$1100.00 For CK-20 Hood - ridiculous

[5030]

Far as sheet metal or plastic hood's go, there is no way you can produce it anyway so bit the bullet and pay the price of admission or take it to a bump shop and have it restored. Only 2 ways to fly on that part.

 

[5030]

I don't wonder why at all. The Chinese metal body parts are junk. You get exactly what you pay for.

I don't have that issue for the most part as replacement parts for my Kubota's primarily come from Japan. Some parts are made in China but Kubota will state that on the tag affixed to said part.

 

[LFP57]

The dealership is the last stop in a long line of markup's. First one is the manufacturer of a said part, second is the distributor, third is the wholesaler, forth and last is the dealer and you get to pay the piper.

Let me give you a short scenario on that. Years ago, I delivered steel strip to a company the made tie rod ends. I spied a bin of tie rod ends that sure as heck looked just like the ones on my F350 4x4 pickup and upon closer inspection they were. I had just paid 80 bucks for a pair (Moog) at the local 'discount auto parts store.

I inquired as to the cost and was told by the shop foreman that they sold them in hundred quantity to a distributor which put the 'Moog' brand on them and they each cost 25 cents to make, so in between the manufacturer (which was making a profit on them) and the discount auto parts store, the cost of a pair went from 50 cents to 80 bucks and that was all markup. Everyone gets their share and you as the end user gets to pay for it all. Like I said, trickle down and you are at the bottom of the food chain.

Welcome to the world of retail.

Try fabricating that part yourself (if you even can, which is doubtful) and see if you can produce it for 25 cents per. I highly doubt it.

You're correct, there's markup's from different sources, in case of the motorcycle part, the other markups were already included before the dealership marked it up another $250. The glass purchase had no middle man, the dealer would just call, have it shipped right from the factory and add $500 for their time. So, the trickle down in this case was whom made the phone call.

 

[ray66v]

I don't have that issue for the most part as replacement parts for my Kubota's primarily come from Japan. Some parts are made in China but Kubota will state that on the tag affixed to said part.

Yes, but there is a huge difference is between original equipment parts that are manufactured in China, and counterfeit aftermarket parts, that are made by another company, to copy them and sell at a lower price.

The original manufacturer specifies standards when they have a Chinese company supply parts to them.

The counterfeit aftermarket parts don't meet any real standards. Yes, they have a pretend certification process they can use for aftermarket parts, after a lot of complaints, but it's always been a joke. Believe me, if they were as good, I would have had a lot less headaches.

 

[Username Taken]

So let's say you want to make Hoods for Kioti Tractors. First off, you need a bunch of money so you go out and find yourself a venture capitalist. Who takes around 60% of your profit. If you succeed. Which is highly unlikely. That's why they take so much of a bite.

Then you look for someone to make your product. In this Country? You're kidding, right? You really, really, really, really, really don't want to go there. This Country is one of the most anti-business places on Earth. Especially for a start-up.

So you go to China. They have factories (the size of a large city) that will build your hoods for you. You rent/lease the Factory, it's tooling and its workers for a certain period of time. They'll help you find raw materials but, in the end -- It's on you to supply them. Not usually a problem. And when you're done, they want your finished products gone. They don't care what you do with them, they just want them gone because they're tooling up for the next lessee.

The problem is in your design. It might not meet specifications. It might even be junk. Or it might be outstanding. And don't ever, not ever, underestimate the need for supervisors and ESPECIALLY for Quality Control. The Chinese workers you rent have supervisors and they'll do what they can but, ultimately it's on you to make sure the hoods are being built right. You're renting space and tooling and manual labor, that's about it. When you're done, you need to leave. They don't care.

So you need to hire competent supervisors and QC types. Not easy. At all. I've known a few guys that have gone there to do just that. It's a good living. If 'living' is what you want to call it.

And we're not talking about going to Europe to supervise Germans or Brits or even Russians. We're talking Chinese. Whole different culture. You'll be lucky to survive. Literally.

Most of those guys quit early into their tour. I know, I've talked to them. A lot of Veterans get involved in that. The adventurous types.

And awful lot of the things you see on Amazon, on TV and at eBay are made exactly that way. Precisely that way. And some of them are very good. So good, in fact, they put American manufacturers out of business. Some of them suck.

I'll never forget when my neighbor in Cleveland, who was an Executive at generic motors sneered at Japanese cars. He called them junk. Toyota, right now, could buy and sell, generic motors, Ford and Stellantis with their petty cash. Who's junk now? It's not that they're so good, it's that ours are so bad.

So if a serious company has serious need for a serious product, they can go to China and rent the space, use their own supervisors and QC people and can do very well.

Think I'll pass on your new Kioti Hood until you get the wrinkles ironed out. No offense