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Comment by pwg | Hacker News Reader

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'?".

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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.

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.

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

> 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”.

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