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Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

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Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#31

Post by minikomi »

slyall wrote: post #6

I guess some people here live in github but I really don't recommend it for publishing text documents this way. Sure I can read it by scrolling back and forth or downloading it and opening it in something that will format it nicely and perhaps I missed the "make readable" button. But serious it is 2012, there are dozens of ways to publish things on the web that format them automatically for the browser to people can…

Changed the filename to make it markdown, added a few list bullet points if it helps.. https://gist.github.com/3016221

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#32

Post by ricardobeat »

patrickyeon wrote: post #3

This should be a cautionary tale about contracting out manufacturing (which in today's world, nearly means "trying to make anything physical"). Nothing is particular to China, although time differences and language barriers surely didn't help the matter. I say that having dealt with trying manufacturers myself. When it comes to contracting out work, the first time is always going to suck. This whole industry has figu…

> well worth hiring a consultant do that and save you some stress

Isn't finding a reliable consultant who has gone through the hoops as difficult as sourcing manufacturing itself?

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#33

Post by ricardobeat »

hluska wrote: post #8

I had a (shockingly) similar experience with Chinese manufacturers five years ago. My experience cost me a company, my shirt, and a whole lot of lost sleep. Consequently, I too decided that I will never, ever do business with another factory in China. Not sure that is fair (as manufacturing problems happen everywhere), but it is what it is... Frankly, my story is useless - it is one entrepreneur's story of woe in a s…

> the Chinese economy will be starved of the western currency that has fueled its unbelievable growth

Don't be so sure about that. China itself is currently the main growth driver for consumer goods, even for companies like Apple.

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#34

Post by ricardobeat »

gcb wrote: post #25

People dream up a product Other people give them money First people gives money to China and hope product materializes Heck, even software, being done by yourself, is not that simple Also, this is only a sob history. Nobody will learn anything from it. How did they find factories in China? How did they find one in the us?

If you read their posts you'll find all about that.

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#35

Post by zethraeus »

pash wrote: post #22
unreal37 wrote: post #19

Sadly these guys wrote an identical blog post a year ago about how their previous manufacturer was unprofessional. The new one was supposed to be top notch, since they met him in person and toured the factory before signing. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-mini...

The description and photos of the etching and milling "factories" are, for me, the sort of thing that makes funding Kickstarter projects worthwhile: ... As we got into the car to head to the other factories, the factory owner conveniently disappeared and we were whisked off with his assistant and a machinist. It was unclear where we were going. After a long drive, the car stopped and we were told to get out. There wa…

Mine works well only if I use it regularly. After a few days of non-use it dries up - even when kept closed. It might be because I haven't yet swapped out the original ink barrel though.

Have you had similar issues?

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#36

Post by jlarocco »

slyall wrote: post #6

I guess some people here live in github but I really don't recommend it for publishing text documents this way. Sure I can read it by scrolling back and forth or downloading it and opening it in something that will format it nicely and perhaps I missed the "make readable" button. But serious it is 2012, there are dozens of ways to publish things on the web that format them automatically for the browser to people can…

Same here.

I don't mean to be snarky, but if this guy can't even post readable text on a website, it makes me question how valuable his advice can be.

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#37

Post by noibl »

ars wrote: post #18
slyall wrote: post #6

I guess some people here live in github but I really don't recommend it for publishing text documents this way. Sure I can read it by scrolling back and forth or downloading it and opening it in something that will format it nicely and perhaps I missed the "make readable" button. But serious it is 2012, there are dozens of ways to publish things on the web that format them automatically for the browser to people can…

A copy to make it easier to read: Project Update #27: The Storm For backers only, Posted by cw&t Hi backers! First, for those of you still waiting for your pen(s), we're still on schedule. The schedule was posted a few updates ago (update #22). The 3 remaining batches are shipped from our manufacturer in China on July 7th (480 pens) July 23rd (480) August 7th (494) In the last couple months, we fought hard to speed u…

How's this for broken english: due diligence.

Now you can take your naive, tarbrush, self-adoring brand of racism, sandblast it, polish it and and stick it up your ass.

(Thanks for reposting, ars!)

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#39

Post by niketdesai »

zethraeus wrote: post #35
pash wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The description and photos of the etching and milling "factories" are, for me, the sort of thing that makes funding Kickstarter projects worthwhile: ... As we got into the car to head to the other factories, the factory owner conveniently disappeared and we were whisked off with his assistant and a machinist. It was unclear where we were going. After a long drive, the car stopped and we were told to get out. There wa…

Mine works well only if I use it regularly. After a few days of non-use it dries up - even when kept closed. It might be because I haven't yet swapped out the original ink barrel though. Have you had similar issues?

Yep, even with it closed the tip dries and I have to wet it a bit / scratch a bunch to get it flowing. Not sure there's a fix that is reliable.

Re: Pen Type-A: a cautionary tale of manufacturing in China

#40

Post by user24 »

pash wrote: post #22
unreal37 wrote: post #19

Sadly these guys wrote an identical blog post a year ago about how their previous manufacturer was unprofessional. The new one was supposed to be top notch, since they met him in person and toured the factory before signing. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cwandt/pen-type-a-a-mini...

The description and photos of the etching and milling "factories" are, for me, the sort of thing that makes funding Kickstarter projects worthwhile: ... As we got into the car to head to the other factories, the factory owner conveniently disappeared and we were whisked off with his assistant and a machinist. It was unclear where we were going. After a long drive, the car stopped and we were told to get out. There wa…

Hooray for unregulated and dangerous working conditions!
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