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I'm thinking about placing an Aliexpress order and seeing what shows up.

Has anyone had any luck with any chinese brands? I know its really hit or miss when you are spending $2-$5 on something lol.

I may just get like $30 worth of stuff and see what happens. Speedo roulette!

I have probably half the styles on there, should do a roundup review one day.

The thing to watch is the sizing, China has its own version of sizes 2 or 3 sizes smaller. Eg if western M you are China XL or even XXL.
China/Asia has half the world's population, they do things their own way.

Many sizes top out at about 32inch waist.

The front pouch area is often inadequate.

The reviews with photos can give a pretty good idea of what they will be like. Don't put too much faith in the stores pictures because it's common for knockoffs to steal pictures and their own product is very different (though I consider some of those brands to be manipulating their own pictures and rebadging cheap China brands themselves), that's a warning sign they are probably crappy in other ways too.
The better products are building their own brand reputation with decent quality.

It's good fun checking the Chinese developments, but a gamble.

Like you say, it's a bit of a gamble. I've had quite a few off Aliexpress - most have been fine, some even very good, but others very dissappointing. As already siad, the sizing is a real problem, and the size charts are only a rough guide. I take a 34 or 36in speedo, and find that I usually have to go for XXL size on Aliexpress. One brand -Austinbem - sizing is similar to European. The sellers often use photoshopped pictures from Aussiebum site - beware - the material in not the same, nor is the fit, and even the patterns often aren't as shown in the pictures. Try a variety of brands, styles and see how you go - some will be a waste of money (not much really...) but others you'll fall in love with.