[SteelTraveler]

I ordered some risers for my Z900RS from China for $38 (free shipping). Got me to thinking...

My risers shipped from Guangzhou EMS, China on 4/10/19. Guangzhou is a commerce center for shipping which is about 100 miles north of Hong Kong.

But first the package has to travel to Guangzhou from somewhere else in China, presumably by truck.

There's some processing at the China Express Mail Service in Guangzhou. Then it's placed on an airplane en route to Texas, USA. Many stops along the way and the package gets moved to different planes.

Finally it reaches DFW airport in Dallas. Then it's transferred into the custody of the United States Postal Service and place on one of it's trucks. That truck takes it to one of the USPS centers and it is sorted by Zip Code. It's place on another truck which drives to Mesquite Texas and it is unloaded and sorted to a particular area of central Texas. You get the idea.

Eventually, it is hand delivered to my house by a carrier who places the package on my front porch.

It's amazing to me that everyone who is involved in this process makes money off my $38.00 (free shipping). How is this possible?

 

[Art H.]

The $38 part cost 15 cents to make in China.:grin2:

 

[MountainRider]

Tells you what that part really cost. :wink2:

 

[ALEXB]

This is actually a big topic of discussion now, that USPS subsidizes rates for Chinese Shippers


https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadesh...chants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/#3679731440ca

 

[Zee Fifty]

.:grin2::grin2::grin2:

 

[Justin K.]

Never had a problem with aftermarket from China, usually via EBay. Free shipping with really interesting tracking path and delivery to NY in 10 days or so.

 

[Justin K.]

.:grin2::grin2::grin2:

Typical Amazon facility on steroids.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

It's amazing to me that everyone who is involved in this process makes money off my $38.00 (free shipping). How is this possible?

It's a cheep $3.00 Chinese part. Amazon got their small cut, and the other $30 dollars was for shipping.

 

[SteelTraveler]

Interesting comments, so far. BTW here is a pic of the Chinese risers that I ordered.

They are exactly what I had been looking for and couldn't find them anywhere else, at any price. At $38, I thought I would take a chance.

I know the Chinese quality won't be the best, but I'm not worried about the risers as they are just a solid hunk of aluminum. I'm somewhat concerned about the quality of the Chinese allen bolts, but I plan to replace the bolts with top quality, stainless steel, American bolts.

 

[SteelTraveler]

This is actually a big topic of discussion now, that USPS subsidizes rates for Chinese Shippers


https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadesh...chants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/#3679731440ca

Very interesting. Thanks for posting. Although I ordered on amazon, I noticed that the same vendor had a disclaimer on ebay that said "not eligible for return". Now I know why.

Quoting from the article that you posted, "The cost to ship a one-pound package from Beijing to NYC: $3.66. While sending that same one-pound package from New York City back to Beijing via USPS International Mail would cost in the ballpark of $50."

I don't understand how this arrangement benefits the USPS. I read the article quickly, so I may have missed it. I plan to read it more thoroughly.

 

[jjboyz1]

Interesting comments, so far. BTW here is a pic of the Chinese risers that I ordered.



They are exactly what I had been looking for and couldn't find them anywhere else, at any price. At $38, I thought I would take a chance.



I know the Chinese quality won't be the best, but I'm not worried about the risers as they are just a solid hunk of aluminum. I'm somewhat concerned about the quality of the Chinese allen bolts, but I plan to replace the bolts with top quality, stainless steel, American bolts.

Be careful because those top quality American bolts probably came from China also. I’m just saying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[twii56]

The one that baffles me the most are toothpicks. If you look closely at the box of toothpicks, you'll find that they are "made" in China. My guess is that the trees for toothpicks are not grown there, but in Canada or the US. We cut the trees down, ship the logs to China, they have workers carve the logs into little tooth picks, put them 250 to a box and package the little box in bigger boxes and put those bigger boxes on pallets. Then the pallets full of thousands of toothpicks are shipped back to the US to Walmart. The Walmart guys then unpack the pallet, unpack the bigger boxes and put the little boxes on the shelf for me to buy. All of this for a $0.68 box of toothpicks. Now THAT is truly amazing.

 

[Tisunac]

I was on Ebay recently shopping for Ram mounts and noticed a lot of Chinese knockoffs of any kind of Ram mounts. They won't call it Ram, it will say "for Ram model ....". Obviously, they look the same (minus the RAM logo on the part)....

Anybody tried them?....Myself, I bought the real Ram mounts, just to be sure...not cheap, though

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Red Wing One]

The one that baffles me the most are toothpicks. If you look closely at the box of toothpicks, you'll find that they are "made" in China. My guess is that the trees for toothpicks are not grown there, but in Canada or the US. We cut the trees down, ship the logs to China, they have workers carve the logs into little tooth picks, put them 250 to a box and package the little box in bigger boxes and put those bigger boxes on pallets. Then the pallets full of thousands of toothpicks are shipped back to the US to Walmart. The Walmart guys then unpack the pallet, unpack the bigger boxes and put the little boxes on the shelf for me to buy. All of this for a $0.68 box of toothpicks. Now THAT is truly amazing.

You are probably right that the trees are from North America......the thing is there is a good chance that the wood does not go all the way to China for processing......for instance, hardwood flooring is often made from North American lumber....but it is loaded onto Chinese ships equipped with all the machinery to do the processing offshore with Chinese workers. They then sail back to the US or Canada to sell the finished product.
Maybe the same process is used for toothpicks.
To keep this motorcycle related....I once used a toothpick to insert lubricant in a sticky switch.:shrug:::coffee1:

 

[twii56]

To keep this motorcycle related....I once used a toothpick to insert lubricant in a sticky switch.:shrug:::coffee1:

Yes, Thank you for the reminder and bringing it back on track. What I did forget to mention is that I usually have one of those toothpicks in my mouth when ever I am working on my GL1800. I also ride a bit with them in my mouth, but the problem there is that they stick into the windsock on my microphone from time to time. >

 

[jiggy fly]

Please be careful with parts from China I bought 2 Chrome Brake Pedals from there and both of them broke during installation.

 

[Farmguy]

I know the Chinese quality won't be the best,

I guess that's why everybody has so many problems with their iPhones....:surprise:

 

[SteelTraveler]

Looking for some advice.

I plan to replace the Chinese allen bolts on these handlebar risers with better quality bolts.

Are there markings on the bolts that I should be looking for? Perhaps a marking to indicate tensil strength or country of manufacture?

 

[murf]

Looking for some advice.

I plan to replace the Chinese allen bolts on these handlebar risers with better quality bolts.

Are there markings on the bolts that I should be looking for? Perhaps a marking to indicate tensil strength or country of manufacture?

This should help you out.

:doorag:

https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Bolt-Grade-Chart.aspx

 

[Art H.]

The question is how do you know the bolts you buy are not counterfeit?