Shop details for FocalPrice

Focalprice ("Chiang Network Technology Co. Limited") is one of the heavyweights among China's online shops. Even though it is a comparatively young company - founded 2011 in Hong Kong - it already offers over 40.000 items.

With a global Alexa ranking of 2.890 it is, similar to TinyDeal and Dealextreme, one of the most frequently visited Asian stores online.

Experience with Focalprice

Because Focalprice is one of the biggest shops on the Chinese market, we've already tried it several times for you and can offer extensive experience.

Payment

You can order directly, pay with PayPal-Express and skip the step of creating your own account on Focalprice. If you do open an account, you're offered several different payment methods such as paying by credit card. We strongly suggest you pay with PayPal, because it offers an amazing buyer protection program. In case your package doesn’t arrive, you can use this buyer protection and get your money back within 40 days of your order. The merchants are all very accommodating and always try to find a fitting solution for every problem. You can contact them via live chat or on the FocalPrice Forum. Whenever we had questions, we received an answer within a workday.

Furthermore, we recommend sticking to US-Dollar ($) as your currency. We saw drastic differences between the current exchange rates and Focalprice's calculations.

Supported payment methods

• PayPal
• Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard)

Delivery time and shipping

Speaking from experience, the delivery time of the free standard shipping usually varies between 14 to 21 days. This matches Focalprice's estimates of delivery times between 10 - 16 workdays. When you choose priority or express shipping for an extra charge (which can cost you up to $23), you can expect your express delivery to arrive within 2 - 7 workdays. Focalprice lists several different delivery companies, which offer different delivery times and correspondingly different prices.

Currently, Focalprice doesn't have a warehouse in Europe which could lower the delivery times. Shops such as Banggood already relocated part of their goods to Europe, sometimes making those deliveries the more convenient alternative.

Focalprice and customs

Contrary to other China shops, Focalprice declares packages and parcels pretty carefully so that an unwanted stop at customs will be a rare sight. But keep in mind that the German customs office does random checks on well-declared packages from China.

Furthermore, you will have to pay the legal 19% import sales tax if your order has a value of 26€ or more when shipping to the EU. Usually you can be paying the taxes directly to your mailman once the parcel arrives or you pay it at your local customs office if they keep or have to open your order. And if you order for more than 150€ you have to pay customs fees - we've explained that further in our FAQ.

For shipments entering the US, extra taxes and fees on your product are a possible, if not entirely common, side-effect of international ordering. Not every item is taxed when entering the country, but the majority are only subject to a nominal processing fee of between $2 and $9. The amount to be paid, however, can vary widely depending on the product and how it’s sent. If you are concerned about your item, or are planning to order goods in excess of $100, it is worth it to check with the Customs Office at the port of entry to confirm any extra fees.

Any extra taxes or duties on your shipment will either be paid at your door when the mailman drops it off, or the package may be held at your local post office. In which case, you will need to go pick it up and pay any applicable fees in person.

Specific features

Focalprice has a point system that offers you the opportunity to collect points, which can be exchanged later on for coupons. When you open an account and verify your email address, you receive your first 58 points. You get a Focalpoint for every dollar you spend. Further opportunities to collect points are:

• writing a review for 20 FP
• publishing a product picture for 15 FP

Through this system, you can collect up to 35 Focalpoints for each product. Write your review carefully and make an effort when taking pictures of your product, as Focalprice seems to review everything before it transfers its points. Recruiting new customers and commenting on Focalprice's forum can also lead to more points. Competitions on the forum offer an extra opportunity to win more FPs.

You can find many pictures, reviews and videos created by customers because of this point system. These are pretty useful and should be considered before buying an item. Further help, discussions and product comparisons can be found in the English forum on Focalprice’s website.

Conclusion

Focalprice is one of China’s most established online shops. It is obvious that despite its vast assortment and pretty great prices on electronic gadgets, the people in charge are continuously working on expanding their range of products and fulfilling their customers’ requests. Focalprice’s only current problem is its comparatively long delivery time. Otherwise, though, FocalPrice scores with a reassuring online presence and immense selection of products at some ridiculously low prices. Anyone new to Chinese online shops would be smart to start FocalPrice, or even Banggood and FastTech, as these shops offer the best customer service and are the easiest to use--and all feature great bang-for-your-buck pricing.

Alternatives

Because of its sheer size, there are only a few proper alternatives. One of them is DealExtreme (DX). If you're looking for a specific range of products, such as modeling, fashion or smartphones, you can check out specialty shops such as HobbyKing.

Alternative 1:	DealExtreme		similar assortment of goods and similar structure
Alternative 2:	HobbyKing		specialized on modeling (RC)

Focalprice Coupons

Current coupons and promo codes can be found on our website. If you’re looking for even more coupons and discounts, you should become a user on Focalprice. Users find exclusive coupons in their accounts or get further information on promotions via the website’s newsletter. You can spend your earned FPs and use them as percental or as set discounts - but these have a certain minimum order value as one of their conditions. Before confirming your order, you should consider which coupon or promotion code would mean the biggest save for you.