Shop details for Merimobiles

Merimobiles.com is one of the premier wholesale technology sites on the web. Since its founding more than seven years ago, the Canadian company has carved out a place for itself among the top 75k most-visited websites in the world (source: Alexa.com) by specializing in cellphones, tablets, consumer electronics, and accessories. Merimobiles scores high for its excellent customer service, and its international warehouses in North America and Europe ease customer concerns about international shipping. Reliable shipping, a wide selection of Chinese and western-branded tech and low prices have helped it become popular all over the world, particularly in India and the US.

Experience with Merimobiles

Being the tech-crazy nerds we are, we had no problem digging through the sizable selection of electronics and accessories to place a few orders and put the site through its paces.

One of the first things we noticed was the customer service: not only is Merimobile Customer Service reachable via convenient in-site Live Chat, the customer service reps we spoke with were responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful; a rare find, even in more expensive and better-established webshops. With the help of the customer service rep, we settled on a nice-looking Bluetooth Headset (a requirement in California if you don't want to get pulled over) and set about the ordering process.

Check out the table below for an overview of our experience, or read on for an in-depth review of MeriMobiles.

Payment

Unlike a lot of its Chinese competitors, MeriMobiles' checkout process is quick, straightforward, and even allows you to checkout as a guest if you don't want to make an account. There's even a "Checkout with PayPal" option for users who prefer to let PayPal do the work for them. 

Merimobiles accepts payments made via PayPal, Credit Card (MasterCard and Visa only; all others accepted via PayPal), Skrill, and Cash (Bank Transfer).

Supported Payment Methods

PayPal		The safest and easiest way to order online. We recommend PayPal for its internal Buyer Protection Program. PayPal  is also the only option for those who want to pay with AMEX on Merimobiles.
Credit Card		Paying with Credit Card is also a simple and relatively safe way to order online, but most cards lack the flexible  protection of PayPal. Merimobiles only accepts Visa and MasterCard payments directly, all other cards must be processed via PayPal. We say, process your credit card (whatever it is) through PayPal to take advantage of PayPal's Buyer Protection policy.
Skrill		Skrill is a UK-based PayPal competitor specializing in small online money transfers. If your order has a value of less than ~$150, you can use Skrill here.
Wire Transfer		Direct Bank-to-Bank transfers (Merimobiles calls them "Cash") can take quite a while to transfer, especially on international orders.

Shipping Rates and Delivery Times

Merimobiles gives its customers quite a few choices for mail carriers. Merimobiles offers free shipping all over the world, so you will always have the option to choose their Free Shipping option, which takes the longest at 14-50 business days. Other options and pricing with vary based on the shipping location, but Singapore Post, DHL, and EMS are the most common "express" options.

For shipments heading to the US, Singapore Post offers to get your item there in 9-18 business days for $8.00, while DHL will do it in 3-7 business days for $18.00. Strangely, the more-expensive EMS option takes longer than DHL with 6-8 business days for $5 more at $23.00. 

Because we were just ordering a little $10 headset, we decided to wait for the free shipping. But if you're more impatient and want your new gadget yesterday, we recommend either Singapore Post or DHL. EMS's "longer shipping for a higher price" model just doesn't make sense to us.

Merimobiles and Customs

If you had read about Merimobiles' international Warehouses in Canada and Europe and thought "so what," this section is for you. Why? Because ordering from the Canada warehouse (if you're in North America) or the European Warehouse (if you're in Europe) will save you shipping time, and maybe even money, by allowing your order to expedite or skip the customs screening process when entering your country.

Our shipment came from China because our preferred headset wasn't available in our regional warehouse, and it arrived within about 5 weeks of ordering. That's not terrible for free shipping from China, but we probably would've had it 1-2 weeks sooner had we ordered from the regional warehouse.

Although Merimobiles packages and declares all of its packages very carefully for customs, it's still worth it to read up on your country's rules and regulations regarding importing and international shipping fees so that you know what to expect in case of a customs stop.

For shipments entering the US, extra taxes and fees on your product are possible. Not every item is taxed when entering the country, and the majority are only subject to a nominal processing fee of between $2 and $9 in the case of a random customs stop. 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 $500, 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.

Return Policy

One of the biggest selling points on Merimobiles is its 30-day Money Back Guarantee, which allows customers to return defective or damaged products within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. As long as your return is the result of some sort of product defect, Merimobiles will even reimburse your return shipping costs, so you don't have to pay anything to get your defective or damaged product refunded or replaced.

Should a product be found to be defective AFTER the 30-day mark, Merimobiles will pay for the item to be repaired by the manufacturer but will no longer offer a return or replacement.

Items returned for any other reason must be reported to Merimobiles Customer Service within 7 days of delivery. Merimobiles charges a restocking fee equivalent to 20% of the original price on non-necessary returns, so it's worth it to pay attention to what you order and think before you decide to return a functioning item.

Special Features

Merimobiles has one of the best customer service departments in the business. The Customer Service Live Chat is easy to use and the customer service reps that we spoke with were very helpful and knowledgeable. We're not the only ones that feel this way: many other customers have give Merimobiles high marks for customer service all over the web. 

Merimobiles also features an easy-to-use MM Cash Rewards System that rewards customers with a small in-store credit for each item purchased on the site. These rewards are usually equivalent to 20-60¢ depending on the item, and are saved to your Merimobiles account to be used for future orders. We lover reward systems like this, because they're simple, straightforward, and really help to reward frequent shoppers.

Conclusion

Although the Merimobiles website could use some TLC to bring it back up to 2015 standards, its low-priced electronics, fantastic customer service, and free shipping all over the world make Merimobiles a good choice for anyone looking for wholesale consumer electronics that won't break the bank. Technology nerds will love the wide selection of low-priced Chinese smartphones and tablets that can be hard to find in the west, while casual shoppers will find a lot to like about the fair-prices, free shipping, and decent selection of name-brand tech. 

Whatever you're looking for, you'd do well to give Merimobiles a look.

Alternative 1:	Fasttech		a well-stablished electronics shop with a focus on Chinese-branded smartphones; free shipping to most countries
Alternative 2:	Coolicool		huge selection of consumer electronics of all types; not all items are available with free shipping
Alternative 3:	Chinavasion		a gigantic selection of tech, consumer electronics, and gadgets

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