Re: Toy Machine pro models // made in China?
Adding this here too:
It has been an interesting one, especially since distribution changed here, so now many of these brands have a more generic looking wood with "Made in China" on them including Toy Machine, Zero and a few others that I have seen in local shops here in Australia.
The list of "pro brands on Made in China" decks is actually a lot longer than you might think, given many suppliers have found it cheaper / easier or whatever to get boards there for the European and Asian markets, which does include Australia for the most part.
I am a bit disappointed sometimes when the same brands use "Made in Mexico" woodshops for the USA, but whatever else they can get for other markets like here in Australia and then charge the same pro wood prices, but for me personally, that is more down to the feel of the concave in those boards and the fact that I prefer wood from that woodshop based on how the board skates to me, not so much the brand or distribution path it takes to get here.
I guess reading through even the last dozen or so pages of the Woodshop thread might not turn up too much, apart from helping you get confused about some brands, given what seems like swapping from one woodshop to another to back to the first one, or something else entirely, during the last year or so.
The quality of the product seems to be much better overall now than what it has been in the past too, but I don't have any boards that I skate that are from any of the other woodshops. Going by feedback from others, some of the so called cheaper Made in China boards have held up really well and those people like them, so I wouldn't be writing them off so quickly if you already have one in your hands. Paying that much for one is another story, which I am not going to get into here and now, but that $20 deck with a $90 graphic on it is a funny one...
I would be curious to hear how you find the deck, given I have seen lots around but not at all interested in buying one just to see how the current wood feels. I have had a stand on lots of them in other shops and they felt fairly stiff so I would imagine it would hold up well enough, but unless you skate it, it is hard to tell much from a picture or holding it in your hands.
I should probably note here too that the RRP on most boards from USA or Mexico is now well over $140 even if shops often do not put prices up that much, with pricepoint boards still around the $100 to $110 range, so technically they are in the lower price range anyway.