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Considering a purchase on Alibaba

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BigWick:
I can totally see $1300 (plus shipping) for a bootleg upright. The build quality is usually janktacular.

speedbump:
I do business regularly on Alibaba and would urge caution.

First, the price is too good to be true.  Second, shipping will be a killer.  I have challenge coins, pins, patches and badges manufactured in China and the cost to ship often far exceeds my manufacturing costs (purchase price). 

Language and expectations are often a problem as well.  I may have one thing in mind and put it into simple English, but my counterpart in China sometimes interprets certain words to mean something completely different. While I envision ABC, the product they think I want to make is LKJ.  It has come to the point that I have to send detailed and exact specifications down to the millimeter, thread count, etc. and even then we have problems. 

While you may expect something that works like a BBS WIlly Wonka, you wind up with a giant Pachislo machine with a picture of Gene Wilder on it.   

Have your Chinese manufacturer send you exact specs of the device along with a lengthy video showing all aspects of the machine's operations to see if it functions anywhere close to your expectations.  Also ask for a freight quote to your doorstep.  Lastly, check with US Customs on the legality of importing a gaming machine.  I would hate to see you pay all that money out only to have it seized by Customs and be put up for auction at one of their period sales and marked "For Export Only".

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