upepo
Elder Lister
The answer to this question is a no-brainer, almost. But, wait a minute. If Chinese products are low-quality, how does one explain their continuous growth in popularity in markets around the world, including Western markets, where consumers are quick to weed out low quality products? Again, how come the poor-quality Chinese products have managed to uplift the living standards of a billion Chinese?
The best fitting answer to the above question would be; Chinese products are appropriate-quality for their prices. For most consumers, the quality issue arises because they pay multiple times what a product should cost. This situation arises when supply chains jerk-up the prices by a huge margin, making the prices of low-quality items appear in the same range as their premium counterparts. If a cheap Chinese phone battery costing, say 300 shillings, quits on me after a few months of use, I may not see that as a loss. Most likely, I would reason that it has served its purpose. However, the same would not be the case if I bought the same battery for 600 shillings in a market where the best battery goes for 1000 shillings.
In summary, the quality issue regarding Chinese products arises only when the supply chains inflate the prices excessively, placing the products in the wrong price-quality category.
The figure below summarizes the value of the ‘deal’ for low-quality products. A low-quality product bought for a low price is a fair deal. The same product bought at a high price is a scam.
The best fitting answer to the above question would be; Chinese products are appropriate-quality for their prices. For most consumers, the quality issue arises because they pay multiple times what a product should cost. This situation arises when supply chains jerk-up the prices by a huge margin, making the prices of low-quality items appear in the same range as their premium counterparts. If a cheap Chinese phone battery costing, say 300 shillings, quits on me after a few months of use, I may not see that as a loss. Most likely, I would reason that it has served its purpose. However, the same would not be the case if I bought the same battery for 600 shillings in a market where the best battery goes for 1000 shillings.
In summary, the quality issue regarding Chinese products arises only when the supply chains inflate the prices excessively, placing the products in the wrong price-quality category.
The figure below summarizes the value of the ‘deal’ for low-quality products. A low-quality product bought for a low price is a fair deal. The same product bought at a high price is a scam.
