New Label Suggestion: made in the USA

[Minus Sign]

I know that's none too subtle. Lemme try again: GET OVER HERE!

Speaking seriously, the only times I consistently see people's faces tend to droop while showing off an e-cig is when I say that they are all made in China, and that's where you gotta go if you want any of the best ones. There is a lot of trust in a brand that can claim they make their products "here" even when we're talking about a product that could kill them (or talking about a product that can curb such a habit). Even here, among the products staunchest supporters, there are people who prefer US reselling ebayers to buying factory direct...and some cautionary tales that might keep people off the product as well.

I can't speak for every North Carolinian, but we never (as a state) bashed RJR and PM on their tobacco product sales. I doubt we'd bash their competition. And if we can make Dells we can probably make these too.

Any way you slice it, this post boils down to a "do you have plans" post. Its a feature I think should be considered, and I'm surprised there's been no suggestion post openly stating it.

Cheers.

[RatInDaHat]

cost is always a large factor though. The cost of labor here is dramatically higher than it is in china. We can buy a $40 e-cig from china which sucks, or a $500 dollar e-cig from here that hopefully is good.

my numbers were pulled out of thin air, but you get the point.

-Dusty-

[TropicalBob]

I was gonna say essentially the same thing. Ruyan owns most of the patents for these devices, and sells licenses for manufacturers to make them. If a U.S. company decided to manufacture them, the license cost would be small compared to the labor cost. That's why we're losing so many jobs to Asia, particularly.

On a personal note, my daughter, a medical transcriptionist (not easy and $28 an hour for the labor), took the phone call that told her the biggest hospital chain she relied on is moving transcription duties to India. My daughter-in-law got a notice the same day that her reception counter job at an airline is being eliminated so cheap labor can answer phones at home, all tied together by computers logging reservations.

How does this country ever regain economic balance? We want to buy cheap goods, but be paid high wages. The two don't work well in the same country. So we continue to ship our money to China or Saudi Arabia, never to see those devalued dollars return.

[jdrancor]

It is an effort to not veer wildly into the benefits of bringing manufacturing back to the USA. The price we pay for practically everything does not reflect the actual value of the items. Cheap labor or not. Goods are made to be *purchased* rather than to be used. More often than not the items *look* like they should (it is shaped like a chair, colored like a chair, etc) but after six months stop performing the service promised by their appearance (the chair breaks.) We need to manufacture quality, and pay for quality, and stop wasting our money on stupid crap we don't need. Okay. Done.

I would easily pay $200 for a made in the USA electric smoking device that was built to last and designed well. I think a device like that would have enough elements that differed, even from the Ruyan design, that patent problems would be minimal. Ruyan owns the patent on first generation designs that must be improved fairly dramatically to be brought on a large scale to the general population. At this point in time Ruyan is byfar the best manufacturer, but, I think we all agree on this, there is dramatic room for improvement. With a good design, and a good look and feel, and good taste, this product could easily supplant half the cigarettes in the US. I'd say, if anything could support a US plant, or even (dare I dream) start a trend back to US-based manufacturing, a next generation electric smoker could.

[RatInDaHat]

you do make a valid point, but US design does not mean it has to be manufactured here.. Not saying it couldn't be, but cost can be prohibitive.

[kodye57]

Doubt the tobacco lobby would be having it. Unless the the Pharma lobby countered with their own product, but that wont happen either. America isn't what it used to be... too many 'interests' to protect, but hey, if you want a US driven company, than NJOY is an option: http://www.njoy.com/biographies.php

[jamie]

Originally Posted by TropicalBob

We want to buy cheap goods, but be paid high wages.

I disagree. People who feel consistently economically insecure focus on buying cheap goods. And even at that.... Ipods? Nikes? Coach bags? Columbia jackets? Sony anything? Where are cigarettes made? Remove the taxes. Nope, I disagree.

I could be wrong.