Sorry for being a troll here, but I thought I had better make mention of
my situation in case other people are considering purchasing a Degen
radio such as 1103 from Ebay or Liypn

I first have to praise Liypn being professional and answering *direct*
questions anyone has. However, the products that are exported by Degen,
specifically the 1103 lacks proper testing and quality control. The
consumer should be aware of this fact, but Liypn or other Ebay sellers
make no mention of this. Of course, some may say, "why should they"?

Any how, I spent over $120 for the radio including sending it back to
China for warranty repair. I was one of the unlucky ones where there was
a tuner issue with the 1103's. I could've bought something more reliable
and with a better warranty where shipping was not an issue for less.

As I didn't use the radio very much, the tuner issue didn't render its
ugly face until near the end of the warranty period. I contacted the
seller and I was reminded that I was responsible for shipping. Fair
enough, I knew that already. My radio was in mint shape, no scratches or
anything. I sent the radio to China and then I am informed when it
arrived that it was NOT in mint shape because one of the radio's 5 cent
face sticker was curling (cheap adhesive was used). I was informed that
since the radio is NOT mint there would be an added charge. Another way
to make a money.

So, I pay the difference and get a [supposed] new version of the 1103. I
receive it and the first thing I notice is that the battery compartment
is a little smaller than the old radio because I had a difficult time
inserting the stock rechargeable batteries that originally came with the
1103. Then, I proceeded to use the radio. I tried the FM and tried
shortwave. FM was fine, short wave had a lot of distortion. I then
proceeded to program my favourite local AM radio stations. The AM band
has moderate distortion too.

I checked the Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kaito-de1103/
and I found out that many people are complaining about the distortion
issue with the [Degen 1103]'s.

My point is that everyone needs to be careful. I don't recommend buying
from a retailer in China, irregardless if many people are happy with his
service. The quality and quality control may be lacking as is with the
1103's. You live and learn. I shall not buy from this Ebay seller
again nor from someone overseas unless I can afford to absorb the cost of
the item if something is defective.

I know there are people here in support of Lipyn, but I had to share my
experiences as it appears not be atypical, despite the high rating the
seller receives from his buyers (he does sell other products too). After
a while, you can't change your feedback on Ebay, so that could be why the
ratings are high. There is no ratings or areas of feedback for post 6
months.

Enough of my ranting.
Cheers,