actually this isn’t about the pipes as such, that topic has been covered extensively - I just looked at these sellers on ebay and was surprised to see the overwhelmingly positive feedback they get - perhaps it’s because buyers aren’t aware of what they’re received or they’re just thanking them for swift service - or perhaps it’s because feedback is mainly for things like bodhrans and suchlike and these are of a passable quality?
Or it isn’t feedback from true customers.
I notice that a lot of the scam pages have an overwhelming number of positive feedback responses.
overwhelming number of positive feedback responses.
Yes they do and they are all genuine, but what is not mentioned is that they are all owners of wood burning stoves who were in desperate need of fuel 
The “pipes” probably arrive promptly, look pretty in the box, and feedback is left before any actual attempts are made to play them. CAVEAT EMPTOR!
No E
It is one of the world’s great mysteries.
A new thread on Pakistani pipes: five posts and still not locked - 
is this a record?
Channel 4 here in the UK recently ran a documentary about S. Asian cubicle farms which advertise their services, which are simply hiring people to click thousands of ‘likes’ every hour. For very little money.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/02/click-farms-appearance-online-popularity?INTCMP=SRCH
b
On the contrary I believe that their business plan is just brilliant.
If you want to sell a useless instrument of poor quality what could be better than picking:
- An expensive instrument that very few people even heard or seen IRL.
- An instrument that is known to be unplayable out of the box without extensive tweaking of reeds.
- An instrument that takes 21 years to learn to play.
- An instrument that anybody with prior knowledge of will stay away from buying.
- An instrument that …
So naturally they will have a 100% positive feedback.
The only scheme that would be even better is to sell one of these as a “build it your self kit” 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/XlyCLbt3Thk?rel=0
/MarcusR
lol!!
MarcusR, you’re right on.
This isn’t only true for the pipes, but any instrument. I see this all the time in my violin shop. Someone comes in with a very cheap quality, poorly made violin. They say they bought it on ebay, amazon, wherever a few months back, because they/their kids/whomever wanted to learn. it came with strings, a ‘lesson book’, pitch pipe, other attractive sounding extras. They feel they got a great deal, and were very happy with their purchase. The understand the violin, like any instrument, takes a lot of time and work to master, so naturally any difficulties or otherwise red flags they blame on their own lack of skill and beginner knowledge. They don’t have a teacher; couldn’t find one, didn’t know where to look, can’t afford it, can’t devote the time to lessons, can’t travel to lessons, (all perfectly valid issues, truly) so they’re trying to go in alone. They’re bringing in their instrument because they want a luthier to look it over for them, someone who knows what they’re doing, just to make sure it’s set up right, and usually expecting to just buy a new set of strings. For some reason, 95% of people seem to think all of their woes will be solved with new strings. And then I have the difficult job of gently telling them what they have bought, the hundreds of dollars of set up work the instrument will need to be correctly set up, and the hundreds of dollars the instrument isn’t worth. I hate this part of the job, it breaks my heart to see so many would-be violinist’s faces fall, and hear the disappointment in their voices. Their intentions were nothing but the best, but they made the easiest mistake a beginner can make: buy the cheapest rig you can find. And the worst thing is, there is logic in the decision. Someone wants to just get their feet wet in something they’re not sure they want to do or will like, so dropping more dough than necessary seems backwards.
To echo others, I do believe a lot of the positive feedback these sellers get is genuine: when learning something new, it’s so easy to blame yourself for any problems or difficulties encountered, and cling to anything you feel you can put your trust in, aka your instrument. So often, the comments are “I love it, the instrument is perfect! I hope I can get the hang of it soon!”
Personally, and unfortunately, I don’t think the market for cheap, poor quality, essentially unplayable “instrument shaped objects” will ever dry up. I am very glad for pipe makers like Pat Sky, Dave Daye, and Bruce Childress who are making “no frills” sets which are not only robust and properly made, but affordable as well (I’m sorry to all the other pipe makers offering “budget/student sets” that I’m forgetting right now).
I wonder what would happen if reputable pipe makers who make budget sets got together, discussed a general non-compete price, and then flooded ebay and like online markets with their instruments?
Lordofthestrings, that’s practically my story of taking up concertina. First instrument Chinese junk, had to open it up and repair something after each hour or less of play. In 8 months sold it to another unsuspecting person ad bought and Italian junker, but at least it played. Taking up pipes I got a practically non playing practice set from the pipers club, but was bit with love of the instrument. First internet purchase I ever made, Dave Williams concert pitch half set. Talk about luck.