I’ve ordered two GSM cell phones from Plemix. My first order was in August 2006, and the second was last month, April 2007. I’ve had experience with their customer support/return process as well, and for me it went smoothly (more info below).
Plemix is, in my experience, a good store. However, when you do business with them you must be aware that they are a grey-market importer (at least of most of their cell phones), and so you need to expect a few things. Several of the complaints I’ve read on this site seem to be due to the confusion that this causes.
1) If you are in the USA, the packing slip will list the item value as $100 (regardless of what you paid), my guess is to avoid customs fees. All of the phones I’ve ordered were shipped from Hong Kong via airmail, arriving to California within 2-3 business days.
2) The warranty is only 7 days. If something goes wrong after that, you’re probably out of luck. Your phone may have a warranty with its manufacturer, but usually you must claim the warranty from inside the country of origin (it can be hard to even tell which country that is) so unless you’re traveling there it probably won’t work out. As far as I can tell, the other grey-market phone importers all have similarly lacking warranties.
3) You should email them to determine which geographic version(s) of phone you want they have in stock. For example, of a single phone they might have a Chinese version, an Indian version, and a Philippines version, each with different language options in the software, maybe extra markings on the keypad, and different accessories in the box. Plemix is pretty communicative via email, and if you find they have the version you want just specify it in the order notes when you place the order.
So my specific experience. My first order was a Samsung X820, but shortly after it arrived I noticed hairline cracks in the plastic body, a manufacturing defect I assume. After a few emails to support and some quick pictures of the phone taken with my digital camera, they gave me an RMA. I shipped the phone to the RMA address (Seattle, WA) and in a few days received a full refund. Went back to the website and re-ordered the phone, and this time had no problems.
Second order was a Nokia 6300. Before placing the order I emailed them to see if they had this phone with a standard keypad (no extra Chinese characters on it, etc). They did, and after specifying this preference in my order notes (within the PayPal form since I used that method of payment) I received this specific phone version without trouble.
Bottom line: Plemix’s prices are good, fast shipping, and they communicate well via email, so as long as you know what you want and what to expect from an importer like them, you won’t be disappointed.
This review was modified by its author, Twincyl, on
5/6/07 1:58 AM.
