Yum, AI slop. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to downvote it.

It's fairly common knowledge that a lot of brands come from the same OEM (Doyo, Banax, etc).

And the myth still lives! But it's understandable how people are fooled by this kind of thing. I mean, the parts fit so they MUST be the same, right?

Not always.

Why?

Because the parts often come in different grades, metal/plastic alloys and compositions, and tolerances - some of which isn't easily seen by the naked eye. Naturally, the "cheaper" reels are made from the lesser quality components, even though the parts from a higher-quality reel will fit.

You look at some of the overseas companies that make reels and reel parts, and they'll have thousands of part skews. Many people know you can get different grades of bearings that will fit across several different brands and models, for example. You could replicate a more expensive reel using lower-quality components, and compete with lower prices. I know of several white-label brands that do just that. They don't make their own reels; they "custom build" them from a parts list from a factory that makes reels.

This isn't something new. It's been a practice in electronics for decades. TV's, stereos, speakers, video cameras and recorders, etc. Typically you'd have A, B, and C grade components, with C being the cheapest and lowest-quality. "A" would be broadcast/professional quality on the other end. "B" would be your standard consumer grade. Sometimes the serial or model numbers would be identical on the same TV, for example, with the exception of A, B, or C appended to designate the components. The prices would reflect the difference.

This is why Best Buy, Comp USA, and other discount electronic stores could sell "the same thing" at a much lower price. They were selling C grade electronics, which often prematurely failed or were lesser quality in other ways. This is why they didn't have the same warranty as B grade electronics.

Consumers are fooled and the business model works.

I'm not saying ALL reels and electronics are like that, but many are. I just kinda laugh when these videos show certain parts fitting across different brands and jump to conclusions that they're identical. Often they're not. Sometimes they are, but don't be so quick to make that assumption.