I placed 3 test orders amounting to a little more than $100 to see what they are like. After going through their stringent credit card verification procedures, I was finally approved. I tried to pay with Paypal, but it seemed to make things hard so I relented and used the credit card directly.

Now how exactly are DHGate a scam? Well #1 they do not vet their sellers and make all kinds of disclaimers about it being our responsibility. I don't live in China and don;t have the resources to check on some. But Amazon does pretty well the same, so could not really say that makes them a scam, except being in the US we have much more access to information. Try and look someone up in the Chinese phone directory and see how easy that is.

Many people complain about their products being fakes or copies. Well if someone puts Nokia name on it and its 1/8th of the price that a store sells for, then you should know its not original. The prices do reflect that they are copies.

Here is how they get you. You continually email the seller that the package has not arrived and they keep telling you to wait a little longer, be patient. I ordered goods on 19th September 2010. I did it early to avoid the Christmas rush they kept warning me to avoid, I kept writing month after month, thinking as long as I don't click the goods as delivered the seller won't get paid.

Last week I noticed 2 of the still not received orders are closed and there are no links to click. I contacted DHGate and they said it was between me and the seller to work it out, but once it is closed I have to deal with the seller and not DHGate. So the seller keeps telling you to wait until DHGate closes the file even though the order is not received. They say is in escrow until you click completion. That's how DHGate gets you.

Now I placed 3 orders with 3 different sellers with high top percentile ratings. Only one order has arrived (damaged) after it had been sent to the wrong country.

If you do not ask for a tracking number at the time of ordering they don;t give you any way to trace your item once it allegedly leaves China. You have only their word for it. All 3 items were sent registered mail. Now you might think that means we have to sign for it. Not so. Just arrived in normal mail yesterday, 4 months after ordering. I guess the Christmas rush got me, or DHGate and its sellers.

Either way, they are not worth the effort. If you try to ring the seller they play Chinese wait music then hang up after you have been on the line for 20 minutes. They tell you they can't speak English, but they manage very well when you chat with them before the sale.