I hate buying from China..... but

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

except the iStar which is made in the good old US of A .

Ahem...Czech...assembled and distributed from the USA (where the market is)

[AstralTraveller (David)]

We had similar conversations back in the 70's about Japan. At first it was cheap junk from Japan, then cheap but good quality and finally good quality but also pretty expensive. China seems to be moving into the 'cheap but quality' era and, as the newly-skilled labor achieves fairer pay, prices will rise. Meanwhile, it's been several years now since I heard of the first company leaving China to take advantage of the cheaper wages in Africa..... Here we go again.

[bojan]

Chinese companies are leaving China because of cheaper labour elsewhere.
Capitalism in action....

[dikman (Richard)]

China is an interesting case, it's obviously not a democracy, with the "freedoms" that entails, but it has a burgeoning middle/upper class due to its economic successes and that class tends to want all the trappings that go with "Western free enterprise". The Chinese leadership is managing to keep a lid on it (for now) but the seeds of its demise could lay in those very same economic successes.


As its economy booms the people want more and its cost-of-living starts to increase, this in turn leads to what bojan pointed out - they have to look elsewhere to reduce the cost of manufacture.

[Ukastronomer (Jeremy)]

Originally Posted by bojan

However, you can look at this detail from another angle..

Western companies and governments were very happy to use cheap (underpaid) labour available in China (and elsewhere)... and when Chinese government started to demand some sort of equality in treatment and position (by demanding transfer of technology and IP).. suddenly they are not happy with new arrangements..
All I am trying to say here is, everybody benefitted so far (including us, consumers... who didn't mind buying cheaper products.)

I am ashamed to say I could not agree with you more



.

[Ukastronomer (Jeremy)]

Very good and interesting posts here, truly, a lot I had not considered.



.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

My iStar is better than your iStar , hand figured and coated in the good ol'e USA then ,, Jeeze Lew you just can't help yourself , can you ? anyway its not Chinese . .

BVrian.

Originally Posted by LewisM

Ahem...Czech...assembled and distributed from the USA (where the market is)

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

My iStar is better than your iStar , hand figured and coated in the good ol'e USA then ,, Jeeze Lew you just can't help yourself , can you ? anyway its not Chinese . .

BVrian.

Actually iStar is assembled in the USA from Czech designed optics and USA made tubes, the optics themselves are ground and polished in China and the completed optics are then sent to iStar in Florida for assembly.

The earliest iStar scopes were assembled in Czech Republic.

But none of that really matters if one is enjoying the scope

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by Rainmaker

Actually iStar is assembled in the USA from Czech designed optics and USA made tubes, the optics themselves are ground and polished in China and the completed optics are then sent to iStar in Florida for assembly.

The earliest iStar scopes were assembled in Czech Republic.

But none of that really matters if one is enjoying the scope

Well there ya go.

Brian, wasn't having a go, just correcting They ain't no Yankee scope - multi-national instead

[AstroFeral (Steve)]

There is a cure for cheap knock offs made with slave labour. It was very effective in the past. It is a called a bloody "Tariff". There needs to be more of them, especially when the country in questions is known to be so hostile.

[Bobbyoutback]

What a excellent thread regarding Chinese products & there skill of copying almost everything cheaper thus wrecking most of the west's manufacturing industries .



On a personal note : There is the problem I can't solve .
I have an invention ' if I go down the expensive intellectual property road my design will still be copied by guess Who

So it seems I'm stuffed if I do & stuffed if I don't

Bobby .

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Bobbyoutback

What a excellent thread regarding Chinese products & there skill of copying almost everything cheaper thus wrecking most of the west's manufacturing industries .



On a personal note : There is the problem I can't solve .
I have an invention ' if I go down the expensive intellectual property road my design will still be copied by guess Who

So it seems I'm stuffed if I do & stuffed if I don't

Bobby .

The reality you need to work with is in many cases there is a short period of manufacture that is profitable so you get in and get out before everyone else is selling the same item. The chances of capitalising on an invention are small and not only because of difficulty protecting your idea...the cost of protecting an idea is very expensive...but for all sorts of other reasons I bet you have not thought about.
Try and work out what the idea is worth..ie its potential market..all going well how many could you sell..or out of the 7 billion people on the planet who will want one..how much will they pay and what is the cost to put it in their hands...getting an idea is a very small part of the game.

Alex

[Bobbyoutback]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

The reality you need to work with is in many cases there is a short period of manufacture that is profitable so you get in and get out before everyone else is selling the same item. The chances of capitalising on an invention are small and not only because of difficulty protecting your idea...the cost of protecting an idea is very expensive...but for all sorts of other reasons I bet you have not thought about.
Try and work out what the idea is worth..ie its potential market..all going well how many could you sell..or out of the 7 billion people on the planet who will want one..how much will they pay and what is the cost to put it in their hands...getting an idea is a very small part of the game.

Alex

Well Alex ' that was a rave on about what I have already have knowledge of , but shows me how some think

Cheers
Bobby .

[Ukastronomer (Jeremy)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

The reality you need to work with is in many cases there is a short period of manufacture that is profitable so you get in and get out before everyone else is selling the same item. The chances of capitalising on an invention are small and not only because of difficulty protecting your idea...the cost of protecting an idea is very expensive...but for all sorts of other reasons I bet you have not thought about.
Try and work out what the idea is worth..ie its potential market..all going well how many could you sell..or out of the 7 billion people on the planet who will want one..how much will they pay and what is the cost to put it in their hands...getting an idea is a very small part of the game.

Alex

I think we all know that it is having the idea that's hard

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Ukastronomer

I think we all know that it is having the idea that's hard

I have a great idea at least once a week....it is no big deal for me because I have an unbounded imagination.

I guess my point was along the lines of ...who said this?..maybe Edison...genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration...think of your focuser.. great idea but it took work to make it happen. Just a proto type..now take it further..you become committed to the idea that everyone will want one and you will grow rich on the sales...ok think of all you need to do before you see any return on your capital or time...so many folk get an idea and perhaps because it is the only thing they have ever invented, commit to it when perhaps they need not...you only have to look at the dumb products out there and wonder why that person even bothered. And a good idea does not always make money.



I have had ideas which I took to the patent attorney and even costed how much to protect the idea, estimated markets manufacture marketing sales distribution compliance with regulations...it is a big deal...just initial planning and research takes a huge effort.

When in business I did enjoy coming up with different advertising campaignes to beat my competitors ... like doing my newspaper adds in negative..you opened the paper and my adds were the only one you saw and of course the opposition could not follow that one as it would give me recognition ..if you see how they saw it.

We did a free business directory for example with names of the local business their address and phone number..that went on the back of my little newspaper where I would do little articles relating to real estate, and a cross word the answers being local street names, the opposition just could not follow that ...And we had piles of them in every shop, the post office and even the bank ..obviously if you were in the directory you became a distributor..but as simple as that idea was the effort to make it work was unbelievable.

You would like this one..at open houses we gave out little brochures with house details..we did not merely print the house photo but pasted a real photo of the house on the sheet..on the basis that people don't like throwing away a photo...And as a lot of inspection came from folk thinking of selling that was important..I can remember being called in on a market appraisal and noticed one of these brochures from 9 months earlier and no doubt that is why we got the listing...

Anyways good luck to inventors and folk who take on the challenge .
Alex

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Bobbyoutback

Well Alex ' that was a rave on about what I have already have knowledge of , but shows me how some think

Cheers
Bobby .

Raving is my strong point...I did expect you must have thought about the matters I hinted at..if not you would be doomed.
Anyways I wish you all the luck you will need if you take things further.
Alex

[Bobbyoutback]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Raving is my strong point...I did expect you must have thought about the matters I hinted at..if not you would be doomed.
Anyways I wish you all the luck you will need if you take things further.
Alex

Thanks Alex for the encouragement , keep raving on

As precious metals continue there journey up in value I will sit back & wait for the rush to gain momentum .

Have Fun
Bobby

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Bobbyoutback

Thanks Alex for the encouragement , keep raving on

As precious metals continue there journey up in value I will sit back & wait for the rush to gain momentum .

Have Fun
Bobby

I hope you know when to take a profit...when you have one to take.

So when do you think it will start back down?
What price will the turnaround start.

I heard an estimate that 80% of all the gold is still in the ground...how would they know?

If the price is going up that means that sales are taking place..who is selling and what do they know?

I am starting to worry about gold as it only comes in one colour really.

And do you reckon that the gold is still in Fort Knox? The last I heard they say an audit is un necessary...and they say that they say that to show gold is not part of the financial mix...mmm want to buy a car that runs on water? What BS is going on do you think?

And what about Australia's attempts to look at our gold and the unbelievable put offs..have you heard about that stuff?

Alex

[Bobbyoutback]

Alex I don't wish to stuff up the OP's original subject , if you start a thread I'll participate

[xelasnave]

Yes I see your point.
But I am not feeling well..And you are the gold and silver man and I bet you know more than me...but certainly I wonder about my perceived difficulty of various nations not being able to look at their gold at the bank.
Sorry but I am crook.
Alex