Sorry about the Link here is a link to the store I bought mine from. I note that the new displays are now LCDs and look a lot brighter and easier to read.
https://storenumber3410012.aliexpress.com/store/3410012?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.2d8819bbQGso2x
@macardoso. Over the years I have used a number of Chinese/Hong Kong suppliers and with many of them haven't been too happy with their disputes/returns policy.
More recently I started using Ebay and while an improvement, still not that great. Then a friend suggested I try Ali E and I now use them almost exclusively. For the same item, prices almost always seem to be cheaper. Often you have a wide range of shipping options from free to DHL (The Ali E shipping option is very good), and their Dispute process is very very good. All shipping is tracked on the Ali E site.
I am pretty certain that Ali Express itself is just the middle man between the store owner and the buyer, but what they are doing is dropping in a bunch of consumer guarantees. When you order something, you pay Ali E . If and when you receive the goods and confirm you are happy, Ali E pays the seller. If you aren't happy and can give fair reasons Ali E refunds your Bank account and the seller doesn't get paid. Very similar to PayPal.
To use Ali E you need to establish an account and login. When searching for something I always filter the results by "Orders" rather than "best match" and then have a careful check of the Stores rating looking for at least 4.8 to 5 and a solid red star (bottom left). I also have a good read of the reviews.
Your account also retains a complete listing of your order history and each sale has a unique 16 Digit number. 4 of those Digits are your account number.
Thank you for the very detailed response. I've purchased from Chinese supplies directly through eBay before and have been pretty happy with the outcome. I have worried about the issues that might arise from buying from China directly without buyer protection. It seems like Ali E handles that however.
I think I am leaning towards experimenting with one of these DROs from Ali E. At 1/3 of the cost of DRO PROs it is hard to argue (especially since DRO PROs is also buying Chinese equipment and reselling it).