Daiwa and Shimano moves all their manufacturing to China. Would that bother you?

[ABU is overpriced]

Lets say that Daiwa and Shimano began bitchin' about price of labor, and their weak sauce yen, and moved all their manufacturing to China. You would see that hot Made In China print on the foot of a conquest, a steez, a metanium, etc. Lets assume that the quality control stays the same (if Megabass didn't downgrade their baits quality after moving to Vietnam/China from Japan, i am sure Daiwa and Shimano can do the same, even though it'll be more difficult with reels, obviously), but the price would also stay the same, meaning that a 2024 Steez that costs $750 in the States, would be made in China.

Would that bother you?

[Eric 26]

Nope

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Only the flagship models from Shimano and Daiwa are currently made in Japan.   

 

Yes, if they moved the production of the high end models to China that would indeed upset me.  

[ABU is overpriced]

28 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

Nope

Don't you think that when manufacturing moves from a country such as Japan to China, the price should be lowered?

 

[Maverick2017]

Wouldn’t bother me one bit.

 

Besides, I heard reels Made in China run smoother compared to their Japan counterparts 

 

😎

 

 

[Eric 26]

@ABU is overpriced Im going off of your parameters that the quality stays the same. With that said let’s create 2 fake employees John in Japan and Sam in China, John makes $50 an hour and Sam makes $25 but they’re doing the exact same job, as a company where would you build your reels? I’ll give you another scenario I was a union carpenter for many years and one of the contractors I worked for we built tract houses and down the road they were building custom homes using non union carpenters, I got it in my young brain that the non union guys must be better carpenters given what they were building vs me until one day my boss took me to do punch work on a custom home they built on the shores of Lake Michigan in Michigan it was then I realized that it’s not what you’re building but how you’re building it. We could frame a tract home in 5 days or less and when I asked my boss how long it took to frame the custom if memory serves me correctly it took almost 3 months to frame and it was then that I realized it’s not who’s building it but how it’s being built that created the differences as the same framing concepts are being used in both houses. So in a long winded way as long as the quality is there I could care less where it’s being made or by who. 

[fishballer06]

Bother me - yes

 

Keep me from using the best products on the market - no

[WRB]

If a product is made in China there isn’t any quality control and the use of counterfeit parts is common.
I will not buy anything from China if given a choice.

Tom 

[woolleyfooley]

Megabass stuff is made in China? I haven’t bought anything from them in years. When did the move occur?

[Glenn]

Most bass fishing products are already made in China, and that's not new.  What might surprise a few of you is that most companies do NOT have their own manufacturing plants.  They're almost all made by third-party manufacturers, many of which produce products for multiple brands.

 

Does that mean they're all the same if they're all made by the same plant? Nope.

 

The products are made-to-order; each brand has their own designs, specs, and materials the manufacturer follows.

 

Oh!  And that's not just a fishing thing.  Pretty much all products with the "Made In China" tag are made this way.  Same for "Made in Vietnam", "Made in Guatemala", etc

 

And yes, there are U.S. manufacturing plants, machine shops, etc. that do the same thing.

[ABU is overpriced]

32 minutes ago, woolleyfooley said:

Megabass stuff is made in China? I haven’t bought anything from them in years. When did the move occur?

Years ago at this point. Almost all their rods are made in china as well. Years ago, they used to proudly have Made In Japan written on lure packages. Then, when they moved to Vietnam, it was mentioned in tiny leters on the back of the packaging. Now, from the few megabass lures i've purchased this year, its not even mentioned where they are made lol.

[MediumMouthBass]

Sadly most reels from both companies are already made in China, and several other various countries that arent Japan.

 

Now for the higher end stuff, there might be some backlash with certain people refusing to buy them... But i doubt the few that go that route would cause the companies to go bankrupt.

4 hours ago, WRB said:

If a product is made in China there isn’t any quality control and the use of counterfeit parts is common.
I will not buy anything from China if given a choice.

Tom 

But personally if they moved all their production there, going forward id fish with a wooden stick and bring the line back by hand before giving them another dollar.

[casts_by_fly]

11 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Don't you think that when manufacturing moves from a country such as Japan to China, the price should be lowered?

 

no, that’s not how retail products work. The product development model is such that when you launch a new product (especially a premium one) you normally come in at a price premium to what’s on the market because you have some new ‘feature’ to justify it. It’s new and shiny so consumers are interested (aka buy it). Then a year or three down the line when that new feature has trickled down into cheaper products of your lineup the higher end model has lost some pizzaz. You need to discount it a little to keep sales up. You look for ways to pare the cost down. On top, costs are always going up but consumers won’t accept a price hike for what’s the same item (typically, and if they have a choice).  So on a product basis, the company can keep trying to shave costs or they can come out with a new product.  Look at what abu Garcia has done with the revo stx as an example. They are on the fifth or sixth iteration and the msrp just climbs (though the discounted price isn’t too much higher if you watch the sales). 
 

On a company basis, you need to have a supply strategy for the products you are selling. Are you making it in house or externally?  In market or out of market?  Are you going to have high stocks on hand or create a supply chain that is highly responsive to changes in demand.  The product you make, the in-house expertise, the third party manufacturers available and costs play into the decision. 
 

All of that is to say that most consumers don’t care one bit about where a product is made. More important is the product and features you get for the price you pay. If it truly is the same product with the same ingredients and quality control, then it doesn’t matter where it’s made. To get features A, B, and C it costs you X.

[rangerjockey]

21 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Lets say that Daiwa and Shimano began bitchin' about price of labor, and their weak sauce yen, and moved all their manufacturing to China. You would see that hot Made In China print on the foot of a conquest, a steez, a metanium, etc. Lets assume that the quality control stays the same (if Megabass didn't downgrade their baits quality after moving to Vietnam/China from Japan, i am sure Daiwa and Shimano can do the same, even though it'll be more difficult with reels, obviously), but the price would also stay the same, meaning that a 2024 Steez that costs $750 in the States, would be made in China.

Would that bother you?

One thing I'm thankful for is that I've never lost sight of the fact that's me that catches the fish not the rod reel or line.

I've never come off the water thinking if I had a Steez I would have cashed a check. My guide buddy calls guys like you "Cabelas cowboys" . it seems like your so hung up the equipment side of the game that you forget to enjoy fishing.

 

[Adrift]

Yes,  it would bother me.

My last megabass P5 rod came with a "made in China" sticker on it. They're great sticks but I'm slowly moving to all Loomis and St Croix rods. 

[MediumMouthBass]

12 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

One thing I'm thankful for is that I've never lost sight of the fact that's me that catches the fish not the rod reel or line.

I've never come off the water thinking if I had a Steez I would have cashed a check. My guide buddy calls guys like you "Cabelas cowboys" . it seems like your so hung up the equipment side of the game that you forget to enjoy fishing.

 

Someone else had the guts to say it. I cant believe it.

 

Im right there with you, i spent alot of money on fishing gear, and guess what? I fish no better with my expensive combos than i do my budget ones. And actually i leave the expensive stuff on the rack 9/10 times. Im always out there with my $33 fleet of Aird X's i bought on sale, my $120-275 Dobyns, Lews, and St Croix rods seriously just dont offer any extra help or benefits. Its just a nuisance if anything, because ill always worry about breaking them.

You are absolutely right, not once have i ever thought while fishing id rather have a reel with this material gear, or this companies drag components.

Im just there to fish, and if i get called poor by the guy at the boat ramp in his boat and gear that cost a small fortune, then oh well. Atleast im not paying his 30% interest rate for the next 500 months.

 

Thanks for now giving me a name for it, Cabelas Cowboys, hahahaha.

[F14A-B]

On 11/1/2024 at 4:10 PM, WRB said:

If a product is made in China there isn’t any quality control and the use of counterfeit parts is common.
I will not buy anything from China if given a choice.

Tom 

Ditto

[Columbia Craw]

Come let us receive warning points together.

[Basswhippa]

I love my usa made falcon rods and have not bought ant Chinese made one.  It bothers me and I would likely buy older outside communist China made stuff if given the choice.

14 hours ago, F14A-B said:

Ditto

Same

[zell_pop1]

I wouldn't buy them, I'm not helping our chief global competitor anymore than possible, I always look to see where something is made before I buy it not just fishing stuff, if I can at all avoid "made in China" that's what I do higher price tag or not.

[MN Fisher]

If the quality remains up, then I don't care where it's made...though I think Daiwa and Shimano would move manufacturing to S. Korea before moving to China....Doyo is already making many of the Daiwa and Shimano low-end to mid-range reels.

[Chum8888]

Sorry for reviving an older thread.

 

Most non flagship JDM reels at least for Shimano are made in Malaysia.  Made in Japan models are clearly marked in the shops.  Btw, just got back from a vacation in Japan.  The tackle shops and prices are insane with the weak Yen.

 

 

[Glenn]

Yup, I was in Osaka last spring and bought about $700 worth of baits for less than $200. 😁

[FishTank]

36 minutes ago, Chum8888 said:

Sorry for reviving an older thread.

 

Most non flagship JDM reels at least for Shimano are made in Malaysia.  Made in Japan models are clearly marked in the shops.  Btw, just got back from a vacation in Japan.  The tackle shops and prices are insane with the weak Yen.

 

 

 

I just ordered a Daiwa Steez Real Control rod for under $500. Here, they are $1300. Got to love that exchange rate.

 

It's a dream rod for me so I'm pretty excited. I was actually planning on getting a G. Loomis 822S or 902S as this year's big rod purchase. Maybe next year. 

[T2DM]

1 hour ago, Chum8888 said:

Sorry for reviving an older thread.

 

Most non flagship JDM reels at least for Shimano are made in Malaysia.  Made in Japan models are clearly marked in the shops.  Btw, just got back from a vacation in Japan.  The tackle shops and prices are insane with the weak Yen.