Advise on buying electronics out of-the country

Acquired a couple pieces from Shenzhen, China over last couple years.  Both units shipped and received within 10-14 days.  

Transactions were with a manufacturer not individual ....

Best of luck!

I too have bought from all over the world without a problem.  My last large purchases from overseas were DACs from what is now branded as Musetec, the latest being the Musetec 005.  Much has been written about this DAC here on this board.  It's been around for about 3 years and no one has ever suggested that it needed service.  Some years ago I wanted to upgrade my previous DAC from this company.  It was easy to lift out its main board and send it to China at modest cost.  The upgrade was done gratis.

The standard of construction of high grade Chinese components can be very high.  Many of them are modular so that if anything goes wrong a relatively small part can easily be lifted out and sent in for repair or replacement after a discussion as to where the problem most likely is.  Of course the owner has to be willing to open up the unit, and later put it back together again.  But compared to components from the US and Europe, the values can be so good that the risk and effort is very well worth it.  Also I, personally, have found very good support by email from this Chinese manufacturer (and a Korean one, SOtM, as well).

What a lot of people are missing is that if you get a faulty unit ,and breaks 

even if under warranty ,who would want to have to deal with possible Customs and duties, Getting lost or stolen ,as well as breakage ,and the cost of shipping and insurances is Very expensive and getting more expensive all the Time .

that is the point ,myself am not willing to go through all that added stress ,

ahd one more thing, FedEx DHL, and UPS even if properly packed if damaged are now denying claims at a alarming rate ,I think this speaks for itself !!

I believe I bought a $12,000 DAC from China for $3000. If the OP wants to pay the $12,000 it’s his privilege.

I have purchased from Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and China over the years and have never paid a duty for shipment to me in the US. Many years ago I had no difficulty at all exchanging a faulty cartridge from Japan for a perfect one. It cost far less than half of what the US importer was asking.  I have found all the overseas sellers that I have dealt with to have the highest ethical standards.

At the moment the "action" is in China. Thousands of audiophiles have imported DACs and other components from China with no problem at all. These include brands like Denafrips, Holo (even before any US service), Musetec, Gustard and a host of other products. These companies know how to pack their product for international shipment. It’s simply not an issue. Hard to believe all these problems with LPSs. There’s hardly a simpler component than these, and the better DACs have an LPS built in..

If the OP has all this fear and angst about ordering from overseas that’s fine. But it is not fine to spread so much misinformation.