seabell

My first post here. FWIW, I work for a company who are regional agents for an electronic product (commercial, not 'consumer') generally regarded worldwide as being in the 'top tier' or 'higher echelon'... whatever. Our products, marketed under a USA/Swiss brand name, are manufactured in the United States and China. My position requires that I maintain a database of information related to callouts, repairs, warranty claims etc. I can sincerely report that the reliability of the Chinese product exceeds that of the American version by a factor of four. I am not an Asian, neither do I hail from North or South America. I'm a European. No axe to grind - just facts from my standpoint for your edification. I've only been in the business since 1979, so I may be regarded as naive, however, the clincher for me is that the US product costs three times that of the Chinese version, yet has an average annual maintenance cost of around six times that of it's Eastern brethren. I consider myself apolitical as well as atheistic, which I expect might ruffle some feathers in this forum. So be it. Your friend. Charlie.