Hello All, Although extremely upset, I just wanted to share my horrible experience on Alibaba so that maybe it helps prevent someone from going through the same thing. I posted that I was in need of LED ropelight and received a flood of emails from different companies who offered their product and found 5 or 6 who seemed to have reasonable prices and could deliver goods in a reasonable amount of time. I had ordered from China before and was reasonably comfortable doing so. I had 4 of them send samples and tested them on controllers and gave them all a 25 day test on the roof to see which held up to UV rays the best. One of the samples were head and shoulders above the rest so I ran his prices by Ray Wu and a supplier I had dealt with previously to see if they could at least come close to the price being offered. When they couldn't I placed the order for 1600 meters of cool white (200 meters for a nearby christmas decorating friend) and 200 meters of blue. When he asked for payment I mentioned escrow (which I had used in the past) and he replied that they are a small company and I checked their website and they seemed legit, so I made the mistake of wire tranferring the money to their "company" bank account. to me it was another sign that made them a legitimate company in my eyes. After I placed the order communication lagged but I did sporadically hear from "Rex" . I explained that I needed them delivered by the first week of August because rope light is more pliable and easy to work with when it is warm out. He had no problem with that, but of course I didn't get it. I called him on the phone and although there was a slight language barrier, he assured me that he would send them out shortly. 2 weeks went by and I didn't here from him so I went to the chinese restaurant near me and they spoke to him and acted as an interpreter for me and explained I needed the rope light ASAP to make my "product". He assured them and me he would have them to me no later than September 20th. Of course I did not get them. I emailed him and cc'd the "company's" sales department. The "sales" department emailed me back that he no longer worked for them and that they forwarded my payment to the new company he worked for. I told them how illegal and unethical that was and that they are on the hook to deliver my goods. Yes I realize it was him responding and there is no real "company". I told him in yet another email that what he was doing was wrong and not only did he cost me the money which I guess I am going to have to get over, but the time he cost me killed me even more!!! I said if your not going to deliver the lights just email me back NO LIGHTS, but of course he didn't even have the decency to do that!!! I am so upset. I am retired and living off my savings and I was going to use the rope light to make and sell 6' rope light snowflakes to help pay for this hobby of ours. Well, let my misfortune be an educational opportunity for you and do not do business with a company called Eland Industry LLC and if you do business with China or on Alibaba, insist on using escrow where you release payment once you get the goods. And maybe buy a small amount first to check on the quality of the goods. Thanks and if I don't get the chance in the next couple of weeks, Have a very Merry Christmas!!!! George
