Ebay flat top kit?

[MonsterMando]

Seems to be some asian sellers listing some unfinished "kit" flat tops on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/152480198705...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Anyone have any experience or thoughts on these? The seller has lots of positive feedback for other items. Price is right (although shipping to US adds $65), seems like it could be an interesting project.

[DHopkins]

The pictures look good but then I wouldn't expect them to post any other kind. They have a pretty good approval rating. The shipping is almost as much as the "kit." I put that in quotes because there isn't much to do. If you attach everything that needs to be attached, you're practically done. There's no cuttin' or carvin' to do. Well, of course, there's the finish. It's not an outrageous amount of money so it might be fun.

[Jacob]

That looks more like a completed "in the white" instrument without hardware.
The "kit" has been assembled.
For a few dollars less, a finished mandolin that looks very similar. (nfi)

[G7MOF]

It is what it is!

[multidon]

This mandolin "kit" is from the shop of "Sam", one of three business men (the others being Bruce Wei and Antonio Tsai) who import instruments made in Vietnam and market them on eBay. All three brands are known primarily for ornate over the top instruments with excessive amounts of inlay and bling. These unfinished in-the-white instruments appear to be a newer addition to their line, and I suppose they sense there is a market for this sort of thing. I have never seen nor played a Vietnamese instrument, but there are plenty of other threads here about them. Just do a search. In a nutshell, the primary complain seems to be that the wood they use is too green, hasn't been dried thoroughly, and tends to crack once they leave the high humidity of Vietnam to drier climates. Some have had these sorts of problems, others not, so YMMV.

[soliver]

I was curious and did a search about flat top kits and saw this:
https://artisancenter.net/webstore/f...-mandolin-kit/
Factoring in the shipping from the EBay kit, it doesn't look too much more expensive, and its American made and won't have the drying issues discussed above... just a thought.