10 “Made in China” Products that are More Expensive in China

10 “Made in China” Products that are More Expensive in China
Aug 26, 2015 By August Hatch , eChinacities.com

China is the world’s manufacturing hub, but being made in China doesn’t mean a product is cheaper in China.

To compare, we looked up most of these products on Amazon for the U.S. and Tmall for China. The reason for the discrepancy is usually tax-related. Even though the products are made in China, they are still considered imports and are thus subject to tariffs on foreign goods.

If you’re buying a product with an international brand, there’s a good chance you can find it cheaper outside of China. It’s always worth checking and saving yourself money is usually only a Google search away (or maybe a Bing search if you’re off the VPN).

Here are 10 products that are more expensive in China even though they’re made there.

1) iPhone 6 (unlocked)

Price in China: (749 USD)
Price in USA: 699 USD

America’s most profitable company assembles its devices around Shenzhen and Dongguan. In the final quarter of 2014, Apple sold more iPhones in China than the US for the first time. But in the last two years or so, the smartphone juggernaut was also surpassed by hometown hero Xiaomi, which makes high-spec handsets at a fraction of the cost.

2) Xbox One

Price in China: 2,799 Yuan (438 USD)
Price in USA: 349 USD

Microsoft’s Xbox one is the first game console legally sold in China since the government banned them in 2000. Notably, the PlayStation 4 price is much more even internationally. The One is made in Shanghai’s free trade zone by Flextronics and Foxconn, while the banned Xbox 360 was made in the Pearl River Delta region. The original Xbox was made in Mexico.

3) Adidas Shoes

Price in China: 538 Yuan (84 USD)
Price in USA: 40 USD

A pair of classic Adidas Sambas cost nearly twice as much in China as they do in the US. Your pair of three-striped kicks could be made in one of over a dozen different countries, just one of which is China. It’s worth noting that Nike shoes can actually be a bit cheaper in China.

4) Coach Handbag

Price in China: 1,399 Yuan (219 USD)
Price in USA: 200 USD

Coach, like many high-end designer fashion brands, often sources its leather and other materials and sends it to China and other countries for assembly. The same goes for wallets, clutches, and other products.

5) Burberry Scarf

Price in China: 3,900 Yuan (610 USD)
Price in USA: 475 USD

UK-based Burberry has factories all over the world, and many of its products are manufactured in China. Poland, Romania, India, Spain, Italy, England, and the US are also home to Burberry assembly lines. The company drew a lot of negative press in particular when it closed a factory in its home country and moved it to China. These are the prices for the classic cashmere Heritage scarf.

6) Volkswagen Passat

MSRP in China: 179,800 Yuan (28,100 USD)
MSRP in USA: 23,495 USD

One of the top-selling car models in China, the Volkswagen Passat is made around Shanghai. Shanghai Volkswagen was established in 1984, and China is one of the company’s biggest markets. Volkwagen also makes Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini, which are all also popular brands among China’s wealthy class. The prices quoted here are the manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for the most basic models.

7) Element Skateboard Deck

Price in China: 66 USD
Price in USA: 52 USD

One of America’s most prolific skateboard brands actually makes their decks in China. Gurl, Chocolate, and Crailtap have also made some of their products here. Many of the companies source their wood from places like Canada, but have it pressed in woodshops located in China and Mexico.

8) Wilson Pro Staff 97 Tennis Racket

Price in China: 1349 Yuan (211 USD)
Price in USA: 199 USD

Pretty much all tennis and badminton rackets are made in China these days. Many well-known brands are even manufactured in the same factories. The one exclusion is Yonex, which is made in Japan but is actually popular among China’s badminton players.

9) Lenovo ThinkPad

Price in China: 5,666 Yuan (886 USD)
Price in USA: 843 USD

Not quite sure how to explain this one. Lenovo is a Chinese brand with a Chinese manufacturing base, so it shouldn’t be subject to the same taxes that make foreign tech brands more expensive. And yet somehow the price favors the US for a Thinkpad T450 with identical specs, if only by a small margin. Perhaps they haven’t adjusted prices since China devalued the Yuan. Get ‘em while they’re hot!

10) CamelBak

Price in China: 465 Yuan (73 USD)
Price in USA: 48 USD

The original water-lugging backpack from America is actually from China. They also produce a range of water bottles and other accessories.

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Keywords: American products made in China Products Made in China

6 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

Guest2503130

classic problem of capitalism: the workers are no longer able to consume their manufactured products. well, and the case in china then becomes that those animals who are more equal than the others travel abroad to buy luxury goods, property, etc, etc.

Aug 31, 2015 04:14 Report Abuse

Guest2392570

This is the price you pay for stifling creativity in school. The factory of the world, maybe (for now at least), but factories only take a very small share of the profits.

Aug 27, 2015 11:07 Report Abuse

kuntmans

This is simply down o how much value added tax the government's wish to apply. In China the given then has higher vat because it needs the revenue to provide the public services expected of it by the people. The is prob one of the reasons why the Chinese gov can develop much better public transportation services in China, compared to USA, for example.

Aug 26, 2015 16:31 Report Abuse

Incongnito

Well, everything works in terms of offer and demand. Otherwise, how come gin is more expensive in England than other parts of the EU and Asia???

Aug 26, 2015 13:58 Report Abuse

amb.shahid

They are all foreign brand....that is just the case!

Aug 26, 2015 02:58 Report Abuse

KevinVV

Understatement of the century.

Aug 27, 2015 17:28 Report Abuse