So I was looking for a cheap site to buy glass off of, and I came across a site called dhgate. I know that everything on there is made in china, but I was wondering if any blades have bought off them, and how were the bongs?
The pieces are about as good as most of the glass you see in head shops. Many companies will buy them in bulk and slap their brand on it. Trouble is buying a single piece from China and it can take upwards of 6-8 weeks to arrive by slow boat from China. DX.com is notorius for long shipping delays. That and in order to ship it cheaply and quickly they use minimum packing materials because air frieght is expensive. So you can buy it individually and it'll either take forever and I've had China post packages lost on occasion, no tracking no recourse. Just something you throw the dice on when buying deeply discounted goods from China. The other option is buy it with air freight expedite, get minimum packaging and risk breaking. You can get another one shipped out but sometimes they request you ship back the broken piece on your own dime. Then they ship it out slow boat to spite you and to guarantee safe arrival. That just about sums up my China mega etailer experience. And yes I regularly order electronics, watches, toys, flashlights and lighters from those sites. Save lots of money. But I never buy delicate glass goods.
^ Walk into a local headshop and let the employee(s) know you budget, they should be more then happy to help you out.
a china glass bong isn't necessarily made in china. When we talk of china glass we're referring to Chinese sourced borosilicate tubing used in water pipe construction. Some companies source the materials overseas and do the manufacture overseas. Some get the glass from overseas and then make pieces in the US. The issue with chinese boro is that their quality control isn't very stringent so you don't know what you're really getting. The issue with pieces made in china is that they cut a lot of corners and it isn't a passion with these guys in factories as it is with an artist. A lot of pieces probably aren't even annealed which is a break waiting to happen.
They'll probably be more than happy to rip you off too. There are more and more good head shops, but a lot of them are still seedy. I walked into one shop and asked about a bubbler and the guy told me 600. I walked into another (and way better/'more legit shop) and the SAME exact bubbler (it was a sheldon black) was 225.
LOL where do you live? Thats nearly unbelievable. Maybe you had something on your face the first time XD
Nah, I live in philly, it was Munchies on South St. That place blows. He said 600, I said no, then he went down to 400 but I just walked out. Luckily I found a much better shop, one of the few that carry mothership along with legit headies. IG and Kik make it easier to talk to artists directly now so I try to get pieces that way or at events.
There is nothing wrong with china glass. Nothing. More than half of the local headshops sell pieces from them, why buy a piece from somewhere local where they are screwing you over deliberately when you could buy it online for 10% of what they wanted? there's a difference between a good headshop and a crappy one, support the good ones as much as you can, fuck the crappy ones. They deserve to lose their business, lying and ripping people off is commonplace in the glass business. If they have local glass, and aren't just trying to make a sale, then give them every penny from your paycheck you can spare. They deserve it. Ask where they get their pieces, ask about all the ones you like, see what they say. It's easy to tell you're in a good shop. Really just look for an honest smile behind the desk... It's too easy to tell. The easiest way to tell your in a crappy shop is the old cleaning solution salesperson, when they tell you not to use iso alcohol and salt to clean a piece and try to sell you 420 cleaner or any cleaner, walk out, or atleast argue then walk out. Say "glass is inert bitch," flip the table and then leave. If you know how glass works, and how pieces will function it's easy to pick a quality piece just from pictures, even from china. I recommend not becoming china glass guy though, it looks bad. Buy one nice rig atleast... it's worth it... DHgate is awesome, only order from sellers that say they ship within 5 days, it'll be there in 2 weeks. I ordered 2 pieces from dhgate, both came within 13 days. I recommend kathy0577, and yingmin5, they ship insanely fast, it shipped in 2 days from them, all the other reviews say the same thing. My recycler i posted in the little rigs thread was from Kathy, for $30 It functions beautifully, it's chuggy but that water moves. Then i bought a sidecar from yingmin5, it was better quality than most american glass, the slits were fire polished, everything placed perfectly, no splash. I traded it for a circ to circ blown in oregon. My friend knew the piece was china glass, but insisted that we trade anyway... I got over $200 for $40... And if you want american, but still cheap, look at headwholesale. net and bakebros. com. Both sites with prices clost to dhgate, but much much better quality.
Most definitely if they don't sell local glass and know artists and where pieces came from. And nowadays you can just about any artist on IG or FB and speak with them. And the whole cleaner soeech , you're right cause my headship throws that shit at me for free every time, plus they know I keep my piece's clean. But if they have a buncha garbage.no high end authorized dealers and most of all if they're not willing to knock 10. -30% off for repeat custys then move on. My shop is the bomb. Always walk out happy. I know the mark up so you have to be willing to haggle set a reasonable price and 9 outta 10 times they'll work with you. No shop wants to lose repeat happy customers. And but american damn it. Them chinamen make enough of the shit we buy
^exactly these websites sell their pieces so cheap because the real price is the shipping. Although there pieces are cheap, a lot of it comes from shipping, but even with shipping, its still a great deal, I saw a 15 inch two perc bong for like $50 total on their site!
china glass is made the same way other shitty Chinese exports are; fucked up child labor, by buying a china glass piece from a website that ships from china you are fueling a industry based around making small kids blow glass. gj china glass buyers, your all fuck boys
buying a piece made by child labor promotes child labor... if you can afford weed you can afford the 100 dollars for a decent quality made piece by an artist thats passionate about it instead of spending half that on a piece that wont last as long, be of the same quality, and was more then likely made in fucked up conditions. I have no respect for anyone that buys china glass on purpose.
Think of it this way, why spend $100 on a bong, when I can get the same quality bong for $30? We're not supporting child labor man, it's just common sense. I think you're over reacting about this, just chill out.
your wrong man, your 100% wrong. spend more time in the city and youll learn. china glass and those that buy it are a pimple on the face of the glass market, an ugly fuck up. companies like cheech that steal perc designs from other companies are terrible companies that have 0 quality control suck companies that are fine sellings beakers only 2mm thick are bottom are sinful companies that think its cool to have 12 year olds working torches should be shut down and last but not least buyers that don't see the problem with spitting in the face of glass artists that are selling quality, hand made, pieces for a very reasonable price once you learn how hard it is to perfect should all just go back to smoking nasty ass blunts. if you cant afford a 18in bong with a double honeycomb and ice pinches don't buy the ghetto fabulous version for cheap, buy a bubbler and be happy.
Dude, it's a freaking bong, last time I checked, that $300 RooR does the same exact thing those other china bongs do. Not that there's anything wrong with labeled pieces, I'm just saying, Long as it get's the job done, why does it matter?
your not worth my time anymore, ive tried explaining, if you dont care about having good welds, thick glass, proper functioning percs, from a reputable artist go buy your Chinese shit.