Question for you entrepreneur types....

I fish for salmon in the NW. A lot.

One of the most consistent lures is... well, let's call it Brand X.

The lures are manufactured - of course - in China.

This year, we had a great season, and the lures were in short supply after a few weeks. The stores couldn't get them because the supplier couldn't get them. Apparently there is a 3 month lag between order by the lure company and delivery to the retail stores. The most productive color of Brand X was totally unavailable after the season began.

Ok... here's my question.

Wouldn't it be better for the lure company to make them in the US, and charge more? The lures would be available for people to buy, and that's gotta be good for the bottom line. What with the cost of roughwater boat, fuel, reels, downriggers, etc., anybody who can fish for salmon can afford to pay a lot more for a lure that is a proven producer.

Or... How about buying a shitload of the blank metal lures from China, and painting them in the US? The "hot" lure colors change sometimes from season to season, so the company could respond quickly and put the new color on the store shelves. Painting isn't rocket science, so your labor costs could be fairly low.

This question applies all across the manufacturing sector. Wouldn't it be better to make stuff in the US and shorten the transit time, as well as allow the company to respond quickly to changes in demand?

profit margin if you have to. Could be a nice side business.
The company that sells these probably has a lot of their products done in china and that lure just happens to be one.