What is your opinion on Chinese-Made products? particularly big items ticket items like computers, pianos, etc.

i think the big stuff has had a bad rep for a while and the reputation of these products still lingers.. but i think it will slowly (or even relatively quickly) go away.

i was in the market for a baby-grand piano and have spoken to a few piano tech's and people in industry that say alot of the Chinese pianos being made now are WAY better than the ones from the 80's and 90's.. I actually practice off a chinese-made upright at the moment and thats probably a reason why i might stay away from another chinese piano.. but im now actually considering getting a brand new one from a manufacturer called Hailun. they have recruited people from top piano manufacturers to work for them, so their stuff is good, while remaining cheap to construct.

only problem with products made in china now is that it seems their products will become more expensive in the future as factories are getting better..

 

Chinese quality is not the issue for me. A business will either choose to make a good product or not regardless of the item being discussed.

The problem for me is that the products we consume are not being made in our country.

If it is imported it should be subject to steep tariffs just like our products are over-seas.

I have nothing to contribute to your question about the quality of Chinese pianos.

 

No idea about Chinese Pianos but I'm still cautious about the consistent quality of Chinese goods. In our business we've seen Chinese organizations cut corners (e.g. substitute cheaper materials or skip a qualification test) more sharply than is acceptible in electronic components. Are they capable of "world class?" Sure. But they get no trust from me... yet.

 

I meant to post this on your other thread...

Have you looked through Craigslist? on my local there are lots of pianos people will give away for the cost of the mover.

There was even a full grand ( name escapes me ) for 800 bucks a couple weeks ago.

New pianos aren't cheap, China or not, spend some time looking at a few used ones you can pick up for peanuts and just test them out, if one of them speaks to you buy it, and save a wack 'o cash.

 

Have bought some electronics that were chinese made that seemed as good as those made anywhere else. Also have had tons of consumer made products from china that were the worst made pieces of crap ever. I also don't like the large amounts of chinese seafood with all kinds of nasty chemicals and steroids.

If I have a choice I buy something made anywhere but China. I get that they have been pursuing policies on economic expansion at any cost but stuff like wideranging piracy of intellectual property go unchecked by the government rubs me the wrong way. I am not a big tariff guy, but I don't mind paying a bit extra (depending on how much that extra cost is) to get a product made here or somewhere else for that matter.

I just wonder what happens when India starts to take all the jobs from the Chinese when they start manufacturing things cheaper than China does. Or bangladesh or where ever. When you push your standard of living up, someone poorer will always undercut you.

PS....there is a water logged piano down in florida somewhere I bet you could get cheap.

 

the piano was just an example for my topic.. its not a 'piano buying question'..(im already on the piano forums for that)

btw. ive done the craigslist thing.. its rare, but sometimes you can find gems on craigslist for <5k.. all the other stuff for around 1k needs alot of work and they are really old..

 

as soon as they produce products that don't kill my pets or children i will respect them a little more... Until then, I deal with it when inescapable

the fact that they are producing so much of our consumables that we should be producing for ourselves, bothers me.

 

this topic is going to end up in the politics forum, just so you know.....



my prediction only

 

i was going to put a little disclaimer

*lets try not to get into politics. but i guess its kind of hard not to when so much is at stake

 

I feel more comfortable with big ticket items from China than Wal-Mart level goods.

Are there many mass produced products left that don't have some component that originated in China?

When the US consistently imports more food than it exports is when it's over.