I just don't get the anti-China hate. Is it racism?
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1101096166?spm=a2g0o.detail...
It is 100% possible to see China as a long term economic (and possibly military but I doubt that) threat, abhor their human rights violations, love Chinese people and despise the CCP all in one go.
There are plenty of reasons for anti-China sentiments, some don't like to deal with China because of animal rights abuses, others because of mistreatments of the Uyghurs, what the CCP did to Hong Kong etc. I would rather buy the same item when it says Made in Vietnam/India/Thailand over the one that's made in China, and that's not because of bad craftsmanship or racism.
Yet I never hear people cancel Switzerland for animal right abuse
[0] https://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/
[1] https://strandbergguitars.com/
[2] https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-headless-guitar.html
This falls apart quickly when you come up with a product that would profit others through mimicry.
Those local manufacturers suddenly become a lot less expensive when you're cruising through Alibaba and you see the product you designed for sale in multiple colors at 2/3rds the cost you could have ever hoped to sell them for, through multiple vendors.
tl;dr : I could tell my story, I could tell my dad's story from 30 years prior, but here's the moral instead : taking IP overseas -- especially should that IP require special tooling that gets shipped around -- is crummy for a lot of reasons that may or may not come back to bite you.
Local manufacturing does have advantages, even if they may not apply to your specific needs.
No need to look far, two comments removed from yours is this one:
I think if product can be copied easily, then it will be copied. It's just a fact of life.
What can't be (easily) copied is the firmware. Someone determined could still do clean room implementation anyway.
The more complex and innovative your project is, the more time you can sell it for premium until someone copies it.
On one hand this is good, because it forces people to innovate on the other hand it makes projects less profitable in the long run.
That being said if you have your marketing and price right, your target audience is unlikely going to choose a cheap copy and those who do probably wouldn't be your customers anyway.
Like I have little project and needed an enclosure made to order. Nothing fancy. Tried three rather known Western vendors and none could manufacture it to an acceptable standard. It was also very expensive and customer service seemed annoyed that I even want to order anything. I lost a lot of money on this, simply because I didn't want to support China.
Unfortunately had to hold my nose and go with Chinese. It's a night and day difference. Customer service was helpful and guided me through everything - and the quality. Damn. All dimensions exactly on point, no gaps, no off angles, no chipped paint, just perfect. The price was very similar to what I paid to more expensive Western company, but the value for money - no comparison.
It's even worse with PCBs. There is one company in Europe that I could recommend, but they are rather expensive and I wouldn't use it for larger quantity - the cost of the end product would mean you wouldn't be able to compete.
So it's China again. Amazing customer service, advanced options, short lead times.
We are so f.