In some cases, I’ve gotten products off AliExpress that were made far more robustly internally than the name-brand product they were imitating (not direct knockoffs pretending to be authentic, just obvious imitations).
The economics of buying from AliExpress/Alibaba can work out slightly differently than buying from a Western company that’s sourcing from China. Cutting out the middleman allows them to sell it at a price that I find cheap while they’re still able to capture far more profit than from a wholesale purchase. Potentially improving conditions vs if you bought the non-knock off.
Not to say that happens in every case. Nor as a broad comment on the conditions of factory work in China. But food for thought on the benefit of buying directly from Chinese companies.
Comments
In some cases, I’ve gotten products off AliExpress that were made far more robustly internally than the name-brand product they were imitating (not direct knockoffs pretending to be authentic, just obvious imitations).
The economics of buying from AliExpress/Alibaba can work out slightly differently than buying from a Western company that’s sourcing from China. Cutting out the middleman allows them to sell it at a price that I find cheap while they’re still able to capture far more profit than from a wholesale purchase. Potentially improving conditions vs if you bought the non-knock off.
Not to say that happens in every case. Nor as a broad comment on the conditions of factory work in China. But food for thought on the benefit of buying directly from Chinese companies.
What happens when there is no upside for the original creators/designers/inventors? Who designs the next best thing?