Did i jump the gun on this one ?

[dudewuttheheck]

the seller offered to cancel the purchase and refund me.

That's solid of them. I'd go for it. If you're hesitating at all, then you probably shouldn't get it.

 

[TLW '90]

That's solid of them. I'd go for it. If you're hesitating at all, then you probably shouldn't get it.

That's what I did.

He also offered me a decent discount of $90 shipped on a cooper G1 he has listed, but I had to pass.

He seems like a good guy , but the description on the Cooper G1 says " definitely 70's or earlier " , yet it seems to be kind of the same situation as this Avirex A2.
Civilian jacket, no USA tag, and even more telling to me is the leather " postage stamp " behind the label that I've seen on so many 90's+ mall jackets.

 

[navetsea]

Because I'm somebody who favors American made goods whenever and wherever possible, and I can't stand American manufacturers paying foreign companies for work they should be paying a fellow American to do with few exceptions.
I'll buy the American made products in a heartbeat, but not the imports.

but it is an old jacket, it has zero impact on current american economy or american manufacture... I can understand if you prefer miUS new products to support local industries, I also like to buy local brands of my own country.

 

[TLW '90]

but it is an old jacket, it has zero impact on current american economy or american manufacture... I can understand if you prefer miUS new products to support local industries, I also like to buy local brands of my own country.

But I still know that a fellow American should have been paid to make it, and even worse is that far less Americans are being paid to make things here than there were when that jacket was made because of products that like this jacket weren't made here.

I would always know that it played a role in the loss of an American job.

 

[navetsea]

I bet there is no young americans want to be a sewing machinist, if there is someone willing then the jacket would be niche market brand like LW perhaps that if I heard correctly from past info here has a young machinist or that young lady who offer bespoke leather jacket that she sew herself for $4000.

 

[TLW '90]

I bet there is no young americans want to be a sewing machinist, if there is someone willing then the jacket would be niche market brand like LW perhaps that if I heard correctly from past info here has a young machinist or that young lady who offer bespoke leather jacket that she sew herself for $4000.

When there were plenty of these jobs here they had no trouble finding people willing to do them.
Once the number of jobs decreased so did the number of people who knew how or were willing to do them, now it's a circle.
The jobs aren't coming back if theres nobody to do them and nobody to do them because the demand is low.
Outsourcing of the past is a huge factor in this.

 

[Kunja]

Yep, remeber it every time you shop at a Walmart. They and their business model almost single handedly killed small American business, and its a completely self inflicted wound.

 

[Gr8Lakes]

When there were plenty of these jobs here they had no trouble finding people willing to do them.
Once the number of jobs decreased so did the number of people who knew how or were willing to do them, now it's a circle.
The jobs aren't coming back if theres nobody to do them and nobody to do them because the demand is low.
Outsourcing of the past is a huge factor in this.

My opinion on this has remained the same for the past 25 years… There’s no such thing as a job Americans won’t do. There are only wages that Americans won’t work for. Again, this is an opinion, but I believe American families have the same desire now they’ve always had - provide a better life for their family than they experienced growing up, and provide more opportunities for their children than they had. This takes a living wage, and any job that doesn’t provide a living wage is foregone in lieu of a job that does. I’ve personally witnessed college graduates that left their professional careers to become hourly manufacturing workers in a UAW factory. Why? Because there‘s a great wage, good benefits, and job security. This isn’t glamorous work by any means. It’s taxing on the body, extremely repetitive, mostly stagnant in terms of advancement, and demands 50+ hours a week.

And these are the wages that are becoming increasingly difficult to find without specific career qualifications. Most unskilled labor jobs provide little comfort in terms financial security.

As a nation our wage and wealth gap continues to grow, and companies love to cry that they ”need” to outsource the labor because they “can’t” find employees. If those companies paid better, and provided benefits, there’d be more applicants than jobs.

Yup, the cost of the product may rise. I say may because I certainly can’t speculate the profit margins of countless products. And we certainly can’t predict, with any accuracy, how increased wages, increased American employment, and an increase in cost of goods would ultimately impact our economy. We do know from history that the current trend of outsourcing manufacturing has only widened the wealth gap, and created tons of disposable imported goods, rather than quality, buy once cry once goods.

This is a bit off topic, and may be dangerously close to off limits subjects, but I’m sympathetic to @TLW '90 ‘s desire to support American jobs. While I’m not as committed in my own spending, I get it. I buy American when it’s convenient, for me, and that’s probably a pretty sad comparison.

All just opinion based on my own personal experience. I make no claim to be “right,” and completely respect differing opinions of others.

 

[Blackadder]

Getting back to the jacket. The U S Army only started re-issuing the A-2s in the late 80s so there has never been a 1978 contract for A-2. Avirex is and has been a fashion brand making military style clothing save for possibly one contract for the re-issued A-2 in late 80s.

 

[TLW '90]

Getting back to the jacket. The U S Army only started re-issuing the A-2s in the late 80s so there has never been a 1978 contract for A-2. Avirex is and has been a fashion brand making military style clothing save for possibly one contract for the re-issued A-2 in late 80s.

Thanks for that info.

 

[navetsea]

When there were plenty of these jobs here they had no trouble finding people willing to do them.
Once the number of jobs decreased so did the number of people who knew how or were willing to do them, now it's a circle.
The jobs aren't coming back if theres nobody to do them and nobody to do them because the demand is low.
Outsourcing of the past is a huge factor in this.

just a reality that some job that a generation ago people are willing to do suddenly fall out favor for the younger generation to do, in my developing country that job is "farmer" or "domestic helper" sure there are still next generation "farmer" but they don't grow crops or raise cattle but instead growing high value , exotic plants and animals, the same with domestic helper, no one younger than 40s want to work to clean someone else's house they rather clean hotels or malls or they rather be babysitter because at least baby are adorable or if they do work as domestic helper then they would work in the capital city or for an expat family with salary similar to a university graduate working in small city

looking at a workshop where I custom order my leather jacket all the workers there have worked for that company since mid 90s and there are no new ones coming, sure there are young generation who get interested into sewing but they go to sew raw denim jeans, either for the hype factor because the brand owners are young too and their small crew are visible in instagram they are all present on the brand's events and outings and for the niche high price those jeans would sell for since majority of local population who need jeans can't afford these prices that is easily 2x 3x 5x 10x the price of mall jeans locally made here or imported from china, so once the generation of people who are willing to sew affordable jeans are retired, we would import jeans from elsewhere too since even where there are still select young generation who are able to sew, they are not willing to do it for the salary so the product becomes affordable for general market.

 

[TLW '90]

I’m sympathetic to @TLW '90 ‘s desire to support American jobs. While I’m not as committed in my own spending, I get it.

I am a bit more committed than a lot of people, because I missed out on the days when you didn't have to look for the domestically made products.
I've also gotten good at finding and keeping track of the American made products.


Back on topic, is there any make I should be looking out for ( used market of course ) if I want to find a similar color not completely terrible American made A2 without breaking the bank ?
Should I look for an American made Avirex ?
A cooper ?
And if so which labels should I look out for ?

 

[ton312]

I am a bit more committed than a lot of people, because I missed out on the days when you didn't have to look for the domestically made products.
I've also gotten good at finding and keeping track of the American made products.


Back on topic, is there any make I should be looking out for ( used market of course ) if I want to find a similar color not completely terrible American made A2 without breaking the bank ?
Should I look for an American made Avirex ?
A cooper ?
And if so which labels should I look out for ?

Add LLBean A-2 to your search queue. They made a shit ton of them (in the US) and they are all over eBay. Quality is good. More of a G-1? I guess but looks the business:

I don’t know your size requirement but they seem to pop up fairly regularly across the range.

 

[TLW '90]

Add LLBean A-2 to your search queue. They made a shit ton of them (in the US) and they are all over eBay. Quality is good. More of a G-1? I guess but looks the business:
View attachment 510579
I don’t know your size requirement but they seem to pop up fairly regularly across the range.

Thanks for the tip.
LL bean may be the ticket if they ever did a lighter shade of brown.