I don't know what your agenda is, but either you're overstating your experience in the business or wilfully exaggerating the risks.
We know where these panels came from. LG manufacture this panel for Apple. Apple's extremely high technical standards combined with the very high pixel count mean that yields are exceptionally low. LG's contract with Apple forbids them from selling these panels to any brand-name manufacturer. These cheap monitors soak up supply of otherwise unsaleable panels that had previously been an expensive waste problem for LG. It's not too good to be true, just a quirk of the economics of panel manufacture.
There is no reason to believe that these displays would present any greater safety risk than a typical item of consumer electronics. If you really are in the trade, you'll know that not a damned soul knows exactly what they're buying. Everyone got stung by the electrolytic plague, from Apple and Dell to military contractors. Shit happens in China. Personally, I don't trust Dell any more than I trust the Shanzhai boys. The PCBs look good, they've obviously spent the money where it needs to be spent and the panels have no worse provenance than those in any other value-priced monitor.
I guess it can be called into question as to whether these came directly from Apple's supply, but it is indeed the same panel. Several people have taken the monitors apart and taken pictures and it's the same LG panel as the Apply cinema display that has the same resolution. I can't find the threads now, but they are somewhere over in the monitor section of overcocker's forum.
You can't buy panels from "Apple's supply" any more than you can buy bread from the shipment slotted to go to you local Walmart. Apple, Dell, HP and other large companies sign contracts for sizable deliveries of these components. In some cases the panels are made exclusively for a specific manufacturer (and corresponding product). And, in these cases, it is very common to have a contractual restriction on the availability of the panel in question for general use. In other words, I could not buy a single panel for a year (or more). Once the panels are release for sale to non-contract parties (generally industrial users or other OEMs) the manufacturer will make it available to distribution, book orders and schedule manufacturing accordingly. Lead times run anywhere from 12 to 20+ weeks depending on the panel and other factors. Some B-grade (and below) panels are immediately available (manufacturers love to unload these rather than take the loss). A-grade panels go through the standard manufacturing process and, well, you get yours when they are ready. They don't cut into Apple's supply to sell some to Joe-Blow-Monitor manufacturer.
It sounds like people are somewhat confused and concluding that because the panel had the same part number as the one used by Apple they "came directly from Apple's supply". The only way that can happen is if Apple discontinues the product in question and there's an overstock of panels that the manufacturer needs to unload or; Apple rejects a pile of panels and, again, the manufacturer is very happy to unload them on the unsuspecting masses. Other than that, the fact that the panels have the same part number does not mean that they "came directly from Apple's supply".
No agenda. Just sharing some experience, which, among other things, includes about fifteen years designing and manufacturing high-performance, high-reliability display systems for demanding applications; from military to industrial. Hardware, software, mechanical, etc.
I have personally bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of shit panels from LG and Samsung and others. Not third hand or gray market, but through official and approved distribution channels in the US.
The LCD business is surreal. It is nasty as can be. Most people don't know this and don't believe it until they are inside the beast for a while. I know of one company who got sued by the US government to the tune of millions of dollars for not delivering on a contract to buy a number of custom monitors.
Why couldn't they deliver? Because the panel manufacturer decided to discontinue the panel they were using without any advance notice. And, because most of these panels are single-source, the aforementioned company was royally fucked. They, quite literally, had their product evaporate into thin air. They could not build them to save their lives.
I don't know how the ordeal ended. We, at the time, got hit with the same issue but were lucky enough to "only" have burned about $800K developing a product around the newly obsolete panels. We had to spend another half a million to design a new product around a new panel. Brutal. This is one of the reasons I am glad I moved into the software business and left hardware behind.
As for the implied quality because Apple is using the panel. All I can say is I am laughing so hard my head hurts. As I mentioned in my post, there are various grades of panels. What Apple specifies, buys and accepts could be miles away from what manufacturer B is receiving, even if they use the same part number to order them.
Even Apple gets shit panels from LG. The original aluminum 23 inch Cinema Display had a horrible purple/magenta shift problem and some had a band of discoloration along the top --both due to the LG panel. Just Google it.
I bought some of these LG panels at the time. Same exact part number Apple was using. Exactly the same panel, right? Nope. I got a batch where more than half the panels went purple within about six months or less. I figured we burned $250K on bad panels on that one. And, what's worst, you have absolutely no recourse with the panel manufacturers. The OEM business is very different from buying a monitor at Best Buy. Once we cracked-open the factory packaging (bag/box) the warranty evaporated very, very quickly, thirty to ninety days, if you were lucky. Most stuff is sold "NCNR" (Non Cancelable - Non Returnable). Translation: It's yours.
The idea that the same part number equates to the same quality and results doesn't necessarily hold water. It's akin to the idea that all models of the same car are just as good as the best one they ever built. There is such a thing as good and bad versions of that same exact car, lemons, if you will.
Saying "hey, I bought the same car my neighbor bought" doesn't guarantee that it'll be just as good or as bad as hers. Don't fall into the trap of believing that because Apple (or whoever) uses a certain panel or part then all instances of that panel or part must be good. That could not be farther from the truth.
With regards to the cheap 27 inch monitors, do as you wish. It's your money. I am merely pointing out that things are not always as good as they seem. Other than that, I don't care if you or anyone else buys them. I am no-longer in that business and I am glad. Software is sooooo much easier than hardware.
I don't understand why any of that would be relevant to the consumer. People buying these monitors know what they're getting - 27" LG panels with minor uniformity issues or a few bad pixels, wrapped in a cheap but not awful chassis. The eBay sellers will test monitors before they ship them and are providing good aftersales service. We both know that the electronics business is FUBAR, I just don't see why that would influence your decision to buy one of these monitors.
We know where these panels came from. LG manufacture this panel for Apple. Apple's extremely high technical standards combined with the very high pixel count mean that yields are exceptionally low. LG's contract with Apple forbids them from selling these panels to any brand-name manufacturer. These cheap monitors soak up supply of otherwise unsaleable panels that had previously been an expensive waste problem for LG. It's not too good to be true, just a quirk of the economics of panel manufacture.
There is no reason to believe that these displays would present any greater safety risk than a typical item of consumer electronics. If you really are in the trade, you'll know that not a damned soul knows exactly what they're buying. Everyone got stung by the electrolytic plague, from Apple and Dell to military contractors. Shit happens in China. Personally, I don't trust Dell any more than I trust the Shanzhai boys. The PCBs look good, they've obviously spent the money where it needs to be spent and the panels have no worse provenance than those in any other value-priced monitor.