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Thread: Contract Manufacturing (Shoes) in China, how?

  1. #11
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    If you wish to speak to a sneaker manufacturer, the first thing you must do is to get them to sign a non disclosure agreement. Be very adamant about this, as this does offer you some protection.Also ensure that the person signing the document, has the authority to do so, else you have nothing.

    The other route is off course to file a provisional patent, but then you have 1 year in which to lodge your final patent, or PCT patent. This protects you in the manner that once you have the provisional patent, no one can lodge a patent with your idea, ever, even if you allow the provisional patent to lapse.

    I suggest you talk to either Adams & Adams or Spoor and Fischer. The first meeting is no charge anyway, but will give you a far better understanding what to do next. A provisional will set you back between R4 and R20K depending on the complexity.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

  2. #12
    Email problem vieome's Avatar
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    Risky
    I have done business with the chinese on manufacturing (water dispensers). I found a chinese company on the internet sent them an email, they sent me design examples, I paid a deposit, with in 2 months the goods arrrived all in good order. It was a great risk as I had never met the people at the company the whole ordering and paying was done online, and communication was done via email (never spoke to anyone). But the cost was cheap and we were willing to take a risk. Friends at the time told me, that normally a first order you recieve and then on the second order they take your money and run, but I did two orders and had no problem. I am sure they used some kind of program translator for the emails, but it worked out fine.


    On your thinking of showing in confidence a huge corp your idea, from what I know they will simply rip off your idea and alter it slightly and produce the product without you. Dont forget the student who designed the nike logo was paid something like 50 bucks.

  3. #13
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vieome View Post
    Dont forget the student who designed the nike logo was paid something like 50 bucks.
    And how much was and has been spent to promote it?

    We tend to forget the cost of marketing.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

  4. #14
    Email problem vieome's Avatar
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    A professional designer might have charged nike a few thousands to design the logo, but the corp set up a high school competition and gave the winner 50 bucks. So never mind the marketing, this expense is cost of production.

  5. #15
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vieome View Post
    A professional designer might have charged nike a few thousands to design the logo, but the corp set up a high school competition and gave the winner 50 bucks. So never mind the marketing, this expense is cost of production.
    So that is called clever marketing.
    If the student has marketing skills, he can use the acceptance of his design by Nikki as a self promotion on his CV.
    There is a lesson for us in there.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

  6. #16
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    I just want to mention that there are more and more people who will not buy any form of clothes made in China. I believe Woolworths clothing took a big dip once that was all they stocked. All the clothing chain stores are trying to regain the market share they lost by including some ranges made in South Africa.

    I will go out of my way to avoid buying any item made in China. I used to love Green Cross, but once they moved there manufacturing to China, the shoes quality went way down and the last pair I bought for my son were uneven sizes. I recently relented and bough a handbag and it was broken within 2 months. I didn't get it cheap either. I know that all my friends feel the same way and we will all go out of our way to avoid Chinese-made clothes.

    South African manufactured goods are of much better quality than the imports. Plus you support the South African industry which means more jobs and less crime. And yes, I know the darn unions are trying hard to destroy jobs with their incessant striking and demands, but I still believe you cannot go wrong by finding a South African manufacturer.
    Sometimes the only transport available is a leap of faith

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    Blurock (02-Jul-12)

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    I also hate this Chinese mentality of trying to make any damn thing so damn cheap, that the product is a nuisance to you to use. You spend your valuable time fixing up the sh!t quality to make the job work, which costs you dearly in time lost, and if you are paid by the hour, you know what I mean.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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    I agree. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry the other day. One of our main hospitals have lifts that have been out of order for a long time. During an interview the hospital representative said that they have been waiting for imported parts from China and that there has been a long delay. Then he added "You cannot find the parts in South Africa anymore". Yes sir, the reason for that is that you didn't support the South African industry and went for cheap imports. Look where that got you: a hospital where patients have to be carried up and down the stairs.

    Unless we stop covering our eyes and stop trying to save a few pennies, that is a good
    indication of what our future looks like.
    Sometimes the only transport available is a leap of faith

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Fools soon learn that buying cheap is not always so cheap! If you buy something at a 30% discount and it does not work, you end up replacing it with the real thing at a total cost of 170%.

    In Afrikaans they have a saying; "Goedkoop koop is duur koop."
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    The flip side of this conversation is China can produce a quality product. If you ask for a price to produce a widget, the normal response is "how much do you want to pay?"

    It's not just a negotiation technique - they understand the relationship between quality and priceas well as anyone else. The question really is - do you want cheap junk or are you prepared to pay for a quality product?

    Who's really at fault here when it's junk - the Chinese manufacturer or the cheapskate who's doing the buying?

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