Ceramic tiles are NOT all alike and some may be considered time bombs ready, waiting, and ticking down until conditions are right to cause you problems. Even the ceramic industry does not make comparative advertising with competition products. Why? By law, much of the European Community is restricted from this activity. Also, it's often viewed as self-destructive. "It's cheap and it looks aesthetically the same." These are often prophetic words. It may sound like just common sense remarks but lower priced materials of any kind normally cost less because there are short cuts in manufacturing them. I am told, "it is not possible to convince a cheap customer to buy based on quality issues, nor easily convince a customer who is accustomed to quality to buy something based on price alone." With ceramic tile, an aesthetically nice looking tile doesn't necessarily mean it is a quality tile. Some dealers will purchase inferior low price ceramic tiles and represent them to be superior quality. Your experienced dealer is there to assist you, but the fault lies in NOT understanding the product and that's where a greater knowledge will better prepare you to make a ceramic tile purchase. What makes a quality ceramic tile different from the others and how can you tell the difference? The expert ceramists intended design, quality of materials, product, manufacturing processes, kiln temperature, duration of firing time, etc. all determine the differences between one tile and another. Absorption is the primary key factor in determining both positive and negative factors influencing your ceramic tiles nature, installation and bond, maintenance, durability, and long-term performance. Floor tiles having a high absorption (7% or higher), perform poorly and are often referred to as RUBBISH. These tiles will chip and crack easily, before and after they have been installed. There is often a condition of stress between the tile body (biscuit/bisque) and glaze. Even while inspecting a selection of these tiles, straight from the carton, there is often chips on corners and the dark reddish or brown tone biscuit is exposed. They may exhibit size differences and dye lot variations. Even if this is controlled with sorting, they often expand with moisture absorption, taken from setting materials, which will adversely effect bond-ability to the substrate. Although the surface glaze appears aesthetically similar in nature to superior quality tiles, their performance is vastly different. Avoid purchasing such tiles.