Easton made in China

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Nah, man...send him Jell-O, cuz you know, there's always room.

[Vic 0]

I grabbed the butt end and plug from a hemsky stick at an Oilers practice/scrimmage this week.

Apparenlt his stick was also made in Mexico.

It's a Easton Stealth.

And he cuts off the whole plug (looked to be about 3 inches) and about 3/4 of an inch of the shaft.

[Oggie Grip 0]

Nah, man...send him Jell-O, cuz you know, there's always room.

I prefer pudding...Jello pudding.

[DarkStar50 679]

Stupid ? time for those in the know: Why and how is it so cheap to ship from China when a 5 lb package shipped by UPS from NYC to Denver is about $15?! I know the comparison isn't accurate but I'm still surprised that the shipping costs from China are so low yet the distance point-to-point is pretty large. How big are those ships?!

[kredmore 2]

bulk shipping and ironically, cheaper labor than the US!

[DamnLocust 0]

not to mention, you can go with other private shippers who will undercut UPS for the business.

[Oggie Grip 0]

Nah, man...send him Jell-O, cuz you know, there's always room.

I prefer pudding...Jello pudding.

Well...two choices...

I can send you my own version of pudding ;)

OR

I can send you this.

Thanks. You should be able to afford the "Grande" version of pudding from all the money you're saving from your China imports....

No but seriously. How much money is really being saved over the short term. There are a lot of significant costs that need to be factored in. Easton makes a great product. They must have solid QC and manufacturing procedures that have to be "taught" to their Chinese counterparts.

There are huge engineering and logistical costs associated with moving existing tooling for products from the US (or Mexico) to China. Airline travel, hotel costs, training, high level engineering and management travel all to add. I'm sure I'm missing a lot more.

Is there a period before Easton sees a return on it's investment after moving product over there? Or is it instantaneous.

Just curious if anyone has any experience with this.

[Jason Harris 31]

It's an interesting dilemma using China as our manufacturing base -- on many levels.

I read about 18 months ago that shoe workers in a particular region averaged thirty-nine cents per hour! Yet, for all we know, they might be the middle class of their communities. Then there's no doubt that China violates human rights when it comes to dissenters. On the other hand, some have suggested the best way to prod them to give up their totalitarian regime is by having them embrace capitalism.

Is the quality good? At some factories it's outstanding. However, they have a reputation for not protecting intellectual property rights, or even flat out stealing ideas. At the Super Show, I saw vendors chase the Chinese (they had their own booth -- "China") out of the booth because they would flip around the badge that would identify them as an exhibitor. The assumption is they will take the idea, create the product and sell it themselves, taking out what they perceive to be the middle man.

Apparently, all their economic growth is putting a strain on building supplies worldwide. And there seems little doubt that every year we edge closer to a service society. However, some predict that China may be growing too quickly for it's own good; the assumption is costs of products will increase as their wages increase, sending the industrial world scurrying to India, Pakistan, Viet Nam and others for their production.

I guess the whole point of my post is it's all very gray this relationship we have with China.

PS When I received my first shipment of sticks about two years ago, I calculated my shipping at about $1.50 per stick. Oil costs have risen dramatically since then, but I don't think I received the best rates possible, so I think SRI is spot on with no more than $3 a stick. Probably well under $2 with Easton-like quantity.