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Comment by like_any_other | Hacker News Reader

> The only difference? One was labeled “Made in Asia” and priced at $129. The other, “Made in the USA,” at $239. [85% more expensive]

> And many are willing to pay a premium for domestically made goods. Nearly half (48%) say they’d be willing to pay around 10–20% more. 17% say they’d be willing to pay ~30% more for an American-made product over an imported one. - https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2022/07/28/consumers-will...

The article does not say how many would pay 85% more, but since the number more than halved from 10% to 30% more, I would hazard not many.

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I suspect that those folks who answer survey questions of "would you pay more for made in the USA" with "yes" are thinking (if they are thinking at all) of paying $2 to $3 more on a $100 item, not paying $110 more on a $100 item.

None of the surveys are ever crafted to ask: "How much more would you pay for a $100 item for 'made in the USA'?".

> Nearly half (48%) say they’d be willing to pay around 10–20% more.

$110-120 for a $100 item, no?

I believe they meant an additional $110, which would be a 110% markup.

Why do you believe this?

Probably because that’s approximately in line with the article.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43787992

> of paying $2 to $3 more on a $100 item, not paying $110 more on a $100 item

$110 more on a $100 item would be $210. I have no idea where pwg got the “$110 more”, though. Seems the in-context comparison would be “$85 more”.

The survey already used percentages. As for not thinking - it would seem to me worrying about the effects of one's purchases on the local economy, and the knock-on effects this has on sovereignty and politics, takes more thought than just short-sightedly picking the cheaper option no matter what.

Most people don't understand percentages.

Maybe: Most American people don't understand percentages?

Most people. They teach doctors to use frequency representations (i.e. 12 of 100) for a reason.

Most people, no matter the place.

A lot if people are surprised when they discover that 100 + 50% - 59% is not 100.

I do not like percentages myself, I would prefer we say 0.8 of something because the option becomes a simple multiplication and it is easier not to make mistakes

Quality is also an undefined variable, because people may pay 10% more for an American made product that is of comparable quality, but they may also be willing to pay 110% more if the Asian counterpart is poor quality.

When you’re using the same exact photos, there’s no discernible quality difference.

Ironically, perhaps, but in 2025 I'd argue the Asian counterpart would probably be of higher quality, at least in the initial transition back to US manufacturing. AND it would be cheaper.

It is largely pointless, in general, to survey people about how much they would pay for things. Taking such answers seriously has led a lot of companies to ruin. The whole point of pricing is that no one knows how much something is worth until it is actually selling (or not).

Yeah isn’t this like the number one lesson for startups? People will say lots of things when there’s no money or reputations on the line.

It's like when people say they'll pay extra for more legroom but only book the cheapest possible tickets.

I’ve never done that - I have flown a lot in my life, much of it internationally and the flight times / fewest number of layovers trumps cost.

Legroom is mostly overpriced, people would be more willing to pay if it was properly priced. Paying 50% more doesn't get you 50% more area in the plane.

£70 on a £100 ticket? Yeah no wonder! They're too poor after paying £100 for a checked bag

Or long haul premium economy which is just absurdly priced now, often 100-200% more than economy.

Americans in the market for a "premium" shower head are clearly not looking for the cheapest thing on the market. So it's obvious that they would be willing to spend more for the added feel-good of a domestic product.

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