Wanting feedback on a website that I found...too good to be true?

I have found the holy grail of wholesale websites, it is a Chinese importer

www.tootoomart.com


They are selling everything from shoes and clothing, laptop computers, GPS systems, you name it. The part that truly caught my eye was the musical instruments.

They are selling Gibson Les Paul Standards for $325 USD, and their claim is that they are the same quality as the ones sold in America and the rest of the world, only they are manufactured in China, and thus cheaper because of labor costs.

Now I am all for buying American etc etc....but if I can get a $1200 Rolex watch for $400....Im all for it.

So has anyone had any experience in this arena or ever bought direct from China? They are touting free shipping, and it seems to be set up for Paypal.

Is the quality as good or even comparable to US and European goods? I hear about Chinese knock offs and all, but some of this stuff looks exactly the same as the products being sold here in the US for much much more $$

Any and all opinion would be helpful and appreciated.

www.google.com...

From what I've found on google, it looks like it's a scam.

Amazing prices on musical instruments, but I think the clue -- and they say it on the webstite -- It's Gibson Les Paul STANDARD (capitalization added by me)

They go on to say:

Since we first published this instrution in 2007, we received many feedback one after another, that from guitar seller all around the world. Now, we produced you this new version with great pleasure. We spend a lot of time to train our guitar makers and increase the productivity effect by using the advanced mechanical equipment. Certainly, we also think a lot of guitar sellers. Because you reflect our image, too. So, please spend some time to scan out instruction. What's more, we hope you call our service department to check more informations at any time.

"Value" Philosophy
At first, our guitars are absolutely above the moneys' worth. We have setiously researched the material, design and technique of the guitars. It can be proved by these facts: we keep the woods' humidity level lower then 7%; every oue of our workers are guitar players; we regularly add investment to buy better machiens.

Our Guitars
The choice of woods: most of our guitars are made of mahogany. There are also some guitar are made of maple.
The density and width of every piece of wood is different. So, it is inevitable that there will be some blemish on the guitars. When selling this kind of guitars, you can transform this disadvantage to advantage, you could tell your customer that every guitar has its unique outside and tone colour.

Our Quality Assurance
We ensure that the material and workmanship of every guitar is unquestionable. Our guarantee to keep in good repair can satisfy you.

So, it appears to me that they are making replications of a classic guitar, and they believe that it is comparable to the original.

It would be interesting to play both side-to-side and see the differences. I think the price alone tells you that you might not be getting a comparable instrument, and yet......... I kinda doubt it's a crap guitar. I bet it's very playable. They claim to take great care with wood selection.

I don't doubt at all that Chinese luthiers can produc[e] a good product. The question is, do our cultural and "purist" preferences prevent us from giving it a try?

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[edit on 15/8/09 by argentus]

I've never bought anything from China, but I have bought some items from other parts of the world.

It's a good idea to find out about import duty - even if the goods are great and the shipping is free or reasonable you might get clobbered for a lot of tax, which would make the whole venture a lot less economical.

And really galling if the stuff wasn't up to a decent standard.

I did a search regarding the quality of craftsmanship on the knock off guitars, and I came across an interesting interview from the president of PRS guitars.

For those who do not know guitar jargon, PRS stands for Paul Reed Smith, and their guitars sell for upwards of $5000 USD.

While he of course had nothing good to say about the Chinese replica PRS's which sell for less than $400, I did read a few key points that made me even more intrigued.

One was by an American guitar distibutor and expert who, when asked about the difference in quality, went on to say that due to refined technology and the fact that many major guitar makers already have their instruments produced in China, the differences in quality are minimal nowdays. Where as a few years ago they were night and day.

He even went on to say that most of these remakes are so spot on accurate that only trained professionals can identify one from the other. And this is mainly due to small variances in production.

I would be a liar if I were to say that the prospect of a $400 PRS isnt extremely enticing. My gut is saying to me that most in the American guitar industry would never admit it, but the quality differences between the US made and Chinese made copies are extremely small, and these folks are only bad mouthing Chinese replicas in order to protect their own bottom line.

Much like a musical artist wont tell you that you can bootleg their latest album online for $0.99 instead of buying it in the store for $17.99. Even though it is the exact same song. Maybe if these instrument makers didnt rip the consumer a new a$$ by severely over charging us for the same types of products. For this reason I see no moral dilemma in buying from a Chinese replicator.

Is this a bad way to look at it? $300 Mac Notebooks anyone?