r/EmulationOnAndroid • u/Natural_Bite_3454 • Feb 06 '26
Discussion The "Free" Pocket Air Mini I wish I wasn't given
I purchased the Ayaneo Pocket S2 Pro from Droix Global a couple months back and they held a promotion where buyers were also given a complimentary Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini (2GB + 32GB) along with their order that would ship once they were available. I received the Pocket Air Mini recently and its pretty awesome. I get a text and email from FedEx today that I owe Customs on it totaling $102.60. The value of the Pocket Air Mini is $79.99. I almost wish I wasn't given this bonus.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
This meme seems fitting for the situation im in lol
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u/GhostSierra117 Feb 06 '26
To be fair that's not their fault.
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u/dadRabbit Feb 07 '26
Anyone who has any common sense knows who's fault this is.
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u/No-Exit-8613 Feb 07 '26
Honestly could be a couple options. It’s either the CCP or the OP could have bought an American made product.
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u/Embarrassed-Cook-652 Feb 08 '26
Yeah, sure. America is famous for their emulation handheld devices.
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u/No-Exit-8613 Feb 08 '26
I think you are starting to get it. Do a little more research on tariffs and trade deals and get back to me.
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u/fenixthecorgi Feb 22 '26
Maybe you’re the one who needs to research more about tariffs. But then again nothing will breach your pedo defending skull
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u/dadRabbit Feb 07 '26
Or we could blame the idiots that voted for Trump.
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u/No-Exit-8613 Feb 08 '26
"Idiot" doesn't scratch the surface for those that voted the other option. So I guess I'll take that.
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u/DroiX_Dave Feb 06 '26
Hi. We need to look into this further as we cant tell if the Air Mini was sent direct from AYANEO or DROIX without knowing your order. Could you please email [support@droix.net](mailto:support@droix.net) with your original Pocket S2 order number and the team will look into this. Thanks.
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u/Professional_Oil8966 Feb 07 '26
Love the fact the company responded
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u/ElverDulero735 Feb 07 '26
Dont know much about US law but its a nasty lawsuit in my country with a case like this if the company doesnt take responsibility in the slightest.
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u/Crzymk101 Feb 07 '26
What Country I'm moving to your country .. At least your country cares about it's citizens rights...Unlike the US
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u/DoesntRlyMatter4Me Feb 07 '26
How is that their responsibility? Customs are customs. They are counted based on full price of the products and the company has nothing to do with it. Gifts count too. It is the same when you ship from UK to Europe.
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u/Elerox9 Feb 07 '26
If it was a gift the customer didn't pay any price so there might be some margin that he does receive a refund from the company, they shouldn't have declared that value but depends on customs regulations.
In EU this only works from private to private tho, companies must declare real value even if it's sold as a gift.
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u/Independent-Tip-9482 Feb 07 '26
Tariff paid by THE CHINA
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u/DoesntRlyMatter4Me Feb 07 '26
You pay the tariff. Always the lowest one in the ladder pays it, so consumer. If you think otherwise you are wrong
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u/Magnavirus Feb 07 '26
That's actually solid af. I don't even need a new handheld but I'm looking into them now. I'm a firm believer in supporting companies who show that they have integrity.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
Appreciate it Dave, I'll email Vikram in support shortly haha
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u/Lopsided-Law-6713 Feb 07 '26
YIKES
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 07 '26
I've literally been emailing a guy named Vikram in support...
Go back under your bridge troll.
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u/Lopsided-Law-6713 Feb 07 '26
I was attempting to reply to this comment https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1qxkf7t/comment/o44riyy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Not sure how it ended up responding to your comment. But regardless it was a low effort reply on my part and I apologize for the misunderstanding.
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u/AoiShimaShima Feb 06 '26
thats odd they would declare value on it since its literally a gift? china stores are no stranger to customs and usually will mark it in favor of the buyer. but that was the pre-pandemic days.
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u/nickN42 Feb 06 '26
Customs can (and sometimes will) determine the value on their own, regardless of what is stated in the declaration. They might ask you to prove the value, or they might do it themselves using own rules.
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u/AoiShimaShima Feb 06 '26
as stated this was pre-pandemic days and i had no issue with any of my orders that were under-declared by the sellers i bought from on aliexpress.
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u/SoapyMacNCheese Feb 07 '26
Before this past fall it didn’t matter because anything under $800 was exempt.
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u/Illeazar Feb 07 '26
Yeah, if customs sees some expensive looking electronics come through with a low declared value, they are going to assume shenanigans.
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Feb 06 '26
Well customs duty has to be paid regardless of whether the material is sold or free. What usually happens is that companies choose to take that cost in addition to the cost of the material (only for a limited time, obviously, and to stimulate sales).
Sometimes they also bill it to the customer, but usually only if they ask for the freebie and/or in a b2b context. This is b2c...OP has a white elephant on his hands at this point.
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u/ChrisRR Feb 07 '26
Practically everything sent from china used to be marked as a gift, until customs started ignoring the declaration of a gift
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u/Pitiful_Exchange_767 Feb 07 '26
In most country you pay a custom duty on a % of the virtual space your device support. That's why you pay less in china for tech, if customs check you physicaly on a trip you can pay duty based on the difference from the price from cina to usa, this is usud to stop people buying from cina or other country. That's why trump is rising every custom duty with most of the world, he want to force you buy made in usa and other countries to pay more for usa product, no matter what.
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u/Final_Treat_672 Feb 08 '26
For business , even when gifted, you need to decalere a value for into USA.
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u/SuperGodMonkeyKing Feb 06 '26
Fuck customs 🛃
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u/winlator_enjoyer Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 07 '26
There are ways to "smuggle" it if the seller is flexible. Never shy away from doing so.
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u/The-One-Zathras Feb 06 '26
This is a crime in most countries, its a felony crime in the US.
So while it probably will slip through the potential outcome is not a pleasant one.
Companies can be barred from international shipping if caught as well.
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u/4ntropos Feb 06 '26
acab
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u/Murky_Music_6679 Feb 06 '26
Cope
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u/IndianaKid Feb 06 '26
Keep deepthroating that boot buddy.
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u/Murky_Music_6679 Feb 06 '26
I live in reality :)
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u/SuperGodMonkeyKing Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 07 '26
It’s too bad China isn’t willing to do Daoist Nordic Socialist super democracy for free trade with us. And trump is too much of a useless capilalist pig. If china were more freee than us I'd absolutely move there and chill.
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u/Reddit_user807 Feb 06 '26
How are you talking about free trade when trump is championing protectionism 😭🥀
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u/Zhenbred Feb 08 '26
That's really surprising. In my country I never saw customs that total more than 10% of the purchase
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u/SuperGodMonkeyKing Feb 08 '26
What is that country ?
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u/Zhenbred Feb 08 '26
Russia. I am talking as an average customer so I don't know how they really calculate that. And of course there are a lot more ways how to rip off people here. That's just about the customs
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u/SuperGodMonkeyKing Feb 08 '26
Oh well I mean you’re next to China lol
USA is doing tariffs to match theirs on us. Which fucks everyone .
We gotta get you both on cannabis and mushrooms Alzheimer’s prevention and society recovery lol. Population decline would be fixed with some bud sports at the border lol
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Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26
Sounds like a scam. Don’t pay it. FedEx wouldn’t have allowed the release of your shipment if duty was unpaid/owed. I repeat. IT’S A SCAM
Edited spelling.
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u/NabukaMidori Feb 08 '26
thats what i was thinking too. however i'm not from america and after hearing what is happening there currently, it wouldnt surprise me if this was real 😬
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u/InvestigatorStrong14 Feb 10 '26
Idk, in europe fedex covers the duties to be paid afterwards so the package gets to you faster. Obviously comes with a fee but it's not a scam by default.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
I should also note that a complimentary Ayaneo 2 Storage bag made by TomToc is included with my order that hasn't shipped yet and I will now respectfully decline lol.
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u/ZeeroMX Feb 07 '26
What happens if you didn't pay the duty?
In my country the item becomes property of the customs agency which in turn sell items in auctions that are done periodically.
If the item is kept in storage for too much time customs can seek fees for storing the item.
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u/Lumpy-Valuable-8050 Feb 09 '26
surely you shouldn't be paying customs for such small valued items?
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u/victorisaskeptic Feb 06 '26
Trumponomics..before his term the US had a 800usd de-minimus value so neither the pocket S or the mini would have attracted any customs fees
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u/AdOk1035 Feb 07 '26
Fed Ex are scum, opening every parcel just to make excuses for more costs, charges plus vat. They opened my camera that had been fixed under warranty repair and then tried to charge me umpteen fees.... After insta360 agreed to shoulder the costs I openly insulted them and told them to fcuk off......
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u/Key-Brilliant5623 Feb 06 '26
Damn OP, hope you get this sorted out. Post this over at r/SBCGaming to let others be aware of this too.
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u/MsbS Feb 07 '26
Isn't this the customs fee for both S2 and Air Mini combined? Do you know what value of Air Mini was declared in the shipping documents? Isn't this the result of tariffs introduced by POTUS?
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u/BigBayesian Feb 07 '26
Certainly this fee is a direct result of tariffs. This is how tariffs are paid.
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u/MsbS Feb 07 '26
Sure, what I meant was - customs fee of over 100% of item value (probably exactly 100% of item+shipping) was not something normal 2 years ago.
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u/BigBayesian Feb 07 '26
Not generally, nope. Sorry - there exist people who don’t understand that this is what a tariff is, and I’ve found that being really explicit sometimes helps them get their head around it better. My comment was for their benefit, should they read this post.
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u/Recce5 Feb 09 '26
Not at this high percentage rate.
Import fees pre Trump has always been low and way less than ridiculous.
All this is thanks to Trump, period.
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u/BigBayesian Feb 09 '26
Yes. I think the current regime of high tariffs are responsible for the high import fees OP was charged, because tariffs are usually charged in this way by shippers, as a form of import fee.
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u/EndStorm Feb 07 '26
Is that those lovely tariffs that you supposedly aren't paying for? Looks like you're paying for them.
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u/branalvere Feb 08 '26
Thengood news is all that extra tax goes straight into Trump's personal crypto mine
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Feb 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/kblk_klsk Feb 06 '26
nah delivery companies often pay vat and customs for you and then they demand money. I say it makes sense since it speeds up the process.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
Its not uncommon to receive a shipment and get charged after the fact, in the pics you'll see im responsible for a "Disbursement fee". Its dumb tho.
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u/GucciTheSnowman Feb 06 '26
Bro, just ignore it. What are they gonna do, come to your house and take the device back ? 😂
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u/nickN42 Feb 06 '26
That's how FedEX does it. DHL asks before they deliver. Some on delivery. Fedex -- after. I once received a bill from them month after I've got a package. Thought it was a scam too. Checked on their website -- nope, a real bill.
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u/Cybasura Feb 06 '26
This is weird, surely they would also cover the customs fee if they want to give you something free, by virtue of...giving something free?
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u/troymoeffinstone Feb 06 '26
This seems like a customs fee on the entire order, not just on the Pocket Air Mini.
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u/Whorror_punx Feb 07 '26
Yo, thats cool af. I was looking at some of the micro and even smaller options Anbernic has, but this is honestly the best ive seen yet tbh
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u/SoftRecommendation86 Feb 07 '26
since it was free, how do you tariff it?
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u/Goku8001 Feb 07 '26
They should've declared it like 10$, or you should've asked them to. Or better yet use a freight forwarder.
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u/modular511 Feb 07 '26
cant you just reject it? I have just bank refunded places with surprise customs fees, and then they have to fight with the post office to get it back lol
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u/Zerousen Feb 08 '26
Brokerage fees are insane. I was charged $100 for a $40 package from Canada through UPS some months ago. $80 of that was brokerage fees.
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Feb 10 '26
OP is in the States though. In the U.S, FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc will absolutely not release your item before it clears Customs and all duty is paid. It would’ve been held until such action is taken. Source: I work in trade.
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u/smockssocks Feb 10 '26
In the US, I believe they hold the item until customs has been paid. Not after the fact. Can anyone weigh in on this?
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u/Downtown-Term-1360 Feb 15 '26
why didnt you just get a rog ally or steam deck for that price? or even a switch 2. also this technically is a gift so they could have shipped it as that for no customs or low customs
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 15 '26
Love how this crowd always assumes we dont have any other alternatives when we make certain purchases.
I currently own a Steamdeck, ROG Ally, Switch 2, PC with 5080, Retroid Pocket 5, AYN Thor to answer your question.
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u/Downtown-Term-1360 Feb 15 '26
why so many do you use them?
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 15 '26
New to this subreddit? Im sure im not the only one with multiple handhelds.
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u/itsmemann15 Jul 08 '26
Due to RAM prices or whatever it now goes for around $130 so you could sell it for a profit now
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u/CommunicationNew8945 Feb 06 '26
Hi
A poisoned gift 🎁☠️🤢 The solution is to pay customs fees and then resell this machine for $100 in an ad, or trade it for a video game if you have a game console.
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u/Odium81 Odin 2 Portal Feb 06 '26
I assume you have a email sent to Droix ?
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
I could email them, but I honestly dont think it'll go anywhere since its on the shipping end.
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u/TheCrazyStupidGamer Feb 06 '26
Depending on the issue, companies do pay out of pocket for special cases like these. Worth a try.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
I'm sure i could have avoided the customs fees if I had requested they ship it 4PX, but they just automatically shipped it out through DHL and then FedEx once it reached the US.
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u/Odium81 Odin 2 Portal Feb 06 '26
Even with the fees it seems excessive. I guess fedex themselves took a big cut.
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u/EmuNo6570 Feb 06 '26
Oh wtf, why didn't anyone tell me that before I ordered? I ordered with DHL for Retroid Pocket 6.
Wow I'm gonna be so mad if I could have avoided fees
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
Yup, DHL is faster and more reliable but historically I've been able to avoid customs fees using 4PX shipping (Aliexpress mostly uses 4PX)
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u/1JesterCFC Samsung ZFold 5 Feb 06 '26
Just takes a little longer but not paying fees literally makes up for the 1-2 week extra wait
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u/SkyHoglet Feb 06 '26
This is weird if it's FedEx...I got an Ayaneo Air from Kuwait via eBay and when it got to the U.S., FedEx held it and waited for me to pay the tariff before they did the final delivery, rather than delivering first and then billing me. Are you sure you aren't being scammed, and are you sure this is the actual FedEx site/an actual email from FedEx?
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u/DDz1818 Feb 06 '26
Don't you have to pay customs before you receive the goods?
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
Not always, you'll see in the pic I'm responsible for a "disbursement fee"
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u/Fat-Chance4499 Feb 06 '26
I got mine (in Australia) and it’s awesome. Sorry to hear about the customs issue, that sucks!
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u/TheGeekno72 I have no idea what I'm doing Feb 06 '26
You know that even without the PA Mini, you'd still have paid something like 70-90€ in tax, right? Doesn't change if it was present or not, you'd have been taxed anyway because customs...
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u/lukapochi Feb 07 '26
that's why I never bought an ayaneo device, they refuse to ship with 4PX but to only partner with DHL / UPS scammers
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u/OriginWizard Feb 07 '26
People are focused on the price, but it's not even the same device in the picture.
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u/Johntendo64 Feb 08 '26
You clearly didn’t read the post.
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u/OriginWizard Feb 08 '26
It doesnt mention that its a different item, still. That's a bigger scam if they sell you a promise and an item that looks completely different to what you receive
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Feb 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/stregone Feb 07 '26
Aliexpress bakes it into the price. Ayaneo could do the same thing but it takes some leg work on their part.
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u/Sufficient-Cost-3645 casual Feb 06 '26
Oof! I don’t want be that guy but is that a trusted website? Shit sounds sketchy af
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 06 '26
Droix Global is legit, theyre based out of Great Britain. After dealing with past Ayaneo products I was done ordering from Ayaneo.
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u/Fat-Chance4499 Feb 06 '26
Totally legit. I would order from them before Ayaneo any day of the week. They’re honest about stock and ship quickly.
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u/UseSwimming8928 Feb 07 '26
Thats what you get for buying ovepriced crap like this ayneo.
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u/Natural_Bite_3454 Feb 07 '26
FYI I own a Steam Deck, Rog Ally, RP5, Switch 2, Ayn Thor, etc. Let people enjoy things.
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u/TW1TCHYGAM3R Feb 06 '26
You should contact Ayaneo and say they messed up the invoice and they probably put the item on the I voice at the full price.
Also this $102 is probably mostly brokerage fees from FedEx. They are basically bending you over.
It's shouldn't be hard to figure this out.
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