Is the China Products Quality Really That Bad? Maybe Not
Western retail consumers have such a popular view that China products quality is bad, and there is no particularly high quality at all.
Everything from textiles to household appliances made in the United States and Western Europe was very expensive because there were no low prices at the time.
In addition, products made in China are produced under Western brands, and these companies have made it clear what they want from the factory and what quality they want. If they want apples, they get apples. If they want Wal-Mart bad goods, you will get bad goods. Chinese factories are very good at delivering orders, accurate to how long the product can last before it fails. Coincidentally, until recently, all products ordered from Chinese factories were low-end products.
In fact, many people think that the garbage made in China is not actually made in China. High-end goods that are labelled as not made in China are actually made in China. If the media does not continue to promote it, its reputation seems to have come to an end.
But, Made in China ≠ Low Costs + Low Quality
Let’s take a look at why this misunderstanding about the quality of Chinese products is incorrect, and as an importer, how can you reap the rewards of Chinese products.
Table of Contents
Made In China Information Cocoon
Let’s take look at this picture. Many “Made in China” products and services are under the yellow circle and blue circle because people want this. This is the original configuration of China’s manufacturing industry. These products are of inferior quality because this is what importers expect. But now, more people choose red，blue, and yellow. This is why people think China products quality is bad.
Several high-profile news reports a few years ago have earned China a reputation as a “manufacturing centre for low-end and cheap products.”
Read a lot of negative articles, leading to negative attention and opinions. The media may provide some experience for those who have not personally or directly experienced importing from China because they mainly get information from the media.
But the scenes portrayed by the media do not always reflect the overall reality of China’s manufacturing capabilities. This is not in line with the experience of many successful importers who continue to source products from China.
What I want to say is that we need to compare the prices of “Made in China” products with the prices of “Made in Italy” or “Made in USA” products. If you do not keep the price constant, then this is an unfair comparison. A simple example is that no one complains about the manufacturing quality of Apple products.
No matter what you have heard in the past, don’t listen to rumours and negative news. Use the tools you have to find people with excellent track records in this industry: Do your own research.
Status of Made in China
As an economy centred on manufacturing, China has come a long way from a low-key start. If history has any instructions, this country is likely to become more competitive along the current path.
Although mass-produced products in China may still have had quality problems a few years ago, many factories in China now produce products that meet Western quality standards and sometimes even exceed them.
Contrary to popular belief, Chinese manufacturers increasingly focus on producing valuable products, developing world-renowned brands and using cutting-edge technology.
Although not every Chinese factory is like this, China’s manufacturing industry as a whole has indeed made progress in recent decades.
With currency appreciation, fierce competition, tax reforms and the end of value-added tax refunds, many Chinese manufacturers are operating at a loss. Chinese manufacturers can’t continue this bottom-line competition and continue to survive. At some point, they will need to switch to higher-margin, higher-quality products.
This transformation has already taken place in the entire market, and we have also seen the transformation of individual Chinese companies.
We have seen this in the QC industry because more and more buyers, independent of their China suppliers, require third-party inspection services. These independent value supervision, which reveals how to improve quality to meet customer expectations better.
Those of us outside the industry can see this growing emphasis on quality in other ways.
Some manufacturers in traditional labour-intensive industries, such as the clothing manufacturing industry, have adopted lean production methods.
These companies and their advanced manufacturing technologies represent an increasing desire for more than simple and inexpensive products across China.
China’s manufacturing industry has matured significantly. Over time, factories have improved their craftsmanship, quality control and worker training. In fact, some Chinese consumer brands have gained global recognition: Huawei, Xiaomi, Haier, Lenovo, DJI, Encore and Shien.
Made in Low-Cost China Products Quality Demand
First of all, you have to understand that, whether you like it or not, different countries have a demand for low-quality products, even in developed Western countries.
Many importers realize that they can get more sales by selling their products at lower prices. To do this, they very consciously chose low-quality China products to sacrifice quality.
When you produce a product to be sold on the market, you must consider the trade-off between price and quality. Sometimes, producing better quality products may result in higher production costs.
Price and quality, you get what you pay for!
Buyers’ demand for low prices leads to poor product quality. Most importers want the highest product quality while at the same time requiring suppliers to provide the lowest possible prices.
As prices fall, the quality of finished products will also fall. When you ask to lower product prices, this pressure will often force your suppliers to cut costs with lower profit margins, resulting in lower product quality.
It costs money to maintain factory infrastructures such as raw materials, labour, electricity, and machinery. Therefore, the manufacturer will have a lower price limit, the lowest cost required to produce the product without affecting the quality.
Sometimes big buyers will try to lower the supplier’s price further, and the supplier may give in, possibly because of the size of the order.
But keep in mind that unnatural price drops will always have an impact elsewhere—may be the use of cheaper (and lower quality) raw materials, less-skilled factory workers, or poor working conditions. All of these have an impact on quality. In the long run, this may affect your product and your reputation.
Importers usually look for the cheapest suppliers, so those suppliers who offer low prices and cut corners on quality are the winners. Honest suppliers who prefer to quote higher prices and provide better quality products lose out. Quality is directly proportional to manufacturing cost, and this is a deliberate and secret habit of expanding profit margins by reducing material quality.
Unclear product requirements may put you in trouble as an importer.
There are many factories in China that can and will produce products exactly according to your specifications. This is what they have to do. The problem arises when you don’t take the time to specify every detail of the project properly.
Like most of us, they are completing a task without a clear direction will usually lead to different results. Similarly, importers who do not fully clarify product requirements often receive goods that do not meet their expectations.
Never assume that your Chinese supplier understands your product needs. The most important thing is that you must clearly communicate and provide all product specifications early in the process, even if you think it doesn’t matter. Include all the details, such as materials, approved components, size, colour, finish, logo artwork and anything else.
The more information you provide (and keep records), the better your results and the higher your overall satisfaction with the production process.
If not, you will often receive products made with the wrong parts or materials or have quality defects or other unqualified results.
You might think that the factory will ask for additional information that is unclear, but this is not always the case. In fact, in most cases, if you don’t specify it explicitly, they won’t ask.
If you don’t specify the quality or production standards you want, it won’t happen miraculously.
If you insist on using low-cost, low-standard materials, you will get such materials. It’s that simple. This is the root of China’s bad reputation for substandard quality. The problem may not lie in the factory’s inability to produce high-quality products but in the poor implementation of product specifications.
Without detailed product specifications, you give suppliers the freedom to switch from one production process to another or modify their production processes as they see fit.
Other steps that can help you clarify your requirements are:
• Communicate with the factory’s QC staff or production managers instead of relying on the sales staff of trading companies or suppliers to convey your requirements.
• Based on the input of suppliers and QC personnel, develop a QC checklist to ensure that everyone understands your requirements. A QC list can not only serve as a guide for your suppliers to produce your products. This is also the standard for factory inspectors to inspect your products.
• Encourage your suppliers to ask questions when they do not understand your needs. Otherwise, cultural differences may make your supplier reluctant to ask for clarification when needed.
How to Ensure Product Quality Made in China?
As with any great plan, the initial preparation phase is the most important. It would help if you built a solid foundation so that your process can run smoothly like a clock.
You will often find that hundreds of factories can produce your products, and they will make almost every effort to win your business. But, a good supplier will produce high-quality products and deliver your orders on time. Successful companies spend a lot of time and energy finding and reviewing suppliers to meet their quality standards.
Chinese manufacturers can produce your products according to different quality standards. Essentially, it depends on your requirements and willingness to spend more on better materials and quality control.
You should also realize that although you can produce products in China at a much lower cost than in the West, you can still get good quality. Trying to reduce the cost too high will be counterproductive.
Therefore, it is better to have reasonable expectations rather than consider price as the only factor in purchasing from China. Producing high-quality products in China requires working with the right suppliers based on mutual respect rather than putting pressure on prices.
Another thing to consider is that when dealing with Chinese factories, you must accurately convey what you want from them, which is very important. There are a series of suppliers with different capabilities in China. To obtain good quality, importers should provide clear specifications to get the accurate output they want.
To ensure that the specifications are correct, it is very important to specify and be as clear as possible. Take your time and avoid any accidents or misunderstandings.
Before starting production, be sure to ask for samples from your manufacturer to ensure quality and specifications.
China Products Quality: The Choice is Yours
Chinese factories sometimes produce cheap and inferior products. But many companies do have the ability to produce high-tech and high-quality products. Many importers continue to successfully source products from China, even though manufacturing wages there continue to climb.
If you consider working with a supplier in China, consider how your asking price might affect quality. If you want a very low price and relatively low order quantity, you may be disappointed with poor quality products.
From the beginning to placing an order, be clear about your expectations. Work with your supplier and QC team to develop a detailed list of your products without leaving any unanswered questions.
Every day, there are high-quality products made in China. You just need to be willing to pay for them. I hope you now understand why these rumours are unfounded and what you should pay attention to when import from China.
China is a big country with manufacturers. Things made in China are absolutely rubbish, and they are also extremely good things.
You can’t generalize based on “Made in China”. It depends on what you are, who else, how much you paid, and how capable you are…
Regarding the quality of Chinese products, the unique thing I want to say is that it is different from other countries…In China, it varies because China is big.
One last point (only my personal opinion), many Western buyers and companies were attracted to China by China’s relatively low labour costs years ago and increased profits by purchasing very low-cost materials from China significantly. They are blindly willing to accept lower China products quality than American factories. In this incident, Western capitalism’s greed for profit promoted the acceptance of low quality in the Western market.
We are all human beings with similar abilities to learn, make mistakes, and even fail throughout the world. No country or race is better or worse than anyone else. We are all driven by our own motives, no matter what the motives are.
