How much does "Made in the UK" matter to you?

How much does made in the UK matter to you?

  • Very important

    Votes: 17 20.5%
  • Important

    Votes: 38 45.8%
  • Indifferent

    Votes: 12 14.5%
  • Not Important

    Votes: 4 4.8%
  • Do not care

    Votes: 12 14.5%

  • Total voters
    83

JMikeyH

Well-Known Member
Poll please, I'm beginning a search for a manufacturer of a product I'd hope to bring to market eventually and I would like to know how much being made in the UK matters to you.

Assume being made in the UK means the product will be robust and last a long time, but will be considerably more expensive.

Cheers,
 
I look for it and then make a decision depending on where it's made, what it's made from and what the price differential is between that and something comparable. It's important but not the sole criteria. There are also plenty which make big claims that aren't as good as they make out so reviews factor in too.
 
Not know, no, I don't care. Ever since the day I saw a Ford 4x4 with the sticker in the back window "Support Our Farmers - Buy British Beef" and realised that people buy the best tool for the job. The once exception as I work freelance for a company that takes "Brits" on holiday is I won't have my custom such as bank or energy with a company that has out of UK call centres as they will never spend what they earn on the product or service that I earn money from.
 
I used to buy niche items for my job from a few UK manufacturers. When I called to order it felt as if they were doing you a favour by selling you stuff.

I now get Chinese ones for 10% of the price. The quality isn't the same but it's not far off.

The simple fact is I can buy 10 for the price of 1. If/when it breaks I've got 9 spares! I can also order it and receive it from China in 5 days with free postage.
 
I don't buy a lot but I do try to be sure they're made in Britain. It takes a fair bit of time to find out where things are made. And I'm happy to pay the price for it.

If there's not a British option I try to make sure that I get the least amount of Chinese manufacture. Not that I think the quality might be poor but I'd like to contribute the least I can to their take-over of the world.
 
I used to buy niche items for my job from a few UK manufacturers. When I called to order it felt as if they were doing you a favour by selling you stuff.

I now get Chinese ones for 10% of the price. The quality isn't the same but it's not far off.

The simple fact is I can buy 10 for the price of 1. If/when it breaks I've got 9 spares! I can also order it and receive it from China in 5 days with free postage.
So true, I am the same.
 
Customer service /come back /warranty is only reason to pay a premium. There are very few who will pay the "patriot tax" when push comes to shove.
Depends lot on product.
Good luck with it.
 
I'm not a UK resident, so didn't vote but as a kiwi I try as hard as possible to buy NZ made.

My business is in direct competition with overseas manufacturers - in fact we are the last NZ based manufacturer of our products. This is down from 4 locals when I started the business 16 years ago after a foriegn manufacturer I was representing let me down in a very expensive way.

I'm currently buying 55 tons of 316ss, and my order of preference for suppliers has been European/US, then Korean, then Taiwan and absolutely no Chinese manufacturers at all.
 
Depends what it is, really. If I wanted to buy tweed, for example, I'd look for British wool and made in Britain.
Bespoke or small-scale stuff I'd definitely prefer to buy British and directly support businesses.

I'd say, generally speaking, that I wouldn't necessarily be put off by anything not being made in the UK. However, I'd probably be more likely to buy a slightly more expensive made-in-the-UK item over an import if all else was equal.
 
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