Made in China

[Jim A 4]

Eazy, in a nutshell yes...for once..when Nike came on board..they enforced at least MAP (Min Advertised Price) on their product and all industry companies..especially the old school contingent breathed a sigh of relief since they didn't have to be the bad guy with the LHS and risk losing business...and the LHS didn't mind since it wasn't there fault they had to raise prices...and now they actually made profit on a skate sale that didn't consist solely on sharpening..

[Eazy_b97 1]

outsourcing should really provide breaks to the customer in an ideal world. Buisnesses use it to their advantage and pocket more cash. It's the basic forms of how it isn't working. Outsourcing to places, costing jobs here, and not improving the standard of life around the world. I don't mind globalization, its the way it's being implemented I have a problem with. Right now it's benefetting the people who really don't need to be benefitted.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

outsourcing should really provide breaks to the customer in an ideal world. Buisnesses use it to their advantage and pocket more cash. It's the basic forms of how it isn't working. Outsourcing to places, costing jobs here, and not improving the standard of life around the world. I don't mind globalization, its the way it's being implemented I have a problem with. Right now it's benefetting the people who really don't need to be benefitted.

Actually, as crappy as it seems, the standard of living for the workers in south-east Asia is better with their jobs than without. Working conditions may not always be favourable, but monetarily and materially, their worlds are better.

They do cost local economies, but overall, globalization has given the world more products to consume, which arguably, is an improvement in the standard of living. The fat cats at these companies, well their standard of living sure is up.

You're right, the rich keep getting richer, and the poor...well...that's open to debate. On some sides of the fence, they're better off, but on others, worse.

[Jason Harris 31]

Companies that outsource are definitely trying to increase their profits, yet I think some of these assumptions are incorrect.

1) I don't think there is as much a savings as is benig assumed. I spoke with my wife who has been involved with the decision to outsource, and she estimated a 10% to 25% overall savings to the company, depending how labor intensive the product is. If a company saved 25%, I could see them lowering their prices, but if they saved 10%, I'd assume that would go toward the bottom line.

2) If a company finds the right factory, there is no difference in quality. I have firsthand experience that the factories build to spec. I had to get the jerseys made for the Legends Tour, since Sweden's factory couldn't do sublimation at the time. I sent the factories photos and samples, and they sent me back samples until it was good enough given the lack of time remaining. Had we had more time, I'm positive they would have made a clone of my sample jersey -- even if they had to outsource for a different material.

So why has some quality gone down? Because I think manufacturers are looking to cut costs further. You may recall I once wrote that one of the manufacturers experimented with too high a percentage of fiberglass in the their sticks, and the results weren't favorable. That's a design issue -- or even accounting -- but it's not a manufacturing issue.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

So why has some quality gone down? Because I think manufacturers are looking to cut costs further. You may recall I once wrote that one of the manufacturers experimented with too high a percentage of fiberglass in the their sticks, and the results weren't favorable. That's a design issue -- or even accounting -- but it's not a manufacturing issue.

Cutting corners on quality materials or cutting out certain materials all together...however, the materials used today in skates, I have no doubt, cost more than they did a few years ago - I think composite outsoles are a reflection of that...

[Jason Harris 31]

My cost for the G1 went up over 15% from 2004 to 2005. According to Sweden, the factory said raise in oil prices greatly affected manufacturing costs.