2024 11.11 / Black Friday sale planning

[TidyDinosaur]

Not bike related, but i just bought a mini PC w/o RAM/SSD for 290 eur using the 60 11.11 discount, w a Ryzen 7 7840HS. My laptop has been driving me mad because of the noise it makes under load, and given its age, it feels under load a lot. I hate apple with a passion and i'm not in the US, so getting the mac mini m4 at 600$ is not an option for me, the cheapest i found it is 670 eur, and even then, there's all the apple non sense (I considered it assuming i'd run windows on it). 99% of the time, i have my laptop connected to a screen and mouse/keyboard, so i barely ever use it as a laptop, so i got a mini pc.
Compared to the local pricing i could find, and although i didn't trawl all of the internet, it looked like a good price. I'll source locally a bunch of ram and an SSD, and voila.

Point being: Aliexpress is a skill, at this point. I'm pleased with my 11.11 purchases, but it's a bit of an adventure to avoid leaving too much money on the table.

Yeah, and I also notice some items that I have bought on day 1 of the sale dropping in prices now... The Magene L508 radar was 110 USD (EU price) when I bought it and now it is only 96...

[Serge_K]

Yeah, and I also notice some items that I have bought on day 1 of the sale dropping in prices now... The Magene L508 radar was 110 USD (EU price) when I bought it and now it is only 96...

A general note on economic backdrop. Afaik, and last time i checked, China was in a deflationary environment. The growth has slowed down, the population is materially smaller than advertised (chinese official statistics are a vibe more than anything else, ultimately), the world economy overall isn't doing great at all (Europe is going to shit, US growth is highly questionable), so chinese bike parts should be deflationary overall, not inflationary.
A Luddite friend of mine just bought a 2nd hand SL7 for 6500 eur and he's very pleased with himself because he got "a great deal", so there are still plenty of such people, but generally, inventory isnt moving, prices are coming down, and people aren't buying.

[SillyMochi]

That being said, it's not reflected in current Chinese carbon frames. Prices are pretty much the same they were a year ago or even higher while Western brands are cutting prices heavily due to stock not moving.

So either they are still getting good sales or haven't understood the current economics.

[Ludo]

I have been wanting a full suspension frame to upgrade my hard tail but I am holding on the purchase because I think the prices will drop in the coming month and I am not really in a rush as I am in love with my current mtb. I will probably end up doing a full build and bring the HT to France to ride when I am there…

[rtuk]

Not bike related, but i just bought a mini PC w/o RAM/SSD for 290 eur using the 60 11.11 discount, w a Ryzen 7 7840HS.

Could you link to the PC & store pls

[Avalius]

Had another ER9 grp in my cart with discount decided to but it in queue by entering the wrong ccv code. So I could decide later if I took the groupset or not, it ignored the ccv and just went through..  How do I explain that to the wife

[Serge_K]

Could you link to the PC & store pls

https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ey0lTwH

It's claiming to be shipping from Europe, and I'm in Europe, so speed + customs cleared, so your mileage may vary.
Also, I just noticed the seller messaged me to say it's not in stock for another week, but he offered me an upgrade (same thing/specs, different looking mini pc case) for free (another listing also claiming to be shipping from Europe). I just replied yes, hasn't shipped yet. If the whole thing turns into a shit sandwich I'll update my post here.

Finally received the mini pc, Dec 3rd. I bought something meant to be in stock in europe, ended up receiving something different from China, so i'm not too happy. However, i got the processor i ordered in a form factor that is more considered a brand: GMKtek. Aliexpress says i paid 295 eur post discounts (i dont remember what they were). During blackfriday, on their own website, it's shown at $360 or so. I didnt realize these people had a website. Now i have to source a ssd & ram, because the parcel took so long to come i started worrying it wouldn't come at all.

Had another ER9 grp in my cart with discount decided to but it in queue by entering the wrong ccv code. So I could decide later if I took the groupset or not, it ignored the ccv and just went through..  How do I explain that to the wife

Surely you can cancel an order if you act very quickly, no? It raises a good question, in fact: can you cancel an order if you act quickly?

[kazuviking]

The magnesium frame is getting a nice discount putting it JUST UNDER the 135€ coupon by a few cents. This was the last dealbreaker for this frame for now. Gonna buy an alfine 11 during black friday locally and if i canno't then alfine 8 with front derailer with 34-50 chainring. Got a stupid idea of using an IGH for the roadbike project.

[rtuk]

https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ey0lTwH

It's claiming to be shipping from Europe, and I'm in Europe, so speed + customs cleared, so your mileage may vary.
Also, I just noticed the seller messaged me to say it's not in stock for another week, but he offered me an upgrade (same thing/specs, different looking mini pc case) for free (another listing also claiming to be shipping from Europe). I just replied yes, hasn't shipped yet. If the whole thing turns into a shit sandwich I'll update my post here.

Surely you can cancel an order if you act very quickly, no? It raises a good question, in fact: can you cancel an order if you act quickly?

Thanks for the PC info - I'll dig into that.

Regarding cancelling an order - I've done that in the past, but it was way way back so I'd not rely on things being the same today. From memory I ordered some Ergon copy bar grips for my MTB & changed my mind quickly. I definitely didn't receive or pay for them - but I cant remember if it was pay & refund or if the payment hadn't processed and so I didn't actually pay.

[Avalius]

Surely you can cancel an order if you act very quickly, no? It raises a good question, in fact: can you cancel an order if you act quickly?

On AliExpress you can, always works here. I'll use this one, reason to build again lol

[rockerplates.de]

That being said, it's not reflected in current Chinese carbon frames. Prices are pretty much the same they were a year ago or even higher while Western brands are cutting prices heavily due to stock not moving.

So either they are still getting good sales or haven't understood the current economics.

the domestic market is very very strong at the moment...so manufacturers do not see the need of changing anything..carbonframes still are pricy and ltwoo and wheeltop still are slow with r+d for faulty products, as they are sellling huge amounts for gear for the domestic market...
After the quantity drop of european distributors following corona, domestic sales kind of saved the chinese bike industry, as they have invested alot into infrastructure to cope with the corona sales....