I bought a switched PDU from aliexpress, and i broke the rule of buying from ali... I tested it! The Live and Neutral wires on the PDU are crossed over.
I've attempted to return it, but aliexpress keeps denying me saying its a grounding problem with my test setup... hence why i stuck the fluke in directly for a direct illustration.
In large parts of the world (at least most of Europe) live and neutral aren't distinguished. There is no coding or assignment on the outlet. Maybe that's where their experience came from?
Functionally it should be irrelevant.
Sure, and if they used a type F plug on the device I'd agree with you, but they went with NEMA 5-15, which has polarity requirements.