Official Licensed, nicer than most
594635
These are nicer than some of the others I've gotten. They are certainly nicer than the ones I bought from another vendor. They had "officially licensed" stickers inside and the padding inside the mask was thicker than the others. All chikom made stuff, of course, this chikom slave-labor made stuff was simply better built and better looking.
106715
Seems to be high quality, looks great for a knock-off.
2844716
This is a pretty decent approximation of the Saarinen Tulip side chair. I have one real vintage tulip chair that I got through a dealer. It was in terrible shape and not worth it to him to refurbish and sell <- only point being that I have one to compare this to. The LexMod is very pretty. The chair part is abs plastic, really shiny and smooth. The original is pretty obviously not plastic, especially where it has cracked and crazed.

The tulip stem on the LexMod is thicker than on the original, and the back is wider. It is also more comfortable than the original by quite a bit. You'll never fool anyone with this, but it is pretty and comfortable and right at home in a modern kitchen or dining setting.

Bottom line: I like it. My husband is deciding whether he wants another <- high praise since he never likes to spend money, lol.
191620
Item arrived brand new, perfect condition (purchased from Worldwide Sales). Apparently there are a ton of knock offs being sold, but this appears to be the official receiver by Microsoft. Has the Microsoft logo on the receiver and the manual further proves its authenticity. Drivers were quick and easy to install. Works fine.

Just remember that different vendors sell this product, which can be viewed here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000HZFCT2/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

As a result of this, one vendor might be selling the actual Microsoft receiver, but others might be selling knock offs.
3839593
I bought a picture that I thought was a standard 8x10. Nope. 10x12 (approximately).

I really like this picture, but it's not priceless art. It's a nice memento, and I didn't want to spend a huge amount more than the picture itself just to get it on the wall and have it look nice.

This custom frame solved my problem on all fronts. It's not of the ultimate quality. It's still a compressed wood product, covered in a veneer. The backing is only a minor let-down, the metal tabs that bend up and back to keep the picture in place. For this price on a custom frame, really not a big deal, but when any of those break, it can be a real pain in the neck. I don't see that happening here, it's not a standard size, so nothing's going to swap out easily.

But the finish and construction are otherwise good. The corners are sharp, the packaging this arrived in was impressive, cleverly designed so it's rigid and light at the same time. Not a scuff or scratch on the frame, and the glass was totally intact.

For something more fanciful, it's probably worth seeing a local framer, or visiting Craig Frames directly on their website. But this is a good, handsome, well-made frame for the cost.
2620023
Nice kit, Not LEGO quality in fit and finish but still good if you can get it at a decent discount. All the bricks are printed which makes it tough for finding and lining up the correct Tan trim, "W" logo, and text print. Once finished they all line up decently. Some are only slightly out of alignment. It just depends on how lucky you are in getting prints that line up perfectly or not. One of my "Chieftain" brick text was slightly off even after switching them around. Still I'll take it over fragile stickers. There are only a few confusing instruction steps. The Tan floor tile near the drivers and passenger seat is pictured as gray. The trim on the edges of the RV would not snap on. I had to chop off some of the pins.

It's very nice that there are no exposed studs on the finished kit. It's fairly sturdy and looks pretty nice. For more realism, I did modify the wheel mounts so it sits a little lower as originally design. They modified the original instructions for more wheel clearance allowing easier rolling. I found if you shorten the clearance by a plate the wheels will still roll. (Really wasn't an important issue with me as I just want to display it) Make sure the front wheels are installed correctly. The front hubs should face convex side out. Concave for the rear. The front wheels will set more inside the chassis than the rear. If you want the optional printed bricks "Dale & Irma Horvath" near the drivers side window refer to the box art or you'll end up using the provided plain bricks instead.
4747644
Great value- high quality but less than similar models from competitors
1953046
Package arrived, and I had to sign for it at the post office, which I'd prefer since this is a valuable item. It arrived packaged neatly in a black jewelry box, along with a very official looking certificate of authenticity in a fancy envelope and also the standard invoice all in a bubble mailer. It had a thin plastic tag so I could try it on and still be able to return it if it didn't fit. Overall the ring itself is better than expected. The natural sapphires are darker in color than some vivid, bright fakes (which I like this darker color) and when held to the light some are slightly lighter or darker hues, but it is not noticeable when worn and makes the ring seem more authentic to me. The diamonds are tiny but there. The band is thin on the palm side, but that's ok with me. The prongs seem sturdy, and are almost overpowering when viewed from the side (as shown in one of the alternate pictures here on amazon) but I'd rather they were a little beefier than too flimsy and not be able to secure the gem.  I loved the unique design but was a little worried what I'd get without seeing it in person, but the quality of the ring and the care put into the packaging and signing for it all put me at ease.
1588441
I have a very early MK2, which would have required me to find very rare hinges to go with a real Technics brand cover.
When I got this I didn't realize it was designed to be removed completely, but when I realized that, I was kind of happy. Many audiophiles will tell you the dust cover vibration adds distortion/noise, so I honestly don't mind removing the cover to listen to records, especially on a manual table. I may not yet be at that level, but I do take advice when looking for better sound quality.
The dip everyone complains about is actually quite visually pleasing when on my table, and I find myself enjoying the appearance of my table more with the cover.
The dip seems like it is designed so that you remove the cover during use anyway, as it isn't hinged. It makes sense to do that to prevent someone accidentally dropping the cover on the table while in use and damaging the tone arm or record.
Either way, I was very happy with my purchase, and for the price it is a steal compared to the real deal. If you don't mind removing the cover completely, this is a great cover, and mine fit perfectly.
308084
I'm not a big fan of wearing shirts that advertise designers -- they should pay ME for advertising space! I have to admit the new Izod logo is pretty cool though and doesn't look so bad.

The design is very nice -- the back a little bit longer, well stitched hems, non-roll collars and a built-in SPF of 15. The fabric has a little bit of stretch. The shirt looks great on and feels terrific too.
3515223
Fantastic, works as advertises and just as well as the official one. However the plastic used is a bit cheaper than the official and can be prone to scratches. If that doesn't bug you save yourself money and purchase this version.
4816472
I went to my FLGS and picked up a few packs of these. I ignored the price because we recently got a tax return and extra on the pay check.

I found them better than the other 4th Ed minis that have been coming out. There were some better paint jobs and even some decent molds being used. Out of 3 packs I got 1 repeat. Not too bad considering the rare-uncommon-common ratio.

There was a Githyanki in there with a nice cloth flourish that stood away from the mini body instead of tacked on and painted over. I wasn't that impressed with the large War Demon. Just a little too cartoonish in my opinion. Decent job on the Cyclops and the Frost Giant, it doesn't look like Bozo the Clown like the Frost Giant Scout from WotDQ. I haven't found any repaints yet, unlike the in the Heroes series.

The stat cards are well stat cards. The nice part is each card does show what book, adventure or whatever source the full stat block can be found in. If it's new, it says so. Otherwise, you'll see MM, MM2, H2, etc. Handy if you need more than what's on the card.

There's that old element of random in there, which is nice. I do miss that. Sure it meant I got 9 Ophidians in Angelfire, but there's always a little part of me that get exciting cracking opening the case to see what I got, hoping for that extra cool rare they tend to make.
968530
Its tempting to say you cant beat the original, but as much as I love my authentic LEGO brand plate I must admit that a popular competitor that sells here on Amazon makes an even better 10x10 baseplate than the folks at LEGO themselves. But this is a close second and, as someone who has tried way too many generic brands for LEGOs via Amazon, I can tell you most of them are the same eh quality, LEGO still does it better than most, theres just one brand on here that has become so innovative that they're LEGO products are even better in every way, including of course cheaper, than the real deal. But that doesnt change the fact that this LEGO baseplate is good. Not sure how much else can be said about a baseplate, its ohciously compatible with LEGOs since it is a genuine LEGO product, perhaps of note is that its also proven compatible with all the different generic LEGOs I have as well... and that this shade of green is brighter than any green plates the Amazon knockoff competitors sell, so don't buy one of these and then a green plate from a competitor expecting them to match in color for something like a LEGO table.

Overall, LEGO started it all and theres a lot to appreciate in having an authentic baseplate, especially now that theyve come to their senses and started making the prices a lot more reasonable  $6 for a single plate makes it almost as cheap as the competitors but you have to buy theres in packs, usually at least 4. Im glad we have this piece in our LEGO collection. But its just a bit of a sad day when its not the best quality option out there, and a knockoff competitor is able to sell a product thats much sturdier, stacks multiples plates together with ease, has several unique features LEGO has yet to even come up with and all at a price less than LEGO charges.
3259454
I can never be truly enthusiastic about a knockoff Lego brand, but these Cobi models are better in quality than any of the other pseudo-Lego sets I have bought in the past. The instructions are the nearest to actual Lego, showing both the individual components to add in each step and also where to put them. The fit of the bricks is also superior to other non-Lego brands, allowing us to build as designed instead of bolstering the model with additional pieces from our collection.

This particular model is a good fit for Lego fans who are creating historical military scenes. The gun has moveable legs to stabilize it when set in place, and they retract when the gun is ready to haul to the next location. The gun also moves and has a nice little printed detail to show the number of "hits" the gunners have made on enemy aircraft and tanks. I also like the artillery crate with the golden shells. The look of these minifigures is quite different than Lego people, but they are in proper scale.

The Cobi sets are not as inexpensive as I would hope, but price isn't the main reason to buy this brand: historical military vehicles and weaponry simply are not available in real Lego, so if you want this theme you are forced to consider the lesser brands. Overall, Cobi is more than OK and I will be trying out a few more of their models in the future.
2235442
I've been wary of third-party controllers for the longest time. They generally fall short of the quality provided by the first-party standard, sometimes frustratingly so; mushy buttons or triggers, loose analogue sticks and easily broken bodies are to be expected when going with the (usually) cheaper alternative. From my time spent with Power A's Mini Pro Ex for the 360 -- about two-hundred or so hours, I can say that it has been a much more pleasant experience than what I'm familiar with.

A major selling-point to me was the decreased size of the controller; I found it to be a bit more comfortable to hold and play with for extended periods of time. My hands aren't tiny, mind you; nor are they fatigued by long hours of gaming, but the difference was noted. Ergonomics-wise, the Mini Pro is shaped nicely; it doesn't feel alien in the slightest and I didn't spend much time having to get used to the thing. Comparing it to Microsoft's default game pad, the EX is much slimmer and thus isn't as taxing to grip. In terms of length they're nearly identical, and the same goes for weight -- the device has a pleasantly solid feel to it.

Getting to the important bits: the analogue sticks are excellent. They're tight, responsive and produce a satisfying click when pushed in. The same can't be said for the digital pad, unfortunately; while precise enough for switching between items or various other simple functions like menu navigation, I can't recommend it for fighting games.

Moving onward: the face buttons work well but lack tactility; they sink in without either resounding audio cues or physical ones. They're not bad, but they're not particularly good either. The left and right bumpers are the exact opposite, having a nice give to them and responding with a little click. The triggers are a bit weird for me, however: the left is perfectly fine and sinks-in without issue; but, the right has a bit of the before mentioned mushiness to it. It in isn't a fluid motion, and the difference between its counterpart can be distracting. Despite this the trigger still functions, but at the cost of sometimes breaking immersion for me.

Lastly, there's a button on the back of the controller that makes the face-buttons and bumpers glow, for whatever that's worth. There's also a slot for the 360's headset, and the 10-foot cord has a break-away portion to it in case its tripped over.

If anything takes a turn for the worse, I'll be sure to update the review. As it stands, the Power A Mini Pro EX is a less chunky alternative to Microsoft's own wired controller and a less expensive one to the wireless variety. Is it better than those two? No, but Power A has closed the gap between first-party and third-party controllers, at least a little, and that's much more than what I had anticipated.
4712318
I was pretty wary of buying one from amazon (due to issues stated by some of knockoffs), but did so due to the shortage of supply from the normal distributors.  And, the price after shipping here was just the same as from the 'mainstream' retail partners.  Midway Marketing is who I bought from.  The product I got was in fact the real deal, the blue sound connector is apparently the telling piece of hardware to look for.  I read up on the sellers, and Midway seemed like the real deal, and it was.

Getting to the box itself, I have no complaints here.  I of course got the Model B.  It's quick and has plenty of memory, I'm only using about a third of physical memory on a regular basis.

As for Operating System, I went with "Raspbian" - a debian distribution that works on this.  Worked like a charm.  However, I didn't have good luck with XBMC - which is what I was hoping to use.  It has its own internal sound architecture, which seems silly.  I play music through a USB sound interface fully recognized by ALSA.  For those interested, I use an M2Tech HiFace.  No amount of finagling could get XBMC play over this passthrough device properly.  Oh well, I went on with  my life and used MPD and pianobar for my music needs.  Those worked without problems.  None of my XBMC gripes have anything to do with the Pi itself.

For extra storage, a USB hard disk works just dandy.  I dug up an old 500GB drive I haven't used in years, and loaded it out with FLAC quality music for playback.  This worked well for me.

Hardware wise, this seems pretty solid.  I haven't had any stability issues, and a co-worker of mine has 2 of them, both of them up and running for over a month with no problems.  So, the hardware seems like it is in good shape.

For those that are not aware, this is a 'barebones' package.  You'll need these things: USB wall power adapter, USB to micro USB cable to power the device, you'll almost certainly want a case, and make sure and get a nice high-speed SD card for the 'hard drive.'  Look for a 'type 10' SD card.  Also be mindful that you'll want a USB keyboard + Mouse to control the device.  There are no PS/2 ports!

Since you have 2 USB ports only, you may want to invest in a powered hub.  However, in my case, I'll be OK.  After I got things up and running, I just SSH into the box and control things that way, works just fine.  Note that you MUST get a powered hub, I've read all sorts of complaints about the Pi not being able to supply enough power to a passive hub.  If you do elect to get a USB hub - do your research and find a compatible hub.  I bought one that had good reviews (KDLINKS brand), but nobody specifically said 'this will work with your Pi.'  Unfortunately, I ran into a wall here, and could not get the hub I purchased to work.  I tried everything in my power to get it to work, to no avail.  I'm a Computer Engineer - so I know what I'm doing.  I had issues related to either power of the hub, or perhaps flaky included cabling.  So, if you get a hub, you should probably try and find one people using the Pi have said works!

Overall, this is a great little board at a great price.
2254493
Once I decided that it was time to invest in a nice mechanical keyboard, I spent several days researching my options. I crossed Razer off my list pretty quickly - they're all hype and the information I was able to gather indicated that they use cheap knock-off switches. Corsair uses authentic Cherry MX switches. Being a reputable brand with which I am already somewhat familiar, I decided to stick with Corsair's product line. This brought me to my next issue, which was deciding on a specific model. I was torn between the K70 with red back lighting, the K70 RGB, and the STRAFE RGB. According to many of the reviews I read, the STRAFE's back lighting was vastly to superior to that of the K70 RGB, which many reviewers stated was completely lackluster. Let me assure you, that is not the case at all. In fact, if this keyboard was any more colorful than it is, it would just be overkill. Another issue that came to light was the lack of a USB passthrough on the RGB model. I have no need for one, so it's not really an inconvenience for me - but if having that extra USB on your keyboard is important to you, be aware that this model does not have one. The construction is very solid, the Cherry MX Brown keys are fantastic, and the media keys are super handy. The final advantage it has over the STRAFE is the font. The STRAFE's font looks ridiculously cartoonish. Many buyers may not care, but I need a keyboard that can also appear professional when the lighting is off, as my computer doubles as both a gaming and work machine. To sum it up, while I never thought I'd drop $170 on a keyboard, I have no regrets whatsoever about this purchase. It looks, feels, and sounds amazing.

Summary

Pros:
- Solid construction
- Authentic Cherry MX Keys
- Great back lighting
- Heavy duty braided USB cord
- Media keys

Cons
- CUE software has a bit of a learning curve; I experienced some significant issues getting it to recognize my mouse after hooking the keyboard up
- No USB passthroug
- Key lighting is dim on the lower part of any key that has two symbols (ex: hall of the numbers are dim, as they are at the bottom of the keys and the symbols are at the top)
- Uses two USB ports