Imported "JUNK"

[bburtner@moran]

Are there any companies in the USA that do not out source? Try to buy an article of clothing made by UNION labor anymore.Its a crime that big business has been getting over on the American consumer.For instance what does it cost to make a cotton dress shirt in the Dominican Republic,labor,materials etc etc,2.00.What do you pay for that shirt when you purchase it $40,$50.Who is kinding who.Bottom line Americans are getting burned in more ways then one.

 

[Spitfire]

It's called market economy - and everyting comming form outside US of A isn't necessarily "junk".
Producers produce where they can get it cheapest produced and still keep a quality, you want to pay for.
Otherwise nobody would buy it.
Simple as that.

 

[dhermann1]

Headline today said that soon China will be a larger manufacturing country than the US. A hundred years ago the US did the same thing to Great Britain. Some day India or Africa or Latin America will do it to China. Progress is always two steps forward and one step back, and there is always somebody who gets left behind. I think one reason we enjoy the Lounge is that it helps us cope with the kind of change we don't like to see happening around us. But some times there is not much you can do except adapt.

 

[bobjones]

Headline today said that soon China will be a larger manufacturing country than the US. A hundred years ago the US did the same thing to Great Britain. Some day India or Africa or Latin America will do it to China. Progress is always two steps forward and one step back, and there is always somebody who gets left behind. I think one reason we enjoy the Lounge is that it helps us cope with the kind of change we don't like to see happening around us. But some times there is not much you can do except adapt.

The frustration is from a manufacturer like Orvis or the Gap, who charged say, $25 for a shirt made in the US, moved their factories to China, made the same shirt for 1/5th the cost - but still charge the same MSRP.

Why is Orvis charging $500 for a leather jacket made in China? Its things like this that the OP is complaining about, and that I agree with.

I have no problem if these retailers manufacture on Mars, the point of anger comes from them pocketing the difference, when they are helping (Bartender edit: that's not an OK way to get around the language rules) over the US manufacturing base and worker, along with the consumer with their higher MSRP, all so that a few private equity firms can pay themselves a huge dividend after borrowing leveraged billions to buy the retailer. All for the "privilege" of the private equity firm running the firm into the ground with their hand-picked management whose sole responsibility is to make sure the private equity firm receives their fat one-time up-front dividend payment, all while the firm is hollowed out to pay it.

 

[dhermann1]

All too true.

 

[Vintage Betty]

There was an interesting article on CNN Money I believe, and it was this week. It stated how the Chinese Government is now instituting shorter work weeks, benefits and social security to be paid by the manufacturing firm who has a plant and onsite workers in China.

They interviewed 4 different companies, and if I remember correctly, they were all small businesses, and had very very small interviews stating the impact on their company. I was very disappointed in how tiny the article was and with no real "meat" to the article, but it portends a change in the way consumers perceive China as a "cheap labor source".

Vintage Betty

 

[adamjaskie]

Why is Orvis charging $500 for a leather jacket made in China?

Because they can. The amount of extra profit they make by drastically reducing costs far outweighs any small sales losses they may incur as a result of moving operations outside of the U.S. Most people don't care. They just want a leather jacket, and never even look at where it was made.

 

[Mike K.]

What I can't figure are these investigative news reports on counterfeit big-name products from China. If they're all made there anyway, what is the difference between the counterfeit and the real deal? In some, if not many, cases I doubt there's much difference.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The question needs to be: why is anyone prepared to pay $500 for a [edit: machine, or uncaring-hand made] leather jacket? Hide and labour/transport costs don't even come close to costing that much. How is it that we've come to the pass where we agree that the mark-up for the seller should be an absurd amount above the actual value of the product?

The consumer buys into the ridiculous prices as much as the seller tries to sell things at those prices. The Consumer likes to shed his guilt onto the producer through generally BS arguments like "outsourcing" and "non-American labour". The fact is that the vast majority of our clothing products are made from start to finish by machines. Very few hands come close to them. Vastly inflated prices are the way of the market economy: the seller charges the very extreme of what people are prepared to pay for a particular product. I personally disagree with this principle, but most do not.

The fault is with the consumer, who continues to buy the crap. We are mostly idiots, we waste our resources/money, and are doomed because of it.

bk

 

[Foofoogal]

The fault is with the consumer, who continues to buy the crap. We are mostly idiots, we waste our resources/money, and are doomed because of it.

yep. see the thread on customer service in the OB

 

[PENSACOLA]

It's called market economy - and everyting comming form outside US of A isn't necessarily "junk".
Producers produce where they can get it cheapest produced and still keep a quality, you want to pay for.
Otherwise nobody would buy it.
Simple as that.

...I agree with you about that.

 

[JLStorm]

You just have to look for the made AND assembled in the usa tag. The stuff is out there, but it isnt cheap...it sure makes you feel good when you buy it though.

Just like jackets, you can get the union made...but the price difference is definitely there.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

The fault is with the consumer, who continues to buy the crap. We are mostly idiots, we waste our resources/money, and are doomed because of it.

bk

True. A direct result of the so-called "Dumbing Down of America" syndrome I think, for which I blame the corporate controlled media. Mass produced junk is so much easier to market too, as people want to put the least effort into obtaining things as possible. If it's all under one roof, and just a tad cheaper than real quality crafted items, they will go and buy it because it's so easy for them, and hardly takes any time or effort. More time to watch Big Time Wrestling then on TV! :eusa_doh:
I would rather pay more for something and know that it was well made, than take the easy way out myself.

 

[bobjones]

I will pay $500, and have paid more than that twice, for a finely crafted, hand-made leather jacket of a unique hide.

I will NOT, however, pay a high price (in my mind, over $150) for a leather jacket, possibly of a low grade pigskin or cowhide, made by chinese/pakistani labor, in a large factory. These factories abroad produce mass-manufactured jackets for many "name-brand" retailers like Orvis, etc. just put different lables/tags on the product.

They are welcome to do that, but to charge a premium price, when one can get a HAND-MADE, CUSTOM leather jacket, from a USA or Western-based manufacturer, that doesn't then send its chemical runoff into the local river, is obscene.

I personally will only buy from companies like Aero, G&B, Lost Worlds, etc., companies that I know manufacture by hand, and don't employ possible slave labor at $2/day, polluting all the way through the process.

As for the other poster's comment about Americans being stupid and just buying the cheapest product - i.e., Wal-Martization, look at all the idiots on TV proposing they do that. The US doesn't value quality anymore, or service - they just buy the cheapest garbage and as said, turn on their TV to watch the next episode of crap.

Fortunately, there will always be those like me (many on this forum, too) who see beyond getting the cheapest crap available, which will keep family-owned, quality companies like Aero and G&B around for a long time.

 

[Foofoogal]

All one needs to do is go to Google or Yahoo and type in made in usa to find it.

 

[tonyb]

Ain't no economist. Ain't no expert on fancy duds, neither. But I can tell you from firsthand experience that sweatshops exist in and around Seattle, where things ain't exactly cheap. (The term "sweatshop" is not necessarily a disparaging one, by the way. I've heard people in the business refer to those rooms full of sewing machines by that word.) For the most part, these contract sewing operations aren't turning out garments for the big players in the trade; they stitch together stuff for specialty clothing lines and outdoor equipment (backpacks, tents and the like) companies.

I concur with the Baron's observation about our wasteful ways. I don't know that it alone is what will doom us, but we do indeed buy loads and loads of crap -- stuff that isn't worth what it costs even if it's given away. Part of what appeals to me about this website is the appreciation for well-made, long-lasting stuff prevalent among the membership. The people here aren't fooled by baubles and brand names.

 

[Sefton]

My $500 leather jacket was made by indentured Scots in a Scottish sweatshop.

 

[BellyTank]

Hey, Sefton...
...remember, long ago... when "Made in Japan" meant "junk" to a lot of folks.

For the last 25 years or so, it has meant "far superior to Western junk".


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[Senicko_Spain]

Hey, Sefton...
...remember, long ago... when "Made in Japan" meant "junk" to a lot of folks.

For the last 25 years or so, it has meant "far superior to Western junk".


B
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The same reasoning can be applied to the fact that I still can't bring myself to by a Hyundai lol

 

[BellyTank]

I don't get you..?

And what reasoning?

Korean is Korean.


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