Fender made in China

[Qweaver]

I am so tired of seeing the "made in china" words on everything I buy.
I got a Fender guitar for Rev. Sarah this Christmas.  To my horror the words "made in china" were the first thing that we saw as we opened the package.  The tag inside the guitar said "manufactured to Fender specifications"  Those words don't make it a legitimate Fender in my view.
How can they legally call this a Fender?  This was not a cheap guitar so I had no reason to think it was a rip off.  She really likes the guitar but I am still tempted to send it back.

[clww]

That IS a shock to me, too! :embarassed: :embarassed: :embarassed:

[Al_Smith]

I could elaborate on this subject until the cows come home but I don't want it to go to the wood shed .I just wish it were law that the country of origin be more openly displayed on items .I've been surprised myself a time or three from items I thought were produced in the northern portion of North America but proved to be other wise .

[lineguy82]

I bought one of those about five years ago. If I remember right they cost about three times more to get one made in the USA. I'm not sure if any fender guitars are produced here anymore. It's a real shame. You can't find much that isn't "Made in China" anymore.

[easymoney]

it is hard to get anything any more that is not made in china. seems that it used to be made in japan.
i read about someone that needed a headlight for his Cadillac. he went to the dealer wanting a genuine Cadillac part. when he opened the box it was marked made in china.

[samandothers]

My neighbor is a mechanic for an American car dealership.  She is all time complaining about Chinese parts.  Some things are good but some are not. They don't line up well sometimes etc.   A mechanic friend of his describes them as the 'Chinese powdered Golfball'.

[dgdrls]

Search this topic a bit on Google,
Lots of rumbling about Chinese manufacture, fakes, etc
Searched a bit on Martin Guitars, same questions/issues along with Employee discontent.

DGDrls

[Bill Gaiche]

To bad that you can't always see where the product is made before purchasing. Have some garlic seasoning that I have just noticed that was packaged here, but was made in china. Out to the trash with that because I have seen to many ugly situations of products that we eat and how its processed. Its scary. Was in Nashville for Christmas and was in Christmas store at Opryland hotel, all the tree ornaments were made in china disgusting. Just purchased a new taillight for my truck,oem it said, just got it and it was made in taiwan. Its all about profit anymore without safety and pride of being made in the USA. bg

[Ianab]

Problem is not so much simply a "Made in China" issue.

It's "Made by the lowest bidder, in China" when things get suspect...

Yes there is a lot of junk coming out of Chinese factories, because a lot of people still buy mostly on cost.

There is now plenty of high end gear being made in China, Stilh, Apple, Samsung etc. But these aren't cheap junk. Top end cell phones, tablets etc. If you want the Chinese to make you cheap junk, they will certainly oblige. Or pay the full price, and get the better gear.

Ian

[SwampDonkey]

Was in Nashville for Christmas and was in Christmas store at Opryland hotel, all the tree ornaments were made in china disgusting. J

I was in Walmart last year looking at where the ornaments were made and lights. All I seen was made in USA on the boxes. So it's still here, just avoid the discount stores. Walmart in Canada is not the lowest price. Canadian Tire is one place I stopped going to unless it's finish or glue made here in Canada/USA. Sand paper is just junk as with all their tools.

Mom bought a new blender. Took it apart and washed it. Tried it with water in it, water run out of it like a tap. Had one years ago to, did the same thing. All Chinese junk.

[Al_Smith]

Now Swampish how can you buy USA made stuff up yonder in the frozen north country when we can't even find it here ?

[SwampDonkey]

Dunster's Molasses donuts are made here in Sussex, NB. But we can't buy them here, we can buy them in Maine. Another puzzler for the big noodle. :D

[Al_Smith]

Obviously they want you to pay sales taxes in Maine .That wasn't so hard. Next question . ;D

[Dave Shepard]

According to one Danish wood turner, the best peppermill parts are made in Denmark. He has to have them imported from the US. :D

[Al_Smith]

Well look at Jack Daniels a highly over rated whiskey in my opinion .Made in Lynchburg Tenn .They make it there but you can't drink it there ,dry county . Tea totalers or so they pontificate .

[DDDfarmer]

It can say made in the usa, china, Taiwan or mexico.  Seems like 90% of what you buy now is junk. 

[thecfarm]

Al,in my younger days,about JD, I use to say,good,more left for me.

[Al_Smith]

Being such a Duddly DoRight kind of guy I never touch the stuff myself .

[lynde37avery]

I thought fender only made USA and Mexico? and Squier was the China brand. am I not correct? I only play Fender Mexican bass. I cannot afford a USA. $1250 for a bass or $1250 for a skidder chain or a real top notch saw..hmmm ;)

[scgargoyle]

According to Sam Ash music, a Squier is made in China, a standard Fender is made in Mexico, and an American Fender is made in California. Ya want a nice one? Get one from their custom shop. Bring money, though!

As far as buying American made stuff- that ship has pretty much sailed. The factories and the know-how are just about gone.

[thecfarm]

You want an American made one? They is a guy about 10 miles from me that makes 'em. But as someone said,better bring your wallet. He has been building them for years.

[Jeff]

Jeremy's girlfriend brought one in Christmas day she got for Christmas.  I thought COOL! A fender. Played it a couple seconds and it just didn't seem like any fender I had played before.   Started giving it a better look over and found the made in china in big letters on the neck. They aint trying to hide it, it is there to see. My first thought was, danG, she got a knockoff. Then I saw this topic, then I started doing some googling.

I found her guitar.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FR50CESB/

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

This is strange Jeff. I looked at the link showing the guitar made in China you posted.
Now when I read Facebook or search the net for other things, an ad comes up on the right with a pic of the same guitar and telling me I can finance this instrument. 

[Jeff]

Not surprised at that at all. Websites have been conspiring with 3rd party companies to track you across sites to target you with ads for years.  One may think you can search google and get the same results as someone else searching with the same terms. Nope.

[SwampDonkey]

Poston if you install ADBlocker Plus it has a Facebook ad eliminator. There is also an element hiding tool as an add on. I use both and the add on is handy for a dial-up user like me to remove all the extra bloated 'fluff' on a site so it doesn't all have to load.

[timberlinetree]

when I was a kid seems like everything was made in Japan or Taiwan .SAD the way this country is going.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Poston if you install ADBlocker Plus it has a Facebook ad eliminator. There is also an element hiding tool as an add on. I use both and the add on is handy for a dial-up user like me to remove all the extra bloated 'fluff' on a site so it doesn't all have to load.

I did not know this Swamp. Y'all 'puter boys have all kind of tricks up your sleeve.
Thanks!

[florida]

Frequently our perceptions don't line up with reality. Most of what we use that is made in China are the cheap, low end goods that are high in labor.

"Goods and services from China accounted for only 2.7% of U.S. personal consumption expenditures in 2010, of which less than half reflected the actual costs of Chinese imports. The rest went to U.S. businesses and workers transporting, selling, and marketing goods carrying the "Made in China" label. Although the fraction is higher when the imported content of goods made in the United States is considered, Chinese imports still make up only a small share of total U.S. consumer spending. This suggests that Chinese inflation will have little direct effect on U.S. consumer prices."

http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2011/august/us-made-in-china/?utm_source=home

[Mooseherder]

China bought out Smithfield Foods, the largest Pork producer in this country not too long ago along with Lenovo also known as IBM.
They have money to buy very large corporations.  This could very well be a growing trend.

[Al_Smith]

I recall not so many years ago when General motors made the Chevette .Inexpensive little puddle jumper that could get 35 plus MPG .They sold a good many of them .Then they ,GM ,thought they had a master plan .

The profit margin was not real great on the little car so they dropped it from production and replaced it with the GMC sprint .Same car ,one catch made on Korea .They couldn't give them away .

What they failed to realize is the buying public who bought the little cars wanted a made the the USA automobile .So Honda and Toyota got that business .Way to go GM .

[5quarter]

Yeah...Fender has been quietly doing that for years. MIM Fenders have been around since the 90's at least and MIC fenders for about 8-10 years. Like someone said, you can still buy an MIA Fender, but it will cost you. Consensus is that they play about the same. On principle, I go to great lengths to buy American made whenever possible. seems to be getting harder all the time. There was a time when buying imported goods was synonymous with buying quality. That notion has been largely turned upside down.  :

[Qweaver]

Sarah really likes how the guitar sounds and plays.  The strings are close to the frets and it is much easier to play than her 12 string.  But I was expecting made in the USA!

[RCBS]

China is on the rise no doubt.  Energy is the one thing holding them back.  They are currently acquiring assets to position themselves as THE global leader.  Fine with me...let them deal with all the BS we have been taking care of for years.  As for "made in china"...get used to it.  That cheap labor sure goes a long way towards the building of a country.  Refer to USA pre-1862.

[SwampDonkey]

They're working on the energy problem with several GE nuclear plants to come online soon.

[Bill Gaiche]

China may be a world leader, but at what cost to public safety and health of its citizens and to all others around the world? bg

[Ernie]

I'm not sure there are english/mandarin translations for "public safety and health of its citizens" particularly when you see the air pollution that they experience.

[jueston]

made in china might be big right now because of the cheap labor, but that is going to end soon. china's one child policy has lead to a generation of men. they have set themselves up for a massive and uncontrollable population collapse.

along with population collapse, there is the uncontrollable environmental damage. i don't have high hopes for thier future.

but production will just move to someplace else with cheap labor.

[Sonofman]

As I understand it, some of the technological production is moving already. Foxcon is a company that makes a lot of our smartphones, tablets and high end gadgets. Wages are rising in China to the point they are exploring options in other countries. If I remember correctly, they are looking at Africa now.

[isawlogs]

I bought a CKC for my son, now that knife has a little writing on the package.

Assembled in China with US made components..... So, the knife is produce in the US, parts shipped out to China, they put the knife together , package the knife , ship the darn thing back. this is suppose to be cheaper .