Buying from China


What do you think the impact will be in buying gear from China in the near future. Will the parts supply chain be depleted. Will part s other then those specify be substituted.? Will wait times for electrics will be extended. I can get pretty paranoid about it. Interested in the options of those with better insights. Should I wait awhile until things settle down befor I place my next order? I imagine things are going to be tough for the small hi end audio manufacturer.
mordicai
Personally I would not be concerned about manufacturing capacity or supply chain issues in China until I go to a Wal Mart and see a lot of empty shelves. The mass market for clothing or televisions or toys will reveal evidence of Chinese problems far in advance of any niche market such as "high end" Chinese audio gear. Relax.
Don’t know what the CCP stands for. Don’t know what melody is.  I am trying to relax, but have placed an order for expensive gear for delivery months from now, and am thinking it’s not a smart time to be doing this.
You can place an order with any company and get stiffed, whether they are overseas or not.  Just try to keep in touch with the seller and hope for the best.  I hear no stories about people placing orders for Chinese audio and then not getting it, if that helps at all.  But if it really bothers you, perhaps you would be better off cancelling the order and buying something from a local retailer or Music Direct?
My understanding is that the Chinese biologic weapons laboratory has figured out how to implant corona virus in speaker cones. 
Don't be sick. Buy American.  
CCP =  Chinese Communist Party
Melody is a Chinese made amplifier that millercarbon owns and was pointed out by chrshanl37 .
Another option is to buy the Chinese stuff after it's already here in some importers stock. Look on Amazon and you can find something that does not have to be shipped from China. Besides, there's a cruise ship now that's been quarantined and has to stay at sea for who knows how long due to the coronavirus. That could be your Chinese gear stuck on there and it might have to be burned. Buy some of it that's already here. ok
it's always harder if something goes wrong when it's an overseas purchase from any country...
I just received a package Wednesday from Shanghai, China which was ordered on December 28.  I was a little nervous even touching it but life is full of risks. 
You can buy anything from anywhere and end up with the company going bust with no spare parts in the end. As others have said, either cancel your order and buy McIntosh (they seem to be keeping up, still), or relax and wait for what you ordered. It is just a piece of electronics you have lived without for years already.
Politics and Cornoavirus aside. I would caution anyone from buying expensive gear (expensive as defined by your risk tolerance) directly from China with companies that have no US or Canadian distributors for the following reasons: If you have any problem the communication with China will be suboptimal. If you have to return something it will cost a fortune to send a decent sized and weighted box back to China. Also when you buy from China there will be the issue of import duties. Lastly, if you have an issue with the company and can’t get resolution with them, my next piece of advice is to always use an American Express card in buying directly from China. This is because in my experience Amex is far more cardholder-centric than other companies when entering a dispute. Now if you are buying some Chifi IEMs or IEM cables that don’t cost very much and from a reputable company like Linsoul, then you can be a little less cautious. Good luck. 
If i can help it i wont buy anything i require having quality from china . Anytime i order something and its supposed to be from here , receive it and find out its from there , instant remorse.
There are plenty of US electronics companies building nice stereo equipment here.  ATI builds for many other companies.  Atmasphere, Digital Amplifier Company. and a host of others.  In the 50's Japanese products were considered a cheap clumsy electronic joke, by 1965 it was no longer true.  Companies build in China to meet a price point.  I do buy devices from China, preferable Hong Kong for political reasons, and having walked those streets during my time in the US Navy.  I did buy 2 Crown made in CCP amps recently as a short term fix.  Priced at 200 per amp with 200wpc 8 ohms was the reason and only for surround speakers.  I like Magnepan's current adverts, "Sold in China    Made in USA.  US and Euro products tend to be more expensive.  My father taught me to vote with my wallet.
I just ordered a pair of rectifier tubes and received them with no issue.
It took 30 days but it was not a big deal.
I purchaseda  cayin cd17 mark 1 player wayyyy back in 2004,,,Built to last , not 1 issue in 20 yrs,,sure has not seen much play past 10, still in nearly 15 yrs, performs perfect. 
Built likea  tank and sounds  incredible with 4 6922's. I'd put this Cayin up to Jadis's $20K CD player.
and walk with the Cayin,. cayin has a new Mark 2, nearly same design, but addeda   rectifier tube.
It come out the shop next week with all new M caps, 
Bottom line, there are at least 3 top line chinese labs which perform flawless and all 3 are built with the highest standards,,,well actually i only know Cayin, but the other 2 appear to be built on same quality standards.
China has some incredible engineers and have developed incredible sounding gear at wayyy less than 1/2 the price of Jadis.
No lab can compete with china right now, with the top china labs battling it amongst each other  out to stay alive in this dwindling stereo market share. 
There is a  California dealer who imports Prima Luna, which is made in the Sparks Lab/Cayin. Read the reviews for yourself. 
I plan to purchase the Cayin SC6 Mark2 preamp later this year,,,with no hesitation nor fears. 
Post Note"
China can not , nor ever will develope a  speaker system that can  come close to Demark, Last note, china can not make a  great sounding pre amp tube. 
vs NOS.

The OP was not commenting on Chinese quality, rather possible supply disruptions.
The manufacturer I'm presently interested in is waiting for casework from China.  It is about a month behind.
So far. That's all I know by on the subject.
Ya i feel this is no accident. The other rumor i heard its from eating bats ...
anyways i ordered some cable ends hope nobody coughed in the padded envelope from there. 
Quality control (or lack of) issues are so endemic to Chinese manufacturing you need to think twice, or three or four times before buying anything from there. Why risk large sums of your money on that track record at any time, present or future, regardless of Coronavirus?

Mike
Post removed 
mordicai

I am guessing this it is not about personal equipment purchases.

would you please clarify for me and others:

are you a manufacturer, talking about needed ’parts’ orders?

are you a re-seller of completed products?

Are you concerned about delays in receiving parts or products?

In any case, when you order, isn’t the price held?

Will President Trump’s promotion of ’made in america’ influence/reduce purchase of Chinese (other foreign) products?


"Quality control (or lack of) issues are so endemic to Chinese manufacturing you need to think twice, or three or four times before buying anything from there."
It surely seems that way, but I also have a feeling that quality control is good once you buy (relatively) more expensive items. Maybe it is that way everywhere. Sort of, you get what you pay for.

I have an NAD amplifier from about twenty years ago and the box says "Made in China to NAD specifications". No quality issues with that one, Works just fine. At the same time, I have had some plastic toys that fell apart while being unpacked.

It would be interesting to know which parts is OP concerned about. Many people modify their equipment by switching parts evven before they break. Many of the electronic parts may be readily available without ordering from China at the specific moment.
"Why can’t just use a good virus checker on your iPhone?"
Because then we have to buy an iPhone. And that one is, I think, made in China.
His facebook page is surely all about money extracting.

Website is all about instilling fear and asking for money.

None of them should have anything to do with an audio website thread about possible disruption of supply of electronic items from China.
glupson
"Why can’t just use a good virus checker on your iPhone?"
Because then we have to buy an iPhone. And that one is, I think, made in China.

>>>>I knew one of you little fishies out there would take the bait.  CHOMP!  🐠
Post removed 
James Lyons-Weiler’s speculations and fear mongering just go to show how even a scientist can fall under the spell of antivaccine pseudoscience (or any other conspiracy theory-driven pseudoscience). My guess is that the Lyons-Weiler who once ran a genomics core would have recognized that the “science” that the antivaccine Lyons-Weiler of today is laying down is nothing more than wild speculation that’s based on only the thinnest of scientific gruel and highly unlikely to be true. More’s the pity. Even worse, because he has a background in molecular biology, his conspiracy theory will sound plausible to most lay people.

I guess some never met a good conspiracy theory they didn't like. More idiocracy from anti- vaxxers. 
Humm, science research? 

Using the term “scientist” to describe someone who hasn’t done real science, especially with respect to vaccines, seems strange. I want to see the first authorship on a body of papers where clinical trials, epidemiological studies, or basic scientific research are described and analyzed that focuses on vaccines. The anti-vaccine world might want to tout James Lyons-Weiler as a scientist, but he doesn’t do basic scientific research, so that is a title that is probably undeserved.
If you buy electronics from China, whatever you do, don't pop the bubbles in the bubble wrap.

It contains Chinese air.

Frank
"James Lyons-Weiler’s speculations and fear mongering just go to show how even a scientist can ..."
...become a confidence artist and ask for monetary donations.

For whatever reason, audiogon has lately become infested with strangely rabid support for con artistry.

IPAK is the co-called “charity” research organization that Weiler set up. It stands for “Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge” the pretentious & ironic name Weiler gave to an organization designed to manufacture negative studies on vaccines.

IPAK, while appearing to be a legitimate un-biased research organization (they have a website and everything!) in reality is just a front to pass off anti-vaccine propaganda “research.”

You want proof? Ask James to produce the positive studies on vaccines that IPAK has released.

The other function IPAK serves is giving Weiler an outlet to accept monetary donations. I don’t question that some of the money goes to fund his anti-vaccine studies. However it appears a good amount of the money also funds…James himself. In fact, my investigation has led me to believe that James may have been living off donations funded by his followers for some time. If true, it’s unclear that his followers realize they are donating to pay his Netflix bill.


Even Elmer Gantry had to eat. 

May have been?

You are quite generous with benefit of the doubt. It screams "give me money" everywhere.
Pick any discipline and you'll find a gaggle of scam artists, con men, grifters and shady characters on one particular side, and they have this uncanny knack of drawing in dupes, marks, schmoes, and suckers.

Just a few days ago a mother lost her child to the flu. She followed a group of anti vaxers on facebook who told her that all she needed was breastmilk and herbs and to forgo her Rx for Tamiflu. 

The site she was on is ran by some asshole who has no dog in this fight as he doesn't have any kids but sells anti vaxer crap to the unwitting and ignorant. That kid would still be alive if her mother had half the brain of a jackass.

All the best,
Nonoise

nonoise
Pick any discipline and you’ll find a gaggle of scam artists, con men, grifters and shady characters on one particular side, and they have this uncanny knack of drawing in dupes, marks, schmoes, and suckers.

>>>>Can we please keep discipline out of this? Yuk, yuk.

You can’t cheap an honest man and never wise up a chump. Besides, people would generally be much better off if they believed in too much rather than too little.
After reading what elliotbnewcomb posted, and after climbing up off the floor from laughing, I wish to make a point. Corporate America sold out the American worker four decades ago in favor of cheap labor. Anybody  that tries to tell you that ANY manufacturing jobs that have been lost from this country are "coming back" is either stupid or crazy. This especially includes trump. The ONLY way this will EVER happen is if the US government partially subsidizes the US company in question. Otherwise, that company will not be able to compete with the cheap foreign labor and will never make a profit. When Nixon "opened" China in 72 everyone thought it was great, and it was great if you happened to own a textile factory or furniture factory or an appliance manufacturing facility. It wasn't so great for the people that worked at those places, though. The chance that any significant amount of manufacturing jobs that have left the US coming back are about as good as the chance that 8 track tape will make a comeback. That's how capitalism works.
OK, laugh, I go for 'One World'

but, I've lived thru a few 'buy america', 'made in america' campaigns. Typically short lived, they do influence buyers of finished products for a while, down at the more affordable, more consumer level. 

If volume of parts in those products drop off, there will be impacts implied by the OP.

I am unable to laugh about anything in these political times.

Don't forget, long before China, Japan was already crushing a great deal of manufacturing, until multi-nationals began building factories anywhere cheap labor could/can be found, not just China. They move them at will.
Both of those articles appear to get their facts from the same source and look like ad copy. Must be a slow news day. None of the jobs mentioned are actually happening being that they are all "planned." Good luck with that.

A deeper look into real "manufacturing" jobs occurring reveal that about 80% of them employ 5 people or less. These are mom & pop businesses, like boutique soap makers. 

It makes for some great headlines and gives one a false sense of hope that we're finally turning that corner.


All the best,
Nonoise
The USA Today article mentions jobs at GE, GE's large appliance park in Louisville,KY was sold to China's Haier Group in 2016.
So much immaturity, so little capacity for thought.

My Melody was bought used and more than a dozen years ago. I guess by the "logic" of some around here that means my thinking has to be frozen, or I can’t change my mind without first divesting myself of every last remnant of what I thought years ago. Probably should just throw it all away. In order to satisfy the chatterers. As if that would do it. As if anything would.

Jobs follow incentives. Buyers seek value. Pass regulations that make employment costly, make your fiat paper currency dear, don’t be surprised when jobs disappear. For generations we have lived through the managed decline of America. A decline that seemed inevitable and was even gathering steam until the right man came down a certain escalator. Everything changed that day. The world is changing, and for the better. All thanks to the man who came down the escalator.




millercarbon
For generations we have lived through the managed decline of America. A decline that seemed inevitable and was even gathering steam until the right man came down a certain escalator. Everything changed that day. The world is changing, and for the better. All thanks to the man who came down the escalator.

>>>>Pewee Herman! Pewee’s Big Adventure. 🚲