Is Made In The USA always better?

[lex666]

Lets say 2 items are identical except for the location of where its made - is made in the USA always better? What if I said the made in USA product costs 20% more compared to the same item made elsewhere in the world?



(automobiles are not identical)

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

define "better"

but beyond that no its not 100% intrinsic that USA products are better many nations around the world are capable of producing fine products of all types.

[Kramer Guy]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Not neccessarily, no. Some of Fender's amps such as the Mustang amd Frontman series are now being made in China and, IMO they sound damm good for the price.

[Tor]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Of course not.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Nope... any quality product is a quality product no matter where it's made.

One of the best playing guitars I have ever played came from Japan.

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Of course not.

x2



Jesus Christ lex666, this is trolling

[sosomething]

The US doesn't even make the best Americans.

[ErikH]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Not neccessarily, no. Some of Fender's amps such as the Mustang amd Frontman series are now being made in China and, IMO they sound damm good for the price.

Sound has nothing to do with overall quality though. They may sound great but will they last a long time?

Case in point. I had a Crate Blue Voodoo head, made in U.S.A. It sounded fantastic but I didn't have it a year because the quality sucked so bad on it. It blew up 3 times.

My favorite amp was made in England. It still kicks ass.

There's some great stuff from other countries. It's the ones that make blatent copies of other goods that I'm cautious about.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Is there any physical difference to the product? No.

Is it better from an economic and social point? Yes.

The made in USA item means employment for people in your country, which means more money workers have to spend, which means more money in your economy. Also it means those people are living and working in the USA so they're paying taxes which benefits everyone.

So is the USA made item better? You bet it is.

[sosomething]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

The best gear is designed by the best engineers, made using the best materials, by the best craftsmen, employing the highest attention to detail.

That can happen anywhere.

[Tor]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Is it better from an economic and social point? Yes.

The made in USA item means employment for people in your country, which means more money workers have to spend, which means more money in your economy. Also it means those people are living and working in the USA so they're paying taxes which benefits everyone.

Not necessarily so in the long run.

If a lot of people buy American just because it's American, the producers benefiting from this will be lacking some of the incentives to improve the quality of their products, since they are somewhat "protected" (artificially) from the competition with superior imports. They are thus at the mercy of patriotic/supporting and/or dumb consumers. If the wind turns, on the other hand, and people start buying much more Chinese or whatever because they have realized that it simply is much more bang for the buck, the American producers will have a looong way back to the track - with the possible results of going bankrupt, people fired, etc.

I say support your country, but not blindly so.

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

No, Made in England is always better

It doesn't matter where it is made these days, there are lots of great products etc. I mean even chinese made guitars are slowly but surely getting higher and higher in quality

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

I prefer Taiwanese stuff myself.

[formula73]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Not necessarily so in the long run.

If a lot of people buy American just because it's American, the producers benefiting from this will be lacking some of the incentives to improve the quality of their products, since they are somewhat "protected" (artificially) from the competition with superior imports. They are thus at the mercy of patriotic/supporting and/or dumb consumers. If the wind turns, on the other hand, and people start buying much more Chinese or whatever because they have realized that it simply is much more bang for the buck, the American producers will have a looong way back to the track - with the possible results of going bankrupt, people fired, etc.

I say support your country, but not blindly so.

His argument isn't that made in USA is ALWAYS better (unlike the OP's intent), but that it's better for Americans. This is absolutely true.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Is Made In The USA always better?

Not necessarily so in the long run.

If a lot of people buy American just because it's American, the producers benefiting from this will be lacking some of the incentives to improve the quality of their products, since they are somewhat "protected" (artificially) from the competition with superior imports. They are thus at the mercy of patriotic/supporting and/or dumb consumers. If the wind turns, on the other hand, and people start buying much more Chinese or whatever because they have realized that it simply is much more bang for the buck, the American producers will have a looong way back to the track - with the possible results of going bankrupt, people fired, etc.

I say support your country, but not blindly so.

I'm not in the USA, but I'm speaking from the O/P's point of view. I always look to support local businesses before I will support those with foreign interests.

Here's what happened: China can make stuff way cheaper due to their labor costs (when you pay someone $2 a day and have no environmental or labor laws then sure you can make it cheap). Corporations realized they can get a factory in China to make their product for pennies on the dollar. So, they closed their North American/England/wherever facilities and contracted production to Chinese factories. BUT, they still charge the same prices for the stuff! So now, that pair of $100 jeans that used to have an overhead cost of $60 per unit now has a cost of $10 per unit. They still retail them for $100, massively increasing their margin. And the consumers don't know the difference (or care).

The fact is that most companies these days don't make anything. They're brands. They don't even own a factory or employ any workers that make their products - it's all contracted to third party facilities in Southeast Asia. So you think Wrangler Jeans - they make jeans, right? No, they don't make jeans. They manage the Wrangler brand which they apply to goods manufactured by a third party for pennies on the dollar.

This is why America no longer produces anything. They're a nation of consumers. This is why when people say, "Well, it's just as good no matter where it was made." Well, not really when you think about it.