TradingShenzhen: A Lesson in After-Sales Support

I have always believed that the true measure of a company is not how they treat you when everything goes right — but how they respond when something goes wrong.

This is my honest experience with TradingShenzhen.

The Purchase

I purchased an OPPO Find N6 (16GB/512GB) from TradingShenzhen, a store specialising in Chinese smartphones sold to European customers.
Before buying, I used their Compatibility Check tool — a feature prominently displayed on their product pages — and confirmed full 5G compatibility with Bouygues France, the network my French SIM card operates on. Both bands N1 and N78 showed green checkmarks. I proceeded with confidence.

The Problem

After using the device, I discovered two issues with my French SIM card:

• No 5G connectivity — the device remains permanently on LTE
• All outgoing calls appear as anonymous to recipients

The same SIM card works perfectly on other smartphones, confirming the issue is not with the provider or the network. After investigation, the cause became clear: the device runs Chinese firmware (CN01), which does not fully support European operators. This was never disclosed at the point of sale.

The Support Experience

I contacted TradingShenzhen support and explained the situation calmly and in detail. Throughout our entire correspondence, I remained respectful, cordial and solution-focused. I was not looking for a confrontation — I simply wanted the device to work as advertised.

What followed was deeply disappointing.

Their support repeatedly suggested I contact my provider — Lycamobile — to verify compatibility. What they failed to acknowledge is that Lycamobile is an MVNO that does not operate its own network. It runs entirely on the Bouygues network. The frequencies Lycamobile uses are exactly the frequencies Bouygues uses — the very frequencies listed on their own product page and confirmed as fully compatible by their Compatibility Check tool, with green checkmarks for bands N1 and N78.

This information is publicly available. I used their tool correctly, following the exact process they provide to customers for this purpose. Yet after multiple email exchanges, they continued to ask the same question, implying I had not done my research — rather than acknowledging the limitation of their own tool.

Their support also acknowledged that the Compatibility Check only compares hardware frequencies and cannot guarantee actual compatibility with specific operators. In other words, the very tool that influenced my purchase decision offers no real guarantee — something that is not made clear to customers before they buy.

I also pointed out that their own Warranty Regulations state that software problems can be solved by a firmware flash — a straightforward solution that would have resolved both issues entirely. This was never addressed.

Instead, their responses included:

you may sell the device if it doesn't fit you

if you don't like the device you decided to buy, you need to sell it

I must be honest — I did not expect this. I had purchased from TradingShenzhen before and returned as a loyal customer.
Throughout this entire exchange I remained professional and proposed concrete solutions.
To receive responses of this nature, after acting in good faith, is a genuine disappointment.

What saddens me most is not the technical issue itself. It is the complete absence of any willingness to help. A customer came with a documented problem, remained cordial throughout, and proposed solutions based on their own warranty policy — only to be told, repeatedly, to sell the device. That is not after-sales support. That is the absence of it.

A Note for Future Buyers

TradingShenzhen offers a wide range of Chinese devices at competitive prices, and the hardware quality of my OPPO Find N6 is not in question. However, if you are a European customer and encounter compatibility issues with your operator, be aware of what to expect.

The Compatibility Check is not a guarantee. Chinese firmware may not fully support all European operators. And if something goes wrong, the response may simply be to tell you to sell the device.

I share this experience not out of anger, but out of a genuine desire to help other consumers make informed decisions. Always research thoroughly, ask specific questions before purchasing, and understand the after-sales support available to you.

*All correspondence referenced in this article is documented and available upon request.*