Overseas Skiboard Manufacturing

[jjue]

As many know many skis , snowboards and skiboards as well as many of our other consumer commodities are manufactured over in Asia . I really don't understand a whole lot about the process of overseas manufacturing but here is a little interesting thing I found in researching this and also some of the dangers and problems that come with overseas manufacturers. Think about what goes in to the process of brining one of your favorite skiboards to market .. there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into designing these skiboards and then producing graphic designs and dealing with a manufacturer and then importing these skiboards here in small quantities in what is a very small market and trying to make some amount of money from the whole deal . Kudos to Greco and Jeff Singer for taking the plunge into this world and taking significant financial risks in bringing these skiboards to us at a very reasonable price compared to other snowsports products. Now think about how one of these guys would feel if their product that they had gone to all the difficulty of designing and marketing was made available to competitors by their same manufacturers by just changing the graphics on the board . How would G feel if I suddenly started importing KTP's with a different graphic on the same board and selling them as my own skiboard brand at 50 dollars less ?

Maybe I am totally barking up a wrong tree , but just take a look at this example .

Here is the SBOL ad for the boardski bulldog convertible skiboard/snowboard , which in skiboard mode has gotten some very fine reviews as a skiboard .
http://www.skiboardsonline.com/Merch...roduct_Count=4

Here is an Ad by a certain Taipei sports manufacturing company for an already designed 110 skiboard with very nice modern dimensions , that I could arrange to import if I put in an order for 200 or more units with bindings included , and paid for a new graphic design sublimation mold ( 100 dollars per color , so for a 4 color graphic maybe 400 bucks for my own graphics mold ) . No board design work , proven functional design , just new graphics and my logo , and there you go , I am in business and ready to sell the new JJJ 110 Skiboard .. .. No , I am probably all washed up and just imagining things , ...this new 110 Skiboard model , is absolutely nothing like the Bulldog , right ?????

http://www.aropec.com/detail/147670/147670.html


Now some would argue that this is just what Lacroix did to Summit with their line of skiboards but I would argue that there is something different from a manufacturer and a desinger /importer having a falling out and the manufacturer making slightly different molds and selling the product under their own brand vs . a manufacturer offering the same model to any and all comers who wished to import the same product with a different graphic design.

I am certainly interested in hearing what others think of this issue ....

[SkaFreak]

I agree that providing boards that you had no input in the design is wrong, but that if you were involved in the creation of those boards, that it is legitimate. This is why it is always a good idea to do a little bit of research into any manufacturer that you consider using. This is also why copyright laws exist. It is difficult to pursue international copyright cases for a small buisiness, but if a company imports illegal boards, it is not difficultto serve a cease and desist to them. This is often enough to scare them out of continuing. Just gotta make sure you protect your products by properly seeking copyrights on them.

[mahatma]

jjue,

Sure. It doesn't take a business Einstein to understand the manufacturers are lacking in that little human characteristic known as integrity. What can you do? It is entirely probable that the local government in charge of investigating such matters are profiting well from the situation.

I don't think you have to in anyway be involved with the creation of the product to appropriately license the use of it under a different banner. There would be nothing wrong with you calling up Mr. Singer, coming to a business arrangement with him concerning the use of his design and then marketing the JJJ boards as you see fit within the bounds of the business agreement.

But, that is clearly not what is going on. If things get too far out of whack with a design being pimped I guess the only thing left to do is manufacture elsewhere at what would probably be higher prices. Which could be enough to drive folks out of business. It would certainly raise purchase costs. Try to find a manufacturing plant that you can keep in line with um, shall we call them soft bonus structures for management.

Tough world.

[Roussel]

this kind of stuff happens all the time.

china and many other developing countries dont have same laws and business ethics as here.

like in rollerbladeing for example, a mold is needed to create parts and skates. sometimes the brand doesnt have the money to actually own the mold, so there for the manufacturer owns it. brands then are forced into awkward business situtaions like that.

after the contract is over and the good have been shipped to the brand, there is nothing stopping the manufacturer from using the mold to create an identical product.