[ams6110]

I remember Japan running rings around US products from a quality standpoint, not just being "acceptable." This is quite unlike China where the default quality is crap (though you CAN get good quality from Chinese manufacturing, you have to demand it and do your own QA to be sure you're getting it).

[busterarm]

You might want to rethink your opinion on this. It's much more accurate to say that the default quality that most outsourcers are willing to pay for is crap. It comes down to going for the lowest price and poor description of requirements from overseas.

The last few years I've been getting tons of small-run, custom manufactured goods from China, ranging from custom keyboards (and CNC'd aluminum cases for them), custom electronics (mostly routers), to handcrafted belts and tailored clothes. All of them are of absolutely outstanding quality and all of the communication I've seen demonstrates some incredibly skilled craftsmen who take pride in their products.

A lot of the knowledge/experience is gone from US manufacturing.

Once they figure out customer service (which is generally poor, but good with some shops), you're going to see a lot more people doing what I've been doing.

[crdoconnor]

Japan used to make crap too, before they moved up the value chain (as China is doing now).