With all due respect, I would disagree with everyone but Kiel, as he is the only one who has experience with the vendor. Are the scales thicker? Yes, but that would not necessarily make it unbalanced. Some woods are very light, and having thin wooden scales could be unbalanced. Granted, I don't like the look of those scales, they do look cheap, but hey, it is a cheap razor.
Who would put $40 worth of etching? Not me, but it also means I am not paying up front if I don't want etching, as the vendor explained.
Is it a piece of crap brand? I don't know I never shaved with one. I will say there is a very highly respected member who has several piece of crap Gold Dollars that he has worked and he claims they are great shavers.
I am not saying that it wouldn't be better to buy from the classifieds here, but some people just don't have the $ to throw at something they aren't even sure they can use, so $25 is worth the risk to them.