f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Is anyone else getting sick of 'China'?

Apart from their appalling human and animal rights records and their complete lack of intention to do anything other than pay lip service to the environmental side of industrial output while we in Europe obey every law internationally agreed there seems to be one bad news story after another that always has mention of China in it.

From film/music piracy to companies seting up fake UK web sites and peddling counterfeit goods as if they are genuine at the heart of these stories is always China.

And as for goods made in China is it any accident nothing lasts as long as it used to? We bought a UPS for our servers the other day. I wanted to buy an American made one, but we got talked into a cheaper alternative. It burnt out the first time it was needed and guess what... 'Made in China'. Same with our router that lasted 9 months. Same with 2 PCS, both developed faults within 6 months. etc. etc.

Our own fault for buying the damn things I guess although you seem unable to avoid it.

The Chief

Most electronics are made in China. without it electrical goods would be treble the price.

I've found most Chinese very efficient and honest. But as my job i do my homework first before i buy anything - like anywhere there are loads of crooks and Arthur Daileys and China is not an exeption.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Not so sure about the Western standards thing. Recently had cause to replace my burgalr alarm. Went for a replacment from the same manufacturer my previous alarm was made by as it lasted over 15 years with no hassles.

Installed new one and it kept coming up with tamper alert. Traced it to one of the remote keypads being incorrectly assembled .... kitemarked, but made in China.

Then there was the kite marked, made in China eletrical socket my mate had installed in a rewire. It wouldn't turn on so we dismantled it and the switchgear was installed **** about face.

Or how about the faulty self cancelling indictators on the Mercedes E class (yes E class). Plastic ring disintegrates after about 3 years.... made in China would you believe not that Mercedes will tell you that of course

And so on it goes.

KiwiGTI

I'm getting sick of stuff made in China, in general it's absolute rubbish, especially clothes. You really have to be an idiot to be buying designer gear now when it's made over there.

KiwiGTI

But they wouldn't be really would they. The companies are just milking it to make higher profits.

For example, Panasonic produce most of its Lumix camera line-up in Japan and still compete with other brands at the same price when they make theirs in China.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Was on the news yesterday that Indesit ( IIRC ) are closing their factory in the UK that has been running for over 50 years.

They made washing machines there, that sold to buyers in the UK, and weren't any more expensive than those imported from overseas for equivalent products.

In fact, the bloke from the factory was saying they still made a profit on everything they made, so weren't losing money, they could just make MORE for their shareholders by getting the stuff made overseas.

In any case, China is getting more and more expensive as the workers demand a higher standard of living and wages - the same thing happened to other countries in the past - originally MADE IN JAPAN meant cheap plastic rubbish, then as Japan made all the money and set up the infrastructure and R&D facilities, they ended up making some of the best quality goods on the market.

The cheap stuff then moved to Taiwan, same happened there, and when they got too expensive it mover again to Hong Kong, and now China.

No doubt in a few years we'll see MADE IN INDIA or MADE IN BOTSWANA on everything.

r32

I am fed up with it, huge companies rushing to deal and build factorys, moving production from the west. Yet there are not many more countries with a worse human rights record. We should shun them like we do with other places who cant treat humans properly..................

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Also, whenever possible I try and buy things that are either made in the UK ( like my new lawnmower ) or Europe / Japan ( electronic goods etc.. ) as apart from not contributing to Chinas military stockpiles, they also tend to be better quality, last better, work better and if you do need to repair or service them, then you can actually get the parts ( for my lawnmower for example, you can order every single part as a spare from the manufacturer, from a complete engine to a single washer ! ).

Most of these things aren't any more expensive when you compare the extra time they will last with a cheap Chinese made item, in fact over the long term they will often work out cheaper as you don't need to throw them away after 2 years when they break as you can't get a part to fix them.

Its a shame that a lot of people just seem to want to buy the cheapest possible item out there, rather than paying a bit extra - I suppose its just down to our throwaway society.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

r32 - agree with that - one of the reasons I would never buy a Dyson was because of their attitude when they were criticised for moving their manufacturing to China. Would rather buy a different make ( for the same price, funnily enough ) made in the UK ( one thing we do still seem to be able to make for some funny reason !)

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes Dyson was a **** for that, a very rich bloke and moves the production away to make more money this depriving many of his countrymen of a living, might be more to it than that but that's how I have had it put to me, anyone else think that a company is there to make money first and foremost but really there should be some social responsibility and philanthropy as well.

I did buy a Dyson due to this, well that and the number on the tip

The Zohan

recent reports of fake goods ebsites with UK web addys but chinese companies selling fakes.

BBC news was carrying the story this moring about fake Nikes and GHD straighters

There was a load of dangerous toys built in China and sold in the west UK built for for Mattel last christmas - the paint was toxic

There was the huge scandal about baby milk poweder containg rubbish to bulk it up that killed 100's of babies in China.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Thank goodness it's not just me thinking this way. I now do my utmost to only purchase things not made in China. Not easy though in many cases.

The Zohan

One issue is the forgeries
from shoes right up to big stuff.
There is a conference centre in Dubai that purchased a pukka Sennheiser push to talk microphone system for an auditorium, some 300 units and the control gear from a supplier in the east.
When it developed a fault they spoke to the manufacturer only to discover that they hadn't in fact manufactured the system sold this system to the conference centre - it was a fake would you believe - From (yes, you have probably guessed) China

Thank God they did not get the '08 Olympics, that would have just rubber stamped thier human rights record

Ray_li

if you're really that pissed off go round your house and throw everything out thats not made in the UK.

go on I DARE you

countries like China and India are going through their industrial revolution so their polution, human right, etc will be crap. just think about the west when we were going through the industrial revolution.

homes were getting knocked down to make way for towns, roads and railways. did people back then get a say? No they didnt.
Polution during the industrail revoltuon was also **** poor.

we've had our, now give other countries a chance to develop

Ray_li

Those people got the death penity

dont know if china still do this but people that got death had to buy their own bullets

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

No I'm sorry but things have moved on and we as a modern society know better now.

Put simply they missed the boat. Why should we in Europe obey all this legislation (much of it internationally agreed I might add) while other countries just ride roughshod over the rules and regulations and do as they please giving them the chance to offer more competitive prices etc.

I am also not convinved that even in the time of our industrial revolution we had human rights issues like the Chinese have today and anyway we live in a modern society now which makes it doubly unacceptable.

Just look at the way they handled the Olympic Games. Bussing lots of beautiful people in as spectators so the world would look on and admire what a marvellous nation they are all the while banning the world's media form telling the truth.

As for chucking things out of my house that are made in China, if only I could, trouble is in some sectors there isn't much that isn't. I will be throwing them out soon enough anyway as they are all bound to malfunction in the next 12 months!!!!

Anyway car made in Japan, camera made in Japan, hi-fi made in UK so the main things are sorted

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Edited for accuracy

KiwiGTI

Don't agree with that at all - Not really in favour of giving other people a chance because life is really all about survival of the fittest. I'm sure China would reciprocate.

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

And odds are all the electronic componants, including the circuit boards, are made in China. "Made in x" just means that country x did some of the final assembly. All country x has to dois but everything in a box and they can make that boast.


M

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

I bet bill gates shares your sentiments, those fake ms products must cost him a pretty penny.
I bought one of those cheap mini motos from China a few years back. The thing fell apart after a week.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Like anywhere in the world there is crap and there is good stuff.

With China us Westerners are suckers for all their cheap crap and we lap it up.

A lot of our high end goods are made there too and you would never know. In fact most of my Macbook Pro is made in China.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Yeah but lets be honest, thats not gonna happen is it? Whilst things are cheap to buy in places like China, many folk will naturally see the cheaper option and 'take the risk'. It does depend on what you buy though I guess.

Same with me and the t-shirt I'm wearing right now. £4 from Primark, but probably made by some 5 year old Indian kid on 60 Rupees a day. Kinda feel bad, but cheap and cheerful is the way for me at the minute.

Swings and roundabouts, but whole heartedly agree on their (China's) terrible human rights record of recent.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

60 rupees!!! they wish

try 10 or 15

The Chief

We will never be able to compete with China as the labour is so cheap over there. 6 day weeks are the norm and 100 euros a month is classed as a good wage.

Everyone goes off on one about Chinese quality, it really depends on what you buy. Would i buy a mini moto from China? probably not but there electronics are probably as good as anywhere in the west. In fact some of the passive components i buy from China a more reliable then the well known brands. I also buy cooling fans which have a failure rate of less than 1% and are a lot more reliable then a very well known US manufacturer.

I've dealt with China for well over 15 years now and the quality and reliability has shot up in recent years.

So what do we do, boycott everything that is made in China? Ok fair enough but we'd we living in the dark ages if we did - or would be very skint as we'd not be able to afford anything.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Well in the case of the hi-fi definitely all made here in the UK, every last bit of it.

99% sure that my Nikon is made wholly in Japan, may not be the case today, but pretty sure that's the case with mine. Used it solidly for 3 years, been everywhere with me and still works as well as the day I bought it ergo it can't have anything made in China inside it otherwise it would definitely have malfunctioned by now!!

As for the car I don't know. Was built 10 years ago so I doubt the Chinese had a hand in it. Ah yes hang on nothing has gone wrong with it so once again can't be made in China

Sorry but in my experience most of the stuff they produce is tosh

The Chief

So when you open up the hifi - the passive components are manufactured in the UK are they? I think you'll find that some of the parts are made in China or at least the far east i.e. Taiwan.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

I doubt it. Most of it was made 15 years ago in Salisbury. All circuitry built in Salisbury.

Sure some of the resistors etc. will come from abroad I guess, but a bit early for China thank goodness and all must meet Naim's specification anyway and I doubt most Chinese manufacturers could manage that consistently.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

I wasn't far off...
Exposed: Primark's sweatshops that pay children just 60p a day | Mail Online

In particular this quote...
but in a good day I can make 40 rupees (60p).