There was a great article in a similar vein from an author who sought to track the provenance of their fake watch (which from memory was on a site dedicated to tracking the provenance of objects, but I can't find the site), and in the process uncovered just how many of these brands were reselling cheap watches sourced from China.
It is a shame to see people so willing to make money by such unscrupulous means.
At this point watches are basically a commodity so paying $XXX for a watch is a bit silly.
Very nice read :)
What I don't understand is the production side of things. How/where do I go to get these things produced. How do I choose a provider, etc. In the case of this fidget cube, would they have sent 3d models or a prototype of what they require, or is there some middle step Im missing out?
I know I could take someone on to do that for me, but I'd really like to understand it myself.
Would appreciate any guidance!
1. How does the factory quote / understand what is required? Typically you send a 3D CAD file of the product you want to make and a bill of materials to a selected factory and they send you a quotation. For some products the factory may be able to quote based on a prototype, but this is less typical for totally custom / new products.
2. How do I choose a provider? I recommend any of the following:
a. Leverage any personal connections you may have
b. Search for similar products / the product category on Alibaba
c. Either go to trade shows (the biggest for Chinese factories is Canton fair) or review the vendors exhibiting at a trade show online
d. Panjiva.com (the best option if it works) Panjiva aggregates public import records for anyone importing products into the US. Both the importer (think US brand) and exporter (think Chinese factory) are listed for every shipment. Use Panjiva to search for a company that is selling a similar product you want to make in your market (for example, if you want to sell headphones in the US, you might search "Bose" on Panjiva). If a factory has made a bunch of similar shipments to reputable brands in the US they are likely a good factory.
Getting a good factory to take you seriously is actually quite challenging for a fledgling company. Quoting a product takes a good deal of time to do properly and is expensive for them. They get a surprising number of tire kickers. To increase chances of success, highlight anything that makes you more credible when quoting (investment, awards, personal track record, nice looking website, photos of prototypes, etc.)