Streamlight's warranty department is top notch; absolutely fantastic. What worries me is I've had to churn around a dozen lights through it. I didn't break them but it still makes me wonder.
So, this is the crux of how Chinese companies can keep prices so low.
Quality Assurance costs a LOT of money. Like...a metric F*** ton.
Generally, you manufacture things and specify the QA you want. Most places will use a few samples from a very large batch, and have some generous tolerances. If you have low tolerances, that costs a LOT more, and if you test batches more often, that costs a LOT more.
People think of QA in terms of labor costs, but that's the tip of the ice berg. Yeah, it's expensive to pay someone to measure stuff all day, but the REAL cost is in what happens to the stuff out of spec? In many industries, out of spec parts move down the foodchain; they are sold to other companies who don't have as tight of tolerances, and so can offer a cheaper product. This is why you can find a million no name companies on AliExpress selling flashlights that look vaguely familiar to more "name brands" from China.
If you have tight QA, those parts are scrap.
This is why places like Malkoff and especially HDS cost so much (and, most of the US brands). It's not the labor, per se, it's the QA. People poop on Surefire, but at a certain point, they do need to have above average QA for a company of their size, lest they risk losing those sweet, sweet Government contracts (which would probably lead to them being bankrupt). HDS famously rejects anything not meeting Henry's standards. Malkoff falls somewhere between HDS and Surefire.
With flashlights, especially, there isn't a downstream supplier to dump rejects to, so tighter QA just racks up the costs. A single rejected batch of bodies, reflectors, heads, etc. just eats the bottom line, which is why prices have to be higher. Surefire, HDS, and Malkoff cannot monetize rejects and sell them to another brand to build less-than-perfect flashlights with. All the time and money that's gone into the entire batch of products is entirely scrap. So, their prices HAVE to provide a way to cushion that so they can stay in business.
A huge way companies can lower prices is to externalize QA to the customer. This is why so many companies (especially that have outsourced manufacturing) these days have "excellent" warranties (on paper). They didn't pay for the $$$ QA, and their bean counters have determined it's just cheaper to send products out, and IF AND WHEN a customer notices a problem, warranty it.
Better yet, due to the associated costs of time and money, many customers simply won't process a warranty claim. That means you got to sell out-of-spec parts of in-spec prices. That's just pure profit.
Of course, this is why there is such wild variation with the experiences of most Chinese/outsourced products. IF they are in spec, they are often perfectly fine. But, they're almost guaranteed to be out of at least one spec. Materials? Machining? Fitment? Performance? Finish? All of the above?
Literally, unless it impacts your usage (typically, that means is has to stop working), you'll never notice.
No one tests the alloy of their flashlights, the anodization hardness, the output of their individual lights, etc. So, we're "none the wiser."
For the vast majority of us, the PRICE is the thing we're going to notice the most difference in, so it's not really a Faustian bargain as much as it is an unknowing, yet agreeable arrangement. No company is SPECIFICALLY telling us how this works, but even if someone breaks it down for us, it's a fair trade off.
This is why I LOVE Malkoff, but I do still buy Convoy lights. I KNOW it's not going to be nearly as well made, and it IS more likely to have issues. But, that's why I can get an AA light from Convoy with my choice of emitter for under $20. It's a better-than-not chance something will be wrong. BUT, it's likely nothing major. So long as it functions most of the time, and does a reasonable job of what I expect, I am more than happy. I'm not going to die looking for a screwdriver bit under my desk if my light goes out.
When I NEED a light and I DEPEND on that light, that's why I'll spend a bit more on a Malkoff. For me, making sure that "bump in the night" is a family member, and not an intruder, is 1,000,000% worth money a Malkoff (or Surefire, etc.) costs.