Nikon, Made in Japan or Made in China
Feb 15, 2013 18:53:32 #
selmslie wrote:
quote=OnDSnap Is anybody other than myself bother... (show quote)
As is the Kia Optima - in Georgia.
Feb 15, 2013 19:07:51 #
Hypno wrote:
So, if it is cheaper to make it in China or Thailand, Nikon must be making more money on those products than the ones made in Japan. I think what is troublesome is the feeling of being cheated by the company that is now charging the same for cheaper made products. We develop a psychological relationship when "branding" with a product that makes us feel a certain entitlement, like an old friend. Our friend is now taking advantage of us by making a bigger profit.
Welcome to the world of corporate greed. When I had a retail music store, a Yamaha alto saxophone for school kids was $1835 retail, built in Grand Rapids MI of parts imported to that free trade zone from Japan. Yamaha didn't have to pay taxes on the parts until they were assembled into complete instruments and shipped. This is common in the U.S.
They had built a plant in China which opened in 2009, closed the Grand Rapids factory and warehouse as well as one in Georgia that made pianos and sound system speakers, put 1800 Americans out of work, and started importing almost identical instruments that didn't sound quite as good from China with a C at the end of the model numbers.
They raised the retail price of alto saxes by $30 and raised my cost $60. This apparently helped pay for the new Chinese plant, took the instrument up and out of its competitive price category (other brands were coming in with a retail of $1695), and they screwed the dealers so there was less profit to be made because they had rigid rules about Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) at only full retail price or you'd lose your dealership. I dropped Yamaha band instruments.
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