Can we be more accurate when talking about Chinese products?

[chrisbitz]

It seems funny to me that people refer to "Chinese" wind generators, or Chinese Anchor chain or any other Chinese products

China is not a brand name! China is 5 or 6 times bigger than Britain, so how can it be suggested that one bad Chinese product is in any way related to another Chinese product?

It's a bit like someone saying I bought an English hatch for my boat, and it was rubbish and leaked... Inferring that all English hatches leak, when in fact there are probably 5+ English manufacturers of hatches, with hugely differing levels of quality! Or maybe people should refer to English Antifoul?

I'm not having a go at anyone or anything, but it just seems like a grossly misleading and inaccurate way to talk, and it happens all the time on this forum!

 

[sailorman]

50 years ago it was Jap rubbish

 

[halcyon]

It seems funny to me that people refer to "Chinese" wind generators, or Chinese Anchor chain or any other Chinese products

China is not a brand name! China is 5 or 6 times bigger than Britain, so how can it be suggested that one bad Chinese product is in any way related to another Chinese product?

It's a bit like someone saying I bought an English hatch for my boat, and it was rubbish and leaked... Inferring that all English hatches leak, when in fact there are probably 5+ English manufacturers of hatches, with hugely differing levels of quality! Or maybe people should refer to English Antifoul?

I'm not having a go at anyone or anything, but it just seems like a grossly misleading and inaccurate way to talk, and it happens all the time on this forum!

If you look through the on-line product ranges, many firms make the same design of product, or many firms market the same product.

China reminds me of one large Ebay.

Brian

 

[nigelmercier]

... how can it be suggested that one bad Chinese product is in any way related to another Chinese product?

I quite agree. I've bought two types of items from (or in) China: cheap knock-offs which were never expected to perform well (although some did) and very high-quality innovative electronic gear that has lasted and performed exceptionally well.

 

[macd]

50 years ago it was Jap rubbish

Wasn't "Jap cr*p" the more common expression? Oh how they laughed when Honda turned up with their rice-burners at the 1959 TT. Less than a decade later they won world titles in all five classes.

China is not a brand name! China is 5 or 6 times bigger than Britain, so how can it be suggested that one bad Chinese product is in any way related to another Chinese product?

Your arithmetic presumably relates to GDP; by population, China is about 21 times bigger than the UK. But I couldn't agree more with your general point. China is capital-rich, which means new factories, which in turn means state-of-the-art manufacturing. There have been plenty of posts on these forums from individuals familiar with dealing with China, to the effect that they can and will make anything to any standard: if the buyer specifies cheap rubbish, then that's what they'll get. If they specify quality, then that's also what they'll get. The trouble for punters is knowing the difference, but the stereotype to which you refer is of no help.

 

[chrisbitz]

Your arithmetic presumably relates to GDP; by population, China is about 21 times bigger than the UK.

Nah, it was pure generous guess, based on this... http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/CN/GB

 

[macd]

Nah, it was pure generous guess, based on this... http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/CN/GB

Then it was a very good guess: 2013 GDP estimates, China $13.374 trillion, UK $2.378 trillion.

(You link, by the way, is unintentionally comical, at least for we pedants. It suggests that "if The United Kingdom were your home instead of China you would...have 12.33% less babies". Just how does one raise 87.67% of a baby? Maybe they meant 12.33% fewer.)

 

[sailorman]

Wasn't "Jap cr*p" the more common expression? Oh how they laughed when Honda turned up with their rice-burners at the 1959 TT. Less than a decade later they won world titles in all five classes.



Your arithmetic presumably relates to GDP; by population, China is about 21 times bigger than the UK. But I couldn't agree more with your general point. China is capital-rich, which means new factories, which in turn means state-of-the-art manufacturing. There have been plenty of posts on these forums from individuals familiar with dealing with China, to the effect that they can and will make anything to any standard: if the buyer specifies cheap rubbish, then that's what they'll get. If they specify quality, then that's also what they'll get. The trouble for punters is knowing the difference, but the stereotype to which you refer is of no help.

i well remember the first Jap bike i saw, a Red 250 Honda Dream, wing mirrors n all

 

[rotrax]

In 1966 my brother had a Honda CB92 fitted with a race kit.

It came from Paddock Wood in Kent and had been fettled by Chisholm's- the Honda dealers who fixed Bill Ivy up with his first good bikes.

There were not many 500's that could stay with it-but my brother was a mad Barsteward........................................

First Mate and I visited the guy who purchased it from my brother in Washington State in April last year. He is a serious dude with 50 plus bikes in his collection.

He said he had more fun on that tweaked 125 twin than anything else he had ever owned or ridden.

And, apart from wearing the piston rings and valve springs out regularly-12,500 RPM can do that- it never broke down.

 

[Paddingtonbear]

And not forgetting absolutely wonderful customer service. Last year I bought, from a Chinese ebay source, some elektrickery bits and bobs inc several gauges. One of the gauges did not work(although this might have been me rather than them ), I emailed for advice and WITHIN 20 mins of receipt of the email a replacement was winging its way, special delivery via Hong Kong. And not only that they emailed a couple of day later to asked whether I had received it.

 

[prv]

And not forgetting absolutely wonderful customer service.

I had an email last year from a company I had bought some small item from. Apparently a lot of their parcels had been held up in transit, some kind of customs problem. So they were re-sending all their recent orders just in case, regardless of whether any individual one had been affected, and if we had already received ours (I had) then please accept the duplicate as a gift. A second widget duly turned up a few weeks later.

Pete

 

[theoldsalt]

I am one of those recently asking questions about a particular product sourced directly from China.

My concern is not just quality of design and manufacture. If buying directly from China on a low value item I have no real concern as I am prepared to right off the cost if the item proves faulty or damaged or fails within the warranty period. My concern is with items that are cheaper than buying in the UK but still high cost. If these items are faulty or do not reach expectations the cost and complications of returnig them are multiplied. It is not as simple as asking for a replacement from a local UK stockist.
So I want to be sure that the cost saving in buying a high value item from China justifies the risk.
I feel the same buying any high value item from overseas.
I do know that a lot of products sold in the UK are sourced from abroad but buying in this country I am secure in the knowledge that I am protected by consumer law, but if I can save a lot of money by buying directly from abroad I research the product even more than if buying in th UK.

 

[Lakesailor]

It seems funny to me that people refer to "Chinese" wind generators, or Chinese Anchor chain or any other Chinese products

China is not a brand name! China is 5 or 6 times bigger than Britain, so how can it be suggested that one bad Chinese product is in any way related to another Chinese product?

It's a bit like someone saying I bought an English hatch for my boat, and it was rubbish and leaked... Inferring that all English hatches leak, when in fact there are probably 5+ English manufacturers of hatches, with hugely differing levels of quality! Or maybe people should refer to English Antifoul?

I'm not having a go at anyone or anything, but it just seems like a grossly misleading and inaccurate way to talk, and it happens all the time on this forum!

I bought a 1.5" SU/Hitatchi copy carb by ISO (Chinese manufacturer).
£50 brand new. Runs beautifully.
I was running the car at a friend's farm last week and a friend who has just retired from trialling after 50 years of competing (including winning the BTRDA Gold and Silver Stars) was along to give me some advice. He drove the car and was very impressed with the way the engine delivered it's torque and power. So I'm very impressed with my bargain Chinese carb.

 

[vyv_cox]

I'm not having a go at anyone or anything, but it just seems like a grossly misleading and inaccurate way to talk, and it happens all the time on this forum!

But it is surely little different from 'buy British', which from time to time we are exhorted to do? Far more widely used than only on this forum.

 

[sailorman]

just think of all that krap porcelain, china sold us 300 yrs ago

 

[daviddb]

And as thread drift is already well and truly established on this subject .....

First bike was a '66(?) Suzuki T20 SuperSix. Roughly double the usable horsepower and everything else compared to the average Brit bike of the period. Fabulous. Just Fabulous. Quite why I regressed to a Norton Interstate after that I don't know. (ducks behind parapet)



Mine was blue.

But yes although I broadly agree with the OP it's undeniable that in common usage, like it or not,justified or not, 'Chinese' has become shorthand for a rip off copy that is not quite up to the highest standards.

hey ho!

 

[dartmoor]

I took a risk and bought a chinese copy of the Tohatsu 3.5hp two stroke - the design is almost identical, and the parts appear interchangeable. Yes, its not as good as a Tohatsu, but it cost me £228 delivered, and that's a brand new two stroke in 2013....(hope no EU Commissioners are reading this post). Its starts well, and runs well...hasn't got a resale value, but so what. I was very pleasantly surprised by what I received.

 

[BruceDanforth]

Take your oars with you, just in case.

 

[Plevier]

Take your oars with you, just in case.

You put me in mind of a friend of mine who had a TV repair business.
He always used to say what rubbish those LG and Samsung sets were and they would not be around long.
last time I heard of him he was out of work I'm afraid.

 

[roblpm]

I took a risk and bought a chinese copy of the Tohatsu 3.5hp two stroke - the design is almost identical, and the parts appear interchangeable. Yes, its not as good as a Tohatsu, but it cost me £228 delivered, and that's a brand new two stroke in 2013....(hope no EU Commissioners are reading this post). Its starts well, and runs well...hasn't got a resale value, but so what. I was very pleasantly surprised by what I received.

Have you spotted a copy yacht yet??!!