In a message dated 9/24/2005 11:58:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jcshirke@... writes:
On the other hand...why is Gibson sourcing
out Epiphone to Korea? Wages?
Yes, of course. What else? It's all about maximizing profits for
those big companies, especially with their low end product lines. So,
what does Gibson do? They turn around and charge *outrageous* money
for their "custom shop" or "historic" lines made in the US--none of
which are worth the cash.
and greggsguitar:
JeffI do not want to start WWIII but, It seems the imports are putting
"American" names on their product to sell. Isn't there popular Asian names to put
on handmade guitars? "Eastman Strings"? Ibanez sounds latin? I know we are a
world of brands but a name use to mean something. If China makes a quality
kick butt guitar and they name it Wang Jung would we buy it? On the other
hand...why is Gibson sourcing out Epiphone to Korea? Wages? What a mess:)...
Well, yeah, all that---and also because we don't want to pay "outrageous"
money for ANYthing we buy in this country. Just about everything these days
seems to come from Korea or China.
If we insist on buying only stuff made in America (by workers who need
"high" wages, benefits, 401Ks -- and who have to pay outrageously high taxes on
those wages) then we have to pay the price to cover all that.
The whole thing, IMHO, is customer-driven. I think one of the reasons so
many operations have moved overseas is because we as customers refuse to pay
that kind of money, and also because of onerous US regulations which increase
the cost of producing something.
Also, IMHO, there's nothing wrong with a business maximizing its profits.
The shareholders or those who have invested their dough in a company are
entitled to a return on their investment.
Two companies that sell all US-made stuff at reasonable prices are Crate and
Taylor. Now, Crate's reliability and sound are subjective, but I own a
couple of Taylors and they're great with respect to both sound and craftsmanship.
Rick
Cape Cod
