The objects were order of magnitude simpler than in the post (no electronics and no plastic, only metal) so maybe that doesn't compare, but I never had any bad surprise from any supplier, including packaging (which can be quite complex and involve several providers), etc.
Everyone will gladly send you samples (for free!) and prototypes of what you imagine (usually at cost) and if you're explicit about what you want and validate each step before the next, everything goes well.
Eventually I moved on to other things for mostly bureaucratic reasons; selling objects in Europe is an administrative nightmare that's simply not worth the hassle.
But the manufacturing part was not just smooth -- it was the best part of the experience.
(And I never left my town and never even talked to anyone over the phone: the primary means of communication was email.)
Edit: why would anyone downvote this, and so fast? If anyone thinks I'm being insincere, I have proof! ;-)
HN loves downvoting. It's Nerd Reddit. Don't sweat it.
At some point given the cost of transport by air or by sea I tried train+truck. The shipment ended up stopped in Mongolia for about 3 weeks. The factory in China, which didn't have anything to do with the shipping company (except that they selected it; but it was a completely different entity) went out of their way to find out where the goods were and what was happening, and eventually made sure they were delivered to my door.
> HN loves downvoting. It's Nerd Reddit. Don't sweat it.
Yeah I know, I've been here a long time. But it was instantaneous and that surprised me.