OMG, Whatever M/clean.... First off Randy is an advertiser here, and as such should be given some respect,
And to his credit he is even here in this thread, trying to address your initial concerns
#2 , Quality comes at a price, Cheap is just that
#3 , Not everyone is on the cheap, and even in bulk, will pay for quality... (usually with a quanity discount)
#4 , Go to china ?... I feel jenn doesn't even need to validate that point.
#5 , Bob Roberts wasn't the cats meow as a gold standard supplier, The guy who didn't do online credit transfers, So ya, mail a check, and wait .
#6 , Your design sounds off, and Del is right, (That's for a undercut wood, or metal C/p)
#7 , You should know your suppliers before you commit to large orders
#8 , And finally Dr/evil, go pet your cat out in this glorious fab shop of doom of yours... Because results speak volumes.
#1, First off mrclean is (what I consider) a long time forum member here I'll be celebrating my 12th year on BYOAC in I think two days ?... & I'm doing just that....I'm entitled to an opinion in which directly relates to a vendors website / turn around time as well as product which he's selling & what I consider inferior based on the design for one. My intentions were never to insult Randy directly If that's the case I apologize. I'm just pointing out what I consider some flaws in the end users experience as well as the product he's selling.
#2 I couldn't agree more, see #1.
#3 I agree with you that not everyone is cheap... When considering a build of materials on a larger scale every dollar counts and is amplified. see #2
#4 Did I say I'm physically going to China ? if I did... I meant to say I'm dealing with negotiating & building relationships with various vendors in China to see if I can provide another LEAF Joystick choice. Yes many of the products sold by vendors in this hobby the parts come directly from "China". I've already noticed a few vendors here re-branding parts they are buying in China, some don't even hide it at all with the exception of increasing the price. I'll always be a collector & work on my own personal games & when available will always use OG parts in my dedicated machines & PAY for them respectively. However I also need to focus on profit margins as a business & in doing so I might also have a product that I will also bring to market somewhat unintentionally. I might purchase 1k joysticks have them custom made from China & not even offer them I really don't know. Arcade parts that SUZO / HAPP is a major company who come to mind as well as many other parts which are likely inside your very machine are mostly imported from China. You know what other product comes to mind & again you will have certain fanboys as well as people that don't care for them but the iPhone... yeah *designed in California but majority of the parts come from southeast Asia, and is only assembled at Foxconn in Taiwan (which wouldn't you know it those other knock off wico's came from). Even Randy within this very thread stated & admitted about him importing that cheap $3 Joystick and using some of the parts etc...
5# I love this one as perhaps you never really were fully immersed with dealing with one of the best assets to the hobby. nor did you apparently deal with Bob Roberts because had you of ... he was so trust worthy that he shipped product prior to receiving payment known as "cross shipping" if you were on his good list. I'm sad he's no longer part of the arcade community. For you to say:
Bob Roberts wasn't the cats meow as a gold standard supplier
Is a flat out insult. Not only did he provide free knowledge to help other people his prices were beyond fair & also carried certain products which no one else did at the time, + gave away free gifts & moon pies.... yeah he sure wasn't the cats meow.
#6 Your reply sounds off, My design / intentions is to at this point send a NOS Wico joystick (again this is very bias but I absolutely personally love Wico's to me they are incredible & I wish I hate to keep reiterating that an inexpensive repro existed which matched it's quality. Again not mentioning beyond this but apparently via a PM from a MOD someone else claims to already have the wheels in motion on exactly what I'm looking to do or wasn't sure it was me etc... All I say is I hope that if some one beats me to the punch it's done right; both quality & price point which is collectively what my focus is. But it doesn't mean I'm going to flat out stop trying or not being persistent about inquiring on what it will take to get a proper wico replica to market at a reasonable cost. Many people make various parts to rebuild original sticks. I have news for you the NOS parts etc.. That's eventually going to dry up. The thread at this point should be seen as a positive in possibly bringing another option to the market which I think it needs. No matter my efforts of how much money or the quality you will always have a conflict of interest, I've already prepared my self for that.
#7 agree, you should know your vendors, part of this thread describes just that.... which is why this thread took a turn & they do say "Necessity is the mother of invention".. Thus why I never initially intended on attempting on bringing a product to market but It might just happen by default. Also directly agree with you again refer back to #4 where I say "dealing with negotiating & building relationships with various vendors in China" (which was already previously mentioned in this thread prior to you posting). I need / want specific parts for my business which no one seems to offer in bulk & exactly what I need: price point nor exact product. Again & I hate to keep reiterating things I've already mentioned in the thread but sure I can buy NOS Wico's for $54 shipped. But for one that source will be gone eventually. Or I can just purchase re-built Wico's.. Those would be fine solutions for my own personal games. Again I just want NEW LEAF Wico's at what I consider to be a reasonable cost for bulk purchasing.... it's plausible I know it is.
8#Unnecessary comment, so I'll give you a nicer more subtle one in return... I like your avatar, I'm a huge Disney fan, & if anything I'm a dog person. P2 of#8
results speak volumes
You are certainly correct with that 100% couldn't agree with you more.