Originally Posted by
JohnJ80
It's not uncommon but it's not usual. 9 times out of 10, once the business relationship is established, that's the way it stays.
Almost all of this is done on a spec basis - a spec is provided to the mfg, they bid it, and then a purchase order is given if the pricing is correct. It's incumbent on the buyer to make sure that the spec is being followed (i.e. Nashbar etc... ) so the blame rests there as well. The good news in this is that there should be some repeatability for a given brand. The bad news is that even if you knew the factory, good and bad stuff can come out of the same factory because it depends on the spec given.
J.
Actually also common, that Yan Tube Manufacturing (makes great tubes) gets sold to Yee's Tube Manufacturing (who makes crappy tubes), and then you buy a Yan's tube, and find that the QA has gone down the tubes (yea the pun was intended), and it's just as crappy as a Yee's tube.