EVERY business works that same angle.. Including your buddies in china.
That is after all, what makes it a "business".
Absolutely . But.. there are other factors.
1) Size of business
2) Credit Card Acceptance
3) Price
4) How long it's been on the shelf.
Why pay the middle man, take greater risks ( no credit card, another step can potentially get diluted)
Think about when a "Lab" orders their raws, 30 days from china, then they will order a large quantity to last them a year, then once they get around to brewing it, then by the time you get it. Thats time and a lot of temperature fluctuations. Much greater chance/probability your item will have degraded from age.
I've dealt with China for many years, and products made in the USA & Canada. Quality control is higher out of China. Wanna know why? The workers if they goof up, might get knocked up side the head. Now compare that to lazy bums in the USA & Canada, who can file unemployment, welfare, lawsuit. They have nothing to lose. I can sell 10,000 widgets out of China, maybe 3 will be defective out of the box. Coming from Candada/USA, haha 10% if I'm lucky. I purchased a whole truck load of US Made products once, and 80 percent did not work out of the box.
I would assume the larger batches they make it in, in china, are more sterile/consistent than a "Lab"(which is. usually just a room in a house.
Absolutely buy where you feel it's best for you! For me, I've never found a benefit buying domestic.