"I was Born in The USA"
China manufacturing firms have found a way to make headline news again due to the possibility of toxic toys. Not Again!
Without naming the actual products, all of the negative press got me thinking about my own experiences in dealing with overseas companies. The adage that "you get what you pay for" is the only way I can describe my experience in dealing with companies in China. The headache was simply not worth it in the long run.
During the mid 80's there was a big "Buy American" campaign launched in an attempt to balance out the trade deficit and save American jobs. It was no surprise that the main advocate for Buy American was the Auto Industry as a result of the butt-kicking that was being handed out by Toyota.
Buy American is now back, but only after several public relation disaster's which involved American Manufactures who outsourced the production of their products to China. It's becoming more apparent that the amount of money a corporation saves in the cost of production is very quickly devoured by product recalls. All we really have to do is examine Mattel in order to better understand what not to do when dealing with overseas manufacturers.
Anytime your getting a product produced at a ridiculously low rate then you have to ask yourself why is it so cheap? Are they saving me money at the expense of quality? Or are they saving me money at the expense of impoverished labor. Either way you have you have to ask yourself one or two of these very important questions if you truly care about yo
Sure you might say in response to my previous sentence, why should I care especially since outsourcing is adding to my bottom line? Mattel had truly accomplished it's goal of reducing their cost of manufacturing toys by allowing China to handle 60% of their production. Everything ran smoothly until one day a consumer protection group held a press conference charging Mattel with producing toxic toys. In this example Mattel was able to save money but it was at the expense of consumer safety which eventually cost them consumer trust.
The next defendant I call to the stand is Nike. Another major corporation, Nike also joined the industrial migration to China in order to save on cost. This decision proved to be disastrous for the company's spotless reputation when it was discovered that many of the factories that Nike contracted were accused of exploiting children in sweat shops. Once again we find a major corporation in an attempt to save money entered into a manufacturing agreement that cost them tremendously in the arena of public opinion, and public relations.
What does all of this have to do with birthday party rentals you may ask? There are many inflatables manufacturers in china that have very recently begun to target American markets. Many of these units are lacking the quality craftsmanship of American made inflatables. I am not making the charge that all inflatables manufactured in China are of poor quality, but I have recently encountered units from China that were so poorly constructed that I would be surprised if they even lasted a month. Without seeming overly patriotic I have listed a few reasons why you should invest your start up inventory in American Made Units.
Material - American made units are typically constructed of 18oz material (vinyl), which is not the case with most units made in China. The reason you can purchase a castle for $800 is because the material used to construct foreign castles are hardly ever constructed of 18oz vinyl. The benefit of 18oz material is connect to the durability of the castle, which will aid in you getting a return on your investment.
Shipping Cost - The shipping cost to repair an American Made units is considerably less than the cost to ship that unit back to China. Here is another reason your going to want a unit constructed of 18oz material vs. 12oz, it is very difficult to repair the thinner grades. There will always be normal wear and tear but if you have to ship a unit back to China because a hole has formed on the floor of the unit then it will cost you close to $800 in shipping and lost revenue in order to have it repaired.
Safety Standards - It is very important that you consider safety versus dollars saved. If a castles flips over during a birthday party due to poor engineering and design, you will ultimately be responsible of any injuries. I advise you to invest your start up budgets with American Vendors, because within the borders of America exist product accountability. Please take a minute to study the current Louisiana Chinese Drywall nightmare and you will fully understand the need to have product accountability.
Like I said before there are companies in China and India that produce exceptional work and I am very proud to have a partnership with several of them. At the same time there are also companies that cut corners at your expense, consequently risking the safety of your clients.
One other point I would like to make in keeping this article fair is that many of the American Companies outsource their manufacturing to companies in China while publicly criticizing the China companies. If your interacting with a sales representative and he spends the majority of his time criticizing another company rather than highlighting the benefits of his product then chances are he also benefits from outsourcing.
This article is not design to endorse any American Company, or Foreign Manufacturer, but rather to inform you of the potential cost of investing in foreign produced products with out a domestic representative. Take it from me, someone who has lost money on castles manufactured in China (Inflatable Sunway), the lack of quality of many of these units is not worth the savings. Always remember, you are what you inflate.
Tyronne Jacques - Bouncer Boss
Tyonne Jacques can be reached at the following email address tj@bouncingncash.com Please visit our website athttp://www.bouncingncash.com
