I&#x27;ve seen the process many times, for many &#x27;cheap&#x27; chinese produts.<p>They first design (or more often copy) a product, then they start removing the bits that &#x27;aren&#x27;t needed&#x27; -- like filtering caps and so on; sometime even fuses in power supplies, and pretty much ANYTHING they can save $.0002 on.<p>So when the first &#x27;wave&#x27; of the product appears, you actually have a pretty good chance of having something of good quality&#x2F;value -- however very quickly it degenerates into a pile of fire-hazard or device-destructing poo.<p>The rule #1 of buying cheap gadget is ALWAYS TAKING IT APART before even plugging it in or trying it. There are no alternatives. Often you can tweak it to make it safe&#x2F;good, but sometime, it&#x27;s instant return.