How is this even possible

if anyone actually gets one of these, (or similar < $5 knife), I really would be interested if they actually HT it at all...
I'd expect a large % to be in the high 30's or low 40s... (that is typical for non-HT steel right?)
 
Edgeoflife said:
img_1803-jpg.1091725
Click to expand...

You’re way off base. Pretty sure that knife is from Oregon City.



:p
 
Bad Ninja said:
You are thinking small time.
If your operation is only costing $2 to ship and sell, at $4 you are doubling your investment.
If you sell 100k units per year you are making $200k profit.
USD goes alot farther in China than it does in California.
Click to expand...
Divide that by number of employees because you could not do it alone. Subtract front side and backside margins and you are losing money. Law of diminishing returns applies.
 
007Airman said:
Divide that by number of employees because you could not do it alone. Subtract front side and backside margins and you are losing money. Law of diminishing returns applies.
Click to expand...

You are trying to apply Western free market business models to a Chinese communist society, where the government controls and heavily subsidizes the manufacturing sector.

But I'll play along.
Workers get paid very little, and they crank out thousands of knives a day.
Other models/products made in the same faciloty, may make a little more profit per unit, they spread the cost across the board, add in govt subsidies and it all washes out.
Machines keep running, people stay busy and employed, small profit is made, and govt is happy bringing in those sweet sweet US consumer dollars to Chinese soil.
Businesses, in some cases, don't have a choice to stop production without government permission.

I've been to China and toured a
few manufacturing facilities.
They operate nothing like a US business.

Never buy anything from China that you will need to depend on.
 
Bad Ninja said:
You are trying to apply Western free market business models to a Chinese communist society, where the government controls and heavily subsidizes the manufacturing sector.

But I'll play along.
Workers get paid very little, and they crank out thousands of knives a day.
Other models/products made in the same faciloty, may make a little more profit per unit, they spread the cost across the board, add in govt subsidies and it all washes out.
Machines keep running, people stay busy and employed, small profit is made, and govt is happy bringing in those sweet sweet US consumer dollars to Chinese soil.
Businesses, in some cases, don't have a choice to stop production without government permission.

I've been to China and toured a
few manufacturing facilities.
They operate nothing like a US business.

Never buy anything from China that you will need to depend on.
Click to expand...
The only difference is scale, in a market where penny profit feeds many it works fine but it would work here where dollars feed few. They still have to play by front side and back side margins, those never go away, both pull down your bottom line yet so many ignore them when factoring in profit. Well till the bills come due then they freak out shifting money around hoping they can eat ramen at the end of the quarter.
 
007Airman said:
The only difference is scale, in a market where penny profit feeds many it works fine but it would work here where dollars feed few. They still have to play by front side and back side margins, those never go away, both pull down your bottom line yet so many ignore them when factoring in profit. Well till the bills come due then they freak out shifting money around hoping they can eat ramen at the end of the quarter.
Click to expand...

It's China.
As a lowly factory worker, they eat Ramen every day.
The government controls everything, and subsidizes many failing businesses to keep the workers working.
 
Bad Ninja said:
It's China.
As a lowly factory worker, they eat Ramen every day.
The government controls everything, and subsidizes many failing businesses to keep the workers working.
Click to expand...

So do American college students.

So what? How does that prove your international socioeconomic theory?
 
I was going to reply, but it turned into a book length response...no one needs that.
I’ll just summarize and say, yes it’s possible and yes the supplier making the item is making money, or they wouldn’t do it. (I spent the last 10 years of my career traveling to Asia negotiating with everyone from factory owners, government officials, basically anyone associated from a concept to bringing a product to market).
 
marcinek said:
So do American college students.

So what? How does that prove your international socioeconomic theory?
Click to expand...


It's not a theory, and I'm not here to prove anything.
I've done business with Chinese manufacturers many times over the years, and visited several facilities personally.
You believe what you want.
I speak from experience.
 
Danno44 said:
I was going to reply, but it turned into a book length response...no one needs that.
I’ll just summarize and say, yes it’s possible and yes the supplier making the item is making money, or they wouldn’t do it. (I spent the last 10 years of my career traveling to Asia negotiating with everyone from factory owners, government officials, basically anyone associated from a concept to bringing a product to market).
Click to expand...

Of course they are making a profit, but it's not always because they have a viable product or stable business plan.
Lots of factors apply in China that don't exist in the western business model.
That's how they can sell and ship knives halfway across the planet for $4.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top