Quality manufacturers

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Dan Hintz

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I'm interested in purchasing wholesale quantities of kits. I've seen a number of threads over the years with kit manufacturer lists, but in the end it always seems to come down to Dayacom. Berea Hardwoods is listed as having their own manufacturer, but that doesn't do me any good. And I want a wider selection than what's offered at PSI, Rockler, and the like. I see a few unique kits at the smaller suppliers (likely some guys here), but I see no indication of where they come from.

Does anyone out there have a grasp on the quality manufacturers (typically Taiwanese, but I'm open to suggestions) other than Dayacom? A $5k-10k order would not be out of line for me, if that gives people a sense of my interest level.
 
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Dan Hintz

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Kryn, that's the problem... too many responses and not enough clarity. Of course, the Asian companies haven't quite clued into the fact that quality pics of their products are a necessity, not cell phone images or a "We sell / make everything, just ask us about it."



John, I want to go straight to the manufacturer, not add another middleman (though I do read Dave's blog from time to time)... unless you were suggesting Dave would share his sources. Worth a try, I suppose, but that's like asking someone the secret to their business... touchy territory.
 

Chasper

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You need at least two more zeros behind your numbers if you expect to get the attention of the agents who would be willing to front your order to the small makers who would do the actual production work. What you need is a buyers' agent who knows his way around the back streets of Taipei/Keelung or the back roads of Guangdong.

I have attempted to do what you are describing, I spent a lot of energy, time and a little money without much to show for the effort. Good luck.
 
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jttheclockman

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Kryn, that's the problem... too many responses and not enough clarity. Of course, the Asian companies haven't quite clued into the fact that quality pics of their products are a necessity, not cell phone images or a "We sell / make everything, just ask us about it."



John, I want to go straight to the manufacturer, not add another middleman (though I do read Dave's blog from time to time)... unless you were suggesting Dave would share his sources. Worth a try, I suppose, but that's like asking someone the secret to their business... touchy territory.



Dave has his pens made specific for him. He told them what he wanted. He speaks their language. That is a huge problem if you want to deal with the Asian people. He can and has told the story how much trouble he went through to get his line of pens made. If you want to deal with Dayacom there is a thread in here that deals with that specific issue and there is a rep that was viewing. You can also talk to the Exoticblanks people. Ed has tried to deal with them.
 

Dan Hintz

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Just so I'm clear, I'm not necessarily looking to have something unique designed, I'm simply looking for a wider selection than I can get at just one company (i.e., Dayacom) but still be able to purchase in bulk. I like a lot of the kits sold by PSI, Rockler, and so on, but if it's not made by Dayacom, I don't know who to contact to purchase in bulk.

If anyone knows of a particular company / companies, I'm all ears. I got a great tip from someone via PM, so if you'd prefer to keep it private, I completely understand.
 

its_virgil

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Xiamen Rizheng Stationery Co.,Ltd--

Just so I'm clear, I'm not necessarily looking to have something unique designed, I'm simply looking for a wider selection than I can get at just one company (i.e., Dayacom) but still be able to purchase in bulk. I like a lot of the kits sold by PSI, Rockler, and so on, but if it's not made by Dayacom, I don't know who to contact to purchase in bulk.

If anyone knows of a particular company / companies, I'm all ears. I got a great tip from someone via PM, so if you'd prefer to keep it private, I completely understand.
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
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Rizheng will do custom work on relatively small orders and their prices are pretty good. They will, and frequently do, copy kits made by other producers sometimes renaming them sometimes not - before anyone gets on their high horse, kits are not usually covered by patents so it is completely legal to make and/or import copies. They will do design work...but if you want a prototype you'd better figure on getting someone to make it for you here - they don't seem to do that.
Xiamen Rizheng Stationery Co.,Ltd--

Just so I'm clear, I'm not necessarily looking to have something unique designed, I'm simply looking for a wider selection than I can get at just one company (i.e., Dayacom) but still be able to purchase in bulk. I like a lot of the kits sold by PSI, Rockler, and so on, but if it's not made by Dayacom, I don't know who to contact to purchase in bulk.

If anyone knows of a particular company / companies, I'm all ears. I got a great tip from someone via PM, so if you'd prefer to keep it private, I completely understand.
 

BradG

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This is just my two cents for you..

Don't design, buy tried and tested. Check out Don/Smittys link above. There's a book i recommend you buy or source.. its called "Poorly made in china" and it will open your eyes to dealing with the far east.

I fly to Hong kong twice a year and design CCTV cameras, and i take two very good translators with me where they proof hear each other to ensure that the smallest detail is not mis understood. the factories will even make YOU design the quality control procedures and if you are not very well versed in QA and QC theres a good probability something will be wrong when you receive your stock. I tend to find it takes three attempts before they put something infront of me which is what i originally wanted, and if you overlook an issue and sign off on the order there is no turning back and its your loss to write off. The last time i was there i had an hour long argument with a CCTV factory, about what IP66 and IP67 means.. my god.... I am a patient man... but this tested me to wits end.

As far as they are concerned, they put IP66 on the boxes of cameras which are indoors only.. and IP67 on boxes of cameras which can go outdoors.
I had to not only educate the factory that the IP numbers actually do mean something and you couldnt just pick a number and put it on the packaging, I had to design a quality control line for their factory so they could submerge the camera's for 12 hours, expose them to jets of water for set time periods, soak test them with voltage, and so on and so forth..

My point is, just because you find a factory which specialise in a product - do not assume that they know what they are doing in any shape or form.

And by the way, when you get all that right and are happ with your product, you will have to go through it all again on your next order you place, as you cannot just say "The same as last time" ... you have to check the samples to make sure it passes your QC.
And lastly.. watch out for your shipping. nearly always what they quote is to transport your items to the docks, not to deliver them to you.

Good luck with your venture
 
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Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
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And Hong Kong is one of the better areas of China for manufacturing because of their history.
This is just my two cents for you..

Don't design, buy tried and tested. Check out Don/Smittys link above. There's a book i recommend you buy or source.. its called "Poorly made in china" and it will open your eyes to dealing with the far east.

I fly to Hong kong twice a year and design CCTV cameras, and i take two very good translators with me where they proof hear each other to ensure that the smallest detail is not mis understood. the factories will even make YOU design the quality control procedures and if you are not very well versed in QA and QC theres a good probability something will be wrong when you receive your stock. I tend to find it takes three attempts before they put something infront of me which is what i originally wanted, and if you overlook an issue and sign off on the order there is no turning back and its your loss to write off. The last time i was there i had an hour long argument with a CCTV factory, about what IP66 and IP67 means.. my god.... I am a patient man... but this tested me to wits end.

As far as they are concerned, they put IP66 on the boxes of cameras which are indoors only.. and IP67 on boxes of cameras which can go outdoors.
I had to not only educate the factory that the IP numbers actually do mean something and you couldnt just pick a number and put it on the packaging, I had to design a quality control line for their factory so they could submerge the camera's for 12 hours, expose them to jets of water for set time periods, soak test them with voltage, and so on and so forth..

My point is, just because you find a factory which specialise in a product - do not assume that they know what they are doing in any shape or form.

And by the way, when you get all that right and are happ with your product, you will have to go through it all again on your next order you place, as you cannot just say "The same as last time" ... you have to check the samples to make sure it passes your QC.
And lastly.. watch out for your shipping. nearly always what they quote is to transport your items to the docks, not to deliver them to you.

Good luck with your venture
 

BradG

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Sorry Smitty, I failed to mention i take the train into Shenzhen mainland china from Hong kong while visiting factories, though i predominantly make their aquaintance at the IT Expo exhibitions in HK, and if they catch my eye I then travel into China to see their factories and work force.
 
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Smitty37

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In my opinion, the kits being produced by Rizheng are of decent quality for the price with relatively good fit and finish. I have sold a lot of them with very few returns and most of the returns I do get are due to operator error
during assembly. They do have basic understanding of quality control procedures. In addition, at your directions they will sometimes include specific parts that are not made on mainland China if they can get them; my click mechanisms are made in Taipai Taiwan.

They are happy with the $5000 or so Orders that you are talking about. Their design services are relatively low cost and work fine if you are making a modification to an existing design. They are not real hard to deal with and their English is better than most, because they deal with a lot of American Companies - the sales rep I deal with has been the same person since I started. I have recently started buying kits without refills for a couple of reasons one of which is to get away from the Toxic Substance Control Act reporting which can hold things up in customs.
 
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