Paying a high price for items made in China

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#31
I went with my parents to shop for construction materials and furnitures for our new house and they have different grades for everything. A set of sofa can cost as little as a couple hundred bucks to thousands.

Labor is cheap in china, but the quality of items does range from bad to very good and expensive.
 
#32
I was in Paris a few days ago and was looking at a beautiful leather bag by a well known french store Maje. I fell in love with the bag and it was on sale $225 from about $500. I was ready to buy until I saw the made in China label. It turned me off a little at first. I looked around and saw many chic French women shopping in the boutique. The clothes appeared to be of good quality but most were all made in China. I felt like for a price tag of $200-500 for a simple blouse that was not silk and made in China , it was expensive. But in the end I felt that the bag was very good quality and I really liked it so I purchased.
I went to longchamp store and some Asian tourist were asking the sales associates for bags that said made in France only. I thought that was interesting but I have several longchamp bags and the quality has always been good to me whether it is made in France or China.
 
#33
Personally I refuse to buy Made in Asia bags, shoes or clothes.
French televison had a programme about leather in Bangladesh , the other day...It was horrifying. The use of chemicals which puts the workers' health in real danger....the awful working conditions (7 days a week, no days off) the wages ( 40 euros per month)....and so on.
My brother in law himself had to spend a few days in hospital after buying a pair of made in china shoes in a supermarket a few years ago...

That being said, even if everything is ok, I think that famous brands which have their clothes or bags made in China are not playing by the rules....
The prices have not gone down....They are exactly the same....
Zadig et Voltaire, for instance, used to have their bags made in Italy....Average price...500 euros... Today they are made in Asia....same price!
Italian made Furla bags.....are cheaper!
it's up to us to refuse to be ripped off.....
There are American or European made garments and bags...Let's buy them.
One of our famous optic shop here advertises Made in France eyeglass frames....they sell like hot cakes!
 
#34
Mariapia said:
Personally I refuse to buy Made in Asia bags, shoes or clothes.
French televison had a programme about leather in Bangladesh , the other day...It was horrifying. The use of chemicals which puts the workers' health in real danger....the awful working conditions (7 days a week, no days off) the wages ( 40 euros per month)....and so on.
My brother in law himself had to spend a few days in hospital after buying a pair of made in china shoes in a supermarket a few years ago...

That being said, even if everything is ok, I think that famous brands which have their clothes or bags made in China are not playing by the rules....
The prices have not gone down....They are exactly the same....
Zadig et Voltaire, for instance, used to have their bags made in Italy....Average price...500 euros... Today they are made in Asia....same price!
Italian made Furla bags.....are cheaper!
it's up to us to refuse to be ripped off.....There are American or European made garments and bags...Let's buy them.
One of our famous optic shop here advertises Made in France eyeglass frames....they sell like hot cakes!
Click to expand...

Exactly! LV no longer disclose where the handbag is made now and of course that is for profitable reasons. They have realized bags from certain places are selling more than others resulting in them loosing profit. I'm not buying anything that I don't know where it came from, I don't care if it is LV.
 
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#37
Mariapia said:
Personally I refuse to buy Made in Asia bags, shoes or clothes.
French televison had a programme about leather in Bangladesh , the other day...It was horrifying. The use of chemicals which puts the workers' health in real danger....the awful working conditions (7 days a week, no days off) the wages ( 40 euros per month)....and so on.
My brother in law himself had to spend a few days in hospital after buying a pair of made in china shoes in a supermarket a few years ago...

That being said, even if everything is ok, I think that famous brands which have their clothes or bags made in China are not playing by the rules....
The prices have not gone down....They are exactly the same....
Zadig et Voltaire, for instance, used to have their bags made in Italy....Average price...500 euros... Today they are made in Asia....same price!
Italian made Furla bags.....are cheaper!
it's up to us to refuse to be ripped off.....
There are American or European made garments and bags...Let's buy them.
One of our famous optic shop here advertises Made in France eyeglass frames....they sell like hot cakes!
Click to expand...

Bottega is made in Italy but they imported Chinese workers to sew the strands :rant: They went down in my eyes when I found out that information.
 
#38
Aventine said:
Bottega is made in Italy but they imported Chinese workers to sew the strands :rant: They went down in my eyes when I found out that information.
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Funny that you mentioned Bottega- because I bought a belt from them and it fell apart! None of my Guccis etc have done that...
 
#41
Aventine said:
Bottega is made in Italy but they imported Chinese workers to sew the strands :rant: They went down in my eyes when I found out that information.
Click to expand...
Well, this is what it's all about, really.
Are we getting into WHO is actually making the items? I mean, when people think of their Chanel bags, I'm quite certain everyone has this vision of a bunch of French ladies sitting around a table eating baguettes and drinking a nice glass of Burgundy while sewing some quilted leather together.
I would imagine that all the high-end factories are running crews of imported Chinese (or Asian) workers. I'll bet they will work for a lot less money and benefits, even if they are in Italy or France.
Does the question now become "what ethnic group is making my luxury goods?"
Do manufacturers in the USA employ imported workers to sew their t-shirts? Does it matter that people are making a sub-standard wage or are illegal immigrants as long as the label says Made in the USA?
Not looking to start any big debates, but it is a question worth asking (I think)
 
#42
pinkfeet said:
I thought by law they have to disclose where it was made ?
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I thought so too...until I sent an email to Zadig et Voltaire to know where their bags were made....because there was no country of origin on the labels inside...(they used to put a Made in Italy....not so long ago.... but not any more)
CS replied to me.....that they could not answer my question....as it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
They added the bags were not made in Europe. That's all they could tell me!
I wrote back, saying that when a customer is going to spend hundreds od euros on a product...he/she has to have all the information about it!
They replied...they were sorry but that's the way it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
Goodbye Zadig et Voltaire!
 
#43
Mariapia said:
I thought so too...until I sent an email to Zadig et Voltaire to know where their bags were made....because there was no country of origin on the labels inside...(they used to put a Made in Italy....not so long ago.... but not any more)
CS replied to me.....that they could not answer my question....as it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
They added the bags were not made in Europe. That's all they could tell me!
I wrote back, saying that when a customer is going to spend hundreds od euros on a product...he/she has to have all the information about it!
They replied...they were sorry but that's the way it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
Goodbye Zadig et Voltaire!
Click to expand...

Confidential? Where are they making them that they have to be so secretive, the moon?!
 
#44
Mariapia said:
I thought so too...until I sent an email to Zadig et Voltaire to know where their bags were made....because there was no country of origin on the labels inside...(they used to put a Made in Italy....not so long ago.... but not any more)
CS replied to me.....that they could not answer my question....as it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
They added the bags were not made in Europe. That's all they could tell me!
I wrote back, saying that when a customer is going to spend hundreds od euros on a product...he/she has to have all the information about it!
They replied...they were sorry but that's the way it was...CONFIDENTIAL!
Goodbye Zadig et Voltaire!
Click to expand...

Well, you might be very limited in your shopping.
Some designers have bags made in several places and only assembled in France.
Even Petit Bateau no longer manufactures in France but in Morocco for the latest items I bought. :-(
At least, they are transparent and are not trying to confuse the consumers.
Good for you for calling but it is a lost cause IMO.
My grandmother would never buy Italian made shoes. Nowadays, they are in demand.
LV are the worst offenders, IMO.
And the condition in French manufacturers plants have declined for the workers as well.
My two Cents.
 
#45
V0N1B2 said:
Does the question now become "what ethnic group is making my luxury goods?"
Do manufacturers in the USA employ imported workers to sew their t-shirts? Does it matter that people are making a sub-standard wage or are illegal immigrants as long as the label says Made in the USA?
Click to expand...

I dont think it has anything to do with a workers ethnicity. But when you are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a bag, you would have the expectation that it will NOT fall apart.

I think the problem now is that companies are hiring workers who have no experience or training in what they are doing, put them on horrible conditions, and pay them almost nothing. These factors all influence how well a product is made. Quality controlalso makes a huge difference. But if you think about it, from a business pov, would quality really be a major priority if you knew that just slapping a label on will drive your sales anyways?

An example of poor quality not in china is tory burch. Her shoes are made in Brazil. I know her shoes are cute and very popular, but they are absolutely horrible quality. Ive bought 2 pairs of flats, the eddie and the revas. Eddies starting ripping on the sides after just a few wears. The revas are comfortable, but the soles wore out very quickly and the back of the shoe started peeling. I returned the eddies, but kept the revas, the store i bought it from resoles it for me for free. And i am not the only one who had had this experience. Her $500 boots cant be worn in the rain bc the leather is of poor quality. Ridiculous.

Had no idea about LV not disclosing where their bags are made anymore! It is a shame that a company that has been around for so many years would compromise their quality and reputation just to save some money.

Are their other designers besides LV, bottega , and burberry that are no longer making their items in italy/ france any more?
 
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