Purchasing Underpinner from Alibaba

[Shmert]

Has anyone had experience purchasing equipment from alibaba? My 20 yo cassese has parts that can’t be replaced - covid - and I’m in serious need of an underpinner but I’ve checked everywhere and there’s nothing in my area. Everything outside my area is pickup only - outside being New York/Seattle and I’m located in Florida. Closes thing I could find was a Chinese model in Georgia but he wants 4K for it and so my options are that or alibaba which are Chinese made as well BUT it’s significantly less expensive and I figure the potential for getting screwed is significantly less. So I was hoping someone would be able to shine some light on good experiences or bad when it comes to Alibaba because I’ve never used them. Only thing I know is it’s the Amazon of the east - which means there are many sellers that are scammers so how to navigate that…ugh

 

[wpfay]

I have heard nothing good about machinery purchased form China.

There are resources for new and used equipment here in Florida. I just picked up a used VN-42 underpinner for a good price from a shop about 30 miles from me.
Check with Steve Adams, or Jim Miller at AIM Equipment.

Home

aimequipmentcompany.com

 

[Shmert]

Ya I feel the same, Thank you!

 

[Rick Granick]

I got a brand new Alfamacchine U-300 a couple of years ago for just over $2200. They are distributed by Fletcher, and my local International distributor was having a sale on them.
These are great machines (made in Italy), very dependable and easy to maintain. Replacement parts are readily available when and if needed. I would avoid unknown Chinese brands.
Rick

 

[Underpinner Spares]

What Cassese parts can’t you obtain?

 

[Larry Peterson]

You haven't told us what your budget is, but I would sell my first born to get something decent before buying anything from Alibaba

 

[Rick Hennen]

So far we have owned 2 CNC routers, one was made in the USA and the other in China. We were looking for a second machine that had similar capabilities aa the one made in the US but for a limited application and the prices of the US machines made it impossible to justify. The US version was close to $25,000 while the Chinese one was $13,000.00 The Chinese machine has worked just fine for the last 5 years and quite frankly appeared to be built more solid than the US counterpart but even though the steel it is constructed with is thicker it is also softer. I discovered this when I tried to drill and tap it to add a bracket for an attachment. The welds aren't as good and the spindle which is rated the same HP appears to be weaker. I also had to find a way to adapt it to a standard operating software since the one it came with was not very capable. If I had it to do all over again I would look for a used US machine. Although they advertise full support, I have found zero help with the couple of issues we have had and have had to solve them on my own. Setting the machine up when it arrived was much more time consuming and setting the limit switches and X,Y,Z movement units took forever. If you are not mechanically inclined I would definately stay away from them.

 

[alacrity8]

I'm sure there are many quality machines on Alibaba.
But how to find the good from the bad?
Support may be non existant.

 

[wpfay]

Just an FYI, Fletcher Terry seems to be having a sale on v-nailers just now, and pricing includes shipping to lower 48.
I first saw it on FrameWare, but the sales are usually the same with all distributors of FT machines, and the machines are shipped from FT.
Any of the known FT distributors, including AIM, International, Decor(UMS), and FT proper should be able to fulfill a new machine purchase.
Pricing starts at $1795.00 for a basic U-200.

 

[Mike Labbe]

It would be great to have them as a forum sponsor!

 

[Larry Peterson]

Decor currently has a sale on AMP underpinners.