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I think Apple should go All-American.
- Thread starter DevilDog
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Seconded.devilot said:
America build quality is crap, but I really do want Apple's employees in factories overseas to be treated well.
It's about human rights, people.
To answer the thread starter's question: Yes
Have you guys stopped to think for a second and asked yourselves what the most expensive item is imported from China? It's the Apple computer. Have you ever noticed that most every Chinese produced product that competes with the American produced version is 50% less in dollars if not more?
How much does each MacBook cost Apple to produce at their cost? I believe it is probably at least 300% less than the retail price. Having said that, I would gladly pay $3000 for a zero defect 15" MacBook Pro made in USA. But I believe the same computer made in China should cost $500 or less, being that it is built with extremely cheap labor.
Have you guys stopped to think for a second and asked yourselves what the most expensive item is imported from China? It's the Apple computer. Have you ever noticed that most every Chinese produced product that competes with the American produced version is 50% less in dollars if not more?
How much does each MacBook cost Apple to produce at their cost? I believe it is probably at least 300% less than the retail price. Having said that, I would gladly pay $3000 for a zero defect 15" MacBook Pro made in USA. But I believe the same computer made in China should cost $500 or less, being that it is built with extremely cheap labor.
mkrishnan said:
You have to go some to be the worst of Pontiac. I can't remember any other time feeling the metal slats in a car seat.
I do remember the first Saturns at the Philadelphia Auto Show being really bad with parts falling off when I sat down in the cars.
DevilDog said:
When it says "Made in America" that means anywhere in the Americas--South, Central, or North America. So, don't think for a minute that means U.S.A., although it could. It's generally used to get people to buy otherwise poor quality goods.
MACDRIVE said:To answer the thread starter's question: Yes
Have you guys stoped to think for a second and asked yourselves what the most expensive item imported from China is? It's the Apple computer. Have you ever noticed that most every Chinese produced product that competes with the American produced version is 50% less in dollars, if not more?
How much does each MacBook cost Apple to produce at their cost? I believe it is probably at least 300% less than the retail price. Having said that, I would gladly pay $3000 for a zero defect 15" MacBook Pro made in USA. But I believe the same computer made in China should cost $500 or less, being that it is built with extremely cheap labor.
Zero defect product built in the US? Keep dreaming. I'm not saying the Chinese are 100% perfect when it comes to building things, but US build quality is...well, who am I kidding. There is no quality.
Another thing to take into consideration is that its one thing to design and marketing, but its another to manufacture. We are not talking about the simple sweatshops or traditional manufacture, but high-tech manufacturing actually takes some skill to do it. The truth is that US lacks in some key manufacturing technology that many advanced instruments can not be made in US anymore. I know US likes to self proclaim itself the best country in the world, but they really should travel around the world to get the real picture. There's a reason why US made isn't as glamorous as one would like it to be.
bousozoku said:
We're pointing our fingers at the wrong problem here. Clearly, with many of the great Toyotas and Hondas manufactured here in the US, it is obvious that we are capable of manufacturing quality items. It's the ENGINEERING that's the problem.
More than anything, I would blame the poor quality of American cars on the engineers that design them. How many times have you seen a mechanic shake their head while fixing something which is such an obvious design flaw?
The funny thing is, America has a wealth of excellent engineers which produce some amazingly high-quality equipment. For example, look at Kenmore and Maytag appliances. Look at KitchenAid kitchen appliances. Look at Apple computers. Look at La-Z-Boy chairs. Look at some of the most complex chemical plants and refineries in the world (most designed by American engineers). All of these things are exceptionally high quality, and are engineered right here in the US.
I point my finger at the apparent failure of automotive engineers in this country. If you have a solid design, manufacturing errors would account for a very small percentage of defects. The widespread poor quality of American cars suggests that the errors are more related to poor design.
Food for thought: perhaps the US auto companies WANT their cars to be engineered poorly, so that they make more money in licensed repair centers?
yg17 said:
Sorry, but that's inaccurate as well. I worked for a restaurant equipment manufacturer and as far as I know, they're still quite focused on quality. They sell the same basic products to various countries--42 or so when I left in 1988--with modifications to fit local law. However, they are an exceptional company, even among companies in that town.
So it costs Apple 3 times less to make than retail? That would mean they get paid for the manufacturing...MACDRIVE said:I believe it is probably at least 300% less than the retail price. Having said that, I would gladly pay $3000 for a zero defect 15" MacBook Pro made in USA. But I believe the same computer made in China should cost $500 or less, being that it is built with extremely cheap labor.
Also, there are certain costs that don't change no matter where something is built, like materials (aluminum isn't cheap).
Uh, right. I'd like to echo applemacdude and mention Craftsman hand tools, or basically any other hand tool company (Husky, Snap-On, etc.), or the myriad of other manufacturers here, but you're just going to ignore whatever I say and make a crack at American manufacturing with no actual reasoning or facts to back up your baseless opinion.yg17 said:
When "Made in the USA" was a priority
I'm Indian, and I remember when I was a kid, there were two kinds of products , one "Made in Japan" and one "Made in the USA" Pricing wasn't an issue in the 80s.. people were more than happy to shell out more money for a quality product.
American products used to be in great demand in India - toys, electronics, a/v equipment, clothing, almost everything. When my uncle would come visit us (from Florida) and he would bring these gadgets, I would squeal with excitement "Yes! An american product!" and I would show off to my friends "Hey, I got He-man, and its made in the USA" The 'fakes' were made in China then (and still are)
Needless to say, everything lasted forever and the build quality was superb.
The late 90s saw the profileration of Chinese products, and I don't think I ever noticed any "Made in the USA" products anymore. Even Japanese made products started to disappear. I don't know if its the fault of the consumers, who wanted everything to be so affordable, that manufacturers had to move their operations to China, where they could save considerably on costs.
Unfortunately, you can't really combine mass production and cost cutting measures.. and keep quality control a priority. Man, I miss those good old "Made in the USA" days!
I'm Indian, and I remember when I was a kid, there were two kinds of products , one "Made in Japan" and one "Made in the USA" Pricing wasn't an issue in the 80s.. people were more than happy to shell out more money for a quality product.
American products used to be in great demand in India - toys, electronics, a/v equipment, clothing, almost everything. When my uncle would come visit us (from Florida) and he would bring these gadgets, I would squeal with excitement "Yes! An american product!" and I would show off to my friends "Hey, I got He-man, and its made in the USA"
The 'fakes' were made in China then (and still are)Needless to say, everything lasted forever and the build quality was superb.
The late 90s saw the profileration of Chinese products, and I don't think I ever noticed any "Made in the USA" products anymore. Even Japanese made products started to disappear. I don't know if its the fault of the consumers, who wanted everything to be so affordable, that manufacturers had to move their operations to China, where they could save considerably on costs.
Unfortunately, you can't really combine mass production and cost cutting measures.. and keep quality control a priority. Man, I miss those good old "Made in the USA" days!
yg17 said:
I strongly disagree with you. There are many U.S. companies that manufacture products that are of the absolute finest quality in the world. One such company that comes to mind is Snap-on, Inc.
Counterfit said:
Ok then, please tell us what your best guess is of what it costs Apple to build a 15" MacBook Pro?
sushi said:
Same sort of thing still goes on here. We have no Apple, and only one distributor, and they set whatever price they feel like. Fortunately the markup isn't too bad now, but I believe that it's still cheaper to import from the US (if you can find somewhere that sells internationally).
iTwitch said:
What makes you think that the prices are not already artificially inflated like the price of crude oil and gasoline?
devilot said:
Oh wow, I've had the Canadian store bookmarked for quite some time, and didn't even know their stuff was made in the US.
Hell, I didn't even know it was an American store. I honestly thought it was just a name, because the Canadian version of the store is just a YAHOO Store, so I thought it was just a small start-up online retail company. Everything's cooler when it's advertised as being designed from LA, right?Oh, and how's the quality of their stuff? Is it very good? They make themselves out to sound as though they make the best cotton t-shirts in the universe, when it could just be like any regular cotton, slightly stretchy t-shirt. Hard to tell from the internet photos. Heh.
raggedjimmi said:
Just remember that all of us red blooded Americans are also good at dumping your tea in the Boston Harbor.