AliExpress Opinions

[Suzuki4evr]

If you're buying a Mitotoyo test indicator for 1/3 or 1/4 of the regular price it's probably counterfeit. It might work fine but if I'm taking my chances with a low cost tool from an unknown supplier I'll skip paying the premium price for branding that's likely suspect. Many local supply houses do carry Chinese tools for close to what you pay online, it's worthwhile to check what they have available IMHO.

John

I get that you might think it is counterfeit, but it really is smooth and good quality, and have two of them and they are performing perfectly sofar, so IMHO I think the one I got is authentic, box and all. But yes a while ago I purchased one that LOOKED like Mitotoyo,but closeup it says "Miloloyo" ,but I knew that when I purchased it. But you are right in the sense that you must be careful to purchase something thinking it is authentic and just may be a dud.

 

[MontanaLon]

For the record, the widely advertised and available $250 dividing head with accessories from China is a thing of beauty.

Yes it is. And the DRO is as well. My one shot lube pump works like a charm too.

I'm not saying the products are not nice, just that I would rather be supporting my neighbor before supporting a communist dictatorship.

 

[Winegrower]

Yes, MontanaLon...but my neighbors, who maybe could make low volume consumer/ hobby stuff, don’t. They write software for social media companies, do virtual reality systems, fix my plumbing, make rocket ship parts, etc.

Before we can buy locally, somebody needs to make locally. I don’t see business plans getting funded where the big idea is to make product same as the imports but at integer multiples of price.

I do not see much of this business ever coming back until Asian wages rise and ours effectively shrink until an hour of skilled labor is worth the same in the competing companies. I will neglect business climate, taxes, governmental controls, etc. that of course also factor in.

My neighbors are trying for new businesses with new products.

 

[Ken from ontario]

There is certainly a step up in quality when going to Taiwan vs. China. Indian, I avoid if at all possible, I must have been burned a few times. Or maybe it was my pre-calc teacher that was an Indian and a complete A-hole. LOL.

Yep, the auctions are nice if you can find like you mentioned.... NOS and made in USA. Those are fun to find.

I have seen a few above average quality tools from India, (DP vise, clamps) , , I'm glad to see "LOL" at the end of that sentence so I'm sure you were joking.

 

[MontanaLon]

Yes, MontanaLon...but my neighbors, who maybe could make low volume consumer/ hobby stuff, don’t. They write software for social media companies, do virtual reality systems, fix my plumbing, make rocket ship parts, etc.

Before we can buy locally, somebody needs to make locally. I don’t see business plans getting funded where the big idea is to make product same as the imports but at integer multiples of price.

I do not see much of this business ever coming back until Asian wages rise and ours effectively shrink until an hour of skilled labor is worth the same in the competing companies. I will neglect business climate, taxes, governmental controls, etc. that of course also factor in.

My neighbors are trying for new businesses with new products.

I'd look for that to change in the future. It will start with medical supplies, there will be laws passed mandating at minimum a certain percentage of product be manufactured domestically so we don't lose the entire manufacturing base. I think we will see it in other parts of the world as well. china may have just awakened a sleeping giant in the entire rest of the world.

 

[Winegrower]

Perhaps. I hope you are correct. Agree, the medical market is still accessible to US manufacturers. And this could get too political for us hobby machinists, so I am cutting myself off here.

 

[Aaron_W]

I get that you might think it is counterfeit, but it really is smooth and good quality, and have two of them and they are performing perfectly sofar, so IMHO I think the one I got is authentic, box and all. But yes a while ago I purchased one that LOOKED like Mitotoyo,but closeup it says "Miloloyo" ,but I knew that when I purchased it. But you are right in the sense that you must be careful to purchase something thinking it is authentic and just may be a dud.

Counterfeit Mitutoyu is a thing, they have a page on their company page mentioning it.

Here is a video showing some ways to identify a real one from a fake.

 

[Suzuki4evr]

I am just not going to strip my analog DTI to check if it is fake,too much hassle and chance of it not working when I am done after it worked perfectly well, but you made your point and there is always someone out the tho scam us out of our hard earned money. Thanks for the chat Aaron.

Michael

 

[Aaron_W]

I am just not going to strip my analog DTI to check if it is fake,too much hassle and chance of it not working when I am done after it worked perfectly well, but you made your point and there is always someone out the tho scam us out of our hard earned money. Thanks for the chat Aaron.

Michael

If it works it works. It sounds like some of the fakes are still pretty good and so long as you didn't pay brand name prices then what are you out?


I recently decided to upgrade from the cheap digital caliper I started out with and Mitutoyo seems to be rated very highly for digital devices. When I started shopping I was surprised to find out counterfeit Mitutoyo was such an issue. I knew about the "off brands" Mitetoyo and such, but had no idea there were actual counterfeits that put quite a bit of effort into trying to look the part.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I do not see much of this business ever coming back until Asian wages rise and ours effectively shrink until an hour of skilled labor is worth the same in the competing companies. I will neglect business climate, taxes, governmental controls, etc. that of course also factor in.

Most of us are old enough to remember when Japanese products were the cheap stuff that was stealing American jobs, then Taiwan, now China and India. As the labor force matures expectations (then wages) rise. The workers want to be able to buy the products they are making. Production then moves to the next cheap source of labor. The pool of available labor is huge in China and India, but the same forces are at work.

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The thing that is frequently overlooked is that automation is taking those jobs too, probably in greater numbers. The product that used to require the labor of 5 people in the U.S. now requires the labor of 1 person and several robots in China. This eliminates all of the messy complications and expenses associated with human workers, and it's much easier to move automated production than to train a new workforce. Here in the U.S., ongoing automation has been continuously reducing the requirement for skilled labor, resulting in the long-term wage stagnation we have experienced over the last 30 or 40 years. We are now at the point where semi-skilled jobs that cannot be off-shored are being automated. In the world of the average consumer, it started with ATM machines. Now it is self-checkout at big box and grocery stores. Coming soon (already here in some places) are ordering kiosks at fast-food places.

For myself, I have never used an ATM. In the beginning this was not an ethical/moral decision, it was just a simple way to control my spending. When self-checkout appeared at HD, I loved it, being able to get out the door much more quickly. Having since recognized the long-term implications, I no longer use them. I recently found myself in HD, needing some small item. When I got to the checkout, the only manned register was the contractor checkout and it had a long line. I put my item down on one of the self-checkouts, drove to Lowes and bought it there. I emailed HD corporate and told them of my experience, pointing out that when all of the jobs have been eliminated the computers that took those jobs will not be shopping in their stores. I'm sure it fell on deaf ears.
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