Aw, Karin~
Sorry to hear about your cracking problems...hope you get to the bottom of it soon! I'm surprised that for whatever reason (kiln temp, annealing schedule, location of the moon, etc.) some people have problems with some glass and some do not. Because of inconsistencies that just can't be perfectly pin-pointed (batching, odds, formula changes and so on) - and it seems no matter the manufacturer, there ARE inconsistencies - these things just HAPPEN from time to time.
I've sure had my share of "mysterious" and strangely inexplicable crack problems - even when others are using the same glass, color combos, annealing schedules - it's mystifying! Argh...I feel your pain!
And as far as the issues of this glass being cheap or inclined to have problems because of where it's made, how it's made, who made it and so forth, this is how I feel about that issue (screw the dead horse - it's time to say how I REALLY FEEL):
Fire up your torches and prepare to flame my rear!
Sorry...but I'm fed up and really, it's not helping IMHO to speak derogatorily of a product that is generally good - and has been proven as such - simply because it's a low cost product or because of political reasons relating to it's manufacturing location! It may be circumstantial specific to SOMETHING that's happening with
Karin and talking trash about the product doesn't seem to be the way to help her out.
De