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MADE IN THE USA!

American Woman

American Woman

Banned
In the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand you may normally buy is an off brand labeled "Everyday Value". Both types of bulbs stats were compared - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the most surprising was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA. So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland, OH! So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep, you guessed it --Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA!

I think we GOTTA start taking the time to look and do this more often :wink:
 
That is surprising AW. Good post! :thumb:
 
Do ya think Sam Walton is rolling in his grave? Remember when their print ads indicated products made in the USA and when their commercials on tv said "We buy American made whenever we can so you can, too?

this an excerpt form a 1989 article:

Wal-Mart's "Buy American" program which was kicked off with patriotic TV ads featuring the slogan We Buy American Whenever We Can, So You Can, Too"--grew out of chairman Sam Walton's concerns over the trade deficit, according to Wal-Mart officials By the mid-1980s, the country was reeling from huge deficits with entire industries--including textiles and, to a lesser extent, apparel manufacturing--seemingly unable to hold up under foreign competition.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n23_v28/ai_8283511

Isn't there something about 3 generations to ruin a family company?
 
Years ago I used to buy quite a few things from the Cabela's catalog too. They used to have proud banners of made in U.S.A. you'll find very few of them now in there though.
 
CityGirl said:
Do ya think Sam Walton is rolling in his grave? Remember when their print ads indicated products made in the USA and when their commercials on tv said "We buy American made whenever we can so you can, too?
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I can't find it now, but I remember reading somewhere once that at the time of Sam Walton's death the ratio of U.S. made versus foreign made items at his stores was 80/20 and is now 20/80.
 
American Woman said:
In the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand you may normally buy is an off brand labeled "Everyday Value". Both types of bulbs stats were compared - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the most surprising was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA. So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland, OH! So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep, you guessed it --Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA!

I think we GOTTA start taking the time to look and do this more often :wink:
Click to expand...

Speaking of wally's& lite bulbs, I went there today to buy some and they had GE brand. A pak of four GE's "assembled in the USA" cost $2.88, a pak of four GE's "made in mexico" cost $1.03. So where were the "assembled in USA" bulbs made? I bought the "assembled in USA" ones hoping I did the right thing.
Mike
 
CityGirl said:
Do ya think Sam Walton is rolling in his grave? Remember when their print ads indicated products made in the USA and when their commercials on tv said "We buy American made whenever we can so you can, too?

this an excerpt form a 1989 article:

Wal-Mart's "Buy American" program which was kicked off with patriotic TV ads featuring the slogan We Buy American Whenever We Can, So You Can, Too"--
Click to expand...
Yes I remember that!
It seems like when ever the original owner dies off and leaves a company to the kids then everything becomes more greedy in the company.
 
Okay, fair enough. But what should I do?

I want the best products for my clients, but the best kitchen knives are made in Japan.
 
The Tourist said:
Okay, fair enough. But what should I do?

I want the best products for my clients, but the best kitchen knives are made in Japan.
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Move to Japan and Squint your eyes:yum::yum::yum:


AW great thread.....we all need to support our own nations and Local community's.... buy locally produced produce. :thumb:
 
There's a difference in buying offshore products because they are cheap and buying the best and it happens to be made in another country.

Jim
 
jim slagle said:
There's a difference in buying offshore products because they are cheap and buying the best and it happens to be made in another country.
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That's the truth, however many American companies have closed simply because they cannot or will not compete. And that's the thing that drives me battier.

Why are Bosch electrics and Nippon Seki gauges on Harley-Davidsons? Yes, they are better. But in 1974, every time I looked at my electronic tachometer on my FXE, I saw the print: Nippon Seki Made in Japan.

But why didn't some American company step up to the plate?

For example, I do know that Cahn built some of the best strain gauges for scientific use in the mid-1990s, I worked there.

It's not that we can't, it appears that we won't.

There is nothing that says an American cutler cannot buy American steel from Crucible and build laminated knives. In a very real sense, that's what Ken Onion did with Shun.

But why do we find only singular examples?
 
The Tourist said:
I realize that you're joking, but what if you were one of my clients. What would you want me to do to provide you with the best service and products?
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I can only say what i provide my customers......and thats a job thats done with 100% to what i promised and at a price that wont be found local to where i provide that service.

I Never tell a customer what they need.....I only supply what they request but do advise on the long term money saving options.

Let your workmanship be your main advertising tool.
 
The Tourist said:
But why didn't some American company step up to the plate?

It's not that we can't, it appears that we won't.

But why do we find only singular examples?
Click to expand...


As long as the only [which are generally formidable in&of themselves] risks are the R&D to produce an equal or superior product, tool up for it, and market it, I think we would see more examples. But when you look at the costs of having a profitable business these days [layed out satirically, but quite well in the concurent Political Landscape thread; though I'll further that with difficulty in finding equally dedicated employees in the first place, not just the fiscal side of it], now reward is comparitively small, not to mention the very chance of reward, vs. the risk.

Of course, just because the problem is identified, I'm afraid that doesn't equate a solution. :ermm: I truely wish I had it, rather than sitting here whining about the problem through a keyboard.
 
Galvatron said:
Let your workmanship be your main advertising tool.
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I understand that. And in most cases the work demonstrates the prowess you have in your chosen field.

But how many chefs and serious home cooking hobbyists know anything about 1,000 year old Japanese history and superior steel?

There are trades--like medicine, architecture, safety--where the client needs advice as well as a product.

If one of my clients is about to shell out somewhere between 500 and 2,000 dollars for one knife, trust me, we are going to have a long conversation about what he does and doesn't know.
 
The Tourist said:
But how many chefs and serious home cooking hobbyists know anything about 1,000 year old Japanese history and superior steel?
Click to expand...

Now thats a hard one......and to be honest (and no offense intended just honesty)i for one and im sure most that cook would not give 2 shits about the Japanese history and steel quality.....all they would want is a tool thats worthy of the job at hand(modern people running food joints).....thats all i look for in a Hammer drill,rip saw or any other tool.....just tools of the trade i guess.

My original suggestion of move to Japan could be the best solution....at least you will be at one with many.

Now wheres that Knife i got for Xmas from Big Dog i need to sharpen my pencil:wink:
 
If you want to buy a good knife I say support one of the many custom US knifemakers. They can make exactly what you want at a cost of no more than the good imports that are ready made, probably by the 100's. That would really be helping the little guy, not some foreign company. Most of the US knifemakers that I know of will give you a lifetime warranty and will make your knife any way you like from carbon steel to Damascus to any number of stainless varieties.
Just my $0.02 worth.:biggrin:
graver
 
graver said:
If you want to buy a good knife I say support one of the many custom US knifemakers. They can make exactly what you want at a cost of no more than the good imports that are ready made, probably by the 100's.
graver
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:agree:
Americans are'nt stupid:glare: We have good craftsmen too. I've seen a lot of crappy $h!t come out of China and Japan:yum:
One of the main reasons our farmers were put out of business was because they were having to follow US rules and use certain fertilizers and pesticides that other countries didn't. They were able to grow cheaper and sell to the US cheaper than we could grow it here. If that ain't our own government sabotaging us I don't know what its.
 
graver said:
support one of the many custom US knifemakers
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This applies to any field. After all, Jay Leno is having a car made from the ground up. My bike is all custom. Lots of FF members here are building and refurbishing sno-cats. Doc has a separate forum for food hobbyists who make gourmet meals.

But in a very real sense, would you say this activity is the action of most people, or a very few select individuals who are seeking quality?

Obviously there are millions of assembly line cars. Most people simply buy food at the grocery store.

And from my perspective, my clients shop price.

Locutus and I have both noticed independently that a guy will buy a thousand dollar rifle, but then a cheap scope and box of loss-leader ammunition. He will book a guided elk hunt that might cost weeks of his salary, but then ask me about a "good knife" for under nine bucks. It's the nature of the consumer.

But once again, we blame the businessman for creating the mess. Fair enough.

Just exactly how much more whining do you think we would hear if every car cost 100K, butcher shops sold only kobe beef, I only sold Hattori knives, and the only scopes you could find were Swarovski?
 
The Tourist said:
Just exactly how much more whining do you think we would hear if every car cost 100K, butcher shops sold only kobe beef, I only sold Hattori knives, and the only scopes you could find were Swarovski?
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A little less extreme than your example, but rather than just one, let's say any given item had two or three options [to encourage competition and allow for variety], but all top end, and all domestic.

Given that, yes I'd still bet the majority of the last generation, and likely some before, would be whining for cheap junk to cram their houses at a volume altering seismographic readings. OTOH, if they never knew any different, these products would be manufactured in increasingly efficient practices and at prices fairly in tune with the pay of those making the goods. So there would be less disposable stuff, maybe a few less knick knacks, yet I'd wager a richer life in the figurative sense as well as litteral value of "toys".
 
Spiffy1 said:
cram their houses...less disposable stuff
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Oh, I agree 100%. But how do we stem the tide of everyone demanding "the latest and greatest" and our slavish impulse for designer labels?

My engine was invented in 1936. How often do you think I hear the comment that I should "get something modern?" Heck, you can't even sell the idea of a work ethic anymore.

It's a vicious circle. My Mom was home to cook meals. If I had to participate in after school activities, I rode my bicycle. Nothing else was really needed.

Frankly, it is no longer safe to have unsupervised children wander the planet. So we have soccer-moms driving, a crimp in time and fast food.

Whether we accept the blame or not, we created this world and its conditions. 'Cheap' is needed, so we get shelves full of crap.
 
I tend to agree on the quality thing. Allot of people out there nowadays don't care as much about the quality of the products they buy. They care more about the price.

I work in a plywood plant. At least I do for another three weeks. We make high end custom plywood for indoor cabinetry. Companies used to buy our products because when they were done making a cabinet or peice of furniture from a sheet of our wood, they'd have a quality peice of furniture. Now, the trend in recent years has been to import the wood from china at a lower cost than what we make it for. But trust me on this one. We got in some of their wood and the quality is not there. One of the main reasons we are shutting down in three weeks is because we can't compete with the low end sutff the chineese are producing and the companies we sell to don't seem to be concerned about quality. They tell us that they still like our product but want us to sell it to them for the same price as what the chineese are selling it for. Allot of the companies that buy the high end wood we make are now turning to that cheap pressboard crap that falls apart as soon as you touch it. The quality is not there anymore in about 90% of the furniture made today.

It's like walking into a mercedes or Lexus dealership and demanding that they sell you the car for the same price as say, a KIA or Hyundai(just using those two as examples of cheaper vehicles). People expect the same quality from the cheaper brands as they would get from the high end quality brands. But they aren't willing to pay for it.
 
American Woman said:
:agree:
Americans are'nt stupid:glare: We have good craftsmen too. I've seen a lot of crappy !t come out of China and Japan:yum:
One of the main reasons our farmers were put out of business was because they were having to follow US rules and use certain fertilizers and pesticides that other countries didn't. They were able to grow cheaper and sell to the US cheaper than we could grow it here. If that ain't our own government sabotaging us I don't know what its.
Click to expand...

Good point, AW! You are so very right.
 
groomerguyNWO said:
I tend to agree on the quality thing. Allot of people out there nowadays don't care as much about the quality of the products they buy. They care more about the price.
we can't compete with the low end sutff the chineese are producing and the companies we sell to don't seem to be concerned about quality. They tell us that they still like our product but want us to sell it to them for the same price as what the chineese are selling it for.
Click to expand...
This is so true in just about any consumer based business today. As far as quality...I think we can blame these huge mass company's like Wal-Mart, and the knock off stores like it. Wal-Marts alone carry's almost anything you want, and it's always cheaper there. Including the furniture your company tries so hard to keep at high standards. Wal-Mart furniture is some cheap stuff. It looks good and it's like the high priced stuf in every way but quality.
My company Is huge. They own 30 different name salons in the U.S. Each one a separate branch and name, but the same company. Some of their branches are twice as high as the others. The branch I'm in we probably do about 80% men's hair cuts. The cut is $15. In the same Mall this company owns three stores. The other stores are more geared toward's women' styles. Men not knowing the mall will walk in and pay $25 for a fade three doors down from me. This company has something in a price for everyone.
 
Another aspect of this equation is the cost of tools and supplies for the tradesman. My costs go up just the same as those of the clients.

In fact, it got so bad right before fuel shot up to four bucks that I simply quit working at sporting goods stores.

People couldn't understand on how I could "quit working" and make more money.
 
Its like everything else these days. Home Depot only wants or should I say will carry high volume merchandise. If you are looking for oddball things they can't sell a large volume of they won't or don't carry it (there own words). There's just not enough people who are willing to pay the higher price of American made goods for big box stores to bother with. There all about profit and margins and could care less about American business and there employees.
 
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