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Post by danf on Jan 3, 2008 21:30:59 GMT -5
Uh, ... Lesseee...... At work, we've got Dell computers. "American" made, but guess where your call goes to when you've got a problem. My favorite pruners? Felco, made in Switzerland- US made can't compete... Favorite pruning saw? Silky, made in Japan. Again, no US made saw can compete with Japanese steel- just ask *any* serious woodworker; the pruning saws are no different. Our equipment at work? Hmmmmmm. Fleet of Fords. Ok, that's "American", but of the truck as a whole has what, maybe 30-40% US components? Our tractor? John Deere. That's US, right? NOPE. Firestone tires (we all know where those are made), I think it's actually a Yanmar (Japanese) engine. Even the tractors aren't 100% american! Our other equipment? Ditch Witch mini-skidsteer. OK, that's 100% American. Well, at least until you pop the hood and see the HONDA engine... Small equipment? Mostly Stihl. Hmmmm. Those are GERMAN. My personal chainsaw? Husky. Maybe made in the US, but it's an Electrolux company- Switzerland. Point is, even if you WANT to buy AMERICAN, you really can't get it 100%, even in your "American" manufacturers... Yeah, the profits stay here, blah, blah, blah, I know that, but there are profits being made elsewhere from that same product, whether you realize it or not. It's a global economy. Even I as a measly *landscaper* knows this (and no, it's not because I work with a bunch of Hispanics- in fact we don't currently employ any ).
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Post by kevin1 on Jan 4, 2008 11:25:12 GMT -5
Poor ol' Mom and Pop, mean old Wally World done run them out of business! Horse hockey! Lack of ability to compete successfully ran them out, that's how things work in a capitalist market. To the above I say the only reason they went out of business is the fact that they were selling AMERCIAN MADE items in their stores and then along came Wal-Mart selling all this foriegn crap at a "cheap" price and they couldn't compete with the cheap prices nor buy at the volume that Wal-Mart does to make a descent living thus they went out of business. M&P could have bought cheaper stuff from wherever too, just like the big box, but they could never buy in that level of volume. If you sell what your competitor sells but can't match their volume discount then you'd better be smart enough to restock with something they don't sell. The first and most primary rule of any business is "Compete or die", Wal-Mart didn't start that, they just live by it. When WM came to Corydon near where I live the number of M&Ps dropped sharply, and they did because they couldn't or wouldn't compete. They were soon replaced by other M&Ps smart enough to know their niche and exploit it, nearly all are still in business. Lesson learned.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2008 18:01:41 GMT -5
mrfixit this country needs more people lik you
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Post by hoosieroutdoorsman on Jan 4, 2008 18:48:49 GMT -5
Granted wally world doesn`t have the greatest selection anymore but if you know what you are buying and can save a little by getting it at wally world then no harm no foul,, scent spray or field tips won`t be any better quality at a sporting goods store.
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Post by indianahick on Jan 4, 2008 21:14:24 GMT -5
That blaze orange cap you paid 2.50 for at Wally will work every bit as good as the one from Big Box for 9.99. Orange sweat shirt for 14.99 does the same job as a 29.99 one too.
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Post by mrfixit on Jan 5, 2008 6:58:16 GMT -5
I didn't start out with a let's screw Walmart attitude or anything like that and to this day I don't hate Wally World they just have little I need or can't get somewhere else for the same money. Perhaps not the same convenience but nevertheless I just decided one day to buy American when possible. If I was out with the boss lady or if I was out getting something by myself I would just try and look around for things made in the USA and make little mental notes. I found it was pretty impossible in some cases to find the particular item I needed made in the USA when I needed it but later I might see that item at a store we frequent that was made in the USA. Soon I found I wasn't shopping at Wally World or Menards to name a few and doing more shopping at Lowes and Orschelins. I also found if I wanted a new gun it might be a few dollars cheaper at Wally World but dang when you tried to resale or trade the the cheaper models made for Wally you really took a beating. Better to spend the extra $25 at the local gun store 6 miles the other way from my house and get twice as much when I decided to trade that gun for another. That's just a few examples.
It really hasn't cost me anymore to buy American when I can I just have to go to a couple stores instead of getting everything at one spot so I'm a little more inconvenienced maybe but usually I'm going by that other store anyway so it all works out and hopefully it's helping a fellow American keep his job.
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Post by bsutravis on Jan 5, 2008 8:08:16 GMT -5
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Post by steiny on Jan 5, 2008 17:08:22 GMT -5
I just hat going to The Freak Show / Wal Mart. Too many fat women in stretch pants yelling at their kids.
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Post by raporter on Jan 5, 2008 18:33:57 GMT -5
I just hat going to The Freak Show / Wal Mart. Too many fat women in stretch pants yelling at their kids. And that horrendous caterwalling they call music.....The employees should get hazard duty pay just for having to listen to it all day long.
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Post by weedhopper on Jan 5, 2008 18:41:41 GMT -5
;D ;D
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Post by TagTeamHunter on Jan 5, 2008 19:54:02 GMT -5
I am for Buy U.S.A. But let us also remember and I think it should be our motto: Compete Globally and hopefully the countries where we want to sale our products wouldn't have the Buy Korean, French, German, etc, etc movement happening. Remember it was Deming (A US Citizen) that taught Japan how to make Cars and how to do it right. He tried to tell the big 3 in the USA and they didn't want to hear it. The days of protectionism is over we need to compete in a global market and we better get on board. As another US Citizen made this saying famous: "Lead, follow or get out of the way".
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Post by mrfixit on Jan 5, 2008 21:28:45 GMT -5
How are we to compete in a global market if we have no manufatured goods from which to compete? Or put another way if we import everything and export nothing how are we to compete? How are we to live on third world wages in a first world economy? There is always a need for some protectionism, the question is where to draw the line. If every other country practices protectionism of varying degrees and we don't then aren't we simply putting ourselves at a huge disadvantage to compete globally? If we import and buy all their stuff but they buy nothing from us then we are simply shipping our money out of the States by the boatload, which I might add is happening to us as we speak, one only needs to look at the huge trade imbalance to see what's going on. Granted some of the imbalance is oil but it doesn't account for it all.
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Post by steiny on Jan 6, 2008 9:38:52 GMT -5
All the folks who preach "don't buy that stuff made in China" are forgetting that there are thousands of American companies making tons of money selling stuff to the Chinese and numerous other foreign countries, and profiting hugely from it.
Who gives a rip if the Chinese are making all of the sweat shirts or other cheap nick nacks that Wally World sells. If somebody made them here, they couldn't pay a high enough wage that you could live on anyway. Do you want to work for $0.12 per hour ? That is how much we consumers are willing to pay labor to manufacture that cheap stuff.
Meanwhile you have technically advanced American and European companies selling high end goods and services over there, and paying their employees handsomely for it.
Don't blame Wally World ..... they just sell the stuff.
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Post by mbogo on Jan 6, 2008 10:45:34 GMT -5
I support local shops when I can if they treat me right, but I'm not going to pay more for bad service just because a place is local. I have a very low tolerance for the "behind the counter commando" types who try to tell you what you need without solicitation or the ones that ignore any customers that are not regulars.
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Post by hountzmj on Jan 6, 2008 18:52:18 GMT -5
All the folks who preach "don't buy that stuff made in China" are forgetting that there are thousands of American companies making tons of money selling stuff to the Chinese and numerous other foreign countries, and profiting hugely from it. Thank you for saying that. My company sold over 1 million worth of stuff to the Chinese last year. It looks like we will be doing that again this year. We also sold 2 million or so to Korea. We are in a global economy. Despite what many think it's not always the cheapest that wins. It's the best! Our stuff is not cheap but it is the best in the world in our field. For American companies to succeed abroad that is what we have to do. Be the BEST! --hountzmj
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Post by drgreyhound on Jan 7, 2008 7:56:37 GMT -5
A capitalist society (which I value) is in part about competition, and if the local mom and pop places can't (or aren't willing to change enough to) compete with a business such as Wal-Mart, then I don't see any reason they shouldn't go under. Consumers are wise enough to "vote with their pocketbooks" on which store is the best for them.
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