Comments on: Buy Chinese? Not even the Chinese do that! http://blog.ksaugustin.com/2009/06/15/buy-chinese-not-even-the-chinese-do-that/ Author KS "Kaz" Augustin Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:20:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sparky http://blog.ksaugustin.com/2009/06/15/buy-chinese-not-even-the-chinese-do-that/comment-page-1/#comment-11397 Sparky Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:07:55 +0000 http://blog.ksaugustin.com/?p=458#comment-11397 Kaz: No no, I quite agree with you. I think the market may do something to fix it - but the market is hellaciously slow and has low low low priority on things that are important - like health and bodily integrity and not poisoning babies. I mean the company I worked for has only just gone out of business, a good 8 years after it opened. That's 8 years of selling monumental tat to people We are seeing market backlash, but it isn't enough and it's horrendously slow and won't happen fast enough to save a lot of lives that need it - we need regulation to stop this NOW and not after the bodies pile up and we need regulation to stop it completely Kaz:
No no, I quite agree with you. I think the market may do something to fix it – but the market is hellaciously slow and has low low low priority on things that are important – like health and bodily integrity and not poisoning babies. I mean the company I worked for has only just gone out of business, a good 8 years after it opened. That’s 8 years of selling monumental tat to people

We are seeing market backlash, but it isn’t enough and it’s horrendously slow and won’t happen fast enough to save a lot of lives that need it – we need regulation to stop this NOW and not after the bodies pile up and we need regulation to stop it completely

]]> By: KazAugustin http://blog.ksaugustin.com/2009/06/15/buy-chinese-not-even-the-chinese-do-that/comment-page-1/#comment-11303 KazAugustin Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:33:24 +0000 http://blog.ksaugustin.com/?p=458#comment-11303 Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you really don't want to endorse Teh Market as self-regulatory in nature), you're contradicting your own point, Sparky. You say, "Back in the days of yore....". So, I'm assuming that this was more than a week ago? A month ago? A few years ago? Maybe the Chinese import company you worked for doesn't exist any more, but I'm sure that others sprang up in its place. So, we have Chinese imports existing for years and people still buying it. This concept isn't a new one, of course. Harlan Ellison wrote a short story about it. About people who just built Well Built Things. Like a chair that was functional, and beautiful, and sturdy. And, by the end of story, the builder of those chairs is dead broke because he realises that most people don't want that. The Market, of course, is not self-regulatory (note the fact that it takes regulation --that free-market bugbear -- to stop shoddy widgets entering any given country), and we've had years and years to wait for it to act. And it hasn't yet. Nonetheless, you've given much food for thought. Thanks for that. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you really don’t want to endorse Teh Market as self-regulatory in nature), you’re contradicting your own point, Sparky. You say, “Back in the days of yore….”. So, I’m assuming that this was more than a week ago? A month ago? A few years ago? Maybe the Chinese import company you worked for doesn’t exist any more, but I’m sure that others sprang up in its place. So, we have Chinese imports existing for years and people still buying it.

This concept isn’t a new one, of course. Harlan Ellison wrote a short story about it. About people who just built Well Built Things. Like a chair that was functional, and beautiful, and sturdy. And, by the end of story, the builder of those chairs is dead broke because he realises that most people don’t want that.

The Market, of course, is not self-regulatory (note the fact that it takes regulation –that free-market bugbear — to stop shoddy widgets entering any given country), and we’ve had years and years to wait for it to act. And it hasn’t yet.

Nonetheless, you’ve given much food for thought. Thanks for that.

]]> By: Sparky http://blog.ksaugustin.com/2009/06/15/buy-chinese-not-even-the-chinese-do-that/comment-page-1/#comment-11300 Sparky Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:06:50 +0000 http://blog.ksaugustin.com/?p=458#comment-11300 Back in the days of yore, while still in university, I worked for a Chinese import company and time and again I said to the people who ran the place that no matter how cheap the tat was, they would get no repeat customers because it was so inexcusably low quality. And don't even get me started on the epic arguments we have with health and safety and trading standards (or the somewhat... cavalier attitude towards intellectual property). In a depressingly short amount of time, no-one would take their products even if you gave them away In the end this is one time when i think the market may actually enforce change (oh gods, tell me I didn't just endorse the market as a self-regulator!) as more and more countries strictly regulate Chinese imports (and too late at that!) and more people - in China and elsewhere - follow Wang Ting's example. low price isn't worth risking your baby's life over. But how many people will be hurt while the "market" gets round to forcing increased quality? Back in the days of yore, while still in university, I worked for a Chinese import company and time and again I said to the people who ran the place that no matter how cheap the tat was, they would get no repeat customers because it was so inexcusably low quality. And don’t even get me started on the epic arguments we have with health and safety and trading standards (or the somewhat… cavalier attitude towards intellectual property). In a depressingly short amount of time, no-one would take their products even if you gave them away

In the end this is one time when i think the market may actually enforce change (oh gods, tell me I didn’t just endorse the market as a self-regulator!) as more and more countries strictly regulate Chinese imports (and too late at that!) and more people – in China and elsewhere – follow Wang Ting’s example. low price isn’t worth risking your baby’s life over.

But how many people will be hurt while the “market” gets round to forcing increased quality?

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