Where are Instrokes currently made?

[Alligator]

I have heard that Instroke cases are now made overseas in China and that the quality may suffer, as most billiard products that have used this cost cutting method have. Is this true because if it is it makes me leary of buying one of these cases.

[Tat]

I think that most of us are still entrenched in the old belief that anything made overseas that their workers got paid less than our standard is lacking in quality. The last time I cheecked, nearly all the top brand pc mother boards are made overseas in the Pacific rim countries.

My Taiwan made Instroke Buffalo Cowboy 3x5 would be arriving on Monday, per UPS tracking, would post my impressiion on this case when I get a chance to beat it around the house. Of course with loving care, and not abusive. Just want to clarify for warrenty sake.

I think John of Instroke had a couple of posting in regarding to your concern. You might want to take a look at them.

Good luck in searching for your perfect case.

Tat

[skor]

get the whole instroke story here:
http://www.seyberts.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1163

[dags_lax]

Not everything made over seas is of lesser quality and the flip side of that coin is that not everything made in the states is of top quality. Sometimes we have no choice as what we are looking to purchase is made one place or the other but not both. But often times we do have a choice and in any given price/quality range there will be offerings from home and abroad.

As consumers we all have a responsibility to look past the purchase and understand that, besides the product, just what our dollars are buying. The old adage "you get what you pay for" has a lot of truth to it. Some of the things you get when you choose to purchase foreign made goods or from foreign companies are higher taxes, increased unemployment, and a depressing effect on wages. Profits that are earned over seas are not profits that are taxed in the United States. That means that Americans and American companies end up paying more in taxes, while someone you know or maybe even you are out of work or can’t find a job that pays a livable wage.

I know this is an oversimplification and realize that we live in a global economy. But just think of the buying power of 250 million American consumers and if just 10% of the money spent on purchases of foreign goods was spent for American goods. If this money that is going overseas was recycled back into the American economy, wow. Lower unemployment, lower taxes higher wages.

That’s my rant and thanks for putting up with it.

[instroke]

This is an answer that an Instroke dealer wrote to his customer. I think that this is a very good and to the point description of what Instroke is about.

"Yes the Instroke cases are now made in Taiwan. It is a long story, which I will try to keep brief. The creator of the Instroke line is an American who was living in Germany when he created the "Instroke" cases. Thus, originally the cases were made there but when John came back to the USA to live and market his "Instroke" cases, his German partners took it upon themselves to cut cost of building the cases. They sacrificed quality for price savings. John was unable to convince his partners to stop this policy. Therefore, John went to the "Best" custom cue case manufacturer in Taiwan to build the "Instroke" line of cases. John worked tirelessly for two years teaching the Taiwan folks to build the cases the "Best" method and using only the "Best" materials available. I have met with the Taiwan craftsman, it is a two generation small family owned enterprise who wish only to produce the "Best" case humanly possible. John did a great job of selling the "Best" quality only concept to these very competent and nice folks in Taiwan. I assure you, the cases are not built by child labor in a sweat shop. They are folks you would be proud to have as family.

Enough said about the history of Instroke. The important thing to know the "Instroke" name represents quality and dependability you can rely on for years of useful service."

[instroke]

The issue of buying domestically made goods is complex for sure. We live in a global economy. American goods and brands are consumed worldwide. It's hard to see a factory close and the work moved overseas but this happens all the time all over the world. There was a time when America was considered a source of cheap labor and sweatshops were commonplace. (there still are thousands of bonafide sweatshops in America)

If a hundred bucks of revenue were divided into a pie chart you would see that only about 15-20% of it goes into manufactuing and transport. The other 80% goes into advertsing, marketing, infrastructure, research and development. Thus, in the example of something imported here into the USA most of the money generated stays here and is respent here in the USA funding jobs and growth.

It might be better if 100% of the money stayed in the system but history has shown that closed societies tend to have weaker economies with high prices, high inflation, less choice and more oppression.

There is almost no way to guarantee that goods are 100% domestically made. Generally, there are parts needed that are foreign made and only those are available.

I guess my advice is to support quality because quality gives back to the world at large with more jobs and a better standard of living. Forget the soil a product was "made on". It is far more important to support companies that are good citizens.

Just my 2cts.

John

[New Kid In The Hall]

John, exactly right. We are a distribution economy now, not a manufacturing economy.

[instroke]

John, exactly right. We are a distribution economy now, not a manufacturing economy.

I don't neccesarily agree with this. I think that there is plenty of manufacturing going on in the USA. I also think that as entrepenuers learn to use the poer of the web and learn new techniques for efficiency, that you will see a lot more small scale manufacturing done in the USA.

Other countries gobble up United States goods and brands. Foreign manufacturers are building production facilities here in the USA. Toyota and BMW are two that come to mind. Foreign companies are investing in the USA, look at Deutsche Telecom (T-Mobile).

The ecomomy is global. Jobs will shift around like jobs always do in repsonse to the market. The trick for individuals is to make themselves marketproof.

John