According to import statistics approximately 25% of all church chairs sold in the United States are imported. While manufacturing costs may be significantly less in foreign countries, shipping costs increase the consumers price of the chair.  This fact combined with the long term costs of repairs and having to replace the chairs sooner due to inferior manufacturing techniques provide for a chair that costs more over time than USA made church chairs.  As with all large purchases paying more up front for an item usually means the product with last longer and provide many more years of use than a flimsy import.