In all honesty, I'd love to sell a $150 polisher! Wish there was one that was NOT made in China. (Let's be honest, when you walk through a Wal-Mart, or really, any retail store, aren't you surprised how cheap everything is?) The answer lies in CHINA.
Child labor, communism, mass-poverty, loose work safety laws, and then there are the cargo ships, fueled by foreign oil, that bring the goods to the USA.
Getting my drift? Our company would be 5X the size, and enjoy maybe 20X the profit if only we started selling cheap imports.
Not happening.
To answer your question, and sorry for the rant...The Griot's polisher is a fine unit for the $$. They last a while, then burn out, but what is to expect for a machine that is this inexpensive!?
All of our pads work with the Griot's polisher.