Gary visits China several times a year. Draw your own conclusions from that.

I admire your patriotism, I feel just as passionate about Australia, but in the real word it really doesn't happen like you might like it to. Most things you buy are made or part made or have parts made in countries other than the USA.

A note about 'child labour' since it has come up a couple of times.

My contract with ITV to produce Thunderbirds pinball machines specifically states that I am not, under any circumstances, to employ child labour myself OR allow ANY subcontractor to use child labour.

This is actually pretty easy in China as nobody is allowed to employ a person under 16 years of age. The inspectors are here almost monthly checking the wages books and ID of every staff member, not only looking for this but also to make sure they are being paid their correct wages and entitlements and that my workers compo and other insurances are paid and all in order.

The inspectors are always perplexed when they come here because Homepin wages and perks are WAY above the standard workers remuneration. They put it down to me being an easy touch, foreign boss. I think paying well and offering free accommodation including water, gas and electricity keeps my workers happier and that's probably why the staff turnover at Homepin is very low.

You don't know either. How about you come and visit us in Shenzhen. ....it might surprise you.

I would have liked nothing more than to have built the Homepin factory in Australia. Reality is it simply would never have happened.

Actually some things are cheaper in Australia than they are here in China. Factory rent for example. I could rent a suitable place the same size in Australia for 75% of what I pay here. The landlords are right onto the fact they can charge anything they like and still rent the factory.

Things like wages PLUS all the crap that goes with that means it is just not realistic to consider a factory in Australia.

As to safety and workers rights, these are areas that would very much surprise the average Westerner that hasn't visited China. Don't believe the "Michael Moore" style programs you are fed about "poor workers conditions in China". That is mostly bullshit. Sure, there would have to be places that ARE bad and hard on workers just the same as I could find these places in Australia and probably any developed country.

Don't get me started on the "factory suicides" - Homepin is less than 10km from two massive Foxconn factories and I have regular contact with many from these factories from workers to managers. I know the TRUTH about what happened and it would surprise and shock many. Again, ignore the crap the news outlets "want you to believe" - fake news if you like. In this instance it IS fake news for certain.

Those that think Spooky, JJP, AP, Stern etc are using parts ONLY made in the USA should really put down that rose coloured flag they are waving. Simple facts are that a lot of these parts - not all - come from China and also India for some things like pinball legs.

I'm pleased to say Homepin legs are made in China not India LOL.

There are many nuclear power stations here in China that they keep quiet from the west because it's seen as a "taboo" subject by some in the west.

Fortunately, where the Homepin factory is we are not subject to power rationing but a little further out from where we are it is a weekly thing were they will have no factory power for a couple of days a week.

They sure are in Europe and Australia.

It might interest some to learn that many companies, large and small, are leaving China for other countries.

The laws and rules surrounding running a factory here and the massive hikes in wages and workers conditions over the past few years have caused this massive migration.

A close Australian friend of mine is in the process of moving his factory to The Philippines after operating in China for over 10 years. He is fed up with the Government interference, increasing red tape and overall rising difficulties running a factory in China. His factory is small, employing 130 people.

About six months ago, Philips Lighting closed their China factory and moved to Thailand - taking 10,000 jobs with them.

The way things currently are here I can see this trend continuing.

I understand there are plenty of nuclear stations BUT they are not well received by a lot of people. The waste disposal, dangers (Chernobyl, Fukushima) and things like that.

If you announced you were building a nuclear power station in Australia you would NEVER get it built.

Thanks for your compassion and concern for his plight

Put simply he either moves or he will go broke. He is in a very competitive industry and his margins are razor thin. This latest round of cost increases (not only labour but landlords and additional compliance costs) have pushed him to either move or close.

It isn't always about the "greedy businessman using cheap labour for his evil gain" you know.

Blame your American buyers for that issue. The factories will build whatever quality the BUYERS specify.

Not all of them my blinkered friend.....

Its very sad that you just can't see outside your tiny little square.....sad.

Seems you really need to get out into the world and see some things for yourself.

Your call of course.

The Homepin factory is far from "shitty"....excuse me!

JJP are not about to disclose that now are they LOL.

To their credit they no doubt buy their mechs, LEDs etc locally BUT they know full well that the PCBs, main PC motherboard, power supply, SSD etc etc etc all come from China at some point even if they don't directly import the parts themselves.

All pinball mechs used for the part 20 years have been made in China. Only someone with their head in the sand could possibly think otherwise. I'm here, I see this first hand.

A point on Chinese "low wages". Everything is relative. Yes, my staff are paid about 25% of an equivalent worker in Australia. They have the same or better conditions that come with the job.

The part that those ONLY believing what they see on the sensationalist news is that costs are far, far lower here for the everyday person.

A can of Coke costs about $0.50 from a corner store in a fridge, can of beer, Budweiser if you like or Heineken is about $0.60 from the same corner store.

Go to a middle quality restaurant for lunch or dinner - 3 people, all you can eat and maybe two large bottles of beer each and the total bill will be about $25~30. In Australia, that exact same meal would be double that, EACH person!!!

One of my "poorly paid, overworked, slaved" staff just bought a brand new Toyota Corolla (new, not used).

Doesn't sound much like they report on the news now does it?

Also, this crap about "factory suicides" is just that - crap. Hyped up bullshit by some in the west with different agendas. I know the full story but I will save it for my book.

Some people really need to get out more - some of the plainly ridiculous comments and "statements made as fact" in this thread alone are just mind boggling to those here that actually DO know the facts.

I think too many of these companies, many with too much spare money around, are dreaming and reading too much into science fiction.

I'm sure many things will eventually become reality - we have already seen Dick Tracy video phone watches and many other things come to reality.

Trouble is there are simply too many variables to make self driving cars "the norm" for most major cities. I look around here in Shenzhen and ponder "what if that Toyota/Audi/BMW across the road was a self driving car? How could it park in that space when others are jostling around it - it would never ever be able to do it".

Same as on the road, other drivers are too erratic, don't follow the road rules in a lot of cases and are simply too unpredictable and this is what self driving cars rely on - predictability. I also see them easily being fooled by advertising signs etc and "thinking" the lights are red, or green thus causing confusion and possibly accidents. I don't believe this can be overcome with any amount of 'smarts', programming or sensors - just no!

Would you get into an unmanned UBER hover car? I won't.

Drones delivering pizzas, small parcels and books? Nope, too many issues - pedestrians, kites, insects, birds, kids - not to mention bad weather, hoons taking pot shots at them with slingshots/rocks/slug guns etc. I just can't see drones doing city deliveries anytime soon. Possibly is less built up areas but then it kind of defeats the purpose.

The 'dream' Amazon seems to have of fleets of drones zooming out of the warehouse in a constant stream assumes that NOBODY else wants to use the airspace and that is a very big mistake IMO.

Time will tell us I guess and the Chinese have made drones so reliable, stable and cheap for the masses now so who knows?

Here's another one for you then - "Bogan"

"The term bogan is a derogatory Australian and New Zealand slang word used to describe a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify values and behaviour considered unrefined or unsophisticated.

Bogans generally reside in the outer suburbs of larger cities, have teeth that haven't had dental care due to cost, have an anti-authoritarian stance, jingoism, home-done tattoos, a love of classic rock and Peter Brock, hooning and drinking alcohol to excess. A bogan attitude consists of a lack of pretence and a willingness to be brutally honest."

How about roadworks that are random and just "spring up" - something that isn't in any database.

That's fine but certainly not logical. Seems your bias is brought on by flag waving and there is nothing wrong with that. If your bias is because of perceived "poor quality" issues, then I will be pleased to show that you are very wrong when it comes to Homepin products. You can go and look at them today and see for yourself. (replacement pinball boards and Hankin tables are available today, right now, in the USA).

Homepin pinball machines will also come with the following as standard (subject to change):

Shaker motor
programmable electronic coin mech
full size leg mounting plates (WMS style)
power switch in the conventional position
tool kit
Illuminated flipper buttons
Full side rails to protect cab artwork

...and many other things usually considered as extras by most other manufacturers.

In short, Homepin has taken the savings we make by building in our own China factory and given those savings back to the customer. Not just with our price but with REAL VALUE extras.

Our RRP (Recommended Retail Price) for a Thunderbirds pinball (subject to change) - in Australia - is AU$6499 (including tax - purchased from one of our retailers). That's about US$4934 in today's money. We believe that some future titles we produce will be even cheaper yet retain the same quality. You want to keep paying current prices then go right ahead and stick with the "made in USA" idea but it isn't a sound one for many reasons that others have pointed out here as well.

Add Australia to your list. Hankin had 5 titles including the very sought after Empire Strikes Back:

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2868

5 machines here:

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=hankin&sortby=mfg&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick

Indeed and this is the very reason we do everything ourselves - in house. The few things that ARE made outside we stay right on top of them and visit the factory many times to ensure things are done the way we wnt them.

I have been saying for many years that the businessmen that fly in for a show or fair, find a factory/supplier (very often just a middleman) and fly out one or two days later - these guys are kidding themselves. It just doesn't work that way here.

The ones that blindly buy online have no chance......

There are no shortcuts, you have to be "on the ground", right here, all the time or else just don't try and do business in China.

I think you missed the point of the message - the poster said that the cop had placed "temporary" 35MPH signs on the approach to the small town - your GPS will simply not have any way of knowing this unless it is able to read the NEW temporary signs??

Seems you didn't read my post #168 that states the RRP (in Australia). It won't be a great deal different for other destinations with the only differences being freight and tax adjustments for different countries. Homepin cannot (by law in most countries) fix the retail price but we can encourage our dealers to do the right thing.

Sadly, dreams like this are still very much science fiction......maybe sometime in the future but I doubt I will see it in my lifetime.

You are WAY off base. I haven't seen nor heard from that guy for a couple of years. The friend I'm talking about here has made garage door openers in China for 10 years.

cottonm4 makes a very valid comparison.

The Chinese factory is making AFFORDABLE instruments that do the job perfectly well particularly for students on a tight budget. Note particularly that the instruments made in the Chinese factory are 100% 'hand made' also.

The "grey hair" is making hand made, one off, artistic pieces destined for the finest and most highly skilled players and I have no doubt they sell for amounts that a student could only dream of paying.

Different products for very different end users BUT both of them meeting a consumer need in their own way and both high quality, hand made instruments.

Just because an item is "made in China" does not automatically mean it is crap! This is something many people have yet to adjust to.