Secret Scam of Cheap Earbuds

Great article, thanks for sharing it.

Consumerland is a big swirling cesspool, but easily navigable with websites such as head-fi. Anyone who buys anything without consulting teh intarweb gurus is nuts.

I agree, a fun read and a nice little expose piece. 

I do wish that there was a bit of a plug for research and perhaps even an introduction to higher end options, but I'm sure that most people choose to research $100 products anyway.

That was a good read and I'm not at all surprised at how the industry works.

thanks for sharing that article.

i realize there's a bootleg industry out there that uses the same factories to crank out their fakes, but i didn't know legitimate companies were just slapping their logos on these generic earbuds too!

This has been going on in retail fashion for years...but typically in the OPPOSITE direction.

Ever heard of Cherokee? You can buy their clothes at Target or Tesco, right? Actually no...because Cherokee makes ZERO clothes. Target and Tesco pay Cherokee for the right to use the brand. There are only 18 employees at Cherokee...the company simply collects royalties.

Another example...There is no such thing as Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Pabst doesn't brew any beer...they slap there label on it. They are legally a marketing company.

I wouldn't call this a scam. I actually think it is quite brilliant...separation of labor in action. Those who are good at marketing/brand building do that, and those who are good at engineering handle that part of the deal.

The reader comments make me sad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czilla9000 

...There is no such thing as Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Pabst doesn't brew any beer...they slap there label on it. They are legally a marketing company.

 

 

Are you sure of this? I could not find any info except for this link..http://www.pabstbrewingco.com/about/timelines/Pabst/...can you share your support? Thanks!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by adktitan 

 

 

Are you sure of this? I could not find any info except for this link..http://www.pabstbrewingco.com/about/timelines/Pabst/...can you share your support? Thanks!
 

I recall reading a story about the Milwaukee Pabst factory, and the attempts at redevelopment, much earlier this year, so I believe he is referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabst_Brewing_Company

Quote:

Originally Posted by batphink 

The reader comments make me sad.

x2. Someone should set them straight...Head-Fi to the rescue!

Thanks Snake, I'm not quite sure that makes them a "marketing" company. It's no big deal, and OT, I just wondering in the case the 'hipster credibility test' ever gets released to the general public...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czilla9000 

This has been going on in retail fashion for years...but typically in the OPPOSITE direction.

 

Ever heard of Cherokee? You can buy their clothes at Target or Tesco, right? Actually no...because Cherokee makes ZERO clothes. Target and Tesco pay Cherokee for the right to use the brand. There are only 18 employees at Cherokee...the company simply collects royalties.

 

Another example...There is no such thing as Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Pabst doesn't brew any beer...they slap there label on it. They are legally a marketing company.

 

I wouldn't call this a scam. I actually think it is quite brilliant...separation of labor in action. Those who are good at marketing/brand building do that, and those who are good at engineering handle that part of the deal.

I don't think you understand how contracting and subsidiary branding works. Pabst used to brew their own stuff, now they have partnerships and contracts with other breweries to brew certain kinds of beer under their recipe and I believe Pabst bottles it and markets it. Dozens of beer companies around the world use Budweiser's breweries.

Hundreds of major clothing outlets don't manufacture their own clothes, they buy them in bulk imported from a contracted company and POW they go on the rack for as much as the person who made makes in a month. Most major companies don't need to buy their own manufacturing company... Heck, look at companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft; they may be bitter rivals in the video game industry, but their consoles are made in the same place by the same company, Foxconn. Of course all R&D done by the actual companies, but why assemble yourself when it's so much cheaper to have them assembled by a company that allegedly beats and overworks their employees? Oh, and Foxconn makes iPods, iPhones and other Apple products too. Also, I believe all the suicides related to Foxconn are because of Steve Jobs and all the Apple products and parts that they leak.. His turtleneck won't stand for it.

It's a crazy world we live in!

P.S. Think that the guys in Subway are actually making that sandwich for you? Wrong, it was assembled in Bangladesh two weeks ago.

Cool update to this article. Anyone looking for some new V-Moda's?

http://gizmodo.com/5622881/v+modas-giz-inspired-trade+in-program-pays-35-for-your-old-crappy-headphones

That's a pretty cool thing for V-Moda to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokefan 

Cool update to this article. Anyone looking for some new V-Moda's?

 

http://gizmodo.com/5622881/v+modas-giz-inspired-trade+in-program-pays-35-for-your-old-crappy-headphones

Thats a nice find Pokefan...! im willing to replace mine soon, and probably get a new pair of V-moda's.