cheap chinese stuff showing up at your wholsesaler

[paul_h]

Anyone offended by this for the prices they charge?
I've been buying anything electrical/electronic cheap from china direct for a long time for generic stuff, or from USA direct for name brand stuff. Anything mechanical I've had to bu from ebay off traders willing to import a large volume though.

But these days I can walk into any local wholesaler and see they same gear I could buy online at 100% markup. Half the stuff I buy online is junk and I admit it, so where do I go for quality gear? I relied on local wholesaler for that, but if they're selling me chinese stuff for 100%+ markup I'm stuffed.
I mean I have a lot of gear, being self employed, and a lot of the gear I have I bought from china or ebay. A lot has stood up well, some hasn't. But when trying to replace the gear that hasn't, well hello mirror world, seems like the wholesalers stock a heavily marked up copy of the same cheap chinese stuff, but for mega mega dollars they'll order in some same crap with a brand named attached.

Where do others stand with cheap shoddy gear?
I can walk into an actrol and laugh at say their cheap dual k type thermometer if it costs more than $30, because that's what I can buy them for anyway. Same for both them and ACW selling cheap flaring or core drills, all are rubbish but at least cost less not buying from local wholesalers as it's direct from china.

Point of my post? Well I'd like some median priced, decent gear, I don't like the "tax" you have to pay on name brands, and I can find the cheap crappy chinese stuff myself thanks, don't need to pay their markup for it. Just get some mid priced reliable stuff you're happy to stand behind, that's why I go there