Am I missing something?????????

[JB Cases]

You have to be the most Pro Chinese-Anti American person I have ever seen. Your views and opinions are far out of touch with the general american people. You can say whatever you want, but I have a family member that used to have to go to China a couple times a month, and he saw so many people mistreated that it bothered him so much he quit. One lady sewing shoes ran her thumb thru the sewing machine, and kept on working for fear of being fired. Don't sit there on your "I love China" pedestal and tell everyone its freaking peaches and cream over there, and they really care about people and the world, cuz you aint foolin nobody. You take every chance you get to bash patriotism, calling it protectionism and other bs, I can't believe you were in the US Military! Ive bit my toungue several times reading some of you Pro Chinese propoganda, but I cant any more. Remember that China is a Communist nation, remember that? Remember all those guys that died fighting communism? Now here you are telling everyone who will listen how freakin great China is. Man I am so pissed off. I am 100% American, and proud as a mofo of it, I know the US is far from perfect, but dammit, its been real good to me and billions of others. As a matter of fact, if it were not for our freedom, you would not even be able to be on here spreading your propoganda! Some people just need a long hard look in the mirror. Im done. no more from me. i have said my piece, and will not apologize for anything I have said.

And you have to be the most clueless wrap-myself-in-the-flag ignorant rhetoric spouting person I have ever seen on this forum. No one died fighting communism, they died fighting imperialism and fascism, there is a big difference.

I have never said things are "peaches and cream" over here. Imagine how much worse it would be though if China had no ability to trade other countries. My wife's mother knows how it was 30 years ago.

Why do you want to DENY the Chinese PEOPLE the SAME RIGHTS that you enjoy? Aren't we Americans supposed to spread DEMOCRACY around the world? How do you think that the Chinese PEOPLE will ever have the power to change their system if they are not educated, skilled, and in contact with the rest of the world?

If you were a true Patriot then you understand that the best way to insure your country's survival is to live in peace with the rest of the world. Building a wall around the USA doesn't do that. Over taxing imports does not work. The USA is the largest EXPORTER of goods in the world. How bad do you think it would get in the USA if the rest of the world STOPPED buying US goods?

There are so many points here that you don't understand about how the world works. But hey, keep living in your ignorant bubble.

When you want to play the communist card you can try and remember that 200 years ago our country was built on forced labor, sweatshop labor, slavery, and indentured servitude. You can remember that 50 years ago blacks were treated LEGALLY as second class citizens ALL OVER THE COUNTRY and were brutally MURDERED in the South. You should think about how long it's taken AMERICA to become what it is today even with the foundation our founding fathers gave us. Now you want to DENY that China (and I guess any other country besides America) the CHANCE to have what we have.

Just how do you you think that this is supposed to work? You want to enjoy your privileged life in the USA and deny it to every other citizen of every other nation?

You're such a clueless idiot that it's not even funny. America is 240 years old as a nation. China has been civilized for a good 3000 years going back to 5000 years. And you are so dense that you want to punish the entire population of China for the political system that was put in place by a few people in power 50 years ago? The communist experiment has failed. China is a capitalist nation with only a thin aging veneer of Communism. When China finally sheds the communists they will end up being a model democratic society.

You want to restrict my freedoms in the name of freedom? I think that you didn't understand the oath you took to defend the Constitution of the United States. Before I went into the Air Force I reread the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I understood what it means and what I was agreeing to give my life for if asked. You obviously think that it just means some kind of right to own three TVs and have the government babysit you because you can't compete on your own.

Sorry but I don't want 1.3 billion Chinese building bombs. I'd much rather have them building toys and computers and cue cases.

 

[JB Cases]

Am I missing something?????????

Yes. You are. The big picture. I am pro-human not pro-china, pro-Germany or any other kind of favoritism.

To be human means to strive for the ideals that our forefathers set down on paper and agreed to. Who knows if something cataclysmic won't happen and our republic will shatter? We can only hope that collectively we are strong enough to keep the faith in our system should that happen.

America is a country full of people who made their own way through adversity. We are survivors who typically don't look for bailouts and handouts. We mostly want to be left alone to succeed or fail on our own. But a country that is full of opportunity is also filled with opportunists who will exploit whatever loopholes and corrupt relationships that they can in order to gain an advantage.

When you scream unfair competition and rail on China for having lower wages why don't you look to your own first and complain about all the money that was stolen from Americans through bureacracy, inefficinecy, corrupt insider deals, waste, onerous laws, etc...

Why don't you protest Alabama for luring factories away from California with tax breaks and free training at the taxpayer's expense? Why don't you insist that a person working at McDonalds or Wal-Mart is paid a fair wage that they can live on?

Why don't you protest all the wrongful prosecutions taking place in the USA and the corrupt abuses perpetrated by our "justice" system. The same system that nearly everyone from police to judges agree is BROKEN?

No instead you want to punish a people half a world away who are only trying to pull themselves out of abject poverty as if banning Chinese made goods will solve all that wrong with America.

Are you missing something? Yeah, I'd say so. If the best you can do for your world is complain about Predator's profit margin (like a good Communist/Socialist) then you realy are out of touch.

 

[snipershot]

Yes. You are. The big picture. I am pro-human not pro-china, pro-Germany or any other kind of favoritism.

To be human means to strive for the ideals that our forefathers set down on paper and agreed to. Who knows if something cataclysmic won't happen and our republic will shatter? We can only hope that collectively we are strong enough to keep the faith in our system should that happen.

America is a country full of people who made their own way through adversity. We are survivors who typically don't look for bailouts and handouts. We mostly want to be left alone to succeed or fail on our own. But a country that is full of opportunity is also filled with opportunists who will exploit whatever loopholes and corrupt relationships that they can in order to gain an advantage.

When you scream unfair competition and rail on China for having lower wages why don't you look to your own first and complain about all the money that was stolen from Americans through bureacracy, inefficinecy, corrupt insider deals, waste, onerous laws, etc...

Why don't you protect Alabama for luring factories away from California with tax breaks and free training at the taxpayer's expense? Why don't you insist that a person working at McDonalds or Wal-Mart is paid a fair wage that they can live on?

Why don't you protest all the wrongful prosecutions taking place in the USA and the corrupt abuses perpetrated by our "justice" system. The same system that nearly everyone from police to judges agree is BROKEN?

No instead you want to punish a people half a world away who are only trying to pull themselves out of abject poverty as if banning Chinese made goods will solve all that wrong with America.

Are you missing something? Yeah, I'd say so. If the best you can do for your world is complain about Predator's profit margin (like a good Communist/Socialist) then you realy are out of touch.

Go ahead and type some more, I dont read your twisted anti American commie trash anymore........so feel free to type away and try and make yourself feel better about raping the planet and for fellow man:smile:

 

[JB Cases]

You have to be the most Pro Chinese-Anti American person I have ever seen. Your views and opinions are far out of touch with the general american people.

Really? You should take a poll of the respondents to the thread you started and you will see that more of them don't hold your China is Evil view.

I think more people echo my view than yours. But even if my views are contrary to what most people think that doesn't make them wrong. When is the last time you changed your beliefs because the majority disagreed with you?

The thing is Mr. Snipershot that my views are forged from having lived my life among all strata of people, being homeless as a child, having lived all over America, ten years in Germany with travels all over Europe, and now going on three years in China. I have seen unemployment, welfare, drug and alcohol abuse, trauma from the Vietnam war, sexual abuse, foster homes, racism, been wealthy, been poor, and have had more diverse life experience than most people I know.

I used to think that Americans were superior to everyone else everywhere else. We aren't. We are human beings who are LUCKY to have been born in a country that our forefathers were willing to die for to create for us. We have to work very hard to maintain that system. We don't have or do anything that other people in the world don't want or deserve to have. Their circumstances are different because they weren't lucky enough to be in the same situation that we were born into.

If you are a true and real American then you believe that all people are created equal and all people have the same right to the same human rights enshrined in our Declaration or Independence and our Bill of Rights.

 

[JB Cases]

Go ahead and type some more, I dont read your twisted anti American commie trash anymore........so feel free to type away and try and make yourself feel better about raping the planet and for fellow man:smile:

It's obvious that you don't read much at all and probably only listen to about half of what comes on Fox News.

Raping the planet? That's rich coming from a True American who's country is the largest consumer of resources in the world. On top of that most of the industrial pollution in China comes from producing goods consumed by Americans.

The Chinese people recycle almost everything. They don't fill up their landfills with plastic bottles and discarded crap. They repair and resell what can be fixed and strip down and recycle that which can't.

Of course if you lived or visited here for any length of time you would see what life is like on a daily basis and learn these things. And you could learn these things with a little research but instead it's easier for you to remain willfully ignorant and parrot Bill O'Reilly.

Read it don't read it. I am not writing for your benefit.

 

[JB Cases]

blah blah bla, look at me I love china! America sucks! I am special! blah blah blah........Im gonna finish my AMERICAN made Miller High Life, and go to sleep, in my AMERICAN home, here in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Best f*ckin place on earth......

And you're typing on your Chinese made computer.

 

[Rak9up]

JB when your right your right this computer may be chinese made.

But I know one thing I don't have a predator OR A CHINESE MADE POOL CASE

Oh and it was by my choice

 

[JB Cases]

JB when your right your right this computer may be chinese made.

But I know one thing I don't have a predator OR A CHINESE MADE POOL CASE

Oh and it was by my choice

And that's cool. That's why there are choices in the world. I certainly wouldn't want to make a case for someone who hates the people who made it.

It's funny though, because the Mainland Chinese are starting to buy American custom cues. Maybe more of them need to come here and see how much hatred towards them is spewed by some Americans and choose to keep their money in Asia. I am sure that the American custom cue makers would love it if you drove away all their foreign business.

The biggest cue collector in the world is Taiwanese. There are probably more American high end custom cues in Taiwan and Japan than any comparable area in the world.

Free trade is not just a one way street.

 

[nancewayne]

Am I missing something????????????

Predator moved to China, in part, because their butt mfg. Falcon moved to China. Yes, Predator IS making more profit margin, but that allows them to market and advertise their products more effectively. It also gives them the $$$ to have more R & D, which keeps them on the cutting edge of their industry...continually coming up with better products. As far as the " $1000 " Chinese Predator cue, it does exist and is being bought worldwide. However, Predator now has a cheaper Chinese cue line, the Poison line, and it is VERY competitively priced and a quality product. The new (and 1st for Predator) VX2.9 Jump/Break cue is THE BEST J/B I've ever used and less expensive than many production J/B cues on the market today!

 

[Rak9up]

And that's cool. That's why there are choices in the world. I certainly wouldn't want to make a case for someone who hates the people who made it.

I don't hate the chinese I admire their hard work (in fact I'm looking forward to the day they unionize and force you to move to ....?

I'm upset with the greedy americans who take their business overseas
hurting americans for a larger profit margin.

I'm upset that our politicians don't regulate those Greedy Americans

I'm upset that we consumers don't use our buying power to force you and other "U.S." companies to do the right thing.

I'm upset the the chinese don't realize your exploiting them.

If you want to build cases there go ahead thats your right.

Target the 10 billion chinese to sell your cases to not us(U.S.).

I'm sure you and the thousands of other companies that do business there
pay their workers so well they can afford them.

 

[chin0]

ME WORK ON YOU WARP CUE FOR DOLLAR? LMAO
I have said my piece and have let it go already, I'm chinese and I'm just going to go get something to eat and go shoot some pool. Anyone care to join? John? Care to join?

 

[bigshooter]

I made my living for years selling Chinese made products, the company I worked for imported a couple hundred million dollars worth each year so I feel that I have a bit of knowledge in this area.

The Chinese are capable of making products that rival anything in the world and they are capable of making worthless junk, it all depends on what the buyer is willing to pay for.

As far as Predator goes, if you don't want one, don't buy one.

If you want a USA product, buy a USA product.

Predator has the right to charge whatever they want to, if consumers are willing to pay for their product then that's all that matters.

A product is worth whatever a consumer is willing to pay, no more, no less.

 

[JB Cases]

I don't hate the chinese I admire their hard work (in fact I'm looking forward to the day they unionize and force you to move to ....?
There are unions here. You know if you are going to participate in the discussion then at least do your homework. You know nothing of Chinese labor laws or how all the professional factories handle their business here. Last year labor costs rose about 30% due to a mandatory five new insurance categories that they employer MUST pay for each employee. Wal-Mart is unionized in China. How about Wal-Mart in the USA? Yeah, that's what I thought. Do your homework.

I'm upset with the greedy americans who take their business overseas hurting americans for a larger profit margin.

Are you upset at the greedy Americans who sell their American made products to other countries? You do understand that we live on a GLOBE right and trade with every other country on the Earth is MANDATORY for a peaceful coexistence as well as for financial security.

I'm upset that our politicians don't regulate those Greedy Americans

What kind of "regulation" do you propose? Maybe the government should tell everyone what they are allowed to earn and where they are allowed to work. Oh wait that is communist thinking.

I'm upset that we consumers don't use our buying power to force you and other "U.S." companies to do the right thing.

Oh really, what would the "right" thing be? What buying power is that? If you WOULD pay price for things made in America then more things WOULD be made there. But there are TWO problems with your idea, one is that many Americans are paid barely a subsistence wage and two when wages go up so does everything else. In order to do the "right" thing you would need to pay people more so that they can afford to buy more expensive domestic goods AND then you would have to prevent inflation as suppliers pass the extra labor costs onto consumers.

I'm upset the the chinese don't realize your exploiting them.

Yes, I am, I have them chained to their workstations and I keep them from all forms of information. They have no access to the internet, aren't allowed to talk to each other and only get one kernel of rice per day. Get ****ING REAL and do your homework! There are more Chinese internet users than the ENTIRE population of the USA. Every Chinese person in cities and villages has more access to the internet than most people in the USA. Just yesterday I was in an Internet cafe that was like a high end disco with super plush chairs, 22" screens and super high speed access. All that for .50cts an hour.

ALMOST EVERY SHOP that you go into you can find people on the Internet, chatting, reading, watching movies and television. Just about EVERY program that has ever been on Discovery, Animal Planet, etc... is available at most DVD places as well as available for download at www.youku.com My wife watched a whole series on pregnancy on Youku. So the Chinese have access to information about what the wage levels are in all parts of the world. They know BETTER THAN YOU where they stand in the world. Chinese understand full well that Americans make more money just as they understand that the cost of living is also MUCH HIGHER in the USA than it is in China.

Why does every one of these threads turn into a basic economics lesson?

BECAUSE people like you CHOOSE to remain IGNORANT.

If you want to build cases there go ahead thats your right.

I know it's my right. Thank God that people like you don't get your way or America would be a police state.

Target the 10 billion chinese to sell your cases to not us(U.S.).

My products are not "aimed" at anyone but the person who wants the type of case I build. That person understands that I put most of my emphasis on protection of the cue. In the last year my customers have come from all over the world, Greece, Germany, Europe, Phillipines, Indonesia, Singapore, England, and the USA. I haven't sold one in China yet but I have sold two to Chinese students studying in the USA.

I'm sure you and the thousands of other companies that do business there pay their workers so well they can afford them.

Well, let's put it this way, when you walk into a pool room here you can see people with with Southwests, Ginas, Omens, etc.... held in Instroke, Justis, and Whitten cases. Down the street is a Porsche dealer, there are several large BMW dealers here as well as Lexus, Mercedes, Audi/VW, Hummer, and even Volvo. My friend who just dropped $800 on a Predator cue and case, asked me last week if I can help him to get a Bender, he said he didn't want to spend more than $3000. I know he is in finance here and makes about $1000 a month so that represents about six months at least of his disposable income if not more. The point being that people buy what they want to buy.

Laptops cost more here than in the USA. Iphones cost more, all (real) brand name stuff costs more here than it does in the USA.

So if all these people are being exploited and paid too low they sure are able to buy a lot of stuff somehow.

The FACT is that you are COMPLETELY IGNORANT of how things are here and CHOOSE to ONLY believe the worst that you hear of. Yes there are plenty of unscrupulous factory owners that treat their employees like crap and plenty of horrendous things that go on ILLEGALLY here. So what? This happens everywhere including in the USA RIGHT NOW.

What would it be like if there were no foreign investment and no oversight at all? Then the Chinese people would truly be exploited - by their own government. As it stands today EVERY CHINESE citizen is free to work where they want to for as much money as they can get.

Try spending an hour or so learning about what China is really like before you CHOOSE to make ignorant statements.

Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." INgvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA said, "profit is resources" and 'only when we have profits can we effect positive change'. And Mark Twain said, "clothes make the man, naked people have little to no influence on society."

I like to see people grow and become better and stronger people. I am doing my part in the best way I know how to provide a better life for those who work for me. What are you doing other than complaining and wishing the government would coddle you?

 

[Rak9up]

JB missed the point again.

I do believe in free trade...if a chinese business man with his chinese workers wants to trade or sell goods with the U.S. fine.. great thats what the free market is all about.

But when an American moves their businesses overseas and hides under the freedoms America provides thats what I have a problem with.

Some people call them traitors or hypocrites

Now if you apply for chinese citizenship and become a chinese boss since you obivously treat and pay your workers so well..heck you probably only make $10 on every case sold..

I will be happy to buy one of your cases in the spirit of free trade ...
same goes for predator, meucci, etc.

 

[JB Cases]

JB missed the point again.

I do believe in free trade...if a chinese business man with his chinese workers wants to trade or sell goods with the U.S. fine.. great thats what the free market is all about.

You believe in it but you don't know what free trade is. Nor do you understand the concept of a free market. Now with your above statement you want to tie everything to where someone HAPPENS to have been born. You don't even know your own history. Look around you and you will find that a LARGE part of American society exists because of FOREIGN INVESTMENT into the United States.

But when an American moves their businesses overseas and hides under the freedoms America provides thats what I have a problem with.

Hides under freedoms? What the hell are you talking about. Maybe you should explain that in more detail? How does having things made somewhere else mean one is "hiding under freedoms"? I don't know what you mean with your statements but I certainly believe that I am being an example of entrepreneurship that one CAN be under a free society. I and my fellow western businessmen who work here show our Chinese colleagues how to be inventive, innovative, independent and assertive. Will that ever translate into any political change? Who knows but it can't hurt when we lead by the example of personal empowerment.

Some people call them traitors or hypocrites

So you're now going to call me a traitor? Wow, you really want to play all the useless cards you have. You need to get a grip on reality. When we NEED another country then people like you have NO PROBLEM going there and asking for help. Where would America be if France hadn't come to her aid in the Revolutionary war. If we need or want something then it's not traitorous to go there and use their resources but it is when we go there to have things made????? It's all just a one way street for you isn't it?

Now if you apply for chinese citizenship and become a chinese boss since you obivously treat and pay your workers so well..heck you probably only make $10 on every case sold..

So now you want to control how much I make? How very communist of you. Fine, I will be happy to trade with you. You make a list of your living expenses and we will cut out all the non-essential luxuries and you go to your boss tomorrow and tell him that that you agree to work for 10% over whatever the bare minimum is that you need to exist. Then I will sell you a cue case at 10% over the cost to make it.

How many months will you need to scrimp and save even to buy that case at 10% over cost? None of us EXPECTS to live without "profit" - you ask for it in terms of salary/wages that are high enough to allow you to live well above the sustenance level and don't expect ANYONE to limit how much you can earn. Yet you make the statement that businesspeople should be ashamed of making profits and should voluntarily limit what they can earn by being "Patriotic" and making their goods in a place where the cost to make them is much higher.

Of course I can see how YOU think it's "Patriotic" for business to fund YOUR LIFESTYLE.

Let me clue you in on something - BUSINESS is not Patriotic, it's just supply and demand - nothing more nothing less. Stop trying to make it emotional, it's not. No one OWES you a job. If a factory is erected in your town it's because it's economically advantageous to be there and the factory will be there until it's no longer a viable enterprise. It's not done to be "patriotic" despite what the talking heads advertise. It's done because there is a FINANCIAL reason (read, people are PROFITING) from it. A job exists because someone wants to trade their money for your labor. When that transaction is out of balance then the job goes away. That's the way it works.

A traitor is one who DISRESPECTS the freedoms that America was founded on by trying to have everyone fit their mold of "how it should be".

Look in the mirror and you will see the traitor.

I will be happy to buy one of your cases in the spirit of free trade ...
same goes for predator, meucci, etc.

No you're not. How many Cuetecs do you own? That is a brand that was created by a Chinese businessman and is wholly owned by that businessman. He and his distribution partners have put millions into pool through sponsorships. So how many do you own?

Stop being petty. You want to bash China because you are looking for a scapegoat for your own inadequacies. Your arguments are weak and so you just want to push emotional buttons and start with the ad-hominem (personal insults) attacks.

It doesn't work. If you want to debate the real social impact then we can. But calling me a traitor and then asking the government to regulate EVERYTHING in the same paragraph doesn't fly.

If you want to become a real patriot then tell your government to STOP trying to control everything and to stop making cozy deals with big business. Tell them to STOP all the WASTE that drives costs up and therefore drives business out of America.

Do you honestly think that any business person WANTS to manufacture their goods so far away from their customers? Do you really think that they WANT to deal with cultural differences and language barriers and OTHER governments and local corruption and international shipping and customs issues? If so then you are more clueless than I thought.

The fact is though that in a COMPETITIVE world, in a FREE world, EVERY SINGLE PERSON is free to choose to purchase things at the best value to themselves and it is up to business to convince customers that what they offer is the best value. It is also EVERY SINGLE PERSON'S right to work for the highest amount of money that someone will pay for their labor.

If the labor cost is TOO HIGH for business to operate in a place then it moves to somewhere else, be it from California to Tennessee or from the USA to China. Or from Europe to America as it was in the 1700's when many Europeans moved their production from the high costs in Europe to the low cost - slave labor/sweatshop run production in the USA.

Learn your history before you come at me. You won't get far with ignorant personal insulting attacks.

 

[Cuephoric]

Confuscious say, Baseball got it all wong- Man with 3 balls no can run!

I love it when a voice of reason gets on a roll, and enlightens certain aspects that aren't so well known.
I remember buying stuff in Hong Kong about 15-16 years ago, because the electronics were better than the prices on base. I spent about 4 months wages for a corporal at the time to Christmas shop for just about everyone I knew.
There is alot of hard work done in alot of countries all over the world.
The US and China may make up a good portion of that, but not all of it.
Regardless of where we live, we all benefit from the exports and labors of others, that get to Wal-Mart, or wherever we shop, and it's been a really long time since most things were stamped made in the USA.
If it wasn't for the import/export and international trade, there are a lot of places that would still be eating bugs and sticks, and practicing voodoo, instead of building cars, motherboards, clothing, textiles,etc.
Russia has a larger percentage of the world's wheat than the US, but how many people would stop eating Wheaties or cream of wheat if there was a discovery of where all the wheat may come from?
People have to eat, have clothing, and all the modern conveniences that we have gotten so used to.
There was a time when many countries were mostly, or totally self sufficient, but I think Marco Polo helped change some of that a long time ago.
Foreign trade has been a part of our culture since man got mobile and traded in other areas that he hadn't been before.
How do you think the indians got stuff from South America, Russia, other ends of the continent?
It wasn't by packing up and heading for Malibu from Manhatten Island one day.
Do I prefer to buy American products?
Of course, but it's hard to go out and buy only things that are made in the USA, and still get home with what you went to the store for.
Even the grocery stores have a ton of food from outside the US borders.
I wish there was a way for the US to get self sufficient again, but the odds of that are about as good as me spotting Schmidt and Effren the last four in 9ball for the $.
It may be frustrating, but that just how things are.
Pick and choose what you buy and where it's from, there are only a couple of hundred million others that don't care.
I buy American cuemakers work, but I've tried Eurowest, Dragon, and a couple of others from outside the US.
I think those case that Snowmon has from Russia are incredible looking and would like to check them out.
But the keyboard and laptop that I'm typing on is from China, so is my TV, DVD, cell phone, shirt, and who knows what else.
There is no way to change the system, and even if you could, how many other lives would be adversely affected as a result of it?
How would we play on Simonis or Granito if Spain suddenly decided not to let the US get any?
Would everyone go to Mexico to get Tour Edition, or......

We may be American's in what is supposed to be the best country to be from, but I can see a lot of other places that have the same problems as us.
And no end in sight for any of us.
If this makes me a traitor, then look at the last time you bought a phone that was made in America, and reevaluate the concept.
Americans are in alot of other countries manufacturing our products. Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and who knows where else.
And that's just the big vehicle manufacturers and pepsi, and health care products.
The end result.... we ain't alone on this here rock, and I guess it's time we give in and acknowledge it.

But finger pointing at who is probably the only one known on here, who is one of many corporations to cross the big pond, is absurd. It just illustrates the frustrations that we all feel, and have felt for a long time, but can have no impact upon.
But I will also not deny getting some sort of perverse pleasure watching the post flying back and forth on this one......
Don't let me stop you or get in the way! I want to see what kind of poll comes out of this one!

 

[JB Cases]

(good stuff snipped)

But finger pointing at who is probably the only one known on here, who is one of many corporations to cross the big pond, is absurd. It just illustrates the frustrations that we all feel, and have felt for a long time, but can have no impact upon.
But I will also not deny getting some sort of perverse pleasure watching the post flying back and forth on this one......
Don't let me stop you or get in the way! I want to see what kind of poll comes out of this one!

Thank you. We all all frustrated. I just want to point out that I am not a "corporation"

I am the only owner of my small (very small) business. I employ five people to help me make the cases I have always dreamed of making. The reason I am even in China is because my boss in my "day job" asked me to come here and try to make the products that we do get from China better than they currently are.

When I owned Instroke everyone always wanted to compliment me on the quality of the Instroke case because it was "German Made". But the cases weren't German Made. That's just what people wanted to believe because the company was based in Germany. If you look back at my posts from 1997-2001 on RSB I never allowed anyone to promote the quality because the cases were made in Europe. I always said that the important thing is WHO makes them not WHERE they are made.

When I came to China it was as someone who knew almost nothing about China other than watching kung-fu movies and listening to people rial on Kathy Lee Gifford for her clothes being made under terrible conditions.

I wasn't ready to see McDonalds and Pizza Hut and the first thing I saw at the Bejing Airport was a giant sign for Coke right across from a display of 3000 year old village bells. I wasn't ready to see Ferraris and Mercedes and even Hummers here.

The truth is that by and large the people are HAPPY in China. The middle class that lives well above the poverty level is 300 million strong. The upper class of multi-millionaires is easily 20 million strong.

And the rest of the people who are very poor are still much better off than they were 25 years ago before the economic reforms opening China up to capitalist foreign investment began. People who work in the industrial and professional sectors support their families in the rural areas.

As a result those people are able to build solid homes and businesses. The farmers are able to buy better stock and learn the latest methods of cultivation.

Is there a LOT that is wrong with China? Well yeah. But that is not going to be solved by cutting them off from the world. Honestly, if they had ot cut themselves off from the world in the 1400's then we would be speaking Chinese right now.

The Chinese sent out an armada of ships that some historians agree was probably the first to discover and colonize the Americas well before the Europeans. China went through a revolution soon after that Armada sailed however and the ships were called back. The colonies were left without any more support and either died out or were assimilated into the Indian population. DNA evidence supports this according to the people who believe it.

The point being that we are all connected in deeper ways. We need to look beyond the hot-button talking head sensationalist topics that get everyone who won't bother to research those topic riled up. If each one of us tries to just make our immediate world better then those circles ripple out and interconnect and the end result is that everyone's world gets better.

If we want to stand back and just shout out that 'someone else (the govenment) ought to fix it' then that fixes nothing and just causes more dissent and arguing.

John Barton - local problem solver.

 

[chin0]

I went to eat already, after that, I had a nice enjoyable cigarette. As the nicotine gets embedded through my blood stream, it triggered me to go take a pretty nice dump. Yes, I did wash my butt, thank you for caring for my well being. After my behind is sparkly clean, I went and took a nap. That took about 6 hours, when I woke up, I notice, the world hasn't change. Lol catch my drift fellas?

Happy pooping, I mean shooting!

Chino

 

[JB Cases]

I have been looking at cues lately, on the web, catalogs, and at the pool hall. Im not looking to buy one in particular, I just like to window shop. Anyhow, my question is, how in the hell does Predator move all its production to China, and still charge 1000 bucks for a cue??? Dont tell me the material costs are so high, and thats the reason. I believe we consumers are stupid, yup, we are plain dumb. They take 10 dollars worth of wood and glue, make a fancy, and very effective I might add, shaft and charge us 200+, and we line up to buy it, lol. Yea, I know Im gonna get some flack about this post, but dammit it dont make sense. Its kinda like kissing your cousin, sure it feels good, but it just aint right! And while I'm on my rant, why is it that I can have a custom made, one of a kind shaft made for my cue for about half the cost of a China made shaft? Why do these 200+ dollar chinese super duper shafts seem to have a real warpage problem? You would think that after paying that much money for a shaft that is supposed to be so good, it could at least stay straight! Ok, Im done, bring on the hate, and I will quietly accept it.......

You got all this information from window shopping?

First of all unless you can build it yourself you are going to pay what someone else wants if you want their product.

Predator can charge what they want to and the market will dictate to them if that price is out of line or not.

It doesn't matter if the total cost of production is 3cts - the VALUE of the item lies in what kind of satisfaction the consumer can get out of it. If a consumer is willing to pay $1000 for that satisfaction then that's good for Predator. The other thing is that included in the price is everything that went into inventing the product, all the investment which created NO REVENUE until a product is on the market.

If you buy any other cue then you won't have a "Predator". Now you may convince yourself that you other cue is just as good, that Predator is overpriced.....yada yada but the point is that it's NOT a Predator cue.

Not that I am saying Predator is better or worse than any other cue but if you are someone who wants what Predator claims to provide and you buy another brand then you don't have a Predator and as such don't have EXACTLY what comes with having a Predator, which is the marriage of the ACTUAL BRAND with the Brand's claims.

You MIGHT be able to buy that same (or better) performance for less but since you are not an engineer and not about to go and test all other brands how will you actually KNOW this?

So Predator spends a lot of money to educate you as to why their shafts are the best (from their point of view), they spend a lot of money to promote their brand with tournament and player sponsorships and product giveaways and consequently they charge a premium price for their premium brand.

Why should you CARE AT ALL what they charge for their cues? You should be applauding them for charging high prices and leaving a lot of room for domestic competitors to sell cues at a lower price. Funny though, I don't see any domestic cuemakers selling 10 piece pie laminated shafts? I wonder why? Maybe the machine to do that type of splicing is very expensive? Maybe it's a lot of work?

You are one of those people who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[JB Cases]

Hell, we even have a new Dairy Queen here in Xiamen China, what could be more American than that?

I suppose an Apple Pie store and a Baseball team............it's coming.