China crises

[vapesmarter]

here is a question

I have been approached by 2 Chinese manufacturers to make my mods on a mass produced bases

Trouble is that’s against my ethos

But the price for a mod would be reduced

I know people want cheap mods different looking etc

Also my status as modmaker / casemaker would change

I’m torn as you know I make all the parts of the mod from the resin to the wood the colours the plates etc all in house

Opinions please


Stu

 

[ninjazx6]

I would say go for it absolutely if the deal is good. No reason why you can't have a bespoke/one-off line AND a mass produced line.

 

[Deleted member 54254]

Some people may want cheaper but I highly doubt the quality of a handcrafted piece of beauty will remain intact. Unless it's financially beneficial to you, keep on doing what you do mate.

 

[mattyk2010]

What you do is special, you don't just sell a mod you sell a full experience and a fucking pleasurable one at that! Every piece of your mods are fitted right and by hand and quality of your materials are bang on you shouldn't sell out to China plus they have a nasty habbit of fucking people over so don't do it Stu, I wouldn't buy one if you did and I love your work [emoji5]

 

[Simon G]

I think that's something only you can decide to be honest.

..... just be careful.

....and don't get upset when the clones start appearing on FT, because that's inevitable.

 

[mustybadger]

Would they prevent you from running parallel operations? I.E. Could you still continue with your bespoke work? I'd be surprised if they prevented you from doing that. You'd still be able to differentiate between your items and offer different things to different people.

Vaping is still a business, and while China does have some shady business practices (especially in the clone market), they still produce some good quality gear. You just have to be more wary on what you're doing and who you're dealing with over there.

If I was in your situation, I'd jump on that opportunity without a second thought, but i'd, for sure, be going into the situation with my eyes WIDE open about what a fucking minefield China can be. I'd also only be doing it if there was a benefit for me (financial or otherwise), not for the benefit of the community (sorry!) & not for the benefit of some Chinese manufacturer, especially if it's your sole source of income.

At the end of the day, whether you are selling bespoke, high end, custom made stuff or if you are designing for China to do the same thing for you, it's business, and if you're livelihood is tied up in the business you should do whatever is going to benefit you and your business the most, even if it's to the detriment of some within the community.

 

[nwhornet]

As said, keep the bespoke mods made to order & have a "Designed by Vapesmarter" for the mass produced. As long as you have final say on the mass market product as in the quality is A1 before release.
Interesting idea though. I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you.

 

[Lord Grim]

As usual, beaten to the punch. I was going to say the same as @simong in that if they are aware of your work and want to make it, they will. At least if you deal with the devil, you may be able to have some kind of say over Quality Control.

 

[flearider]

theres only a few problems I see ..
a) they would not be yours ..they would just have your name on them and unless you can control the quality do you want your name on them ?
b)tony b worked with a Chinese company and we know what happened there ...

but in the end it's up to you

 

[jsixtysix]

Use a different name entirely. Also, a fun disguise.