Rise of the Small Brands 162
gbobeck writes "Yahoo News is running a story looking at smaller brands in the marketplace. The article discusses the increase of numbers of people who are choosing to purchase lesser known brands of electronics. The bottom line is the major electronics makers still dominate the market, but collective presence of lesser-known brands has helped keep prices down while boosting product choices."
Just shop at the outlets (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
I remember the episode, but not in enough detail to remember the brand names - thanks.
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:1)
The funny thing is, according to wikipedia "..."no-brand" video cameras have been sold in tax-free areas in the Far East under the name of "Panascanic". In many parts of Eastern Europe brands such as "Panasonix", "Panashiba", "Addidas", "Tonny Hilfiger", "Rebook", "Eila", "Fuma", "Fike" and "Somy" can also be found."
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
There's a big problem with motorcycle clones [american.edu] in China and other parts of Asia (my favorite is the Hongda). In some cases the engines are exact replicas, or may even be manufactured in the same plant that makes the real thing. Despite most of these bikes being exact clones of good des
Re:Just shop at the outlets (Score:2)
I once had trouble with my Sorny.
The physiotherapist fixed it, though.
Thank-you!
Lite-On (Score:3, Interesting)
Proposal (Score:2)
Re:Lite-On (Score:2)
Re:Lite-On (Score:2)
Re:Lite-On (Score:2)
Re:Lite-On (Score:2)
Re:Lite-On (Score:2)
Everything is made in the same place (Score:2, Informative)
I'm willing to bet it's just like laptops, only a handful of places make them, and they are customized and rebranded per customer request.
Hell, i'm sure the same goes for generic food in the supermarket.
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Im still not touching their value toilet roll, though.
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
2. I'm saying that I do care about what I put in my face, and that the Tesco value chicken is just as good as the more expensive chicken out there. There's no real reason not to buy it, as it isn't any different to stuff in shiny packaging.
There is, however a reason not to buy some of the other 'value' products, like the toilet paper, which has a tendency for structural weakness that isn't very hygenic.
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
I was thinking more along the lines of your finger penetrating the 10 layers of tissue you seem to require and poking yourself in the ass
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:1)
There is a lot of OEM stuff out there, but Pioneer do not deserve to be associated with this crap.
Sounds like someone is in denial (Score:2)
Sounds like you are in deep denial. You are possibly right that Pioneer didn't make Genexxa and Optima stuff, but I'm VERY sure that the same Taiwanese company made components branded with all three names (Pioneer, Optima and Genexxa and I believe Realistic as well). As one reader pointed out replacement parts for some stuff from Radio Shack w
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Up to a point (Score:2)
Food is not an binary product, the quality can vary widely between 'excellent' and 'not fit for human consumption'.
Sugar is perhaps the simplest. During production you end up with several different crystal sizes. This is a 'good' thing as some industrial uses require smaller or larger sizes. Sugar coating on a cookie for instance is usually far larger then then the sugar that is used inside cake.
The 'top'
Re:Everything is made in the same place (Score:2)
Too bad (Score:1)
Re:Too bad (Score:4, Insightful)
True. But you realise that there is often a mark-up just because of brand name? There are even manufacturers that have two lines of products, one with the luxury brand and one the "cheapo" brand, whilst the products are essentially the same - the luxury brand just having different finishing and packaging.
Re:Too bad (Score:2)
Re:Too bad (Score:2)
PS, if you want to buy an RX receiver to prove you ha
Re:Too bad (Score:1)
I'm sure that's reassuring for you, but it's not even close to being a rule. Cars, DVD writers and the like are often sold under different names to appeal to different market segments, or to appeal to brand loyalists.
Often, the product is identical except for the badge.
Re:Too bad (Score:1)
Re:Too bad (Score:2)
The more expensive brands just have bigger margins.
Re:Too bad (Score:2)
I'm not convinced that's true. Now I can't pull any references out here, so you'll just have to take this as an opinion, but AFAIK it's not uncommon for cheaper brands to use the same components as more expensive brands, but to have lower markup and other expenditures. Of course, they'll probably cut some corners where the user is less likely to notice from the specs (e.g. controller chips), but on the wh
Re:Too bad (Score:2)
They MAY, but it does not follow that they MUST.
Basically, you get what you pay for.
Correct. And how much of each dollar you spend on that name-brand appliance goes to marketing, brand awareness, and other things that have no bearing on the quality of the appliance itself?
How many are there really? (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, there is always the occassional flair of inspired creativity. I was in Asia recently and brought back a $5 'PolyStation' for a friend as a gag gift. It was a PS1 shell with about 500 NES roms built in - hilarious.
Re:How many are there really? (Score:1, Informative)
On the other hand, smaller manufacturers typically don't do that kind of thing. It's partly because they can't spare a full-time person to spend a whole production run in another country, and partly because they have less swa
Re:How many are there really? (Score:1)
Cars are frequently based on the same floorplan and engine.
Re:How many are there really? (Score:2, Insightful)
This is true, just take a look at all news cars - they all look exactly the same. Maybe with a different shaped grill, and some minor changes, but they are all exactly the same. It is a joke.
Re:How many are there really? (Score:2)
Re:How many are there really? (Score:2)
You must not be American.
How can boxy roadsters like the H2, the Honda Element, or the Scion xB possibly be aerodynamically efficient?
Where can you get honest reviews? (Score:2)
So is it even possible to find an honest place for reviews of not so mainstream products?
Re:Where can you get honest reviews? (Score:2, Interesting)
Open Source Hardware (Score:2)
Re:Open Source Hardware (Score:1)
Re:Open Source Hardware (Score:1)
oh, the hardware they were trying to design was an audio interface for professional audio.
Re:Open Source Hardware (Score:2)
It is called not buying it, aka boycott. The problem with you americans you don't understand anymore what it means to boycott a product. It means don't buy it so if the HDTV you want uses DRM, and your don't want DRM then don't buy it, encourage other people not to buy it, and if a company asks why you are not buying it say it is DRM. Boycotts do w
DVD Players a prime example (Score:2)
Cheap unknown brand = Better in this case
Re:DVD Players a prime example (Score:2)
Re:DVD Players a prime example (Score:2)
Re:DVD Players a prime example (Score:2)
Overrated. (Score:2)
And this is news due to why? I am guessing it was produced by a pup younger than I whom just now came to the realizations required to decide that big names do not have a stronhold over price.
Historically speaking there has always (by always I mean the last 15 - 20 years) been the Everex's, Sager's, Strongarms (you heard me right), Bosers, Magitronics (many times these guys had custom boards built). And in t
Re:Overrated. (Score:2)
Brand is only skin deep (Score:3, Interesting)
It's the same with dishwashers, washing machines, microwaves. Brands only slap a nice cover around it, the insides are more often than not just bought, not made by the brand company.
What you get from a brand name is the service. And considering the service of some brands *coughsonycough*, I'm better off with a "generic" brand. Breaks down just as fast, has exactly the same nonexistant service, but I pay about 2/3 of what that brand name gadget would've costed.
Re:Brand is only skin deep (Score:1)
Generic brand + extended warranty (Score:2)
That's why I actually consider that annoying Best Buy "extended warranty" into the cost of the "generic" brand when comparison shopping against popular name brands. Especially for expensive, relatively new technology like LCD t
it's all the SAME FACTORY (Score:2)
Niche markets (Score:2)
Re:Niche markets (Score:2)
Well in the UK we can still easily buy tuners. Sadly the dollar rate means they'd probably be too expensive for you to import (assuming of course you're from the U.S.A. ?) but you can see a good selection at Richer Sounds [richersounds.co.uk]
Admittedly most of them are missing Long Wave/Medium Wave/Short Wave etc. (i.e. all the good old bands
And no I don't work for them but I have bought most of my all black (fuck that cheap s
Don't want lower prices from small brands (Score:1)
I like small brands, but not the ones which want to compete on price. I like the ones who step out of the mass market pricing. Take MP3-players for instance. There are only four major components in MP3 players, e.g. the soundchip, and when you produce one for the mass market, it's about economics and juggling with costs and prices. You end up with an endless stream of MP3-players from companies who bu
Re:Don't want lower prices from small brands (Score:2)
Even Sterophile -- and these are the guys who claim that they can hear the difference between various power cables plugged into their amplifiers -- thought it was good. [1] At least when it's playing AIFF files; MP3s throw away too much information to really ever sound good to people listening for th
Re:Don't want lower prices from small brands (Score:2)
Re:Don't want lower prices from small brands (Score:2)
Well, I don't know about the other iPods but my (nowadays slightly dated) iPod Mini sounds pretty bad. So bad that I regret buying it in first place. The bass range is very weak and the sound is just overall "mushy".
I'm not an audiophile but I can attest that my old MD player sounds definately better
Re:Don't want lower prices from small brands (Score:2)
At any rate, in your eagerness to decry the iPod, I think you're missing my point entirely. Whether some other brand of MP3 player is slightly better than the iPod is completely irrelevant. If the iPod has a "quality surplus," and Player X sounds better than an iPod, it has even more of a surplus of quality. That's not going to be a selling point.
Most people don't get anywhere NEAR the quality limit of the iPod in the first place, because they're using it under very less-than-idea
Three Factors: (Score:1)
2) Retail is more powerful, and more "refund-friendly". If you shop at Tesco in the UK, they typically will do a return with no quibbling. So, you know that if it doesn't work, they'll take it back real simple.
3) Cost of electro
"No name" seems more fault tolerant to me (Score:2)
For instance one of my mates had a Sony (Spits on floor in disgust) DVD player which cost him over £ 200 and was feature packed but was fussy as anything when it came to discs i.e. It wouldn't play most DVDRs, it didn't play XVid AVIs, it didn't like MP3s on a DVDR (happy on CDR though), it stalled on scratched pressed DVDs etc. etc.
In contrast the £ 29 "no name" DVD player I bought from ASDA will have a go at anythi
Re:"No name" seems more fault tolerant to me (Score:2)
Moving parts = problems.
Solid-state = fewer problems.
That's pretty much the way to tell if a Sony is going to be a problem, although buying Sony in the first place is kind of a bad move to begin with.
Anyway, I have a $150 DVD player/Recorder and a $30 DVD player. Do you want to guess which one plays perfectly, never has any issues and just generally works, versus which one is a pain in the butt, freezes, refuses to read discs,
I own "no-name" brands (Score:2)
My VCR is a Magnavox.
Does anyone know of... (Score:2)
I know I have dealt with small name stuff that is considerably higher quality than the name brand stuff in terms of durability, reliability, and predictability as far as behaving with the standards. Smaller companies don't have the luxury to foist unwanted crap onto their consumers like the big
Re:Does anyone know of... (Score:2)
It would be quite handy though, be nice to know that X television set is identical to my 3200$ Toshiba, etc.
None the less as tech geeks, we all research almost all of our purchases on the net to the point that we know everything about the product before buying (well I do)
Re:Does anyone know of... (Score:2)
Other than that, I've never seen any good centralized repository of information like that. Too bad, because it would be useful. Generally though, at least one of the parties involved in the rebr
Re:Does anyone know of... (Score:2)
I'm in the market for a decent stereo/HT system right now, and found audiotools.com [audiotools.com]'s directory of manufacturers last night. It makes for useful reading.
Internet empowers consumers (Score:3, Insightful)
Just as we no longer have to rely on a local newspaper or broadcast television for information about the world around us we no longer have to rely on salesmen or friends for consumer product advice.
Another good side is that problems surface faster because of the net. Bad products and companies are spotlighted much faster than old methods. Consumer groups spread information between themselves directly and indirectly about whom to trust and not trust.
If anything the net is making it easier for consumers to make intelligent choices. Having the information by itself isn't the key, its having access to the opinions of others on how valid the information is that works in the long run.
On a side note, gaming the system is alive and well and has removed the validity of some sites for tracking how well one place does versus another. I find consistency among many different forums to be a better indicator as to which small companies to trust. (ex: ResellerRatings used to be a great source - but not they are corrupted by too many bogus positive and even negative reviews)
Re:Internet empowers consumers (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh, and that intelligent choice came about because of an article I read on the internet about the Japanese domination in electronics.
I can only think of one small brand now (Score:2)
An economy based on brands? (Score:3, Insightful)
Major Electronics Makers? (Score:2)
The bottom line is the major electronics makers still dominate the market
There are still major electronics makers that actually make electronics products. I thought most of them had hollowed out to the point that they were little more than a brand name with a sales force. That's pretty much the case in the US anyhow.
Who are they really? (Score:2)
Buyer beware (Score:2)
There's the core problem: lack of buyer knowledge, or at least the lack of motivation for buyers to do some proper research before making a purchase. THAT is why these companies are doing business.
When I went to buy a new high def TV, I did research into the tech
Consumer products (Score:3, Interesting)
Cheap disposable consumer products are great if you want something cheap. But there is no point in Bang and Olufson.
Commodity Products and Standards (Score:2)
Brand devalued by gorilla management (Score:2)
I buy Apple because the name/logo/symbol implicitly and reliably means something about the product experience. I don't buy HP any more (despite working there for 10 years and leaving on good terms) because now their brand implicitly and reliabl
I could see that comming... (Score:2)
You know, consumer electronics didn't have to be commodities. There could be enough differentiation between brands to let the consumers chose one of them, instead of chosing prices.
But the greed eats everything. I'd be happy to spend another $0.5 to have a motherboard with good capacitors, or another $5 to get a power supply that really resists an electric transient. But the manufactors needed get those $5.5 to themselves, using the hight prices to get highter returns. Well, if they can't sell me some qual
Not just electronics, but software too. (Score:2)
DVD player (Score:2)
Fallen brands (Score:2)
Same Factory != Same Quality (Score:2)
Re:I'm all for it (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I'm all for it (Score:2)
Still, most of the big names do the same, they just spend more on marketing.
Re:Less known or Lesserknown ? (Score:3, Funny)
less known vs. lesser known [googlefight.com]
Keeping in mind that correct grammar is itself "lesser known" on the internet, small fragments of sodium chloride are suggested for consumption.
Re:Less known or Lesserknown ? (Score:1)
Your friend's professor is an idiot (Score:2, Funny)
Otherwise, it's 'lesser known'.
There is no construction 'less known' unless it's some archaic UNIX command.
Re:Your friend's professor is an idiot (Score:2)
Re:Less known or Lesserknown ? (Score:2)
By analogy with 'less-travelled' etc., it should really be 'less-known'. However, for whatever reason, 'lesser known' (hyphen optional) is the standard form when known is an adjective -- not when it is a verb. Thus it is correct to say:
The lesser-known option is, of course, less known than the alternatives.
"Lesser used", again, is just about acceptable as an attributative phrase ("the lesser used construction is 'lesser used'") but not really as a predicate ("'lesser used' is the les
Re:how right you are (Score:2)
Re:how right you are (Score:2)
Personally, I think that's a big part of the problem. Too many idiots think that means standing up for THEIR rights, and be damned to everyone and everything else.
With LCD, it does matter (Score:2)
Having said that I just bought a Durabrand CRT TV. Works, does what I want... I wouldn't buy a cheap noname LCD panel though without checking for dead pixels.
Re:Disposable... (Score:2)
Re:Speaking of (Score:2)
That's a very valid point if you're still living in Windows-land, but in Linux-land, I find the no-name generics a better buy, provided that the build quality is high enough. The generics tend to have less in the way of proprie