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[return to "Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product"]
1. tokyob+WO8[view] [source] 2026-02-04 07:52:06
>>sberen+(OP)
For all the complaining about tariffs and all the woes of manufacturing in China, much of this could have been avoided by manufacturing in the US. Or even Canada or Mexico. There is literally nothing here that requires Chinese supply chain magic, it's just penny shaving. This isn't Apple where you need 80 million bespoke screws manufactured for your device overnight, which can only be done by slave labor supply chain in any reasonable time and quantity. This is really basic mechanical and electrical engineering and could be built anywhere.

Cost is not an issue because anyone willing to pay $1200 for a god damn floor lamp would surely pay $1500 (and have the satisfaction of keeping your fellow neighbors employed).

Anyone that has ever manufactured anything in China—or India for that matter—knows unless you spec every little detail and dimension and tolerance it WILL be ignored and violated.

Whereas in the US & Canada there is a different level of workmanship and culture where you might get a phone call instead of a box of weldments bent 30° in the wrong direction because the drawing didn't say it couldn't. And you probably could have visited the factories a half dozen times before starting production (did you really not plan on building prototypes?)

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2. mrheos+TQ8[view] [source] 2026-02-04 08:06:02
>>tokyob+WO8
>anyone willing to pay $1200 for a god damn floor lamp would surely pay $1500

Not 100% true. With $1200 it has wider market reach than $1500. There are still people spend $1500 for a floor lamp, but 100% it will be fewer if it was priced at $1200.

Also pricing it too high means higher chance a clone will exist, because they can copy literally 1:1 and price it a little lower.

Another thing in China is they move fast. As long as you have enough money, the time to market is insanely short.

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3. tokyob+tR8[view] [source] 2026-02-04 08:10:18
>>mrheos+TQ8
Maybe the sarcasm was lost in translation but a $1200 lamp is out of reach (or out of the question) for most people. A Juicero of lamps. I feel sorry for the guy because in a way you're right, clones of this will be going for $60 on AliExpress, probably built in the same factory with the same tooling.
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