I think the stigma still holds, mostly because a lot of Chinese goods exported to the west have planned obsolescence baked in.
This is largely because this is the manufacturing trend worldwide, not because Chinese fabrication is inherently bad. In effect, the world got enshittified while China was holding the “make all the things” card, so any improvements in their manufacturing are likely overlooked.
Now, as to who is at fault for the enshittification; this remains an open question to explore case by case. In some cases, it’s just capitalism at pay (lowest bidder giving lowest quality), in others it’s a slightly more sinister bid for future business by ensuring repeat customers down the line, in others (rarer by far) the hands that rule dictate.
The thing is that it’s going to be consumer “Amazon-grade” products that are like this. There’s tons of stuff made in China that goes unseen, from automotive electronics to power grid components that lasts for a good service life and may not fail until damaged by an outside problem.
That too, but I’ve ordered from Aliexpress and other than the long shipping time I had to wait in order to cut out the Amazon middle man the product worked just fine and was as described. It appeared to be the same thing as what was being offered online elsewhere in the US. But yeah, it’s roulette. You never know if you’re actually going to get a decent product.
I think the stigma still holds, mostly because a lot of Chinese goods exported to the west have planned obsolescence baked in.
This is largely because this is the manufacturing trend worldwide, not because Chinese fabrication is inherently bad. In effect, the world got enshittified while China was holding the “make all the things” card, so any improvements in their manufacturing are likely overlooked.
Now, as to who is at fault for the enshittification; this remains an open question to explore case by case. In some cases, it’s just capitalism at pay (lowest bidder giving lowest quality), in others it’s a slightly more sinister bid for future business by ensuring repeat customers down the line, in others (rarer by far) the hands that rule dictate.
The thing is that it’s going to be consumer “Amazon-grade” products that are like this. There’s tons of stuff made in China that goes unseen, from automotive electronics to power grid components that lasts for a good service life and may not fail until damaged by an outside problem.
“Amazon grade” made me laugh - though the reality is a bit closer to “Alibaba Roulette”.
That too, but I’ve ordered from Aliexpress and other than the long shipping time I had to wait in order to cut out the Amazon middle man the product worked just fine and was as described. It appeared to be the same thing as what was being offered online elsewhere in the US. But yeah, it’s roulette. You never know if you’re actually going to get a decent product.