When will China start a little Quality Control

[keelec]

It seems as if Chinese manufactured stuff is permeating into our society everywhere.

 

A few days ago I was given a free sample of some products that included a pocket knife made in China. It looked cute..... Serrated lock blade with easy 1-handed opening operation.

 

However, the locking mechanism is so dangerous, I can't believe that it was allowed to be imported into the USA. To unlock the blade, one must put one's thumb under where one is closing the blade and push a lever aside. There is no way to unlock it without putting a thumb or finger across where the blade closes.

 

Then, I've had the knife for barely a week and the rivet/screw that holds the blade in place has come out (and has been lost).

 

Are these products made so that people would NEVER want to buy Chinese stuff again?

 

What do the Chinese think about purchasing products marked "Made in China"?

 

----- Clifford ------

[oregonknl]

Ha, Ha!

 

Clifford, that is a great post..

 

Yeah, the same guys with cell phones glued to their faces are the same guys making "deals" to make said dangerous implements-- or similar "deals" all over China... but eventually, just like the post-war history of Japan, quality will continue to improve in China...

 

---Kim

[se_lang]

remember they make products the the spec's the US manufacture requests or they just make shit products and the US buyer buys it, so yes a some of their products suck but who is really at fault. Us or them, almost sounds like a poll question.

[hypoclear]

well Cliff the fact that it is in your hands...

pretty much proves the fact of who will buy it..

 

This is a country where the 1 RMB equals $0.12 cents and it is counterfeited often here..

 

As of late HK has been finding bad food shipped in from the mainland..and many people there refuse to buy any food products from here. hmmm I guess this comes under the expand market model of business. when one has poisoned all ones customers ... expand market!..

 

There are few laws and even less enforcement and as Bea says it is like gambling... take a chance and do it for the MONEY and well if you get caught no problem 2 or 3 years in prison and it's ok.

 

So yes it might run the course of Japan but than again.. it might not. Any amount of profit is not too small for them and any lengths to make it isn't out of bounds either.

 

It is a very different lawless culture, but as I have said before.. what is the sense of being top of the dog shit pile? it still stinks and it still is dog shit?

 

Mark and Bea

[Robert S.]

The really high quality items that China makes never leave the country, they are not for the mass export market. If you go to one of the government owned top-notch department stores in a major city you will see what I mean.

[sylinchinastill]

I totally disagree- In my opinion the things China makes for China are worse than the things they mke for other countries because other countries have some sort of control system- China's quality control- especially in packaged foods and etc., is really bad- and it's hard to find good pots and kitchen items, silverware, clothes, electronics are especially bad- should a dvd player have a 6 month lifeline? I would think that some things in the US escape through the requirements- but it's hard here to find things that will work and last.

[Trigg]

I totally disagree- In my opinion the things China makes for China are worse than the things they mke for other countries because other countries have some sort of control system- China's quality control- especially in packaged foods and etc., is really bad- and it's hard to find good pots and kitchen items, silverware, clothes, electronics are especially bad- should a dvd player have a 6 month lifeline? I would think that some things in the US escape through the requirements- but it's hard here to find things that will work and last.

Ya'll just remember one thing. Most of our fiancees/spouse were 'made in China'!!

[tonado]

Ya'll just remember one thing. Most of our fiancees/spouse were 'made in China'!!

That is probably why my wife is so high maintenance.

She went shopping yesterday at Banana Republic and bought herself a pants for $118. Her sister said it looks good on her. She told me that the pants will last a life time. Sure. After one year, she will get bore with it.

[Phil & Ningning]

My Ningning understands this.... the one thing she owns of very high quality is the padlock she uses on the door to her apartment.

Made In USA!

[MoonCarolCafe]

It's not a problem with the quality of the manufactured goods. It's a problem with the design of the manufactured goods. As I sit here, I am using a very nice steel desk with a sand-blasted glass top, typing on a durable black IBM keyboard, moving the mouse pointer with a Microsoft 5-button optical trackball, looking at an NEC 19 inch monitor, listening to NPR on a Sony Walkman, charging my Palm Tungsten, and drinking a glass of orange juice. Everything in the previous sentence, except for the orange juice (the glass is made in China) and the NPR radio signal, is made in China.

 

Not all manufactured goods from China are of poor design.

[NicolaNSam]

I agree with sylinchinastill 100%. There is no doubt in my mind that products made for export are MUCH higher quality then the crap the Chinese sell to their local market! You have no idea how many Chinese people I have seen buy things made in China from America and bring it back just because they don't have access to such high quality goods! Our furniture factory boss visited us a few months ago and bought $500 worth of made in china watches to bring back to China!

Most of the companies in China brag about making "export quality" merchandise! I have disscussed with sooooooooooooo many Chinese people about the poor quality and most say the same thing. A factory in China doesn't usually get repeat business and 90% of their customers only care about the price!

I'll be the first to admit that there was a factory that used to sell an item for 50% higher than other factories but it was much higher quality. I bought from him and everyone that came to buy from me said they saw the same thing for MUCH cheaper. Its not the same mine was nicer quality but you can only tell if you put the two next to each other. Quality is important up to a certain degree. I took my loss and ordered from the cheaper factories the next time around.

[Robert S.]

Excuse me, but I am not talking about the mass market junk they make for domestic consumption, I am simply stating that if they want to make a really high quality item they can produce a world-class product. No, these are not easy to find, but when you do find them in the top-notch department stores you can see what they can make when they want to.

[keelec]

typing on a durable black IBM keyboard

Well,

 

I must say that I am here typing on a durable white IBM keyboard.... Vintage 1995 (kind of old for computer years)..... MADE IN THE GOOD OLD USA

 

The thing works as well as it did 9 years ago. All I have to do is clean out the grime between the keys every once in a while.

 

I also have a mound of Dell keyboards made in China.... Junkiest keyboards that you can imagine :P :P

[keelec]

Most of the companies in China brag about making "export quality" merchandise! I have disscussed with sooooooooooooo many Chinese people about the poor quality and most say the same thing. A factory in China doesn't usually get repeat business and 90% of their customers only care about the price!

I'll be the first to admit that there was a factory that used to sell an item for 50% higher than other factories but it was much higher quality. I bought from him and everyone that came to buy from me said they saw the same thing for MUCH cheaper. Its not the same mine was nicer quality but you can only tell if you put the two next to each other. Quality is important up to a certain degree. I took my loss and ordered from the cheaper factories the next time around.

It sounds like China is doing ok with some of the high tech stuff. Computer manufacturers are insisting on reasonably good quality items (hard drives and memory with a life expectancy of > 5 years, etc).

 

Except, as I mentioned that Dell has traditionally sold some of the worst quality keyboards of any that I’ve seen, all made in China (all of the keys get "sticky" very quickly). I don’t know if the quality has improved lately, but most of what I’ve seen from them is pure junk.

 

However, so much other Chinese stuff is also pure junk.

 

I think part of the problem is the "MADE IN CHINA" is synonymous with “JUNK”……

 

Thus, if I am looking at wrench sets, for example. I judge the quality in a large part by the label. If it says “Made in the USA” (or Europe), I assume it is of decent quality (of course realizing there is a broad spectrum of American made tools). If there is a wrench set that says “Made in China”, I will assume it is barely worth the shipping to get it here.

 

Now, if two manufacturers make Chinese goods, the one with the cheapest price wins out because by the label alone “Made in China”, one assumes that the quality is the very low, and virtually identical between the products.

 

So much in the tool industry is pure “fluff”, with plastic stuff to make the tools appear prettier, but having no actual benefit to the use.

 

And, yes, I do look at the labels…. Especially when purchasing tools. And, sometimes I still purchase imported.

 

----- Clifford -----

[maiyademama]

I totally disagree- In my opinion the things China makes for China are worse than the things they mke for other countries because other countries have some sort of control system- China's quality control- especially in packaged foods and etc., is really bad- and it's hard to find good pots and kitchen items, silverware, clothes, electronics are especially bad- should a dvd player have a 6 month lifeline? I would think that some things in the US escape through the requirements- but it's hard here to find things that will work and last.

Amen!

I can remember spending days on end just trying to find decent home accessories. In the end, I didn't find them in those gov't owned department stores,I found them in internationally owned dept. stores like The Metro and Carrefour.