Mostly, what's there in market are made in China, Vietnam, Pilippines, Indonesia, Thailand etc. Technically, each company will keep certain standards for the products. However, for mass production, the production units may use re-cycled materials and low grade materials for cost cutting without compromising the percentage of profit on products. Personally, products made in EU and Japan tend to have a longer longevity especially when compared to those made in China. It’s a normal trend that when you ask for a different country make (other than made in china), many at times the company sales persons may claim that the product from China is of low cost due to cheap manual labor alone. However, one should realize that use of re-cycled copper and other metals for electronic circuits are more rampant in China, when compared to other countries. For instance, a poor graded re-cycled iron does not take many days to get rusted when it’s left outside. Same applies for even metals like copper which will bring down the life of the products. Another factor which determines the quality can be zone for which (like American, EU, Asia-pacific zones etc) China is manufacturing the products. The quality standards are more rigorous for west countries than Asian countries. Those companies which manufactures from China will be cautious when they export it to western world, where the quality standards are stringent. To add on to this, these multinational companies very well know that the entire lot will be rejected if the standards layed by the country is not met. Another piont to be taken is the quality of products assembled in china. Usually, the products assembled in china may stay superior to made in China. Sorry for my poor English, and if the above mentioned points are hurting you in any manner, kindly ignore the remarks. However, if you feel there is certain amount of truth in it, then enlighten others, who are ignorant about these matters. Hope the information is adeqate.