as has been well discussed before, it's not because it's from China that it's bad quality. However, it is probably reasonable to expect that most US-based business will want to have a bit of control over quality so their reputation does not suffer too much. So they will likely either/both follow up with a reasonable warranty and/or exert some additional QC in China during manufacture. Without the brand name and US bizness you'd think that on average the quality will be lower. Maybe as good but quite possibly worse. Unlikely that it'd be better I would think. And dealing with a warranty claim with a factory in Shenzen would likely be interesting to say the least.
Now, in an ideal competitive world you'd think the US-side markup will not be ridiculously excessive but no guarantee of that either. So, sure, you could get the same thing for much less by yourself if the US seller just buys the same thing from Alibaba and then marks it up by $500 after sewing a 10c label on it.
One other aspect of that, though, is resale. I would think that you'd be much less likely to be able to resell a tent at a reasonable price if it is a no-name one. That side alone could well wipe out much of the original savings.
Bottom line, I'd probably stick with an established US company / distributor.
Now, in an ideal competitive world you'd think the US-side markup will not be ridiculously excessive but no guarantee of that either. So, sure, you could get the same thing for much less by yourself if the US seller just buys the same thing from Alibaba and then marks it up by $500 after sewing a 10c label on it.
One other aspect of that, though, is resale. I would think that you'd be much less likely to be able to resell a tent at a reasonable price if it is a no-name one. That side alone could well wipe out much of the original savings.
Bottom line, I'd probably stick with an established US company / distributor.
