Why is the SLZB Ultima so Cheap? is there a catch? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 week ago by Coehill@lemmy.ca to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world

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I was reading the changelog for the Home Assistant SLZB Add-on and saw they added support for the SLZB Ultima. I looked it up on Aliexpress out of curiosity, expecting it to be their most expensive offering since it has 4 antennas for Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread, and 4G/LTE. Also RGB (eyeroll). But its price is similar to other SLZB offerings. I'm suspicious since it seems too good to be true. Is the price low because there was no support previously or are there problems with the device?

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[-] Mpeach45@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Also on point, does anyone here HAVE a SLZB Ultima and is it good/reliable?

[+] just_another_person@lemmy.world -6 points 1 week ago

Probably because you're looking at AliExpress, which is...a crapshoot. You never know if you'll actually get what you're intending to buy from there, and you have zero recourse if you get screwed aside from leaving bad reviews.

Seeing prices around $50, which somewhat makes sensensince it's basically just an esp32-S3 inside a fancy enclosure. Not very expensive to produce. You're paying for the software, essentially.

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 6 days ago

you have zero recourse if you get screwed aside from leaving bad reviews.

I've had a few bad experiences with sellers over the past decade with aliexpress, a couple hundred orders in total, but when there was any issue I've always received a full refund within a few days. only once did I experience a seller disputing my refund claim, but aliexpress got involved and I got the full refund.

[-] EarMaster@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

On AliExpress it can be a little bit more complicated as every seller is different and communication can take some time. But I have to agree that most sellers try to find a good solution. On the other hand the support quality on Amazon has declined dramatically. A few years ago it was almost a "no question asked" service when you contacted Amazon but this has changed. They try to pull every trick - beginning with how hard it is to actually contact a real person.

[-] Stampela@startrek.website 2 points 6 days ago

I had mixed experiences with both. On one hand, Amazon replaced my 3DS no questions asked when a shoulder button failed (Nintendo pretended the serial didn’t exist…), on the other hand my preorder of the Bayonetta Amiibo (Amazon for the EU) well… they cancelled it like six months after it got released and the support person had no idea what was going on. On AliExpress I ordered a drone that got delivered “to the wrong address” and the seller very clearly tried to scam me with helpful instructions on how to mark it as received to progress with the refund. But then I also got the logic board for my 3d printer from the manufacturer, and a reasonably priced remote controller for my drone.

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 6 days ago

I never communicate with sellers, I always just open a dispute right away. I'm not bothering spending days going back and forth due to time differences and language barriers, fuck that.

[-] EarMaster@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

That depends. If it is an obvious scam (which I have only encountered once in a lot of years) I agree, but otherwise I always try to solve it first. There's a person on the other end.

[-] Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Tell me you've never bought anything from Aliexpress without telling me you've never bought anything from aliexpress

[-] hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

I’ve had pretty good experiences with AliExpress. The few things that didn’t come or were wrong, they gave me a refund for.

[-] Coehill@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago

SMLIGHT lists Aliexpress under "where to buy" on its site.

this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026

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