R H.

My Beef:

This currently up & running website looks like a kosher business operating in English and pricing their goods in US$. I ordered a rare cassette audio book from them a few weeks ago, advertised as a 'one only' copy. I was in a hurry to get it in time as a birthday gift. However, they promptly took my money and distinctly failed to deliver anything. Despite my many attempts I could not access my 'account' with them and they have neither contacted me to confirm my purchase nor responded to any of my attempts to contact them about it. It is as though I never existed. The item in question is apparently still available on their website.

From my credit card statement it appears this site is located in China: the money transacted not in $US but in Chinese currency. I tried to run a review scan on them before making the 'purchase' but nothing came up and I assumed good faith would rule. If I'd known they were Chinese in the first place I certainly would not have proceeded. I suppose the domain they use should have sounded an alarm; but, as always, one assumes trust in the transactions one makes. However, it is trust that bastards like these exploit.

A Political Observation:

IMO, it is fair to say, it seems clear that the Chinese consider they are a law unto themselves and think they can take what they want around the world with impunity, from tech secrets & intellectual property to territory they deem owing to them, including Taiwan and the South China sea. They clearly have an expansionist/imperialist agenda and have manifestly become the 21st century's foremost global trading menace, blackmailing the world with their now dominant manufacturing base. Apart from not playing on the same level field the West expects of its global traders, it is also apparent that the Chinese leadership sanctions anything their national 'entrepreneurs' engage in, including international de-forestation, the ivory/rhino horn trade and in my case, obtaining money through false pretenses. They must be dealt with firmly and I have to agree with the current US position imposing tariffs.

Recommendation:

Do not do business with the above website or with anything from mainland China in any way, shape or form!