I guess some people here live in github but I really don't recommend it for publishing text documents this way.<p>Sure I can read it by scrolling back and forth or downloading it and opening it in something that will format it nicely and perhaps I missed the "make readable" button. But serious it is 2012, there are dozens of ways to publish things on the web that format them automatically for the browser to people can "just read" them.<p></rant>
This should be a cautionary tale about contracting out manufacturing (which in today's world, nearly means "trying to make anything physical"). Nothing is particular to China, although time differences and language barriers surely didn't help the matter. I say that having dealt with trying manufacturers myself.<p>When it comes to contracting out work, the first time is always going to suck. This whole industry has figured exactly who needs to provide what, and what every word they use means, and you'll always miss something. Ideally, you have somebody who's done it before coaching you through the process (well worth hiring a consultant do that and save you some stress).<p>Less ideally, ask the people you are interfacing with a lot of questions. Clarifications about what a word means. Or how they count days. Every step of the way, ask them "what do you need from me? how can I speed this up and make it easier for you? what's the next step and when does it happen? did we miss anything?" Ask if they can send you example of the documents that they need, so that you know the format and type of content they want.<p>Yes, it's a lot of leg work. It's worth it when the manufacturing goes right, though. And it gets easier every time.
I had a (shockingly) similar experience with Chinese manufacturers five years ago. My experience cost me a company, my shirt, and a whole lot of lost sleep. Consequently, I too decided that I will never, ever do business with another factory in China. Not sure that is fair (as manufacturing problems happen everywhere), but it is what it is...<p>Frankly, my story is useless - it is one entrepreneur's story of woe in a sea full of them. However, when you take stories like mine, Pen Type-A's, and the legions of others that have had problems in China, something more macro starts to emerge.<p>I'm beginning to detect a strong country of origin bias against China - many people are refusing to contract work out to that country. If this trend strengthens, it will affect demand for Chinese manufacturing. As demand drops, the Chinese economy will be starved of the western currency that has fueled its unbelievable growth.<p>I'm not crying wolf, rather I'm just seeing some ugly clouds growing over the horizon...granted, getting screwed by a Chinese factory is nothing new, but....??
Sadly these guys wrote an identical blog post a year ago about how their previous manufacturer was unprofessional. The new one was supposed to be top notch, since they met him in person and toured the factory before signing.<p><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-minimal-pen/posts/122492" rel="nofollow">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-mini...</a>
The other risk I've seen in Chinese manufacturing is duplication of your design. Some vendors will manufacture a larger run and then place the float on the black market. This is particularly true for smaller orders.<p>I know of at least one niche electronics manufacturer - they have the parts made in China, but they load the firmware back in Australia. They've gone to great lengths to make the device useless without the firmware. It's a bit of a pain shipping-wise, but gives them some security.
For those wondering what they're talking about, it's this:<p><a href="http://shop.cwandt.com/" rel="nofollow">http://shop.cwandt.com/</a><p>And the Kickstarter is here:<p><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-minimal-pen" rel="nofollow">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-mini...</a>
Outsourcing works when you want to exploit economies of scale. This project appears to be an attempt to create a high cost novelty product at a very small scale. They probably would have been better off hiring the services of a local machine shop, cranking out a few dozen gross of these things, and marketing them carefully. Even better if they set-up shop and did themselves-- if we're only talking about a few thousand units.
Waiting for a bad experience with an American company so that they can swear off all United States based manufacturing and move everything to friendly Mexico.
What you describe is a quite normal business relationship with a Chinese company.<p>There is always the "unreasonable counter offer" once they know there is almost no way back for you. There is always yelling (but not insulting!), that's a normal part of the negotiation process.<p>It sounds to me like your "manufacturer" is already the distrubutor of whatever-pen-you-invented in Asia. Its not uncommon that they produce for their client and then produce another batch for themselves and sell it in China. Kinda like Zuckerberg did when he made Facebook while "working for" some other dudes. Standard practise in China.<p>Anyway, producing something inovative in China usually means having somebody there to check up in person and each step of the way. And spell out the contract very precisely down to the last screw. Never expect "reasonableness", it is always seen as an opportunity to make a few extra bucks. And a mainland Chinese company boss will discuss for a whole day to gain 10 Kuai extra.<p>Ymmv, that's only my personal experience after some years in China.
Hmm. Sounds like something straight out of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poorly-Made-China-Insiders-Production/dp/0470405589" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Poorly-Made-China-Insiders-Production/...</a>.
No. No. No.<p>Pen Type-A is a cautionary tale of overestimating your abilities, and of why Kickstarter is unlikely to have any sort of transformative impact.<p>Having read through the "updates" section of their Kickstarter page, it is clear to me that nobody on the team knows anything about manufacturing, least of all Chinese manufacturing. I am completely unsurprised by the fact that two amateurs end up making lots of amateurish mistakes.<p>This situation is no different from what happens when a non-technical manager tries to outsource a software development project. He doesn't know enough to spot good working practices or recognise when he's being fobbed off. He doesn't understand the myriad technical issues that could completely derail a project. He's a child in the big bad world, unaware of how little he knows, or how costly his naivety could be.
Good,<p>But this works fine only as long as some guy makes the same pens and starts selling for prices way lesser than you do.<p>This is the reason why China exists. Because there is 'Some guy' who always sells things for prices lesser than somebody else. And not manufacturing in China isn't an option for companies like Apple, Dell etc. For their volume, the cost advantage is simply too huge.
<p><pre><code> People dream up a product
Other people give them money
First people gives money to China and hope product materializes
</code></pre>
Heck, even software, being done by yourself, is not that simple<p>Also, this is only a sob history. Nobody will learn anything from it. How did they find factories in China? How did they find one in the us?