Would you buy gear direct from China??

Richie-Toye

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Hi
Would you buy bike gear direct from China?
I've just found panniers and racks half the price of UK sellers, and as I'd only use them now and again I would be interested in your thoughts????
 
Some of its OK, some less so. I bought Chinese copy "Cool Covers" s/h on here. Good quality, happy with them but then again not much ££ so wasn't too worried if they weren't right

Before buying I'd look for reviews of the supplier & product
 
Most of the stuff you buy from UK sellers comes from China.
 
No I wouldn't, sure most are made there, but UK economy also works on importers making a living, which I would support. I maybe a little saving, but lack of aftercare and easy returns is worth the extra to me. Also you get no buyer protection. (or different, before some clown pipes about putting it on your CC)
 
Take this for an example - branded hugger from Nippy Norman £169 (or £3239 for carbon fibre version) but £30 from China. YES that is £30 (via aliexpress) and having fitted and used it I'd say that the cheaper product is very well made and does the job. You doubters and pessimists spend the money if you wish, but I'm happy to purchase directly from China (which is where most of the branded products are made in any case) and save £££££s
 
I'm not trying to point a finger here, but there are several aspects in the China debate.

On one side, lot's of Western companies have their goods produced in China, and given their expertise and strict quality control, this ends up as a quality product, manufactured in China.
The product is sold as a product from a Western company, and priced accordingly.

Some people will claim this is overpriced, since there are clones, selling for a way lower price.
Let's take an example: A hugger from a German company. This is priced typical at £250. This is a lot more than the price for a knock-off. Does this mean the German company is swimming in money, given their 'high' price?
Designing a product, making it fit to a specific bike, is not done overnight. (We have vendors in here in here that may confirm the time and cost of development). Also, they have to have molds machined, and even for a hugger, there is a list of items that needs to be made and tests that needs to be performed prior to selling a product that is safe and practical in use. All these costs have to be added to the selling price in order to go break even at some point.

Then some people simply copy their design, makes a mold from the finished product, and their cost is not much more than the cost of the material. Additionally, there have been revealed that lot's of the copy-cats use labour that works for peanuts and live in conditions we would not even accept for chickens.

Bying the clones support this theft of design and utilizing peoples misery.
I'm not saying that every case is as described above, but buing their products contributes to keep a nasty business alive, in addition to knocking the feet from under legit companies, perhaps in our own neighborhood.

I'm not saying I've never bought a cloned product my self. Some times it is even hard to know what is what. But it is surely something to keep in mind before focusing on price only. Remember, some day you or me may be the one loosing the job due to teft and social dumping from abroad....
 


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