[Cyclopswc]

I buy 2 things from Chinese sellers: Lego knockoffs and PAK knockoffs.

Lego knockoffs because Lego doesn't make some of these characters, and you don't have to buy a $100 set just to get the few figures that you really wanted. Because the minifigures are the ones I really care about.

PAK knockoffs because there's NO WAY I can afford the real things. And overall, I find the knockoffs are nearly identical. Sure the plastic may feel cheaper, but I don't really play with them, they're just for display so they look just as good.

The downside is, like others mentioned before, beware of the sellers! There are MANY Chinese scammers, I only buy from eBay because eBay has a great customer refund policy, so I've always got my money back when the seller simply disappear after taking my money. But it's still frustrating to buy something, wait a month, then realized you've been scammed and have to file a claim. So here are my tips:

If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

If the seller has less than 100 positive feedbacks in the history, I don't even bother because chances are high that they created the account just to scam people.

That said, buy the real things if you can find a good deal. Take your chances with an Asian seller if you're willing to take the risk. There are some people that will never buy a knockoff simply on moral ground, and I respect that. But until the day I hit the lottery or decide to get out of the toy collecting hobby altogether, I am willing to deal with some inconvenience in order to own some of these cool toys I wanted!