Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The Great "Third Party Band/Strap" Thread
- Thread starter appleboyy
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Pitch
macrumors 6502
I had a bad customer support experience with Crested where I accidentally shipped an order to my old apartment, realized right away where I could've canceled the order but since I used coupons I asked Crested to change the address for me. They said no problem, since it hadn't shipped. Then they still shipped it to my old apartment and got mad when I disputed the order with AliExpress. I won since I had the screenshots but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
worker73
macrumors regular
ivanwi11iams
macrumors 601
Thanks for posting the photos.
Is there a case of sorts on the watch, too?
The splash of orange is what draws me to that strap...
Is there a case of sorts on the watch, too?
The splash of orange is what draws me to that strap...
Quite comfortable and I really like the splash of orange...
That sucks, that's really crappy customer service.
The bands arrived today, they're good quality (I got the toasted coffee woven nylon and the close your rings sports loop) but the sports loop seems a bit less tightly woven than the urvoi ones. Not enough to completely ruin it, but enough that I think I'm going to wait for Urvoi to get the newer colours of loop in (They have a couple so far) and order those from them.
worker73
macrumors regular
Just received an Inteny sport loop from Amazon and I am returning it. The band is fine but the lugs do not lock in like the factory bands and I do not trust it. So much for a cheap band I guess.
Has anyone ordered this from TB, appreciate any kind feedback on the product:
m.intl.taobao.com
天貓淘寶海外，花更少，買到寶！
天貓淘寶海外作爲面向華人的跨境電商平台，覆蓋200多個國家和地區的消費者，其中核心站點包括：中國香港、中國澳門、中國台灣、新加坡、馬來西亞、澳洲、加拿大。
I have completely given up on trying to find 3rd party nylon sport loops that have secure connecting lugs. I have tried almost all of them from Amazon including Inteny's version. It's a shame because I love the way the nylon sport loop looks and feels.
Pitch
macrumors 6502
The ones I have from I Love Luo on AliExpress all lock in. Some of them have very slightly more gap spacing than some of the OEM ones I also have, but gap spacing is similar on some of the OEMs and they all lock so it’s fine. They have shipping down the US and at a $1.60 each you can see if they meet your standards or not.
zerolight
macrumors 6502a
Has anyone ordered this from TB, appreciate any kind feedback on the product:
天貓淘寶海外，花更少，買到寶！
天貓淘寶海外作爲面向華人的跨境電商平台，覆蓋200多個國家和地區的消費者，其中核心站點包括：中國香港、中國澳門、中國台灣、新加坡、馬來西亞、澳洲、加拿大。
I always use this Taobao guy - DongD shop.
I've bought 3 Hermes clones from him that were all excellent and I still use regularly two years later. I also bought a genuine link strap from him that presumably fell into someones pocket during QA failure (very very minor scuffs, of which I have applied many more from regular wear). Can't speak to reliability or quality of other Taobao sellers. I contact him directly through the Taobao / AliExpress app - AliWangWang or whatever it is called, he sends me a PayPal invoice, and I send him payment directly, bypassing TaoBao.
Pitch
macrumors 6502
That piqued my interest. Is TaoBao all in Chinese? Do they ship internationally?I always use this Taobao guy - DongD shop.
I've bought 3 Hermes clones from him that were all excellent and I still use regularly two years later. I also bought a genuine link strap from him that presumably fell into someones pocket during QA failure (very very minor scuffs, of which I have applied many more from regular wear). Can't speak to reliability or quality of other Taobao sellers. I contact him directly through the Taobao / AliExpress app - AliWangWang or whatever it is called, he sends me a PayPal invoice, and I send him payment directly, bypassing TaoBao.
zerolight
macrumors 6502a
I was told they were all the same owner. I use this one because they offer free shipping.
urvoi Store-AliExpress
Discover stylish Watch Cases and Watchbands at urvoi Store on AliExpress! Protect and personalize your timepiece with our high-quality, fashionable accessories.
m.aliexpress.com
zerolight
macrumors 6502a
TaoBao is China's equivalent to eBay. They ship domestically only. You can go through the freight forwarding thing which is a pain. But this guy will deal with you direct outside of Taobao using the AliWangWang chat app. If you install and register on the AliWangWang app then there's a wee icon on Taobao that will launch a chat in that app - little blue cartoon head.
ondert
macrumors 6502a
Did you place an order through that AliWangWang app? If so, what is the seller's info?
Pitch
macrumors 6502
AliExpress Seller Update:
- Crested – someone posted on r/applewatch a photo of a gold link band from Crested that looked great. I have a real stainless steel link from ChargerStore on eBay, but haven't wanted to shell out on the black one, the gold is impossible to find and Apple never made a rose red, so this seemed like a good opportunity to give Crested another chance. The link bands came in and they are a very good visual match to the Apple OEM one. Their biggest differences is that they feel noticeably less solid, there is more of a slight gap between the links if you compare them to the OEM and that the links are extremely difficult to take off in the Crested ones. I set up the black and gold ones and went to set up the rose gold and the clasp would not shut fully, no matter how I tried to close it. I contacted Crested and sent them a photo figuring it would be an easy return since it's clearly defective. They asked for a video and I sent them one. Then they kept on asking about the links, which didn't make sense since it was clearly a problem with the clasp. I restated the problem several times and finally they said the band worked in the factory and wouldn't help me. I initiated a dispute with AliExpress and AliExpress offered a partial refund to keep the band since, in their words, it still has value (not sure what value a band that doesn't close has, but okay) or a full refund to return. I clicked full refund and then found that I pay return shipping. I went to pay for the shipping only to find out it was as much as the band itself. Unable to contact AliExpress, I contacted Crested again asking if they could resolve this and they said no problem. A few days went buy and I didn't hear from them so I contacted them again and they said they would only help if I returned the band. I disputed the transaction on my credit card and fortunately got an immediate refund. I won't be buying from Crested again. 0 for 2 on issues they've created and some of the worst customer service for open and close cases I've ever had online.
- Urvoi - an order I ordered from Urvoi was almost a month late. I contacted them and they said if I didn't get it a month from when it should have originally arrived I should dispute with AliExpress since it was likely lost in the mail. Thankfully I got the order, but still much better service than Crested. The sport loops are great, the lugs sit flush and are not loose, the only issue is the connection from the band to the lug is not as clean as the ones from I Love Luo.
- I Love Luo - I hope my honeymoon period is not over. I ordered a few sport loops from them and for one they sent the wrong size. When I contacted them they said they'd send the right one when I ordered again, but that makes me hesitant since there's nothing else I want to order right now. Also, I ordered a few knockoff Nike loops and 2/5 are not reflective like their original version. For a $1.72 each not the end of the world but still not great that it's basically a crapshoot.
I tried to sign up for TaoBao to log in to AliWangWang to message your guy but I never get the verification text or phone call from TaoBao. Pretty weird.
A package just arrived from China 🤣 Found a seller with the double pin sports bands I prefer. ~$50CAD
Chips Stephens
macrumors regular
InfiniteJoules
macrumors 6502
Some neat looking bands on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254644802408
I’ve bought from this guy before without issues.
[automerge]1593964221[/automerge]
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254644802408
I’ve bought from this guy before without issues.
[automerge]1593964221[/automerge]
AZhappyjack
Suspended
Carterjett Thin Blue Line watch band. I support law enforcement. Proud to wear this daily.
