The prices were unbelievably cheap, with a further discount for quantities and free worldwide shipping. I was initially sceptical but I read through the site thoroughly and decided that they MUST be genuine, with the Verisign logo, genuine bank details, paypal account, pictures of the premises and staff, a live-chat facility, customer testimonials etc. I even chatted to the support staff and ASKED them if they were genuine - to which they replied that they certainly were!

It wasn't until 4 days later that I was speaking to a friend about my new purchases that he related his own story from last year about an identical looking site (with slightly different name) - down to the smallest of graphics with an identical layout. He told me that he had placed an order but when it hadn't turned up, he had contacted them only to be told that his order was "stuck in customs" and would require a further $800 to be paid to release it to him! Naturally he refused to pay this and tried to get his money back by various means, including contacting the Chinese embassy, but was unsuccessful.

Immediately, I got onto the livechat facility and tried to cancel my order, figuring that as they offer an unconditional 60-day money back guarantee there would be no harm in cancelling the order. The support staff informed me that this was not possible. Why? If they offer no-quibble money back, why couldn't they simply cancel the order before shipment? I contacted my bank to try & retrieve the wire payment I had made but it was looking unlikely AND they charged me 25 to attempt this whether I was successful or not!

My message to other people, especially families with very little money to spare who think they're getting a bargain or somewhere excellent to invest their money is

Don't go there - It's a ripoff!

Why are there no legal controls on the Internet & what can be done on there? I thought I was savvy and reasonably aware and I got caught! I only wish I'd seen these reports BEFORE I placed my order!