Normally I assemble the components myself and only let JLCPCB produce the PCB circuit board part.
Because the unit price of their components is relatively expensive. Although the quality can be guaranteed, I am referring to counterfeit products.In other words, the price/performance ratio is very low,
If you are familiar with electronic components and understand the market conditions, you can arrange it yourself
You seem to be comparing cheap components from the grey market (which may be fakes) with components sourced from official distributors (which, in my understanding, is what JLCPCB offers in their Global Sourcing program). Of course the official components are more expensive, but I am happy to pay for that.
Also, for my current project I am specifically interested in having the boards populated by JLCPCB. I want to make more than one board and hand-placing everything is not an option.
It depends on everyone's choice,If you are familiar with the electronics industry and understand the market, this is very simple, efficient and cheap.
This is not a gray market cheap component, it is just an online sales platform for ordinary Chinese consumers, similar to "aliexpress".Normally, ordinary Chinese consumers will not shop on "aliexpress", we are more familiar with the "Taobao" shopping platform.
Of course there are cheap inferior products out there, but there are also cheap high quality ones, it all depends on your choice and experience.