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Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

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Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#31

Post by wisty »

mc32 wrote: post #4

It's not that they couldn't if they wanted to; they could. But the history of domestic demand has been for cheap pens --the BICs/Papermates of the world. Their history of consumer products has been very utilitarian from pens to the mao jackets and the "iron furnace in every yard"[1] program to bootstrap industrialization onto a country where it arrived late. So, the opportunity arrived where they had plenty of availa…

> Now, it seems, they too are nearing an inflection point where more value added industries, industries which manufacture more value added products are needed in order to grow the internal consumer market and economy. The new consumerists, as it were.

Would that be the middle income trap? With a median age that's close to Japan's in the 90s, it's a worry.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#32

Post by luckydata »

ci5er wrote: post #22
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #5

I buy my pens from Muji, they are made in China and Thailand, mainly, and they tend to be very good quality (Muji charges at least 8 kuai for a pen, often 20 or 30 kuai). It is simply a matter of you get what you pay for (i.e. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜).

Ha! In Japanese "Muji" ('no mark', literally 'no character') is short for "Mujirushi Ryohin" ('unbranded goods'). It's odd that someone would take this on as a brand name. And makes me have to ask: Are you sure that this is a brand name? (It may well be - I just don't know of it) So, at the high-end, these are about the same price as a Uniball Vision Roller or the like (which are made by Mitsubishi Pencil, if I recal…

Muji is essentially Japanese Ikea.

http://www.muji.com/us/

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#33

Post by _Codemonkeyism »

anabis wrote: post #7

Ballpoint pens and erasers in the USA also felt rough to me, a Japanese. I don't know about the other 2 countries mentioned in the article (Germany and Switzerland), but maybe its the countries culture? Previously posted story of Hagoromo chalk is another example of Japanese high quality stationery .

When in Tokyo I love that department stores have whole floors for pens and papers (and stickers and ribbons and gift wrapping and note books..). I miss this culture in Germany.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#34

Post by eyko »

keithpeter wrote: post #26

>> Next, it was the machine tool CEO’s turn. “There are two things that only Chinese people can make,” explained Guan Xiyou, CEO of Shenyang Machine Tool Group, “The first is fireworks. The second? Folding fans. Foreigners still can’t make a good folding fan." I'd add the humble wooden handled iron/steel wok to the list. The local Chinese shops have them for about £6 to £7. Look after one (wash promptly, oil lightly…

I doubt you've used them for decades but yeah, they last long for £6. Usually the handle will break though (I've gone through 3 of them in the last decade although they're quite sturdy). The wok itself is still perfect (but then again, for £10 at most I can get a new one, and I can't be bothered with fixing the handle.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#35

Post by gambiting »

lispm wrote: post #29
danjayh wrote: post #3

I think the key point that he's missing is that the chinese manufacturers are now manufacturing to the market's demand, and this is why China is growing rich. In the old system, the state may have ordered the (state owned) pen manufacturer to make a top-quality pen. The manufacturer would have done its best to comply, but ultimately, would have made a product that nobody wanted. In the new system, the administration…

It's hard to believe that in a market with a billion consumers there is not enough demand for slightly higher goods. But product quality is not just about the ball of the pen. Product quality is about the whole product and its place in the environment: labor conditions, energy production/use, material use, waste treatment, usability, precision, etc.

There probably is. But that market is probably sufficiently satiated with foreign pens, and not large enough to warrant domestic production.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#37

Post by seanmcdirmid »

ci5er wrote: post #22
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #5

I buy my pens from Muji, they are made in China and Thailand, mainly, and they tend to be very good quality (Muji charges at least 8 kuai for a pen, often 20 or 30 kuai). It is simply a matter of you get what you pay for (i.e. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜).

Ha! In Japanese "Muji" ('no mark', literally 'no character') is short for "Mujirushi Ryohin" ('unbranded goods'). It's odd that someone would take this on as a brand name. And makes me have to ask: Are you sure that this is a brand name? (It may well be - I just don't know of it) So, at the high-end, these are about the same price as a Uniball Vision Roller or the like (which are made by Mitsubishi Pencil, if I recal…

I buy them at the store called Muji, I didn't use it as a brand name. I'm not sure how they outsource production, but I wouldn't be surprised if the factories are running German or Swiss machines to do it. Or it could be only final assembly happens in China while the cores are made in Europe, but I doubt they would go through that much trouble. China's problem has always been machines and factory tooling, which is still dominated by Germany even if they are primarily used in China.

Other things to buy at Muji: towels, sheets, and spoons...it definitely beats ikea in quality.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#38

Post by chvid »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #5

I buy my pens from Muji, they are made in China and Thailand, mainly, and they tend to be very good quality (Muji charges at least 8 kuai for a pen, often 20 or 30 kuai). It is simply a matter of you get what you pay for (i.e. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜).

I second that - they have the best pens of any I have tried. Lovely notebooks and other stationary too. The curious thing is that they are probably mostly produced in China but if you buy them in China they are twice the price compared to Japan.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#39

Post by seanmcdirmid »

chvid wrote: post #38
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #5

I buy my pens from Muji, they are made in China and Thailand, mainly, and they tend to be very good quality (Muji charges at least 8 kuai for a pen, often 20 or 30 kuai). It is simply a matter of you get what you pay for (i.e. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜).

I second that - they have the best pens of any I have tried. Lovely notebooks and other stationary too. The curious thing is that they are probably mostly produced in China but if you buy them in China they are twice the price compared to Japan.

The markup isn't that bad. An 80 yen pen is about 10 or so Kuai, which puts the price at about 2X, though the yen has been quite weak lately.

Re: Why can't China make a good ballpoint pen?

#40

Post by chvid »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #39
chvid wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second that - they have the best pens of any I have tried. Lovely notebooks and other stationary too. The curious thing is that they are probably mostly produced in China but if you buy them in China they are twice the price compared to Japan.

The markup isn't that bad. An 80 yen pen is about 10 or so Kuai, which puts the price at about 2X, though the yen has been quite weak lately.

Sorry. I am wrong - they are made in Japan.
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