@ OP. Yep :-)
People will buy what they feel is satisfactory to their needs/wants. If a budget light will satisfy it then the manufacturer is going to produce what will satisfy people. For example many people like Sipik SK68s and clones - that’s all they need, so that’s all the manufacturer will produce. However, when there is a demand for a higher quality item, the manufacturer will just build that.
For example, Foxconn is Chinese based, yet they are responsible for such well made Apple products. I’m no Apple fan, but nobody can deny the build quality of their products is immaculate.
I will buy a light that serves my needs. It may be cheap to some and expensive to others. Businesses exist to make money, therefore they will produce what is in demand.
No. If the money is in budget lights, then manufacturers will build budget lights. You are in no position to tell people what they should and should not buy. There will always be a place for high quality lights as there is always a demand for them. Look to Fenix/Olight/Nitecore/Thrunite/Niwalker. You don’t have to buy cheaper lights, but if other people do then that’s their choice - not yours. Some people have budgets, and don’t want to spend more than $20 on a flashlight. A flashlight isn’t something worth spending $50+ on to 75% of people.
Seeing as how I worded that as a request rather than a demand there is no need to attack me over it Slewflash! There are decent quality quite inexpensive Chinese lights and in many cases the cost of implementing a much better UI for them should be minimal and once implemented have no effect on actual production costs from a materials or direct labor standpoint.
As long as a company honors warrantys then it has been proven repeatedly that a good quality assurance system, properly implemented, actually decreases overall costs as it eliminates defective and unusable parts and greatly reduces rework and warranty costs. Both Japanese and better USA manufacturing companies have repeatedly demonstrated that this is true. That is the purpose of ISO 9000 certification of companies and their processes. Long term few companies that are true junk producers manage to stay in business.
Full Disclosure: The following is meant to be an objective answer to the above objective question. I’m trying to help a man out to the best of my knowledge and ability, without tainting it too much with personal beliefs and opinions. However, we ALL have opinions, and we cannot hide them completely no matter how hard we try, so feel free to disagree, as long as you do it in a way that pulls this back to the objective, not back out into divisive politics. Now, without further ado:
“Liberal” doesn’t mean any of those things in that quote from Wikipedia. It must have been a “Liberal” who wrote that. And, to be fair, a “Conservative” may have written the exact same thing about himself. Point being, we always try to portray ourselves in the best possible light. The word “liberal” roughly equates with “generous” but not always in a positive context. Sometimes, it simply means “loose” as in “not controlled”. “Conservative” roughly equates with “tightly controlled” or even “disciplined” and not always in a good way either. A “conservative” person can at times, and in some ways, be more “generous” than a “liberal” person. And, it is possible for a “liberal” person to be more disciplined than a “conservative” person. In USA politics, the “Liberals” are usually for “loose” morality, in that they are more for leaving it up to individuals to decide what is morally right for themselves. Yet, they often are interested in “tightly controlled” corporations and business entities. The “conservatives” are often on the other end of the scale with more controlled public discipline and enforcement of morality to some extent, while leaning toward a more “free” enterprise market, with fewer regulations for businesses.
Capital "L" Liberal is what he means, which has nothing to do with the classical definition you provided. It is yet another definition that the collectivists have stolen, such as "social justice", which has nothing to do with justice, "equality", which has nothing to do with equality before the law, and "human rights", which are completely arbitrary and have nothing to do with actual rights.
Honestly, not trying to get political, just giving you an answer.
LOL
That was liberal drivel? You must have a lot of friends that don't accept science. It's okay buddy, let's just believe the world is 4000 years old and here for us to rape in our lifetime with no absolutely sense of responsibility to the generations that follow us so you can be comfortable.
Consumer products, and most things sold to organizations like armies, are always much poorer than they would be if the buyers were well informed. That is just the nature of commerce. I think the first thing to do to become a good customer is to ignore any advertizing that you did not explicitly look for or request. Any society in which unsolicited advertizing is successful will have products that are poor compared to what the technology is capable of.
As for budget flashlights, I am amazed at how good most of them are. Apparently the market is so flooded with good workmanship that most manufacturers don’t bother to try to compete with the same sort of junk that American industry used to make and that still dominates other product types.
ignore any advertizing that you did not explicitly look for or request.
Part of that is the widespread use of CNC machining centers which allow the use of machined parts almost as cheaply as stamped sheet metal parts which used to be common in mass produced flashlights. That plus the need for LED heat dissipation has forced the use of relatively heavy aluminum construction. The same manufacturing improvements combined with better materials, lubricants and filters are why a Model A Ford engine used to last 10,000 miles between overhauls and a modern car engine can do 150,000+ miles between overhauls with proper preventive maintenance.