[johnsjmc]

It,s happening in most industries isn,t it? A consequence of Globelization is it? Or the PT Barnum marketing stategy of our consumer society? If it looks the same and is cheaper it,s good enough for most. You know " fool most of the people all the time "?

I have a niece who is a chef. She wanted a Henkels brand knife set for a wedding gift.
Turns out there are Henkels made in Germany and Henkels made in China. They look exactly the same except the logo is slightly different.
You get what you pay for.
When I bought a set of Sears Craftsman combination wrenches a few years ago.( As I was retired and no longer buying just SnapOn) they Look good sold at Sears Should be made in USA but this set was made in Japan if you look at them closely. They appear equal to any other Craftsman wrench . Japan and Germany do make good stuff.
Mitutoyu has similar to (US) Starret quality doesn,t it?
Is a VW made in Germany better than the same model made in Mexico?
Is the Toyota made in the USA as good as the one made in Japan?
At least with the same parent company you expect similar quality and warranty.

If tool buyers are only interested in price you can go to Harbour Freight.
I,ve said a few times lately, when discussing handtools ,that
I understand they are going sell a line to compete directly with SnapOn. Called SnapOff.
Similar name and warranty BUT NOT quite same parent company, or quality..
You get what you pay for.