4 ms·

About the price. Many people been blaming it on the "made in USA" + amplifier. I'm not american, and I don't understand patriotism. And I wouldn't think a produ

About the price. Many people been blaming it on the "made in USA" + amplifier. I'm not american, and I don't understand patriotism. And I wouldn't think a product being made in USA as the main selling point, would ever work. But before the IO I saw this project on kickstarter where they were trying to sell underwear made in the US [1]. That's their only selling point, their product is made in the US, that's all. And guess what, it was immensely successful on kickstarter. The comments are filled with praises with how awesome it is to wear underwear made in america. Maybe someone here has better understanding of that market. Could the made in the US selling point of the Q actually be big enough to drive sales? Would americans actually pay more only because of that? [1] http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakehimself/flint-and-tinder-premium-mens-underwear?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakehimself/flint-and-ti...

postfuturist 14y ago
Made in USA is about much more than just patriotism. In the USA, many people buy locally produced goods since it supports the local economy better, reduces carbon emissions from shipping goods half-way around the world, and isn't produced in slave-labor conditions of 3rd world countries. (Also, you don't understand patriotism? It's tribalism, something deeply encoded in our behavior from many thousands of years of tribal evolution.)
- SCdF 14y ago
  This isn't on point with the main conversation, but anyway: other 'western' countries that are similar to the US (I'm talking about UK, Aussie and NZ here, I don't have much knowledge of the others) look at patriotism differently to the US, so it's a fair point. We still support our sports teams (those of us who care for sport) etc but it's not as extreme as the 'America fuck yeah!' style patriotism that seems to constitute US patriotism (it may not actually be like that, this however is what media teaches us).
- ars 14y ago
  > reduces carbon emissions from shipping goods half-way around the world That's actually not true, as counter intuitive as it may seem. Local stuff uses more energy, not less. Mainly because the large operations are so efficient, but the local ones are small.
djcapelis 14y ago
> Could the made in the US selling point of the Q actually be big enough to drive sales? Would americans actually pay more only because of that? Well, generally no. Which is why you don't see many products actually being made in the US and it's more the domain of obscure kickstarter projects. (And why the Nexus Q is such a confusing and odd exception that this makes the news.) There is generally a notion that the US should be doing it's own manufacturing and an idea that we should be doing our own sweating for our own goods. It's seen as a fairly noble goal, but I think the market has generally shown people aren't usually willing to pay that much more for it. It's a marketing point in your favor if you can get it, but if it's going to effect the cost by a bunch... most people just don't care enough. Also I think the motivations are mixed. It's not just about patriotism but about a political desire to see products made in a country where it's easier to ensure that the people who poured sweat into them were compensated fairly. The impression is US labor laws generally will ensure that and most of the countries US products get imported from, do not have those types of frameworks. (Obviously there are other countries which do, but we don't tend to import cheap consumer goods from countries with labor costs as high as ours, for obvious reasons. :))
- tammer 14y ago
  I'm starting to wonder... perhaps the "made in USA" tagline isn't a selling point, but a PR move? An attempt to bring back the "don't be evil" mantra?
freehunter 14y ago
Just a generation ago, working in factories your whole life was still a viable and promising career. A man could make enough money working on an assembly line to support his wife and children, while owning a nice house. Manufacturing in the US died extremely quickly with no real life-line for those displaced. Especially in Michigan (Detroit in particular), all the car factories closed nearly at once, displacing hundreds of thousands of laborers, with almost no hope of getting another job. Listen to American Country music from the late 80's and early 90's, like Alabama, Brooks and Dunn, and Billy Ray Cyrus. It's all about a blue-collar factory worker who drives a Corvette and a pickup truck and owns a house with plenty of land. Now fast forward to the last 5-10 years in Country music, where you have Hank Williams Jr singing "Red. White. and Pink Slip Blues". (in the US, a "pink slip" refers to your termination notice when you lose your job) Manufacturing in America is seen as something we've had stolen from us by the Japanese and Chinese. Anything made in America must be better than the Asians can make, because it was made in America. Many Americans insist on buying GM/Ford/Chrysler cars, for example, because they or their families probably worked in the American car factories. Even though these are not "American" cars anymore, the thought of buying a Japanese or Korean auto (even though they actually are made in the US) is distasteful. It's a legacy that some people are unwilling to forget, even at the expense of hurting American jobs more by not supporting foreign auto makers who do employ Americans.
emmelaich 14y ago
I wonder whether it's not about patriotism, but control. Perhaps Google don't really trust the Chinese etc for hardware. Trustworthiness is an important factor for something that is always on, in your living room. (cue 1984 references here)
el_presidente 14y ago
It works for things like clothes or vegetables. If you want people to pay more for electronics it would be better to have a "made in Japan" tag. Or make it in China and put a big Sony logo on it.
msbarnett 14y ago
The "made in the USA" explanation of the price difference between this and the $100 AppleTV or $90 Roku doesn't really hold water. Even if Chinese workers are making $0.80 an hour vs $16 for a US worker, the Q would have to soak up a ridiculous number of man hours in assembly to explain such a drastic price difference. Either that amp is really expensive or Google is just plain overcharging for this thing.

postfuturist 14y ago

Made in USA is about much more than just patriotism. In the USA, many people buy locally produced goods since it supports the local economy better, reduces carbon emissions from shipping goods half-way around the world, and isn't produced in slave-labor conditions of 3rd world countries. (Also, you don't understand patriotism? It's tribalism, something deeply encoded in our behavior from many thousands of years of tribal evolution.)

SCdF 14y ago
This isn't on point with the main conversation, but anyway: other 'western' countries that are similar to the US (I'm talking about UK, Aussie and NZ here, I don't have much knowledge of the others) look at patriotism differently to the US, so it's a fair point. We still support our sports teams (those of us who care for sport) etc but it's not as extreme as the 'America fuck yeah!' style patriotism that seems to constitute US patriotism (it may not actually be like that, this however is what media teaches us).
ars 14y ago
> reduces carbon emissions from shipping goods half-way around the world That's actually not true, as counter intuitive as it may seem. Local stuff uses more energy, not less. Mainly because the large operations are so efficient, but the local ones are small.

djcapelis 14y ago

> Could the made in the US selling point of the Q actually be big enough to drive sales? Would americans actually pay more only because of that? Well, generally no. Which is why you don't see many products actually being made in the US and it's more the domain of obscure kickstarter projects. (And why the Nexus Q is such a confusing and odd exception that this makes the news.) There is generally a notion that the US should be doing it's own manufacturing and an idea that we should be doing our own sweating for our own goods. It's seen as a fairly noble goal, but I think the market has generally shown people aren't usually willing to pay that much more for it. It's a marketing point in your favor if you can get it, but if it's going to effect the cost by a bunch... most people just don't care enough. Also I think the motivations are mixed. It's not just about patriotism but about a political desire to see products made in a country where it's easier to ensure that the people who poured sweat into them were compensated fairly. The impression is US labor laws generally will ensure that and most of the countries US products get imported from, do not have those types of frameworks. (Obviously there are other countries which do, but we don't tend to import cheap consumer goods from countries with labor costs as high as ours, for obvious reasons. :))

tammer 14y ago
I'm starting to wonder... perhaps the "made in USA" tagline isn't a selling point, but a PR move? An attempt to bring back the "don't be evil" mantra?

freehunter 14y ago

Just a generation ago, working in factories your whole life was still a viable and promising career. A man could make enough money working on an assembly line to support his wife and children, while owning a nice house. Manufacturing in the US died extremely quickly with no real life-line for those displaced. Especially in Michigan (Detroit in particular), all the car factories closed nearly at once, displacing hundreds of thousands of laborers, with almost no hope of getting another job. Listen to American Country music from the late 80's and early 90's, like Alabama, Brooks and Dunn, and Billy Ray Cyrus. It's all about a blue-collar factory worker who drives a Corvette and a pickup truck and owns a house with plenty of land. Now fast forward to the last 5-10 years in Country music, where you have Hank Williams Jr singing "Red. White. and Pink Slip Blues". (in the US, a "pink slip" refers to your termination notice when you lose your job) Manufacturing in America is seen as something we've had stolen from us by the Japanese and Chinese. Anything made in America must be better than the Asians can make, because it was made in America. Many Americans insist on buying GM/Ford/Chrysler cars, for example, because they or their families probably worked in the American car factories. Even though these are not "American" cars anymore, the thought of buying a Japanese or Korean auto (even though they actually are made in the US) is distasteful. It's a legacy that some people are unwilling to forget, even at the expense of hurting American jobs more by not supporting foreign auto makers who do employ Americans.

emmelaich 14y ago

I wonder whether it's not about patriotism, but control. Perhaps Google don't really trust the Chinese etc for hardware. Trustworthiness is an important factor for something that is always on, in your living room. (cue 1984 references here)

el_presidente 14y ago

It works for things like clothes or vegetables. If you want people to pay more for electronics it would be better to have a "made in Japan" tag. Or make it in China and put a big Sony logo on it.

msbarnett 14y ago

The "made in the USA" explanation of the price difference between this and the $100 AppleTV or $90 Roku doesn't really hold water. Even if Chinese workers are making $0.80 an hour vs $16 for a US worker, the Q would have to soak up a ridiculous number of man hours in assembly to explain such a drastic price difference. Either that amp is really expensive or Google is just plain overcharging for this thing.