Chinese (and other Asian) made MP3 and MP4 players are all over the Far East, and are often far less expensive than Western iPods or Zunes. These MP4 or MP4 players often even come with more features, but may be a little more difficult to figure out for those that are not too computer savvy. However, for those looking for who feel comfortable with a computer, don’t mind poor manufacturer support, and who are looking for a real deal on a digital audio player, these MP3 or MP4 players from Asia are just right!
The best place to find these media players (other than Asia, if you happen to be over there at the moment!) is the world’s marketplace-eBay. Here, you may purchase pretty much any type of MP4 or MP3 player; from sellers all over the world (most of them are located in Hong Kong or China though). While many of these sellers are honest, and do have good policies regarding faulty players, there have been some attempting scam buyers out of their money, and it is important to do at least a little eBay research before purchasing a media player on eBay. I’ll assume that you have already done a little research on the particular media player model you want to buy before you start searching, so I won’t be discussing that in this article.
First, make sure you do as much searching as possible on eBay before buying a digital audio player. Don’t just search for 10 minutes, and buy one right away. Instead, try multiple search queries with different terms. Many of the sellers of these MP3 or MP4 players sell a lot at one time, so check out their auctions as well. Try to find the best price, including shopping, and the seller that accepts your favorite form of payment (Paypal is the general way to go, but some sellers only accept money orders or checks, which generally is a larger hassle and takes more time than Paypal).
Once you’ve found the player you want, and a seller that accepts your favorite form of payment, do a little research on the eBay seller. First, look at his or her feedback. While many mass eBay sellers from Asia have extremely high feedback, (think-several thousand or more!), they may have a lot of negative feedback, but their positive feedback will still be high. If you can find a seller with high (100+ or so) feedback that is 100% positive, then you are most likely in good hands! However, if the seller you are looking at has 98.5% or 94% positive, but has a lot of feedback (several thousand), then you should be careful. At first glance, they must be ok, right, because they have such a high percentage positive, right? Not exactly. Read on.
Many people that buy media players from these sellers may buy them as gifts, or resell them. They don’t check them, and thus just leave positive feedback. This builds up the majority of positive feedback. However, a few people that buy the MP4 or MP3 players for themselves might find a problem, and leave negative feedback. Keep this in mind, and read the sellers feedback comments, at least for a few pages. Note what the negative ones say on the eBay seller’s feedback. If notice a lot of complaints about the particular model you are interested in, or if you see people complaining about ‘hacked’ players, then steer clear of this seller! If you are still wondering, do a Google search for info on the seller’s profile, as many MP4 and MP3 player websites will list bad eBay sellers to avoid. I would suggest staying away from any seller with less than 99% feedback (I try to play it really safe!), and to check out MyMpxPlayer.org’s eBay seller blacklist of bad sellers.
Finally, make sure to check the shipping, return and refund, and other policies that the seller has listed on an item. Avoid buying from sellers that refuse to accept returns or do refunds at all. Most sellers will do exchanges, some will do full refunds, but these are hard to find. The first MP4 player I purchased was from a seller with a full refund policy, and good feedback, and he was located in Hong Kong. Generally, most eBay sellers of these items will be located in Hong Kong or China, and the eBay sellers from the USA charge a bit higher than these overseas MP4 sellers.
If you have any questions, make sure to ask the seller. However, bear in mind that they may or may not reply to your question, which may indicate their reliability. Finally, purchase or bid on the item, if you are happy with the seller. Hopefully, you’ll win the item, and find out what a great deal these Chinese Mpx MP4 MP3 players are (Some people refer to them as Mpx players). Enjoy!
