On Thu, 29 Oct 2015 20:40:46 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I suspect the made in China outlet strips you saw at Lowe's are probably
fine, quality-wise, and I'll bet they are UL approved.

The problem with China is not quality, it is quality control. A lot of
items get loose that are defective, whether they are copies of good
products or just factory rejects that get mixed back into the supply
chain along the way.

"Listing marks" are quite frequently counterfeited too.

A big company like Lowes might be more careful than mom and pop but it
still happens. If you see something at a flea market on a mom and pop
dollar store, the U/L label is almost always bogus.