[HH] impossibly cheap tablet

[Tom Metro]

A friend pointed out this tablet on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-M3-WIFI-RK3066-Dual-Core-1-6GHz-10-1-Inch-IPS-Android-4-1-16GB-Tablet-/251221140180

which has a 10" display, 1.6 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB storage,
and runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). (Plus a pile of ports and other
features.)

Selling for $17! Too good to be true, eh? (He ordered two.)

He thought maybe they are selling off old stock. I'm pretty skeptical.

They could get more than that wholesale selling the lot to an
electronics surpluses vendor, like All Electronics, even if only the
display functioned and a few other parts could be salvaged.

If you just add up the parts cost, it is an impossible price unless it
is stolen, fake (cardboard?), or someone is taking a huge loss.

The scary bit is that even if you get it and it does work as expected,
that still leaves stolen as a real possibility.

Or maybe it is spyware - code hidden in the firmware to capture your
online banking logins, or use the built-in mic and camera to collect
personal information to break into your accounts. The "loss leader"
price could be well justified for that application. I'd seriously
consider reloading the firmware from a trusted 3rd party source.

Anyone think this is for real, and if so, how can they afford selling
them so cheap?

 -Tom