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Comment by superflyguy | Hacker News Reader

Sorry to break this to you but outside the US "made in the US" is up there with "made in China" as an indicator of quality.

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I can't speak of outside of it, but inside the US, "Made in China" isn't an indication of quality either ways.

The cheapest flimsiest forks are made in China, but then so are Apple computers.

Also, counter intuitively, "Made in the USA" within the USA is seen as a generic product that is obviously trying to trade on Americanism to interest you in buying it. Quality products usually name the specific state they are made in (e.g. Apple labels themselves as 'designed in California').

I think by ""made in the US" is up there with "made in China" as an indicator of quality", he meant really low quality.

I suppose so, but the statement was just the sort of snarky one-liner that invites conversation by implying a lot of subtext.

I think the person you're replying to understands that, they were responding to the snark with facts: basically saying "hey, your stereotype is out of date: in the US, made in China doens't necessarily mean "crap" anymore, e.g. Apple."

Not always true. Some tools 'made in the US' are really great, high-quality.

Then again, Sainsmart made a soldering iron recently that was very good quality - so I guess China will soon become a purveyor of quality objects. It already is, in some sense - it's just a matter of separating them from the trash.

Yes, notice that I didn't say the US produces no quality products.

I'm not American so I generally avoid Made-in-US (if it comes up, which is basically never) simply because things tend to be imperial and incompatible.

I personally associate "made in the US" with technologically simple but robust.

I guess that's because my two points of reference are my CST LaserTRAC trackball and my Oster beard trimmer.

Where and in what context? I'm outside the US and don't see it that way at all.

US cars are (historically) seen as oversized, inefficient poorly-built slow barges.

Same with the motorbikes, OK till you try to turn a corner. But that's kind-of unfair, since on long straight US roads that's not really a disadvantage.

Same with 'Made in the UK'. The scene in The IT Crowd where the fire extinguisher sets on fire, and Moss turns it around to reveal 'Made in the UK' always crack me up.

That’s absolutely not true in my experience (mostly around Europe).

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