Buying off of eBay ?

[HP_Cuda]

Automation boys. That is how you create products cheaper than your Asian counterparts. 3D printing has come a long way as many other technologies like robotics have. Why bother with a container sitting in a port for which you have no idea when that cheap part may be delivered? Besides the cost of shipping is an added cost every time. This has been subsidized by the Chinese government for quite some time because they have kept the Yuan artificially low.

China has a huge debt crisis to deal with and I believe we will start to see a new age of Industrialization (Worldwide) in the next 10 years.

[YellowThumper]

@JH27N0B
More than 30 years for me in the plastic injection tooling biz.
Your assessment is spot on for costing.
At minimum 50% to more than 5X the cost.
The larger the parts the larger gap.
No longer building tools, I am project managing their builds offshore.
Sucks but is reality with how our government keeps restructuring into a service economy.

For those who note automation is how we can compete. I have some tools built locally due to ITAR requirements.
The purchase of materials locally to build tooling costs more than building offshore and shipping combined.
We are at a loss without even touching it.

I do agree that China will have significant financial issue coming in the near future. The artificially controlled monetary value is showing signs of failing.