Imports, From China??

[bigbill]

I'm seeing more and more imports from China lately from reels to lures. The reels have lots of bearings and different gear ratios too. I'm thinking we went over there to have them manufacture our reels and they broke away from doing business with us or reverse engineered our equipment and now there manufacturing there own. The prices are way beyond affordable it's silly. I think I'm going to buy a few just to test them. I'm sure our bass will let me know how good the quality is when they test them too.

I have had cheap garbage reels fail before because they weren't meant to catch bass. But the quality of these reels looks better.

Any thoughts or experience with these Chinese reels?

Some of the Chinese lures look great. But they were offering some at $5 for 4 or 5 lures and that seems to be changing slowly but surely. The 5 lures comes with free shipping. I'm sure once they catch on the cost may go higher.I think they may work because the colors/ patterns are different than what we're using. Time will tell.

I can't knock it yet even our name brand stuff is marked from China too?

Bigbill

Btw, a new baitcasting reel with the 6,3 ratio, magnetic brakes, metal spool and more for $30 the temptation is hard to beat. With free shipping. The only downfall is the one month shipping time. I feel the need to test it.

[deaknh03]

I've seen the reels and lures as well. I did buy some of the lures, they are garbage, at least the ones I bought. Bills break off, bodies broke in half, and thats not with any hard use. The reels have a very cool look to them, but I would be hesitant.

[Sam]

May I suggest staying away from these off brand Chinese offerings?

 

Invest your dimes and pennies in known products.

 

A cheap reel breaking while fighting a fish, on a fun day fishing or in a tournament will ruin our day.

 

Shimano has some lower end reels that should perform better than these Chinese knockoffs.

 

If anyone out there disagrees please let us know and the reasons why. Thanks.

[bigbill]

I have all good reels I was looking to venture out and test a Chinese reel out. The broadcaster has all the bells and whistles for $29. The spinning reel was $12. It could be a start of a good thing or the beginning of my adding more reels to my scrap pile. But for $29 it looks neat.

[SirSnookalot]

 

Shimano has some lower end reels that should perform better than these Chinese knockoffs.

 

If anyone out there disagrees please let us know and the reasons why. Thanks

I can't agree or disagree, just call it the way I see it.  I don't see the problem being Chinese labor, is it really any different than  the labor in Malaysia and that's where my stradics are made.  The materials and designing could have more influence that the actual assembly.  As far as reels goes I stick with name brands and many of them are made in China and I can't say they have been problematic, they have actually performed well.  We know why major companies make reels there, it's all about the overall expense.  Overall I'm pleased but I would probably not buy a "knockoff", considering the fact that I find name brands to be affordable.

I'm sure I'm going to have 40,000 people disagreeing with me, being a spinning user I don't feel bass put that much stress on my reels.  For bass fishing I use 3 supremes and a $30 Shakepere agility for several years, each reel works as good as the day I bought them, my biggest bass are actually caught on the Shakepere which is silky smooth.  That said this reel would not last too many 10# tarpon or jack crevalles before it was wasted, just not built for that kind of stress. 

[lanzbass]

Oh the days of Mitchel Ball rearing Reals made in South Dakota !   I have had and am still using for 3 years a Daiwa PS2`2B  Made in Japan . ...Lures ? I hit yard sales and look for any old ones that I can fix up

[wngan9447]

For that price, it's not bad test it.

I deal with Chinese knock offs all day long being in construction.

If you want to be successful with this idea, keep in mind that these knock offs are meant to duplicate another brand. Make sure the brand they are duplicating are also made in china. More than likely you are getting the same parts.

[BobP]

Lots of rods are assembled in China.  I got no problem with'em.  Chinese reels?  Don't know of any, but plenty are made in Malaysia by Abu, Shimano, etc. and I've never been able to tell any difference from reels assembled in Japan.  Lures, specifically knockoff lures are a different animal.  Chinese factories turn them out for pennies from molds that mimic expensive Japanese lures from Megabass, Lucky Craft, etc.  But the lure internals are never the same.  So if you think a $5 Chinese knockoff of a $25 Megabass Ito Vision 110 jerkbait might be "just as good", you're deluding yourself.  I build and paint crankbaits for a hobby and have tried many knockoffs over the years.  If I had spent the money buying originals instead, I would have probably come out ahead because so many of the knockoffs went straight to the trash can after an aggravating trial on the water.  And I would have caught more fish, which is the important thing!

[Capt.Bob]

     I do find it sad that feeling imports from anywhere are so acceptable these days, sadly they are becoming preferred,  I just don't get it???

[buzzfrog]

seen a few sellers selling them, very high end looking, a few are indicial specs of the stradic ci4. not sure were stradic is being made but these "rip offs: were from sequol SK. probably the same deal as Nike and off brand shoes being made in same factory but one has a check on them,

[baluga]

I don't see the problem being Chinese labor, is it really any different than  the labor in Malaysia and that's where my stradics are made. 

 

It's not about the labor itself, it is more of the quality control they follow or implement on producing the products.  Chinese products have poor quality control,  I would stay away from Stradics or any Shimano or Daiwa products when it's made in China.

 

Imagine.. a Conquest 100 made it China for half the prize.. Geez .. they can have it. 

[Greeneye8181]

     I do find it sad that feeling imports from anywhere are so acceptable these days, sadly they are becoming preferred,  I just don't get it???

 

Imported products have always been preferred it's just now it's becoming impossible to avoid it. Our fellow American's are shipping the factories overseas to avoid taxes but mainly for the cheap labor that isn't unionized.

The flip side to that is it creates a more affordable product so the money you save buying it can be used elsewhere. Eh, sorry economics is another interest of mine second only to fishing!

 

But yeah, generally speaking Chinese is synonymous with low quality. I stay away for that fact.

[Kevin22]

I saw the same reels you did. I was tempted to try one but the 1mo+ delivery was a deal breaker. By the time I finally decided to try one it wouldnt have gotten here until hunting season and I wouldnt be able to give it a good try. 

 

MAYBE I will buy one this winter and try it next spring. Big MAYBE though, probably be a waste of money. 

[Capt.Bob]

Imported products have always been preferred it's just now it's becoming impossible to avoid it. Our fellow American's are shipping the factories overseas to avoid taxes but mainly for the cheap labor that isn't unionized.

The flip side to that is it creates a more affordable product so the money you save buying it can be used elsewhere. Eh, sorry economics is another interest of mine second only to fishing!

 

But yeah, generally speaking Chinese is synonymous with low quality. I stay away for that fact.

Thinking like this is exactly what I was referring to, in such a short time they all have it figured out,,,,,, I've figured a little of that out in my nearly 59 years myself.  

[SirSnookalot]

     I do find it sad that feeling imports from anywhere are so acceptable these days, sadly they are becoming preferred,  I just don't get it???

There is a difference between an imported product and an American manufacturer making their products in another country to benefit their own bottom line.

This forum in particular is very pro Shimano, that company is foreign and their products are not made in the U.S., I guess one could say Shimano is an imported product.  We buy Shimano because it's a good product, not because it's an import and some of our members "bleed" Shimano.

The U.S. being involved in the global economy both imports and exports items, some of our exports include medical technology, airplanes both commercial and military, autos and off road heavy industrial machinery.  If we took a good look at the labels of our clothing, some may opt to walk around naked and barefoot.

 

 

It's not about the labor itself, it is more of the quality control they follow or implement on producing the products.  Chinese products have poor quality control, 

I wonder what we base the term quality control on?  I personally have not been to a Chinese factory and couldn't comment on their quality control firsthand.  Like many I get that kind of information on the net, probably much of it from people that haven't been there either or even being an expert in the field.  Not implying that the quality control is good or bad, just saying I don't really know.  I have seen 100's of quality control departments in American plants.  Some more sophisticated than others but the nuts and bolts of it is, a person at a workstation checking a part for proper size and imperfections.  If it weren't for bad parts I wouldn't have made a living for 35 years in the scrap biz.

[0119]

Do the workers in Daiwa's China factory have a poorer work ethic than the Malaysians building Shimano's?  Shimano's rep. constantly says their Malay manufactured reels are better than the reels made in Japan because of newer machinery.  Newer machinery doesn't make the reel, the man operating the machine makes the reel.  Do Abu's Korean factory workers produce a better product than their Chinese factory employees?  Are any of them less motivated than St. Croix's Mexican employees?  My daughter is a huge Apple fan and makes fun at my Samsung Galaxy.  My thought is I'd rather have a product built in Korea by a long standing political ally than by a company who chooses to benefit a country I thought I'd always feel was our enemy.  That being said I bought a Abu Inshore Spinning Reel made in China and thoroughly impressed by its quality.   Just maybe, where something is made doesn't really matter.  The factory worker's training and the line supervision of the parent company directing its manufacture  is what matter's.

[BobP]

I think there are political, commercial, and social reasons why it's easier and more effective for a company to exert good quality control in a factory in one country, say Malaysia or Korea, than in another, say China.  You can certainly lament that the best product is not made in the U.S.A.  You can make a political statement by only buying "Made in the USA".  Good luck with that!  Like 99.9% of consumers, I'll buy what I perceive to be the best product that I can afford.  If that's something from the All American Reel Company assembled by workers belonging to the Reel Workers Union of America - I'll be first in line.....but ONLY if the price and quality are competitive.

[baluga]

 

I wonder what we base the term quality control on?  I personally have not been to a Chinese factory and couldn't comment on their quality control firsthand.  Like many I get that kind of information on the net, probably much of it from people that haven't been there either or even being an expert in the field.  Not implying that the quality control is good or bad, just saying I don't really know.  I have seen 100's of quality control departments in American plants.  Some more sophisticated than others but the nuts and bolts of it is, a person at a workstation checking a part for proper size and imperfections.  If it weren't for bad parts I wouldn't have made a living for 35 years in the scrap biz.

If you don't know what areas are covered in quality control then I guess you really don't know what it takes to make a quality product.  You don't even need to go to a Chinese factory to know if they have a good quality control, their end product will tell. 

[21farms]

my beef is with unlicensed/copycat chinese products, not 'made in china'-products legitimately manufactured for another company under contract. when a company doesn't invest money in costly research & development to create their own products and simply steal others' intellectual property, of course they can sell their stuff for significantly less.

[catchnm]

Ok...................so has anyone actually purchased one of the reels and tested it yet?

[SirSnookalot]

If you don't know what areas are covered in quality control then I guess you really don't know what it takes to make a quality product.  You don't even need to go to a Chinese factory to know if they have a good quality control, their end product will tell. 

That department does not control any quality, their function is just to check parts to see if they meet specifications. I know exactly what quality control is.  What matters is the set up the machinery and materials being used.  I agree with 0119 regarding work ethic, whether it's Maylay, China, or Timbuktu, none of these people want to lose their jobs for poor work performance.

[buzzfrog]

Ok...................so has anyone actually purchased one of the reels and tested it yet?

that's what im saying lol

[baluga]

Ok...................so has anyone actually purchased one of the reels and tested it yet?

 All we are saying is that most of the products that are made in china are questionable in quality so why take the risk.  I used to go for savings as priority when buying things but until I realized it is costing more in both time and effort fixing the d**n thing plus the cost of fixing it. 

 

But..You can always try it... It's your money anyway.  Maybe you'll get lucky and get your money's worth.  It's a hit and miss when dealing with Chinese products anyway.  But mostly miss.

[bigbill]

In America the bigger companies I worked for laid off there quality control / inspection departments. They had the cnc machine operators doing there own inspection on there parts. This has been going on for many years now. Colt firearms is one of them. There quality has been iffy since the '80's because of it. Once you get rid of your quality control department there goes your product down hill. I've seen this in every big well known company here.

Ok I'll order a baitcasting reel for $29. I really don't need it now so I can wait a month.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

All one has to do is look at a simple can opener.so easy to make. They are worthless....they won't even put made in China.they just have China stamped on them.I don't care who you are or what degree you have I'll put my made in USA boots,knives,etc up against your product made in China anyway.with a couple grand to show what is more reliable