Chinese Speaker Prices

Usher is made in Taiwan, not China. American Hi-Fi gears are priced double in Asia, maybe a little bit more.

After you ship, be ready to pay import duties too...

(and pass on warranty support)

What is the name of that virtual direct import site ? Cattylink or something like that. It will give you low prices on Chinese gear but is being sold completely as a legit import. I would look at sites like that before buying off the streets of China, but I have heard the prices are incredibly low in China so its tempting just don't expect to find the biggest brands selling on the street e.g. ASL has a special tax export only arrangement deal with the Gov't or so I heard.

Listen save yourself a lot of heart aches and misery, buy from Audiogon and really save.

As others have pointed out, Usher is Taiwanese, so your friend may not have an opportunity to order it at a good price or even at all.

However, for discussion's sake, I have had items (not just audio) shipped from abroad and realize the difficult choice between warranty and savings. For myself I arrived at two rules:

(1) I would not do it for a model I can afford locally just to save a few dollars. However, I will do it for items unavailable locally OR if shopping overseas allows me to buy a higher model that I simply could not have considered at local prices.

(2) Include adequate insurance in cost calculations. As I'd not have the warranty later, at least insure it against arriving damaged!