On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 03:50:40 GMT, Robert
wrote:

Princess Auto is just one of the companies that buy the same third party stuff
Lee Valley does but sells it at a much lower price.

In my town I can buy an awful lot of "third party stuff" that looks
the same. Product development seems to be on the basis of one factory
blatantly copying another. But this low-end stuff usually isn't
_quite_ the same, if you look closely. If you ever see a new sort of
Chinese clamp selling for .99c, then buy a handful, and buy them that
day. Because by the time the second boatload lands, they'll have
worked out how to make them more cheaply and less well.