Liberty Garden Products 703-S2 Multi-Purpose Steel Wall and Floor Mount Garden Hose Reel, Holds 200-Feet of 5/8-Inch Hose - Stainless

I bought this hose reel because it looked more sturdy than the plastic junk which dominates the UK gardening market (products such as Hozelock, and actually those are the best we get here!). And it will do the job.However at the very high price I expected something really well made. This is a typical badly made Chinese (the box says Made in China, but it is obvious anyway) product. The metalwork is badly formed and is twisted so the thing doesn't sit straight on the wall. The fittings were made up with HUGE quantities of PTFE tape, with surplus tape coming out everywhere, and to my horror I found a large quantity of it inside one of the fittings! See the photos. It must have been put together by a small child in a Chinese sweat shop who wasn't told how to use PTFE tape to seal joints.The black handle arrived smashed so I had to glue it back together with epoxy; strange since the card box was double wall and wasn't damaged.Be aware that the threaded fittings don't match the threads on any UK gardening or plumbing fittings. I have a workshop and can machine up adaptors but most people would get stuck at this point.Admittedly about 1/3 of the high price was the shipping from the USA but still it is way overpriced. I would expect to see some garden centre selling this for about £50.