It's perfectly safe to buy stuff from Hong Kong or China if you know what you are looking at. I got several awesome legit figures from that region at excellent prices.
I can't really comment on the Japanse Henkei Grimlock (Henkei is Classics in Japan) until you provide us with an ebay link or a photo.'
When it comes to Animated figures, I have noticed that several Sydney stores are very poorly stocked on them. Sometimes they just have a few figures at a time and some don't even have them at all. Several of these stores are overwhelmed with Movie stock so it's possible that they refuse to stock any more items until they clear those away. The same thing that is happening to Animated apparently is happening to Universe to a lesser degree.