Qualität
Quality isn't really something to argue about... but a lot of what gets discussed in the saber world is more opinion than fact. China-made sabers have a lot of prejudice to fight against — partly fuelled by criticism from established US and EU manufacturers, who have to charge significantly more for their products. Negative customer experiences also play a big role.
There is one important point, though: good-quality China sabers are cheaper than EU or US ones, but not cheap. On top of that, these sabers aren't handmade the way most established manufacturers' sabers are, which is why the latter are only made in small batches and can be individually customised for the customer.
GTC only works with reputable manufacturers. We check every product before it makes it into our catalogue. We only sell what we're convinced by ourselves, what we'd use ourselves — the products have to bring us and our customers joy. That means only taking high-quality sabers into our range, and solving problems in close cooperation with the manufacturers.
Watch out for cheap offers
Unfortunately, design theft is a real problem, especially with Chinese manufacturers. AliExpress is flooded with supposed original-brand sabers, at prices lower than what those brands even pay at wholesale.
If you buy on AliExpress or similar platforms, watch out — prices should only be a little lower than, say, ours. Anything that looks too good usually isn't: what matters most is the electronics, not just the looks. On closer comparison you'll find reputable sellers aren't actually that much cheaper than products offered in Europe.
On top of that, customs duties apply. Even if a package makes it through, you're technically required to pay customs and import VAT — even as a private individual. And yes, customs and tax authorities do check retroactively these days, which can get expensive.
Reputable sellers also have a complete legal notice ("Impressum") on their website with all the important details — owner, company address, phone contact. If you can't find that, it's probably an offer from outside the EU, usually dropshipping.
The latest trick: pretending to be a German or EU seller, using an own brand name, and listing the address of whichever hosting provider the site (maybe) runs on as the legal notice.
Dropshipping is a pretty bad deal in general, since the actual seller is still the company in China — the European middleman is off the hook for any liability. Getting hold of the actual seller then becomes difficult.
Another problem: there's no statutory warranty obligation from outside the EU. It's not uncommon for a saber to need to be shipped back to China — which is far more expensive from here. Reputable companies also don't operate out of dubious customs-free warehouses in Spain, Czechia or Poland.
Of course we're also writing this out of self-interest. But more importantly, this practice ultimately hurts our manufacturers the most. They have to pay their staff and buy materials — only with a surplus can new projects for beautiful, innovative, high-quality sabers happen. So it's only fair to point this out.