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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #15 on: July 03, 2008, 09:06:12 PM » |
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THIS is the world's oldest Teddybear:  The world's oldest teddy bear, made by the German
company Steiff in 1904, is displayed at Vienna's Dorotheum
auction house in this October 19, 2000
Chinese toys ... besides being painted with lead ... would be lucky to last the week. |
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 Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2008, 09:26:18 PM » |
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 I can see why it is kept so well - nobody wants to touch it You'd be surprised. In Eaton in England, there is a teddybear shop and some of these bears go for over 100 pounds. http://www.asquiths.com/They are your Child's 'friend' for 5 years. Nobody wants an arm or leg to drop off during that time. A proper teddybear has to literally go through chidhood and survive ... sometimes for a couple of generations. The Rupert sells for 147 pounds and it is a Steiff. |
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« Last Edit: July 03, 2008, 09:31:44 PM by The Smoking Man »
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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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shan
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« Reply #19 on: July 04, 2008, 09:02:29 AM » |
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I still think the price is the key .
I always took my niece to different toy stores and we like imported toys as well , the materials and design are much better than Chinese toys indeed ,but you will get surprised when you look at the Price tags , 10 times of Chinese toys!
So it's quite fair , if you are rich, buy the foreign toys, if not , buy the Chinese toys
That's the reason why Chinese toys are still so popular in the world even there are negative reports on it's quality .
Commercial products should be the customerized and tiered, you can't expect to buy a BMW with a QQ car's price
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« Last Edit: July 04, 2008, 09:07:33 AM by shan »
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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #20 on: July 04, 2008, 09:12:25 AM » |
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I still think the price is the key .
I always took my niece to different toy stores and we like imported toys as well , the materials and design are much better than Chinese toys indeed ,but you will get surprised when you look at the Price tags , 10 times of Chinese toys!
So it's quite fair , if you are rich, buy the foreign toys, if not , buy the Chinese toys
That's the reason why Chinese toys are still so popular in the world even there are negative reports on it's quality .
Commercial products should be the customerized and tiered, you can't expect to buy a BMW with a QQ car's price
But when a German company transfers production to China ... BMW or Steiff ... they have the right to demand the quality from their home country. What is happening is that the Chinese are enforcing their own standards of quality and cheapening the 'brand'. Failure to comply with the brand specifications means that you lose the right to make the brand. There are two levels of Sony products too. The ones made in China and the ones made in Japan. Give me the Japanese one any day of the week!!! |
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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #21 on: July 04, 2008, 09:28:07 AM » |
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Commercial products should be the customerized and tiered, you can't expect to buy a BMW with a QQ car's price
That is what Steiff is saying. They are paying higher prices IN China to produce higher quality products (Like the BMW's made here) and unfortunately, the Chinese manufacturer seems to think that he has the right to make it with the quality of a QQ. The Chinese manufacturer doesn't seem to grasp the difference between the two levels of quality. And ... it isn't just the people working on the line who are doing it. There must be a quality inspection team that is passing the product in spite of the higher standard. Then, the management must have also been informed of the substandard nature of the product, too. In fact, as the article states, the German company has repeatedly corrected the Chinese production only to watch the quality slide back down again. |
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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #22 on: July 07, 2008, 07:47:02 AM » |
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Suuuure they're cuter!  China's love-struck looking to Olympics for marriage luck
By Francois Bougon AFP - Sunday, July 6 04:52 am
BEIJING (AFP) - Zhang Jie and Ma Yue plan to be among the crush of love-struck Chinese getting married at the start of the Olympics despite a series of disasters that have cast doubt over the auspicious day.
The opening of the Beijing Games falls on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008, which is no coincidence as the number eight is traditionally considered lucky in China due to it sounding like the word for wealth.
"Eight is a number that brings good luck in China, and that's why the Chinese often choose the eighth to get married," said Zhang, 24, at a registry office in southwest Beijing as the couple booked their place to tie the knot.
But a succession of disasters in China -- extreme bad weather in the south during Chinese New Year, violence in Tibet, and the earthquake in Sichuan -- has made some Chinese doubt the benefits of 2008.
Some Chinese netizens have even gone as far as to say the mascots of the Olympic Games are cursed.
Jingjing the panda, for them, represents the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake two months ago in Sichuan province, where the majority of the endangered animals live.
Yingying the Tibetan antelope evokes this year's deadly unrest in Tibet, while Huanhuan is a flame that for many brings back memories of the protests that embarrassed China during the Olympic torch's international journey.
But Zhang emphatically rejected these bad omens surrounding number eight.
"That's only superstition. When one portrays accidental events as inevitable, that's a form of superstition, isn't it?" the university student said.
Registration for weddings on August 8 opened on June 20, and will last until August 5 in registry offices as well as on the Internet, to avoid any last minute scrambles.
"More than 100 people have registered so far, which is more than usual," said Zhao Yongfu, an official at the registry office, where the Chinese characters of "double happiness" hung on the walls.
Around the country, thousands of people are also planning to get married on August 8, with China's press carrying countless articles on the phenomenon.
Zhang and Ma's special day also carried an additional meaning for them, as they are both volunteers for the first ever Olympic Games organised in China.
"Our work during the Games mainly involves welcoming the foreign sports delegations and to look after their living arrangements and daily needs," Zhang said.
The young couple said they would spare a few hours of their busy volunteering schedule on the eighth to get married, but the party would have to wait.
"The eighth of August is only the date to get our marriage certificate," Zhang said.
"Our wedding ceremony, however, will not be this basic. We will organise it in 2009, but we must first devote all our efforts to the Olympic Games.
"The eighth of August 2008 will be a lucky day. And the Olympic Games will be successful, and we are very proud of the event." |
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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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shan
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« Reply #23 on: July 07, 2008, 08:53:32 AM » |
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I also avoid 8 now
almost all the disasters are related to "8" this year
do you remember i have let you do the maths :
8x8x8=???
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The Smoking Man
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« Reply #24 on: July 07, 2008, 09:01:03 AM » |
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And the earthquake was a level 8 on the Richter scale too. So much for Chinese numerology. Wouldn't you have preferred a 4?  |
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Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot. |
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