Made in China

Most of the posts I have seen mentioning items made in China receive comments that are at least subtly critical of quality. I would like to hear comments from people who have first-hand experience with some of these products. If there are problems, it would be nice to get the specifics rather than vague opinions. Likewise, if there is positive feedback, it would be nice to eliminate some of the “Made in China” rumors.

Head Units?
Bumpers?
Racks?
Exhaust Systems?
Air Lockers?
Others?

Made in China is not the curse of death if you are looking at a known branded product at a reasonable price. The problem comes with buying a similar product at a greatly reduced price. This is because there are the perfect items coming from the brand then there are the same items from the same factory but without the brand name and then there are the copies that look exactly the same but are made in a different factory using much cheaper materials. Then you have the copies of the copies, all the time getting cheaper and cheaper, oh and that's before the dodgy copies that are identical to the proper brand items to look at but are just a bit too good to be true.

Ultimately it's a matter of being diligent in the research of a prospective purchase and being aware that you get what you pay for and if you have that gut feeling that something is wrong then walk away. Made in China is not an inherent problem. Buy cheap buy twice and all that.

As just said, it is more a case of looking at the price point and quality and making a judgement thats best for you.

For exampe, Apple and Hewlett Packard (my employer) hardware is mainly made in China and you would probably not think twice about buying them (hopefully!)

At the other end of the scale we once bought a CV boot for my daughters BMW from Eurocarcrap which was about £10 compared to somthing closer to £100 for the real part. The boot turned out to be a piece of rubber tube and two clips, not even moulded into any form of shape.

I bought a rubber flexi exhaust tube for my boat a couple of years ago. This one looked to be excellent quality, a detailed moulding which was nicely finished and packaged. However it was made of the wrong grade of rubber, it was too stiff. It took about two days of my time to fit it and immediately pulled off the tube because it would not flex. Bought the real thing which looked identical but was a softer grade of rubber, it fitted straight on and is still in place two years later,

So always look around and ask yourself if it is worth it for you.

As an example, my avm hubs from jimnybits, they are from China and at the time were 125 quid, I could have gone for the same ones but without the avm stickers and saved about 40 quid and they were from the same factory and the same suppliers or at the same time on alibaba were some hubs at 40 quid plus shipping that in the picture looked close enough to identical. Who do you trust? Well obviously it's got to come from the supplier in the UK then you ain't waiting 6 months for the boat to arrive and get through customs. Then it's a matter of who's reputation do you rely on, just the supplier who is of good standing or the supplier and the manufacturers jointly? Yes jimnybits will not knowingly provide substandard items but by paying 40 quid for a couple of stickers I also have the assurance that the manufacturer is reasonably satisfied that the items have met the quality control of the brand and so my risk is reduced and my confidence to place further orders with the supplier is increased.

There is also the risk of the item being damaged in transit or the wrong item sent, then you have the trouble of sending it back and trying to get the shipping cost refunded etc

Slightly at a tangent, but I have a load of Chinese amateur radio gear. Sure, it ain't Yaesu quality, but it does exactly what its supposed to at a price that's hard to believe. I'm old enough to remember when Japanese products were scoffed at, but no one's laughing now.