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sje wrote:
If there's any difference aside from the hidden magic, then I can't see it.
First set is made in India, shipped to USA, customs fees are paid and is sold in retail with a margin.
Second one is made in India, shipped to Netherlands, customs fees paid. DGT coils are inserted. Set is repacked, shipped to USA, customs paid again, sold with a margin.
Somebody has to pay for all the coils, labour, shipping, customs & margins.
sje wrote:
If there's any difference aside from the hidden magic, then I can't see it.
First set is made in India, shipped to USA, customs fees are paid and is sold in retail with a margin.
Second one is made in India, shipped to Netherlands, customs fees paid. DGT coils are inserted. Set is repacked, shipped to USA, customs paid again, sold with a margin.
Somebody has to pay for all the coils, labour, shipping, customs & margins.
The United States has a population of over 300,000,000 citizens plus maybe 30,000,000 immigrant workers. And yet there is not a single tournament size wood Staunton chess set made in the country.
I have found only a few different wood chessboards made in the US. I could find only one tournament size wood piece set made in the US, and it was a learner's set made of blocks of unturned wood. There are two different digital chess clocks made in the US, but only one (the ZMF II) is reliably available. There are no mechanical chess clocks made in the US. There are no chess bags made in the US, but there may be some chess score pads produced domestically. That's about it.
Any chess equipment made and sold in the US is free from VAT, tariffs, and the like. Shipping is relatively inexpensive if one is willing to wait a week for a cross country transit. The sum of local, state, and federal taxes is high, but not much higher than in most of Europe.
Are Americans really that lazy? Do they consider woodcraft to be undignified?
Watchman wrote:I think for the type of woodcraft you are referring to has less to do with work ethic and more to do with ROI.
Maybe. However, I recall a YouTube video of an (Asian) Indian fellow making chess pieces using a simple hand powered lathe built from junkyard parts. Of all his equipment, only the chisels and a saw were store bought. Even without stain or lacquer, the pieces looked very good.
If I had a younger man's eyesight and dexterity, then I'd consider buying a lathe and the other equipment needed to set up a shop and have a go at it myself. I admit it would take some time to learn how to carve the knights; it might be better to hire a specialist for that.
Then again, making a high quality chessboard does require expensive equipment: a table saw for cutting and a planing machine for surface smoothing. Also, a drill press for preparing pieces for weight insertion. Perhaps a hundred or more chessboards would need to be sold to pay for the tools.
