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Does anybody know how good (or bad) the $110 made-in-Taiwan banjo necks for sale on eBay are?

For example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-String-Banjo ... q2GkjFzZgQ

The guy who wants me to convert his dad's Epiphone Recording A tenor banjo to a 5-string banjo has ordered one of those necks on the off chance it may be good enough to be usable. What are the chances? His main banjo is a $3700 Cox Kentucy5 so I have my doubts that a $110 Taiwan neck is going to satisfy him. Opinions?

It can be luck of the draw.

Sometimes the wood is too green and the necks end up twisting, bowing, or cracking. Other times they are just fine.

Likewise the workmanship can be quite variable. Some are very clean, others look like they were doing this for the first time.

I hate to see someone cheap out on something like this. If I installed it for him, I wouldn't give him much in the way of a warranty.

No, if he decides to go with it, any follow-up work that it may need will definitely be charged for. I want to make him a good neck, so I hope the flaws -- assuming it does have flaws -- are blatantly obvious and it doesn't take a year for it to warp or whatever before he gives up on it and asks me to make a neck.

This brings to mind the observation, "Only rich people can afford poor quality."

Brings to mind another quote: "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?" It's difficult to know if it will be "right" if you don't know what you're getting when you order these things.

I will add that quote to my Collection of Wisdom.

The guy I'm doing this tenor-to-five-string conversion job.for brought the Taiwan neck over this noon.

And the verdict is...it looks pretty good. The inlays are well done, the proportions are good, the finish is decent.

So I'm going to use it.

I just hope that six months from now it doesm't warp.