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Since you already know it is a replica, then you should also know that such swords are not made to hold an edge. That are more for show and are not made the same way as a real Japanese sword.
Even the description is bogus: "...the steel use for the blade contents much more carbon and the purity can not be comparable."
All steel contains carbon which is a impurity. But the more carbon in steel, the more brittle it becomes. So more carbon does not make it more pure nor does it make the steel stronger. Don't believe what you read on the Ebay description. To produce a katana the traditional way would cost at least 10 times the $202.35. It takes a traditional Japanese swordsmith between 2 to 4 weeks to make one sword blade. Do you really think someone who forges a sword for 2 weeks is going to charge you $203.35? That's less than 1/3 of minimum wage.
Are you sure you know how to cut? Regardless of what a cut looks like to you it is not a whack like with a baseball bat. No sword cuts right if you just swing it across. I looked at the link and if you really got the blade advertised in your link it should be sharp enough to cut paper provided you know how to cut. Granted it is a Chinese made katana but definitely not the worst I have seen. I would not polish it.
You don't sharp on a katana, you polish it. Polishing a katana is an art all itself and takes years to get down. There is a reason it costs a ovr a hundred dollars an inch
If it's a good katana you take it to a pro. If not then more then likely it's not worth it and won't hold an edge for long
Edit
I don't think it's even worth doing your sell.
You need to be very carful with eBay they can be very misleading and can substitute other products without you knowing it.
Policing is an art and very expensive, you would not do it on a replica. And many replicas can't hold an edge. And if you do try to put an edge on it you might remove the finish of the replica. Some replicas have a finish put on It to make it look more authentic. In your case I cat be sure if it has a finish or not. Or if it can hold an edge even.
It also doesn't say what kind of steel it is made of there are different grades of steel
I was expecting a bad wall hanger, but going by the images on the site, it looks pretty good. (I really don’t trust the images and the information fed to me, but that’s a different issue) There are two different type of stone. Oil stone and water stone. Water one is easier to use and it is also what the Japanese polishers uses. I can’t remember on top of my head, but actual polisher goes through something like 15 different grades of stones. And of course sword is much larger than a knife so it’ll be quite a balancing work to keep everything even as you work on it. Overall, unless you are willing to throw away the sword I wouldn’t even suggest trying to polish it yourself.
As you've found, there are Japanese Katanas, and there are "Japanese Katanas". The real deal are extremely sharp. The replicas may or may not be sharp, and usually they're never as sharp as the real (and very expensive) deal.
I've recently bought myself a katana but it isn't very sharp. it can't even slice paper. To my knowledge, katanas are supposed to be very sharp. I've done some research and i need to get Japanese whetstones. But, i found Arkansas Stones on amazon and i have read that they are the same as Japanese whetstones, is this true? Some people say to use oil to lubricate the stone and other people day to use just water. whats better? also what angle should i hold the blade at when sharpening? any sword smiths out there that could help me out?
here's the link the the Arkansas Stones:
http://www.amazon.ca/Smiths-Arkansas-TRI-HONE-Sharpening-System/dp/B005WMA0RE/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1383086897&sr=1-2&keywords=Smith%27s+TRI-6+Arkansas+TRI-HONE
