Thanks Norm and AVB, I think if I was in the USA I would probably buy a small Husqvarna for about USD 150.00 over the cheap Chinese one, well worth double the price but here for various reasons the difference is 3.5 times ($350.00 but it does come with a 5 year warranty).
Sometimes the Chinese stuff is identical to the Homelite, Ryobie Craftsmen and probably the Aldi and several other home brands. They are willing to put on it what ever you want and often it is just as good or just as bad but there is no way of knowing which until you buy them. It is unfortunate that we are finding some brand name companies lending their name to lower quality products. On my other post with the reel mower there is a comment about someone's Stanley branded multi metre.
At the same time it is hard to blame them as they are loosing market share to the cheap stuff, (which is often good enough for the home handyman) meaning their sales volumes are down with no option but to increase their prices to maintain viability. It seems cheap tools are getting cheaper and good ones are getting more expensive. If you are going to use them to try and make a living the better ones are by far the best value.
