightInTheBox with the same email account, and even same password, it says that I don't have any orders. Because my fucking order is at MiniInTheBox. But when I want to contact them, they send me to LightInTheBox WHERE I HAVE NO ORDERS. This is fucking ridiculous, I wasted a lot of money on that site and they won't even let me contact them.

angry
@atmc.net

angry

Anon

I have been done the same way at Mini In The Box.com! Placed an order back in December and still have not received it yet and they don't have a phone number to contact them! People like this need to be beat down by everybody they have ripped off! Yea fuck miniinthebox.com=
Expand your moderator at work

Vincent
@belgacom.be

Vincent to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off

Re: [Scam] Mini in the box and Light in the box scam!

I would like to add another WARNING for anyone thinking of shoppig with them. Items may be shipped from Hong Kong. Hence, you may pay import taxes!!
I bought stuff for 34€ and ended up paying another 25€ importing rights.
I contected them and they told me that because they can't predict these costs, they do not warn you and will not repay you.
Miniinthebox is a scam indeed. Do not shop there.

Prinsesta
@telenet.be

Prinsesta

Anon

You need to keep your orders under $20 than you don't have to pay Import!

YES SCAM
@cox.net

YES SCAM to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
Yes this company is a SCAM! I ordered an item in NOVEMBER. I was in constant contact about the item not being delivered. It took them until JANUARY to agree to refund me. It is now JANUARY 16 and I am still fighting to get my refund!!!! DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!!!!

kimp
@optonline.net

kimp

Anon

gee im guessing i should have read the reviews before purchasing. now i can only hope my item arrives

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

Please do let us know. There have been previous threads about this company where some members here have said that they were satisfied with this company.

Benghiman
@wanadoo.fr

Benghiman to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
Avoid this site like the plague. Poor quality is the least of their problems. Wrong size, watches that do not work and of course, the fact that they do not tell you - you have to pay import duty. They pretend to be of your country's origin. No such thing. It is just one con Chinese in a flat somewhere, sourcing!

My wife ordered for delivery in France - 40% charges!

Mini In The Box is one of the worst rip offs among a whole host of rip offs on the net these days.

STAY AWAY.

happycustomr to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off

Re: [Scam] Mini in the box and Light in the box IS NOT a scam!

I have to say I was really worried about the order I placed with MiniInTheBox.com after seeing these types of posts but I couldn't be more happy with my order. I ordered 4 phone cases on 1/20/13 and received them in the mail yesterday. I paid about $11 total for all 4 including shipping. They said they would arrive within 10-20 business days so it was much faster than expected. The cases are all in new condition and I'm very happy with my order. I'll definitely continue ordering from them. The only unexpected thing was an international tax/duty that was charged to my card after the fact for about $2 so it wasn't a big deal. I'm satisfied and it's DEFINITELY NOT A SCAM.

Umitencho
join:2012-08-11
Jacksonville, FL

3 edits

1 recommendation

Umitencho

Member

said by happycustomr :

I have to say I was really worried about the order I placed with MiniInTheBox.com after seeing these types of posts but I couldn't be more happy with my order. I ordered 4 phone cases on 1/20/13 and received them in the mail yesterday. I paid about $11 total for all 4 including shipping. They said they would arrive within 10-20 business days so it was much faster than expected. The cases are all in new condition and I'm very happy with my order. I'll definitely continue ordering from them. The only unexpected thing was an international tax/duty that was charged to my card after the fact for about $2 so it wasn't a big deal. I'm satisfied and it's DEFINITELY NOT A SCAM.

Can you provide pictures of said items? Your user name makes me think you are a shill.
Scifience
Premium Member
join:2002-07-07
Washington, DC

Scifience to Pissed off

Premium Member

to Pissed off

Re: [Scam] Mini in the box and Light in the box scam!

The company is legit, at least so far as any business dealing in cheap knock-off products and plastic crap can be. They are based in China, shipping can be slow as a result, and of course import duties could be assessed by your own country. The customer service is worthless in general, but that's par for the course in China.

But I have placed several orders for small things, and everything has showed up eventually. It's not an outright scam, though the quality of the products sold is often questionable (duh, that's why they're so cheap).

Not to excuse it, but you'll get equally abysmal customer service dealing with even definitely-legitimate, big-name mainland Chinese businesses: I can't count even begin to count the number of times China Eastern or Air China has screwed up one of my domestic tickets, often taking ~6 months or more to refund.

Edit: As a tip, if you can write in Chinese or have a friend who can, I've had much faster replies to inquiries in Chinese than English.

Rye
@bellsouth.net

Rye to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
Although the customer is warned explicitly about the number of days from order date to product delivery, there is no excuse for that length of time. My order arrived 31 days from being received. Merchandise from like locations can be had in two weeks or less.

The stylus which I ordered did not work with my iPad or iPhone devices. There is no provision for phone calls to the merchant. All in all, it's a toxic experience, ordering from MiniinTheBox. And now I'm informed not to reply to this e-mail that wants my opinion? HA, what a fiasco.

Quackers
@telecomitalia.it

Quackers to Benghiman

Anon

to Benghiman
I can beat one of your contributors, but NOT about faults in the order or the product. I ordered some LED Bulbs at reasonable prices. They arrived safely and functioned OK. But the import duty and IVA/Vat added more than 50% to the price I paid for the bulbs.
I agree with a previous correspondent. The INDICATED cost turns out to be nothing like the actual. No more from China, cheaper nearer home!!

Phoenix22
Death From Above
Premium Member
join:2001-12-11
SOG C&C Nrth

Phoenix22

Premium Member

said by Quackers :

I can beat one of your contributors, but NOT about faults in the order or the product. I ordered some LED Bulbs at reasonable prices. They arrived safely and functioned OK. But the import duty and IVA/Vat added more than 50% to the price I paid for the bulbs.
I agree with a previous correspondent. The INDICATED cost turns out to be nothing like the actual. No more from China, cheaper nearer home!!

not exactly ...itz more what/whom......not where..........my 1.99cent wireless headphones work great..........i found them new from a hong kong merchant on ebay...........here in the conus they sell for 49.95 all day.......i'd provide a link........but this is not a catalog forum for ebay.........i've since bought six pair...............great stuff/great price........if i offended........xin loi (sorry)

unhappy
@telia.com

unhappy to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
placed a order worth $53, and had to pay UPS at delirevence an extra $36, for tax and handling fee. Some 70% extra. Would call this a scam.
Scifience
Premium Member
join:2002-07-07
Washington, DC

Scifience

Premium Member

said by unhappy :

placed a order worth $53, and had to pay UPS at delirevence an extra $36, for tax and handling fee. Some 70% extra. Would call this a scam.

Complain to the government, who assessed the duty on your shipment, not to Light in the Box. No matter what international merchant you order from, this will be an issue.

Honestly, the only people that seem to have a problem with Light in the Box and think it is a "scam" are those who don't pay attention to their location or are simply ignorant of the realities of global trade and thus have no business ordering from foreign merchants...

SoCal
@sbcglobal.net

SoCal to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
I have ordered 4 times (12 V, LED bulbs). My experience is not bad. They are providing reasonable quality at a very low price. Yes, it takes a long time to receive stuff from China with their free shipping policy. But they have always been responsive to my queries.

DC DSL
There's a reason I'm Command.
Premium Member
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
Actiontec GT784WN

DC DSL to Scifience

Premium Member

to Scifience
said by Scifience:

Honestly, the only people that seem to have a problem with Light in the Box and think it is a "scam" are those who don't pay attention to their location or are simply ignorant of the realities of global trade and thus have no business ordering from foreign merchants...

No. No merchant that is shipping goods internationally as part of their business model has any excuse to not know at least the approximate cost of duties and other impex fees. It is the *merchant's* sole responsibility to not only disclose that an order is likely subject to them, once the shipping address is known the cost can be calculated and presented. These folks, along with countless others, do not provide the information because it would kill sales if the cost works out to be the same or more as ordering from Amazon or some other local vendor.

Robbie
@qwest.net

Robbie to Pissed off

Anon

to Pissed off
I ordered 2 "large" coats for my dogs. When I received them they were so small that they would not have fit my cats. Since the Mini company only gives you 7 days to return the items, I started immediately trying to get them returned. But their website says that they have no record of my purchase (I have record of THEM taking my money) And there is no phone # so I would have even the slightest chance of talking to a human. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY

DC DSL
There's a reason I'm Command.
Premium Member
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC

DC DSL

Premium Member

Notify your cc and get your money back that way.
Scifience
Premium Member
join:2002-07-07
Washington, DC

Scifience to DC DSL

Premium Member

to DC DSL
said by DC DSL:

No. No merchant that is shipping goods internationally as part of their business model has any excuse to not know at least the approximate cost of duties and other impex fees. It is the *merchant's* sole responsibility to not only disclose that an order is likely subject to them, once the shipping address is known the cost can be calculated and presented.

While I agree with you that it would be wonderful if things worked this way, they simply don't. I order from international merchants on a regular basis, and I've never seen anything more than a fine-print disclosure about purchases potentially being subject to government-assessed import duties and taxes. This goes for everyone from Amazon.fr and Yoox to eBay sellers.

As an example, take a look at Amazon's information about international shipping. Far from providing any estimate of costs, it is little more than a standard disclaimer (emphasis added):
said by Amazon :

The recipient is the importer of record and must comply with all laws and regulations of the destination country. Orders shipped outside of the United States may be subject to import taxes, customs duties and fees levied by the destination country. The recipient of an international shipment may be subject to such import taxes, customs duties and fees, which are levied once a shipment reaches the recipient's country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by the recipient; we have no control over these charges and can't predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you should contact your local customs office for more information. When customs clearance procedures are required, it can cause delays beyond our original delivery estimates.

»www.amazon.com/gp/help/c ··· 01119100

I've also done six-figure orders from China for work, and our company always done the estimate of import costs. The vast majority of international trade is priced under FOB terms, which absolutely do not include VAT/duties/etc.

DC DSL
There's a reason I'm Command.
Premium Member
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
Actiontec GT784WN

DC DSL

Premium Member

Site like Amazon.fr and other big players are intended for consumers within the borders of a particular country or the EU. There is no need for them to provide VAT/duties/other impex information as all of the people making purchases there know most of it off the tops of their heads. If ordering a gift for someone in another country from a global player like Amazon, they'll usually fulfill from their location closest to the recipient (quite probably in that country) and completely circumvent duties. You can obtain a pretty-close estimate of duties for shipping patterns that get a lot of traffic from Amazon if you contact customer service (though you may have to hunt down someone who's higher up in the food chain).

I have had a number of clients who did impex with Europe and Asia. Every single one of the Euro companies, and the reputable/better known Asian ones could provide duties, etc., to the penny, in advance. A vendor can obtain the information. If they claim they cannot, they are either being lazy or are scammers.