Kitz Forum
Chat => Jokes n Stuff => Topic started by: sheddyian on January 30, 2016, 11:20:28 PM
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Those who have ordered from eBay via China may have some understanding of this, but in any event...
Using your skill and judgement - what do you think was in this parcel that I received from China?
Ian
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Two cabinet handles?
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Two cabinet handles?
Nope.
The quantity is one of the few details on this customs form that's correct. There is one item.
This could turn into 20 questions or how many hats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veUT2Dvo-Pw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veUT2Dvo-Pw)
But does anyone else want a go? [EDIT : previous contestants are welcome to have another go]
Ian
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I have two suggestions --
- A gift of one document that explains how to fit a handle to a cabinet?
- A gift of one second-hand copy of Mao Zedong (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong)'s Little Red Book?
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Is the cabinet handle a red herring?
The detailed description? Hmmm probably something really simple typical of most instruction leaflets you get when trying to put something together which looks so easy, but never is.
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Well, what about four candles? ;D
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Hi
I may sound foolish but like the last chap on the panel, is it 1 hat...
I've no idea where cabinet handles or candles have come from, unless I watched the wrong video sorry
Many thanks
John
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Oops sorry, I could not see the picture unless I logged in... Now I understand cabinet handle x1
Many thanks
John
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Hi
I'll look foolish again, last attempt and I'll wait and see what the answer is but is it
a miniature cabinet for a dolls house or similar
Many thanks
John
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I suppose a shed could be classed as a storage facility, as could a cabinet.
Knowing about your interest in your shed, could it possibly be a door handle for a shed, complete with fixing instructions?
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Well, what about four candles? ;D
Er, well, since you ask...
A long shot; is this one of those 'lost in translation' cases?
So, maybe, a knob for a radiogram?
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No one is even slightly close, except that it is something I could use in a shed (but then I think that covers very many things) and this particular item is not going to go into my shed.
And yes, the cabinet handle is very much a red herring.
And, sorry, it's not 1 hat. Or any number of hats.
Ian
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Animal, vegetable, or mineral?
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Animal, vegetable, or mineral?
haha!
It is mineral.
Ian
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A Huawei EchoLife Home Gateway, perhaps? :-\
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No one is even slightly close, except that it is something I could use in a shed (but then I think that covers very many things) and this particular item is not going to go into my shed.
And yes, the cabinet handle is very much a red herring.
A webcam? :-\
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A sealed lead-acid battery? :-\
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A sealed lead-acid battery? :-\
Curiously, for the last few days I've had a small SLA battery in my shed, I was given a rechargeable hand-held vacuum cleaner to look at, and the battery is dead/wont charge at all when the cleaner is plugged into the mains. I am intending to try to charge it when I discover the best way, and/or to buy a replacement if it proves to be the cause of the vacuum no longer working.
However, that's not what's in my parcel.
Ian
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No one is even slightly close, except that it is something I could use in a shed (but then I think that covers very many things) and this particular item is not going to go into my shed.
And yes, the cabinet handle is very much a red herring.
A webcam? :-\
Nope, though good guess.
I did once buy a webcam from China, in fact it was the first one I used on my Gardencam. It claimed 4 or 6 or 8 megapixels (I forget now) but in reality was something like 100,000 pixels! Awful quality, and had some illumination LEDs around it that you couldn't switch off (and which I desoldered).
The main reason I'd chosen it (apart from price) was that the focus was manual, you screwed the lens in and out, which I thought rather useful for a garden webcam.
Anyway, no, it's not a webcam in my parcel.
Ian
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I'm wondering how long to wait before I reveal what it is ;D
Ian
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A Huawei EchoLife Home Gateway, perhaps? :-\
Already have one, and it's not that in my parcel, but I like your guess. In a VERY wide way, it's the closest so far. But still very very wide.
Ian
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Is it something that Senior Management would allow you to have in the house? :-X
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Is it a powered device?
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It is very acceptable to have one of these in the house (and many houses now have them) and yes, it is a powered device!
Ian
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Hi
I confirmed this morning the translation to English and it translate to English as cabinet handle in silver or platinum
Is it a solar powered weather station
Many thanks
John
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Hi
I confirmed this morning the translation to English and it translate to English as cabinet handle in silver or platinum
Is it a solar powered weather station
Many thanks
John
I hadn't tried translating the Chinese characters on the parcel! (But then I know what was in it).
I've used Google Translate on my phone a couple of times, to translate Chinese text on an instruction leaflet into English - I heartily recommend it if anyone has something that isn't copy-and-pastable into Google - just snap an image of the text you want to translate using your phone, and the Google Translate app will tell you what it says.
It's not a solar powered weather station, but I would rather like such a thing - especially if it interfaced with a Raspberry Pi to draw me graphs of rainfall and the like.
Ian
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Hi
I never thought of google translate sorry. I have oriental friends I asked
Is it a solar powered device
If so, solar powered light
That's it for me, as it could be anything without knowing any hints of what it is
Many thanks
John
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Hi
I never thought of google translate sorry. I have oriental friends I asked
Is it a solar powered device
If so, solar powered light
That's it for me, as it could be anything without knowing any hints of what it is
Many thanks
John
I admire your resourcefulness!
Nope, sorry it's not a solar powered light, nor indeed solar powered anything.
However
Since you're the first to mention light and since, in theory, it could be solar powered, I shall award you the prize of being closest :D
It was in fact a mains voltage LED lamp, the type which appears to have a filament, but in fact it's a narrow string of LEDs. The light output from these can be very good.
I've got it to try out, as I keep being asked replace lamps in a flame-effect electric fire, which only seem to last for a few months. I've tried filament incandescent and halogen capsule energy saving (slightly) lamps, but they just don't last. I can't fit lamps that have electronics in their base (eg compact fluorescents or some LED lamps) as the clearance is really tight. Even some standard candle lamps with a filament won't fit as the glass is a little too wide at the base.
So I thought I'd try this lamp out.
The whole point of my original post wasn't so much to make it an impossible quiz, but my amusement at paying for an LED lamp from China, and receiving it in a package that stated it was a gift and that it was a cabinet handle.
The only part that was accurate was the count of parts, which is 1 lamp, not 1 cabinet handle.
Congrats for your solar light guess :thumbs:
Ian
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Is the product CE marked?
Just wondering if the spurious description might be deliberately contrived, to discourage examination by the UK Import authorities that might take place if the label had read 'consumer electrical goods'. :-\
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Hi Ian
Many thanks, but I have not deserved the prize sorry, but thank you
We bought an antique lamp in the late 70's early 80's which had been converted to electric, with a small lamp similar but with 2 plates which appears to arch. Sorry I don't know the name of those bulbs but thery were relaxing to look at
I didn't think of ce mark, but more over evading hmrc fees but it could be entirely innocent
Glad to know what it was, I'm sure I would not have got it, but the 4candles may have been closer
Many thanks
John
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Is the product CE marked?
Just wondering if the spurious description might be deliberately contrived, to discourage examination by the UK Import authorities that might take place if the label had read 'consumer electrical goods'. :-\
A good point - I'd presumed that the inaccurate customs declaration was due to mistake / not caring about it/ inability to read the English words.
(I've previously seen catch-all declarations like "accessories", "components" or "mobile phone"!)
Sadly, the CE mark doesn't count for much from China - it seems to be readily forged, or (I've read) claimed to mean "China Export", ie nothing to do with European CE certification, even though the logo is the same.
I think the import duty is less of an issue - I believe it has to be over £20 (might be higher now, it's changed a few times) so there's really no need to declare my £1 purchase as a "gift" to evade customs! ;D
My overall experience from buying items from China via eBay is about 30% disappointment / failure, 70% success.
Everything arrived, but not everything worked. I bought 4 different USB audio adaptors to use with my Raspberry Pi a few months back, one lasted for nearly a week, the next for about 2 days, the other 2 didn't work properly from the start. They were from different suppliers, and cost less than £2 each including postage.
I've also ordered power adaptors, USB - SATA adaptors, memory, mini wireless keyboards .. can't remember everything.. and they've worked fine for me.
So.. waiting to see what happens with the LED lamp :fingers:
Ian
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Hi Ian
Many thanks, but I have not deserved the prize sorry, but thank you
We bought an antique lamp in the late 70's early 80's which had been converted to electric, with a small lamp similar but with 2 plates which appears to arch. Sorry I don't know the name of those bulbs but thery were relaxing to look at
John
You seemed closest in your answer, and were the first to mention "light", and "solar" which is almost always LED!
The lamp you describe sounds like the flickering candle - they don't really give off any light in themselves, but there's two "flame" shaped pieces of metal, and electricity causes a flickering effect around the edge which resembles a flame. It's orangey-yellow in colour. I like those lamps, pretty to look at but of no use for providing light.
This is an example of the flicker lamp I'm thinking of, although this is an American version.
http://www.goodmart.com/products/sunlite-lighting-3w-b10-flame-shape-flicker-lamp-medium-base-480503.htm (http://www.goodmart.com/products/sunlite-lighting-3w-b10-flame-shape-flicker-lamp-medium-base-480503.htm)
Ian