Buying Guides
The robot is real. The listing might not be. Marketplaces mix official shops, grey imports, and boxes that only look like the demo. You are not buying a thumbnail. You are buying a return policy, a warranty country, and a model string that matches the manufacturer.
This matters more for companions and walking machines than for a supermarket vacuum, but even Roomba-class discs get clone docks and “compatible” bags that wreck the station. Read it as hygiene, not paranoia.
ⓘ Quick Answer
Prefer the brand store or a major retailer that already takes returns in your country. On marketplaces, check the seller name, not only the product title. Walk away from quadrupeds at toy money, “authorized” stickers with no company, and listings that will not name the exact SKU. If you cannot return it, you cannot afford the discount.
Where the money actually goes
Official site or a known chain: you pay more and you have a path when the app will not bind. Marketplace: you might get the real item from a third-party seller, or a lookalike with a similar name. Direct-from-factory storefronts: sometimes legitimate grey stock, sometimes a brand that will not exist at warranty time.
- Match the model name to the manufacturer page, not to an influencer video.
- Check who is the seller of record. “Ships from X, sold by Y” is the whole story.
- Warranty is usually by country. A cheap import can be an orphan on day two.
Patterns that burn people
Companion gadgets such as Aibi or Looi show up in a swarm of near-identical listings. Some are the product. Some are a different board in a similar shell. Walking platforms advertised far below education-quadruped money are not a deal on a Go2. They are a different, worse machine — or a picture.
💡 What to Check
Returns window after arrival, not only “30 days” in a banner. Voltage and plug. Language of the app. Whether the serial can be registered. If any of those are vague, you are the importer.
A boring, safe order of shops
Brand site, then a retailer you already return shoes to, then a marketplace seller with a long history selling that exact brand. Never a social-ad checkout with a countdown. If the robot is industrial or a real quadruped, you want a quote and a company, not a Buy Now button. See what to know before a first robot before you send a large wire.
Anti-scam checklist
Pay only if
- I can name the seller and find a returns address in my country.
- The SKU matches the manufacturer, including version.
- The price is not “too cheap to be that machine”.
- I am not paying a stranger on chat for a crate that “leaves tomorrow”.
Final Thoughts
The discount that you cannot reverse is the expensive one. Compare real catalogue machines on Robot.help, then buy them from someone who will still be there if the box is wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are marketplace robots always fake?
No. Many are genuine third-party stock. The risk is the seller and the SKU, not the website brand.
Is grey import illegal?
Often not, and often not warrantied where you live. Legal and sensible are different.
What if the price is half of everywhere else?
Assume a different product, a missing charger, or no returns. Half-price Go2-class walkers are the classic trap.