so a family friend helped get us some thick laminate flooring for a really good price.. i noticed on the packaging it said "American Design, German Materials" with it ultimately being made in China.. now im looking to purchase a high-end upright piano for my bedroom and was doing some research on pianos.. turns out, this piano i wanted for about 13k is made in korea but is generally thought to be made in Germany.. its a Bechstein piano and they are well known for making the best upright pianos.. now their top of the line pianos are the "C. Bechstein" and those are apparently made in Germany (built in Czech Republic with final assembly in Germany).

Question: How do you know what your getting these days and is it reliable information? for a big purchase like this, i would assume that the companies and dealers would tell the truth (by law, any facts about a product have to be disclosed) .. Apparently not, according to one an investigation this one guy did (posted in a piano forum).. he finally got to the dirt of it all by emailing someone that writes books on piano brand reviews..

 

It's all about the percentages. If a certain amount of parts come from the us but it's built in China, they can still say made in USA.

If your going to wind up with overseas product anyway buy a yamaha

 

And vice versa - many things are built all over the world but final assembly is in China because that's where its cheapest, so that's where it says its made even though it was really just screwed together there.

More technology related, but an interesting story - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...2902413796.html

 

When I was researching pianos, (specifically Yamaha) they very strongly recommended that you don't buy the ones made in Asia (I forget exactly which country the Asian ones were mfr'd in). The reasoning: the humidity difference caused issues with the wood. The woods in the ones over there were conditioned to higher humidity, so when you import them to the US with our lower humidity, after a few years they dry out and the soundboard cracks.

This may just be a ploy to keep people from buying "grey-market" used pianos, but the more research I did, the more I began to believe it. I found many imported pianos on Craigslist that were suffering that exact problem. When I ran their serial number through the online tool provided by Yamaha, each of those came up as being originally mfr'd in Asia.

Just something to keep in mind when shopping for used pianos.

FYIO:
http://www.yamaha.com/ussub/piano/se...berlookup.html

 

ive heard about the grey-market pianos.. i actually spoke with a technician once and he was saying that if the pianos are made in Japan and brought to New York and then moved to a different state, wouldnt that be a major climate change for the piano.. he was basically saying they are good pianos here in America.. dont know if its true, but that is something to think about..

the Yamaha pianos you were talking about are the Indonesian pianos which are 2nd rate yamahas.

 

Chinese pianos have a reputation for being bad pianos (although that thinking is changing becuase factory conditions in China are getting better).. its just hard to get away from that "Made in China" thinking when buying something high-end.. it worth pointing out that Made in China isnt what it used to be anymore.. alot of the low-grade stuff they are notorious for making are getting better.. and labor is no longer the cheapest there, but can be found in other parts of Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia, etc..

 

I will speak to your laminate floor scenario, as I work for a flooring manufacturer. Not a laminate manufacturer, but our industry is close.

Right now, one flooring company has pioneered the 'ultimate' click system. The click system is the tongue and groove part of your floor where it couples together. This one flooring company has recently been awarded a patent for this technology and is going through the legal system to have all manufacturers using their system pay a royalty. Hence the "American Design".

"German Materials" speaks to the raw materials used to make the product itself. Not just the wood portion, but the actual laminate surface, or other key raw material used to hold the planks together. The only thing odd about that is you said, "Made In China". While American laminate companies source raw materials from Europe, its not common for China to source raw materials from Europe. But there are a TON of China laminate flooring manufacturers.

I have a co-worker who has recently researched the entire laminate industry in fine detail. I'm going to give her your quote and see if she can name the floor.

 

i looked at the box again and its actually "German Technology".. which could mean the same as German materials.. dont know

 

I guess they can claim whatever they want. Laminate flooring was invented in Sweden, and glueless laminate in Belgium years later. German technology? hmmmm.

I guess they can say whatever they want on packaging as long as 'made in china' is clearly marked. We make products in the USA but all the raw materials we use in production come from China, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Can't use the statement made in america on the packaging but do print an American Flag on everything.

Enjoy your new floor.

 

Confucius Say: Foolish Man Give Wife Grand Piano, Wise Man Give Her Upright Organ.