Of course, no one wants a cheap looking gift, so presentation and perceived value is important. Luxury imported goods are an obvious choice.
Something like this box of chocolates from Britain, perhaps. The only Chinese text on the packaging is on a paper ribbon wrapped around the English only box front. The reverse has marketing waffle in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian, all adding to the allure.
And there is the message: Distributed by Codex Chocolate Limited in UK.
The revealing word is, of course, "Distributed". Further investigation of the paper ribbon and its Chinese small print reveals the chocolates are made in, you've guessed, China. Kudos Chocolates (Suzhou) Company Ltd.
The website www.icodex.co.uk is inaccessible. The company may be just a paper company. I don't know but registering a company in the UK is simple and cheap.
Opening the tin reveals a cheap plastic liner filled with tiny individually wrapped chocolates. They're edible but nothing to write home about.
All in all, there is about 20 times more pricy packaging material than chocolate. By weight, of the total package weighing half a kilo, there is only 168 grams of edible confectionery.
Hmmm.
Coming next something more honest.
